Nursery for Baby J

We haven't done much to this room since Ben moved out but here are a few bits and pieces that have come together today.  You'll recognize the recliner, artwork, and the quilt; the table was my grandmother's and is new to the room. I sewed the pillow covers this afternoon. Ben is insanely jealous of the octopus, which is actually a tea towel that I couldn't bear to sacrifice to the wilds of my kitchen.

The crib is up - now we just need to settle on a dresser. Moving closer!

xo, Sonja

From the Blog-O-Sphere

Here are the latest and greatest from around the internet, my dears.

Let’s start on a high note, shall we?

What makes us happy.  Besides fancy chocolate.

Rock on, Padre. What would Baby Jesus eat?

For Christmas dinner this year we made marionberry pie, thanks to Costco now carrying jumbo packages of the tasty berry. I liked this recipe although we substituted the crust for a butter/shortening combo version from the America’s Test Kitchen cookbook.

There are a lot of questions swirling around Santa this year but one is undeniable: Santa is white. Colbert says so. :)

My dad and Benjamin both love flamingos. I’m getting them this contraption next year: Flamingo bike.  Or these. If the price tag ($2.5k) wasn’t so steep.

For the gardeners out there: Think this would work? Protect your strawberry plants with strawberry rocks. 

I asked Ben the other day if he wanted a baby [doll] to have while I was attending to the new baby. His answer? An emphatic "NO. I WANT TRUCKS INSTEAD”. Hmm, back to the drawing board.  How to prepare your older child for a new baby.

27 incredible views you’d only see if you were a bird. Holla, Seattle!

Why moms that quit their jobs to stay at home should get a post-nup. 

The coolest science of 2013, in GIFs.

Warped childhood, Restoration Hardware Style. Love the commentary on these!

The Rock’n’Roll Casualty Who Became A War Hero. Fascinating.

xo,

Sonja

PS: That’s Ben surveying Chris’ desk at the annual holiday party last weekend. He approves of the spinning chair and green keyboard buttons. I think it’s so fun to visit Chris at work; I can’t get over the fact that every single person (including the CEO) sits at work stations set up on long tables. I’m not sure I’d love the setup, but Chris says it makes collaborations with fellow employees really easy (and cuts down on facebookers!). What do you think? Is it your cup of tea?

Happy Holidays

May you have a wonderful holiday and best wishes for a healthy, happy, and fabulous 2014.

Love,

Sonja, Christopher, Benjamin, and Bailey

Send Hope, Not Flowers to the New Moms in Your Life

The other day as I was bemoaning the high costs of prenatal care and delivery fees at our local birth center, it reminded me of an article my mom sent that I feel deserves your attention as well.

Here in the United States, we are fortunate to have excellent medical care when delivering our babies. For many millions of women around the world, however, a safe and clean place to give birth simply isn’t an option. Affordable access to contraceptives is even less likely.

According to the United Nations Population Fund:

Pregnancy is a leading cause of death for those aged 15 to 19, with complications of childbirth and unsafe abortion being the major factors. Women aged 15-19 account for at least one fourth of the estimated 20 million unsafe abortions and nearly 70,000 abortion-related deaths each year.

For both physiological and social reasons, mothers aged 15 to 19 are twice as likely to die in childbirth as those in their 20s, and girls under age 15 are five times as likely to die as women in their 20s. Obstructed labour is especially common among young, physically immature women giving birth for the first time. 


The World Health Organization adds that: 

"Every year, approximately 287,000 women die due to complications in pregnancy and childbirth, 99% of them are in developing countries."


When my parents were in Papua New Guinea in September they heard about Dr. Barry Kirby and his efforts to provide basic prenatal care and delivery services to destitute PNG mothers.

His story is fascinating, compelling, and heartbreakingly common in our world’s poorest nations. I urge you to read it:

Builder Barry Kirby's labour of love in PNG

IT was midnight and Barry Kirby had been at the wheel for almost seven hours, nudging his 4WD 200km down a goat-track of bog, fog and yawning ravines in some of Papua New Guinea's most inhospitable back country, when he experienced his epiphany.

Later, friends would gently suggest he was overthinking a garden-variety midlife crisis. He was a prime candidate - 40, a loner, a searcher; a carpenter by trade and adventurer by nature, nearing the end of a defining four-year posting in a lost corner of PNG. "People would talk about 'change of life' and other stupid things," says Kirby, ever the plain-spoken Australian tradie. "But I kept getting these messages."

That night on the road in 1990 he was hauling building materials back to the village of Menyamya, where he'd lived for the past four years, when his headlights fell on what looked like a hessian sack. Kirby climbed out of the cabin to investigate and found a woman curled under a cloak of beaten bark. People appeared on the roadside, drawn out of the rainforest by the Toyota's lights. Language doesn't necessarily translate from one valley to the next in PNG, but Kirby learnt that the woman had been cast out as a witch. She had two dead husbands. She also had chronic diarrhea and, on later reflection, very likely HIV-AIDS.

Read the rest of the article here. 

Dr. Kirby’s work in PNG is directly supported by Send Hope, Not Flowers, an all-volunteer Australian charity. You can read more about them here.

My Dears, I hope you will join me. In lieu of flowers for the new (or experienced!) mother in your life, I urge you to send her a card instead, telling her that you’ve made a donation that will directly assist other mothers around the globe - and give their babies a healthy start to life.

Buy cards here or donate directly to Dr. Kirby’s efforts in PNG.

Thank you and happy holidays.

xo,

Sonja


[Note: charges are made in Australian dollars and some credit cards has foreign transaction fees attached.]

Photo Source: Vlad Sokhin, The Australian

The Great Santa Debate

Last night Chris and I had a very serious discussion regarding Santa.

Namely, does Santa wrap his presents?

Yes, the level of debate in our home currently is astoundingly academic and technical.

[We’re not even going to get into the ‘is Santa real’ issue in our house this year - we’re enjoying Ben’s excitement regarding Christmas, which is through the roof.]

Evidently Santa and his helpers do not wrap presents in Anchorage (Chris’ childhood home) but they do in Seattle (my growing-up place). I’m not sure how to account for the geographical difference.

Regardless, Chris made the case that he loved the un-wrapped present practice in his house: he’d wake up in the middle of the night, tiptoe upstairs, and take stock of his awaiting bounty. The one golden rule: No touching allowed. He’d marvel at his big presents and crane his neck to peer down his stocking before quietly tiptoeing back down to bed.

This practice extended well beyond childhood: The first Christmas I spent with Chris’ family he hopped out of bed in the wee hours of the morning to survey the goods. I was a very puzzled girlfriend until he explained his midnight foray.

Last night I asked him if seeing what he’d received took away some of the excitement of opening and unwrapping presents but he pointed out that packages from parents and other family members were wrapped so they got the best of both worlds.

I like opening packages however. Marveling at the presentation, carefully undoing the bows, smoothing out the paper for use at a later date. The drama of the event is fun, you know?

So we’ve politely requested a compromise from the Seattle Santa: big presents unwrapped, small stocking stuffers tied up in pretty tissue paper.

This may have been influenced by the fact that one of the elves had already wrapped up all the stocking stuffers and was unwilling to undo her masterpieces.


Anybody else have a similar Santa experience? What is the rule in your casa?

xo,

Sonja



On a similar note:

Why oh why did they feel the need to put the massively pregnant woman on Santa’s knee in the photo above? The poor guy is about to keel over from the weight. Also, I was curious to see if any of the kids noticed that the beloved Santa at the annual company party arrived in a wheel chair and was on oxygen....and how that would potentially impact his present-giving/zipping-down-the-chimney activities on December 25th. But nobody piped up.

Major props to Santa for persevering; the guy had several hundred kids (plus a pregnant lady) perched on his lap for four hours last Saturday. Talk about a workout.

Snow!!

Christmas Gifts for a Three Year Old Boy

We’ve hemmed and hawed over this year’s selection of gifts for the bambino. He was steadfast in his request to Santa: "I WANT TRAINS"! 

But he’s also really into dancing/singing so we incorporated a few musical instruments into this year’s catalog. Hopefully they’ll be a big hit.

Ben’s birthday is at the end of January so a few of items will be saved for that day. 

We bit the bullet and got him a balance bike as his one ‘big gift’ from Santa. On a related note: How come Santa gets all the credit for awesome presents? Totally not fair.

1. Diamond Head Ukulele, Natural (Amazon) $24.99

2. Hanna Andersson Long Johns in Tangerine Sailboat (Serena & Lily) $46. We used a 25% off coupon, which helped a bit.
3. African Rhythm Thumb Piano (10,000 Villages) $14. I love that this toy is made out of a sardine can! In the end I decided it was a bit old for the bambino. Maybe next year.
4. Janod Story - Circus Train (Amazon) $14.16. Great design and colors. And it satisfies the babe’s train longing.
5. Bluesband Harmonica (Land of Nod) $7.95
6. Larry Gets Lost in Seattle (Third Place Books) $16.99. What can I say, I love books that take place in my hometown and the illustrations are fantastic.
7.Wooden Slide Whistle (10,000 Villages) $9. I’m worried about this one. How much whistling can we take before going nuts?
8. Strider Balance Bike (Zappos) $109
9. Janod Magnetic Wooden Toy Plane (Urban Baby) (Haven’t purchased this one - possibly a birthday gift?)

10. Classic Balance Bike (Amazon) $64. Chris and I went back and forth between the CBB and the Strider; as I love the look of the wood. But in the end, the Strider was half the weight of the wooden version and got great reviews. We’ll let you know how we like it. 

He’ll get a few additional things in his stocking: a christmas tree ornament, a few additional train cars, and some chocolates, but that’s about it. And the mandatory handful of satsumas. 

What’s on your list of essential little boy holiday gifts?

xo, 

Sonja

Benisms vol. 789

Ben: "mama, can I touch the baby?"

Me: "of course. Pat my belly gently."

Ben: "I wreck her! I stomp her! I eat her!!"

Me: "oh dear god."

Benisms vol. 23

Ben: "Mama, I love garbage men. Someday I’ll drive a truck [like them].”

And there you have it, Peeps, career plans have been made.

Baby Update

Well my dears,

Tomorrow is the start of my 35th week of pregnancy. For those of you not in the prenatal loop, a 40-week baby is considered normal although many doctors say that full term is at 38 weeks. I’m guessing that this little girl will be a bit early, much like her brother.

So things are humming right along.

I’ve definitely entered the this-pregnancy-is-no-longer-comfortable stage.  It happened two days after we got back from our trip and I woke up, looked down at my belly and went: “wow. I am looking BIG. And man, my back hurts”.

I’ve deserted our bedroom in favor of a mattress placed on the floor in the baby’s room. It provides more support and I don’t have to stumble around as much when getting up to use the bathroom at night.

Ben has been a little slow to catch onto the changes. This morning, for example:

Sonja: “we’ll go in a minute. I need to use the bathroom first.”
Ben: “You just went potty. Why do you need to go AGAIN?”
Sonja: “Because the baby is doing a tap dance on my bladder and it’s not comfortable”

Ah yes, the joys of pregnancy.

Hormones are also zipping about. I couldn’t believe that Chris didn’t want to haul the crib upstairs last night at 9:30 and I stewed about it as I lay in bed. What if the baby arrives right now? We NEED that crib set up. 

I very clearly remember this phase when pregnant with Ben, although at that time it was: “What do you mean you have a broken hand? That room NEEDS to be painted today. Get on it. "

Being married to a heavily pregnant woman must be, ahem, challenging on occasion.

Although he can still see his toes and he doesn’t waddle around like a duck. So he’s lucky in that regard.

xo,

Sonja

Books!

Update: Here is another list: 100 Books Every Woman Should Read (Fiction). 

My dears,

I am finishing up a few good months of reading, figuring I won’t have much time once the babe is born. Here are a few that I went through this Fall.

Recently Read Books

When in New Zealand, I was on a bit of a local kick, reading books about the Pacific Northwest and California.

My ‘big read’ of the trip, because I felt like I should have this one under my belt: Wallace Stegner’s Angle of Repose. A classic novel of the west.

Angle of Repose tells the story of Lyman Ward, a retired professor of history and author of books about the Western frontier, who returns to his ancestral home of Grass Valley, California, in the Sierra Nevada. Wheelchair-bound with a crippling bone disease and dependent on others for his every need, Ward is nonetheless embarking on a search of monumental proportions -- to rediscover his grandmother, now long dead, who made her own journey to Grass Valley nearly a hundred years earlier. Like other great quests in literature, Lyman Ward's investigation leads him deep into the dark shadows of his own life.

Currently I’m wading through The Orchardist, by Amanda Coplin. I’ll admit, I’m struggling a bit with this one, simply because I don’t love the characters. I lose interest when I have trouble identifying with the personalities in the book. I don’t have to adore the whole person, but do have to find some common spark, tidbit of personality, or something with the lead character and I’m not finding it here.

At the turn of the twentieth century, in a rural stretch of the Pacific Northwest, a reclusive orchardist, William Talmadge, tends to apples and apricots as if they were loved ones. A gentle man, he's found solace in the sweetness of the fruit he grows and the quiet, beating heart of the land he cultivates. One day, two teenage girls appear and steal his fruit from the market; they later return to the outskirts of his orchard to see the man who gave them no chase. Feral, scared, and very pregnant, the girls take up on Talmadge's land and indulge in his deep reservoir of compassion. Just as the girls begin to trust him, men arrive in the orchard with guns, and the shattering tragedy that follows will set Talmadge on an irrevocable course not only to save and protect but also to reconcile the ghosts of his own troubled past.

My most favorite was recommended by my friend Amy: Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple. This is a fast, hilarious read that is especially fun because it takes place in Seattle. One of my favorite books of the year.

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom. 

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle--and people in general--has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic. 

To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence--creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.

The book I thought I’d love but actually hated: Raven Stole the Moon by Garth Stein (the author of The Art of Racing In The Rain, which I really enjoyed). Also a Seattle-based book but not of the good kind. Pregnant women with toddler sons should not read novels in which the main character’s young son drowns while on a fishing trip in Alaska. Especially if you happen to travel to Alaska and take fishing trips there.

When Jenna Rosen abandons her comfortable Seattle life to visit Wrangell, Alaska, it's a wrenching return to her past. The hometown of her Native American grandmother, Wrangell is located near the Thunder Bay Resort, where Jenna's young son, Bobby, disappeared two years before. His body was never recovered, and Jenna is determined to lay to rest the aching mystery of his death. But whispers of ancient legends begin to suggest a frightening new possibility about Bobby's fate, and Jenna must sift through the beliefs of her ancestors, the Tlingit, who still tell of powerful, menacing forces at work in the Alaskan wilderness. Armed with nothing but a mother's protective instincts, Jenna's quest for the truth behind her son's disappearance is about to pull her into a terrifying and life-changing abyss.

Here’s a rare book in which I couldn’t identify with any of the characters, yet couldn’t put down: Pilgrim’s Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier, by Tom Kizzia. Fascinating and horrifying. I would so love to meet the family members, to see what they’re like today.

When Papa Pilgrim appeared in the Alaska frontier outpost of McCarthy with his wife and fifteen children in tow, his new neighbors had little idea of the trouble to come. The Pilgrim Family presented themselves as a shining example of the homespun Christian ideal, with their proud piety and beautiful old-timey music, but their true story ran dark and deep. Within weeks, Papa had bulldozed a road through the mountains to the new family home at an abandoned copper mine, sparking a tense confrontation with the National Park Service and forcing his ghost town neighbors to take sides in an ever-more volatile battle over where a citizen’s rights end and the government’s power begins.

I’ve got Chris reading one of my favorite books of all-time: The Book Thief. I’m curious to see what he makes of it.

The extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller that will be in movie theaters on November 15, 2013, Markus Zusak's unforgettable story is about the ability of books to feed the soul. 

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. 

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

Books On My List

The Seattle Times just came out with their 31 ‘best titles’ of 2013. I’m always of two minds about these lists as they are so subjective. For example, I’ve never been a huge fan of celebrated Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl’s recommendations. What grabs her fails to inspire me. But there are a few books on the ST list that look intriguing, especially the Ivan Doig book, as he is an exceptional author. Here are a few that I’m adding to my library wish list:

“Sweet Thunder” by Ivan Doig (Riverhead). Seattle novelist Doig returns to his native Montana for this epic tale of loyalty, politics, love and newspapering set in the gritty labor wars of early 20th-centry Butte. Doig is at his best in his historical novels; this one dazzles with fascinating characters and contemporary themes. — Tim McNulty

“The Signature of All Things” by Elizabeth Gilbert (Viking). Botany has never seemed more exciting than through the eyes of Gilbert’s fictional heroine, Alma Whittaker, whose energetic pursuit of plants and the man she loves captures the 19th-century thrill for discovery. — Ellen Emry Heltzel

“Hild” by Nicola Griffith (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). “Hild,” by Seattle author Griffith, spins taut threads from the elements of treacherous kings, desperate bandits, brilliant tapestries, and dying gods, weaving them into a marvelous story of a seventh-century Englishwoman’s coming of age. —Nisi Shawl

“The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt (Little, Brown). The long-awaited new novel from the author of “The Secret History” is the sort you get happily lost in; combining page-turning plot twists with achingly beautiful prose. It’s a story about the love of beautiful things; about spending youth searching for something undiscoverable; about how life can shackle us to a perch, unable to move forward. —Moira Macdonald

See the entire list here.

Any favorites that you’ve enjoyed recently, my dears? I’d love your recommendations.

xo,

Sonja

From the Blog-O-Sphere

Two Blog-O-Spheres in four days ! There are some good articles out there.

First up, for Chris: Macklemore signs 49er jersey...but not the way the fan expected. Awesome. Maybe a little bit of payback for the loss last night? [Thanks Robin]

Why grammar can be a very good thing.

My grandma swore up and down that one year, back when she was a teenager, she went ice skating with friends on Lake Washington. Guess she wasn’t pulling my leg. Holy Hell, Seattle, IT IS COLD HERE! A 15 year low this weekend.

Speaking of cold things, for the holidays, I’m going to try this slushy recipe. Maybe it’ll bring a bit of tropical cheer into this frigid city.

Chris sent me this NYTimes article last night about Stay-At-Home-Fathers. I think it’s totally awesome that we’re seeing more SAHDads these days. Most interesting was the fact that the article correctly points out that many high-wage earning moms are able to make things work at their jobs only because they have a spouse at home. Many of these scenarios might not be possible if both parents were employed. Which is great if you pull in enough moolah for the entire family but it still leaves two-parent wage earning households out in the cold. I really wish we could move towards more flexible working hours for both moms and dads, but that seems to be the exception, rather than the rule these days.

Chris found the above photo in a box of pictures this weekend and scanned it onto the computer. It’s from 2002 on a crew trip to Sacramento. Dang we look young!  Or maybe it’s just that right now I feel really old, having just plucked yet another grey hair from my head...Gonna be bald by the time I’m 35.   :(

xo,

Sonja

Guess Baby J’s Birthdate and Weight

Click HERE if the embedded form below is being troublesome. [Depending on what device you’re using to view this webpage, it may be a little funky.]

 

Benisms vol. 938

Ben (while sitting on the pot): "Mama! A little privacy please!"

Two seconds later, to the pooch that's laying in the hallway outside the bathroom: "Bailey, I need my privacy. You need to leave!"

Guess the kiddo prefers a little peace and quiet whilst taking his morning constitutional. 

From the Blog-O-Sphere

I had to laugh at myself the other day, Peeps, because, like most parents of a newborn, I was absolutely convinced my child was the best-looking, smartest, most adorable kid this world had ever seen. Gerber, sign this kid up, stat. I mean, just look at those baby blue eyes.

And then yesterday I ran across this photo (scroll all they way down to the bottom) of a wee three-month-old Benjamin.

Huh. He looks different than I remember him. In fact, he resembles most young babies: chubby, somewhat bald, and rocking’ the grubby old man look.

Ahh, those amazing rose-tinted glasses of early parenthood.



Speaking of parents and children:


 



How’s this this for the ultimate christmas wish list? The dad’s commentary is even more hilarious. This morning Ben decided to dictate his list to me over breakfast. It was quite succinct: “Dear Santa. I want trains”.

You think old cat ladies are bad? Try young cat men. Chest hair: in the shape of a cat.

All of Santa’s reindeer are female. Or perhaps very young bucks.

We haven’t had our second baby yet but so many of these ring true for our first one: 15 Differences between The First Child and the Second (Thanks Meghann)

The Statesmen Journal ran an article on my favorite professor at Willamette. Woohoo DPC! If you are a high school senior looking for an awesome biology program with great teachers, go to WU and ask Dr. Craig to be your mentor. He urged me to go to Costa Rica for a study abroad program, landed me an internship at the BLM (which was the best summer job ever), and had me happily wading through a taxidermy course my senior year. Yes, this man can even get you excited about roadkill squirrels, he is that good.


Speaking of Willamette folk, have a look at this pancake art, done by a WU alum. I seriously need to up my cake game: Hobbits, Fractals, and Jellyfish Become Ridiculously Detailed Pancakes. Check out the entire repertoire at Saipancakes.com. Observe the awesomeness of science teachers, my dears. (thanks for the link KMoody)

Last week we watched the documentary Blackfish, about the capture and use of orcas by Seaworld. I'll never go to Seaworld - I can't stand the thought of our Pacific Northwest whales held in such small enclosures, but I'm also struggling on a larger scale: orcas aren't the only animals with giant home ranges currently kept in captivity. As someone that adores taking her child to the zoo for the wonder of seeing magnificent beasties, it's proving to be a troubling ethical dilemma for me. Where does the scale tip in favor of educational opportunities/endangered species propagation vs. animal cruelty?

You Are What You Eat. I’m not fessing up as to what the interior of my fridge currently looks like but these are fascinating. (thanks Sara!)

Given that I’m pregnant (and have a toddler), I suppose it’s not a surprise that you’re getting a parent-heavy dose of articles this year. Here is the latest tear-jerker: Pregnant in Auschwitz: Toronto Holocaust survivor recalls split-second decision that saved her and unborn son (thanks Julia!)

How are you balancing Christmas presents this year for your kids? We’re struggling to find a happy medium between toys and activities. We really want to take a trip to the southwest next year (because our Yellowstone trip with a six-month old Ben was fantastico) but I have a hard time imagining that Benjamin, on Christmas morning, will be super stoked when we bust out with: “You’re not getting any presents this year kiddo, because we’re all taking a family trip....in six months. Aren’t you excited?!”

Cue the hysterics.

And: “Where the #*%&# are my trains?!”

So far we’ve settled on one ‘big’ present, some books, a pair of PJs, and stocking stuffers (which will probably be mostly rail-themed, thanks to the Christmas letter mentioned above). Welcome to the dilemmas of parenthood.

Have a great weekend My Dears.

xo,

Sonja



Gerber! Seriously, how are you going to pass on this awesomeness?!


Hello? Hello?

Bah Humbug

Bailey would like you to know that he's not amused by these holiday shenanagians. Especially ones that involve reindeer antlers. 

Tree Hunting

We have a tree.

It’s currently residing on our front porch, still wrapped up, and I just about had a heart attack at 3 am this morning when I was roaming around the house (not loving this pregnancy back pain) and caught sight of a tall, sinister ‘man’ peering in the window.

The tree has thus extracted its revenge on us for cutting it down. Well played, tree.

For the past three years we’ve gone out to Enchanted Winds Tree Farm in Issaquah, which is a small but friendly family-run farm along the Issaquah-Hobart Road corridor.

This year Ben really got in on the tree selection process. He found several acceptable toddler-sized candidates.

Mostly he loved running around playing ‘farmer’ in his stompers (aka rain boots). Gotta love the toddler perspective on life, right?

Our ‘winner’! Sorry tree. We promise to send you off to compost heaven so you might come back again someday.

 Don’t forget to warm up inside the barn with the all important cookies and hot cider. We were thankful to escape with all of those fancy ornaments intact on the tree behind us. Ben the whirling dervish.

xo, Sonja

If You Go:

Enchanted Winds Tree Farm
http://www.enchantedwinds.net
Seasonal Hours: Th & F: 10-4:30, Sat & Sun: 9-4:30
Costs: Tree prices vary but our 7’ Doug Fir was $47

A few tips:
Wear your wellies. It gets muddy.

They provide saws and pads but we’ve discovered that it really pays to bring your own nice, sharp hand saw, if you have one available. The first year Chris and his dad spent about 20 minutes hacking away at the trunk with the provided saw. This year Chris had it down in three minutes.

It helps to have someone push the tree from the top during the cutting process. This makes the cut wider and speeds things up.

On December 7th the Newfoundland Dog Club comes to the farm and will pull your tree in their little carts back to your car for a small donation. It’s really a hoot to see the working dogs suited up with their harnesses and carts.

Be a nice doobie and tip the kid that carries, shakes, packages, and then ties your tree to the top of your car. No need to bring straps as they provide the twine but a cargo blanket is a plus if you have a fancy car.

New Zealand Planning

There are many different ways to approach trip planning and we’ve tried several of them over the last ten years.

First there was our trip to Europe after college that consisted of us not planning. We’d get off the train in a new town and walk around until we found a suitable backpacker lodge for the evening. We’d ask the front desk for restaurant recommendations and our fellow travelers for activities in the area that they'd enjoyed. This fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach can work really well in many parts of the world. It can also mean that you spend the night on the train station waiting room bench because all the hotel rooms are sold out. 

Then there was Peru which was also us not planning - we sourced everything out to a travel agent. There were a few reasons for this but it mainly had to do with Ben, who was 20 months old at the time. I wanted a tour guide’s local knowledge of child-friendly activities, a car to be waiting for us when we arrived at the airport, and hotels with cribs. Definitely the most expensive way, but so worth it in this particular situation. 

This trip was planned entirely by us. I spent many, many hours on TripAdvisor reading reviews and pouring over NZ guide books from the library. And in the end, we had a few hits and a few misses, not surprising, given our inexperience with the country. There is definitely an argument for using a travel agent: they’ve been to all the places they recommend and can weed out the winners from the losers. 

In the end, we made most of the car and hotel reservations in advance but waited until we’d set foot in the country to make activity plans. 

And then everything went onto the master spreadsheet. After my passport and credit card, this was the item that I least wanted to lose as it had all our travel details: flight info, hotel confirm numbers, drive times/directions, and activity recommendations. 

Here is an example of a daily entry. Click on photo for close-up.

First, an overview of the day’s plans. In this case, it was a big driving day: Going from Russell to Rotorua, with one hike to break things up around mid-day.

Followed by the driving distance, estimate of how long it would take to get there, and basic directions. 

Then the activity details, including a short description (and possibly a DOC website link):

And lastly, hotel information (including confirm #s, which have been removed here), costs, type of room, dates of reservation, etc:

We lived by this thing while traveling! We also found the NZ isites to be a great source for maps and tourist magazines with coupons. There were only a few tours in which we showed up without clipped discount vouchers in hand.

Hope that helps with your next trip. 

xo, 

Sonja



All New Zealand Posts: 

Part 1: New Zealand Travel Route: The North Island in 8 Days

Part 2: Auckland: the cosmopolitan heart of the North Island

Part 3: Waipoua Forest: giant trees and pretty views

Part 4: Bay of Islands: Swimming with Dolphins

Part 5: Karangahake Gorge: an abandoned gold mine in a stunningly beautiful valley

Part 6: Rotorua: The Yellowstone of New Zealand

Part 7: Tongariro and Whanganui National Parks: Two of the “Nine Great Walks of New Zealand”

Part 8: Waitomo: Glow Worms Galore! 

Part 9: Planning Your New Zealand Driving Tour

Trips: Waitomo Caves, New Zealand

After Bay of Island and Rotorua, Waitomo was one of my favorite stops in New Zealand. We started off our adventure with the 1km  Ruakuri Walk - definitely a must-do tramp when visiting Waitomo.

There are caves, gorges, and fantastically structured limestone formations.

Then we joined SpellBound Tours (see info below) for an amazing two-cave trip.

Into the cave we go..

 Hard hat! Lights! Warm clothing! check, check, check.

We chose this tour because it didn’t require suiting up in a wetsuit and jumping off rocks. And it was known for the incredible glow-worm experience.

I tried my best to photograph the glow worms but it was a miserable failure. There are a few professional shots down at the bottom too, but they simply cannot convey how incredible it was to be in a cave lit entirely by biolumenessence.

Beginning the rafting portion of the cave experience.

Stalactites!

How do you tell the difference between stalactites and stalagmites? Stalagmites are ‘mighty’ because they have to grow up from the ground!

 Here are a few pro shots, courtesy of Spellbound:

And some glow worm history by Roy Alexander Harrison, D.SC., Senior Lecturer in Agricultural Zoology, Lincoln Agricultural College.

The New Zealand glow-worm is one of the most interesting insects of the New Zealand fauna. It occurs throughout the country in limestone caves, unused mining tunnels, along stream banks, in damp bush-clad ravines, in damp shady crevices, and under tree-fern fronds in rain forests. The Glow-worm Grotto in Waitomo Cave has become world famous because of the tens of thousands of glow-worm larvae which live on the walls, ceilings, and stalactites of the grotto.

The New Zealand glowworm is a fly belonging to the gnat family. The larvae, pupae, and adults of both sexes are all luminous. In the larval stage the light attracts prey in the form of other organisms, while in the pupal and adult stages the light attracts the opposite sex.

[Sonja here: “Glow worm” has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? Much better than “Glow maggot”, which is, in fact, what they are]

The larva prepares a nest in the form of a tunnel of mucous and silk, and suspends from this an array of fishing lines composed of the same materials. Prey is snared in the long sticky fishing lines. The larva hauls up the fishing line on which the prey is entangled and consumes the trapped insect. Up to 70 lines are let down by one larva and, depending on the size of the larva, the lines vary in length from under 1 cm to 50 cm. Each fishing line consists of a long thread of silk which bears at regular intervals a series of mucous droplets giving the appearance of a string of beads. The droplet size is about 1 mm in diameter. Nests and lines can be reconstructed and repaired. Fully grown larvae measure up to 40 mm in length and adult flies average 15 mm in length. The life cycle appears to take 11–12 months, with the larval stage lasting eight or nine months. Breeding shows little evidence of being a seasonal phenomenon

By far the coolest part of the tour was getting into a raft and floating down an underground river that was lit entirely by glow worms. It was light enough to make out the features of the people sitting next to you. Truly spectacular!!!! Seriously, GO DO IT, if you’re ever in New Zealand.


Well, that’s a wrap on New Zealand. Thanks for coming along for the ride, Dear Readers.

xo,

Sonja

Up Next:

Part 9: Planning Your New Zealand Driving Tour

All New Zealand Posts: 

Part 1: New Zealand Travel Route: The North Island in 8 Days

Part 2: Auckland: the cosmopolitan heart of the North Island

Part 3: Waipoua Forest: giant trees and pretty views

Part 4: Bay of Islands: Swimming with Dolphins

Part 5: Karangahake Gorge: an abandoned gold mine in a stunningly beautiful valley

Part 6: Rotorua: The Yellowstone of New Zealand

Part 7: Tongariro and Whanganui National Parks: Two of the “Nine Great Walks of New Zealand”

Part 8: Waitomo: Glow Worms Galore! 

Part 9: Planning Your New Zealand Driving Tour

If You Go

Where to Stay

Waitomo Lodge Motel - Looks like a ho hum motel from the outside but it’s slick Scandinavian modern inside with great beds and a nice kitchenette (micro, fridge, and plates/cups/utensils). Big grocery store just up the road.  From $125 NZ/night. Just fifteen minutes from Waitomo.

What to Do

Ruakuri Walk - 1 km. This short walk is a ‘must do’ when visiting the Waitomo area. Includes caves and classic limestone outcrops in a pretty river gorge.

Spellbound Cave Tours - a smaller tour company than the regular outfits, you’ll skip the enormously overcrowded caves and enjoy an incredible underground experience, complete with a subterrarium boat ride and a glowing tunnel. Our group of 15 was perfectly suited to exploring two separate caves. Our guide Norm was excellent. Includes a short bush walk and tea/coffee/cocoa. Good for those that aren’t up for the getting wet or have some mobility issues (or are pregnant!).

What We Considered

The Legendary Black Water  Rafting Trip - from their website: The Legendary Black Water Rafting Company is New Zealand’s first black water rafting adventure operator. We’ve been sharing thrills and excitement since 1987, and have experienced guides who will take you safely through the stunning underworld of Ruakuri Cave. What began as a special treat for a brave few has developed into a spectacular tourism attraction that gives visitors of all ages the chance to abseil (rappel), weave, jump, climb, and float through a glowworm-studded subterranean wonderland at Waitomo Caves.