4 Kids and an Aquarium

Friday was a great day.  I can't remember why now, but I remember thinking that it was a great day.  At work I had helped to organize a Thunderclap for National HIV Testing Day and we needed 100 supporters in order to "release" it.  You would think that would be fairly easy, but no, it wasn't. I think it was a new concept and people were nervousness or something.  And then people are apathetic and like to ignore you.  I posted it on my Facebook page numerous time pleading with friends and family to sign up and I got three friends to sign on.  That's it.  I have hundreds of friends and lots of family members on Facebook and I got three people to help me out.  There was no cost to it...you just had to agree to have an HIV prevention message posted on your wall at the exact same time as everyone else who signed up.  I really thought I might get a few more people, especially when I was pleading and desperate sounding.  But no.  Everyone ignored me.

I think I got off track because that paragraph above is very negative sounding and I started out saying that I had an amazing Friday.  After a few personal phone calls I finally got 100 supporters and the message went out!! That was really exciting.  We also had a success at the car shop.  I took my car in for an oil change and its 60,000 mile check-up - scary stuff.  Since the life of the car, we've never walked out of the car shop for less than $600 (even when it should be cheap there are things wrong, like I backed into a snow bank and ruined some tire thing that costs a lot of money).  This time we only owed $300!!!  It felt amazing!!  Yeah - I realize that $300 is still a ton of money and I really shouldn't be celebrating, but when you are expecting $600-$1200 and it's only half of that, you get really excited.

Then that evening I went on a short three mile run (while Evan slept) before heading over to a friend's house for a BBQ.  Yum!!  I love BBQing.  They have a daughter Evan's age but Evan is too shy and won't play with her.  It's possible we were two hours late for the BBQ because I underestimated how long I thought it would take me to run and shower, but oh well.  I was really happy that I got a run in when I was swamped at work and then had the BBQ a short time later.

Saturday was filled with lots of exercise.  I went on a 9 mile run/walk with TNT.  I didn't have golf because it's an in-between week so I met up with friends and did a long run.  Everyone else was doing ten miles but I had to run 2 miles there and 2 miles home so I just did five with the group.  And we walked up most hills.  Evan is getting heavy in his stroller so it is a lot of work running with him and my friend wanted to walk the hills so who was I to argue???  We stopped at the playground on our way home so that was fun.  It was completely empty so that's a plus.  Evan had a blast in the sand box.   I used to hate those things because I thought they were disgusting but now I don't really care.

After the park we went home, showered, and headed to the pool.  Yeah...right during nap time.  Evan slept the entire time at the pool and didn't want to play in the water.  He snuggle up next to me and promptly fell asleep while I was sitting in the water.  Very adorable.  That night Ivan decided that he wanted to go on a family bike rike - completely ignoring the fact that I had already run 9 miles.  I agreed anyway.  We rode our bikes around the neighborhood and to the park so Evan could play.  He loves the bikes and I do too...even more so when I am not already exhausted from my run in the morning....

And Sunday was a crazy day.  It started out with chocolate chip, banana, strawberry pancakes.  And some maple syrup.

Look what happens when you give a toddle maple syrup.  First, he glows (haha - not sure why the photo turned out so weird)!!  And then he stops dipping his pancake in the syrup and just licks it straight from the plate.  He was in sugar heaven.  This boy loves his maple syrup.

Then we took all the nieces to the Aquarium.

Yup - Ivan and me and four kids all 5 and under and a huge, crowded aquarium.  We had a blast though.  Or at least I did.  Ivan had to carry Evan and the heavy diaper bag the entire time and started complaining about his back hurting, so he was not as patient towards the end of the visit as he could have been.  And I got a bit impatient with the girls when they were trying to pick out their items from the gift shop - but mainly because I knew that Ivan was annoyed.  But all in all, I thought it was so much fun.

When we got home my sister and her husband were still at the movies so we made grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch and played outside.

Evan loves this play structure.  And his shorts are so short because we have to roll the waist band or else they fall off.  He's just a skinny-minny.

So that was my busy, fun weekend.  How about you?

Real maple syrup or the fake stuff?  

Sandboxes - yes or no?

A Test Trip to Baltimore

Yesterday I had my first orientation day of nursing school.  It was a one day thing - the next orientation isn't until August and it is a one day thing too.  And then classes start in September.  I can't believe it's coming up so soon.  Crazy!!

The day started out with a SHORT commute. 

This was the picture from the window of the bus heading into the city.  Looks a little dreary.
Who cares though - it only took 30 minutes!!!

This was the best thing EVER.  Rather than sit on a bus for over an hour, my bus ride was a short 30 minutes.  This was amazing.  It felt great.  And the bus drops me off a block from the nursing school and picks me up half a block away.  Totally convenient.  What is not so convenient is how I am going to get to clinicals.  I have to be there by 6:30am and they could be anywhere.  So, I am not sure what is going to work - should Ivan drop me off (even if it's a 40 minute drive both ways?), should he bike him and Evan to my sister's (a good option in good weather but not so great in bad weather), should we borrow my sister's car the night before and then he could drive it to her house in the morning?  Would she even be up for that?  We have some logistics to figure out!

The day was pretty interesting.  There were several dates we could choose so there were only about 1/4 of the class at this session.  Most people looked pretty young and a good number were still finishing their first bachelor's degree.  However, I did make friends with another girl who was 33 and talked to guy who was married, so there are a few "mature" students like myself too.  And it's not like I don't like 22 year olds, but we are in very different places in life so I won't be hitting the clubs in the evenings most likely (not like I did that as a 22 year old either though).

In the morning we reviewed our classes and labs.  Our lab/clinical uniform is khaki scrub pants and a white scrub top.  It is pretty hideous.  It doesn't sound too horrible but khaki scrub pants are not cute.  Think about grandma pants with an elastic waist band in khaki - that's what they look like.  And a white shirt???  Really?  And because I have a tattoo on my wrist, I have to wear long sleeves.  Apparently there is a no-tattoo policy.  At least it's on my wrist and not my neck.  I'd much rather where long sleeves than a turtle neck!

Then we moved on to drug calculations.  We did this for an entire two hours.  This is super important and we have an exam on drug calcs the first month of class and we have to get 100% to pass.  If you don't pass the first time then you have two more tries, but still.  It's a bit nerve-wracking having to get 100%.  On the other hand, I sure wouldn't want my nurse to have only gotten 90% on her drug calc test - so 100% is probably a good policy.

The other review we did was Anatomy and Physiology.  Yikes!

Sympathetic nervous system?  Cardiac cycle?  I better do a bit of reviewing!  It wasn't too intense though.  And here's hoping I can handle it all.  Everyone (staff, current students, and alums) kept remarking about how difficult the two years were and how different it was from any other type of classes/studying we've ever done (actually learning the information and retaining it, not just memorizing it for a test and then forgetting it later).  I just need to be as organized as possible and really buckle down.  And get my family on-board with my schedule.

All in all, it was a good day and made me excited to start!  Anyone else out there make a crazy life change in the middle of their life????

2.5 Hours Can Be a Long Time

Boy was Evan in a mood last night.  Since he can't talk enough to tell me yet, I'm going to assume it was because he was exhausted.  My sister took him to the pool in the morning and I think that completely wore him out.  He pretty much cried, fussed, and flailed the entire night until he went to bed.  The bad thing about this is that it makes it difficult for me to get anything done, so he still didn't get to bed until 9pm.  Now that he's eating a little more, I hate to put him to bed without dinner but then it took me forever to get dinner on the table between holding him and him crying on the floor.  And I was only making quinoa and microwaving food...not making a gourmet meal or anything.  We took a long break to play with play dough outside though....so that slowed things up.  I hate coming home and spending our only time together cooking dinner.  So, when he wanted to go out on the balcony to play with play dough I went out there with him.  So, we didn't eat until almost 7:45.  And then since he had sunscreen all over him I felt like I really needed to give him a bath.  All of those activities resulted in a 9pm bedtime, even though he probably could have fallen asleep much earlier.  What can you do?  Although I got home at 6:30pm and Evan went to bed 2.5 hours later - the night seemed extra long with all those temper tantrums!

And then I made pancakes for Ivan.  I had made some over the weekend but Evan was eating them for breakfast, so Ivan wanted a few too.  So I whipped up a batch.  I discovered if you put some oil in the bottom of the pan they kinda fry and then you have delicious lightly fried pancakes.  

And I made them with Banilla (I'm assuming Banilla is banana+vanilla) Yogurt and bananas, so that made them even more yummy.  I want to eat one right now!

I also made it for a run yesterday.  My friend says I'm on a roll with the running and it sure feels that way.  Except my "rolls" don't last very long.  I have gone every day except Saturday for the past week. Yesterday I wore my Team In Training shirt and a few people called out "Go Team" while I was running around the mall (as in the mall in front of Congress, not a shopping mall).

That is always a great feeling and really motivates me if I'm feeling tired.  Yesterday I had an accidental tempo run because for the three miles I was running on the mall these three guys were behind me and I could tell they wanted to pass me but they weren't quite fast enough.  It made me run a little faster to keep them behind me.  Sometimes that aggravates me but yesterday I was feeling strong so it was a good challenge.  Mondays are my best running days because after a weekend of pushing Evan in the stroller (about 50 lbs), a run by myself seems so much easier.  That effect dies off by the next run, but for one day I feel like I'm going fast!  Today is a day off and my hamstrings are thanking me.  I am still doing all my glute stretches and exercises and I think it is really helping.  The pain in't nearly as bad as before.

Ok, I better take a nap because I have a tone of work to do today and I want to be well rested.  I got 5 hours and 25 minutes of sleep last night, so that's not too horrible...but still, a nap will be nice.

Have a great day!

Splashing in the Stream

This is going to be a long week.  On Wednesday, rather than working from home, I have some kind of Summer Success Immersion program for school.  What does that mean?  Not exactly sure except that we are going to be reviewing Anatomy & Physiology stuff and learning drug calculations.  Something about how these things will help us be successful during the first semester and beyond.  That means that I won't get my extra hour of sleep though.  Or a relaxing evening after work where I don't have to stress about a commute and arrive home at 7pm.  Of course, there was a time when I went to the office five days a week, so I shouldn't be such a baby about it.

This weekend was like all the others: it went too fast but it was filled with fun times. On Friday Evan and I made it back to the Nature Center.  It wasn't too hot out and I felt like a mini hike was in order.

We didn't get too far because he found this little stream and wanted to play in it the entire time.

I ignored all rational thought and let him get his pants and tennis shoes soaked.  I had made him wear pants to try and avoid ticks.  And Lyme disease, a huge fear of mine.  He really had a fun time and was throwing rocks in the water, digging in the dirt, etc.

He also enjoyed playing on the stumps.  

And, best of all?  He didn't pitch a fit when we had to leave.  

After a fun time in nature we then headed out for a run.  The stroller is really starting to weigh a lot.  Or I am really weak.  I felt like it was so heavy and that I was really shuffling along.  Especially on the up-hills.  We stopped at mile 3 to play at the playground for an hour and then headed back home.  

Evan was pretty good sitting in the stroller but did start saying "All done" on the way back home...like he was all done in the stroller and please remove him.  It was cute but he was stuck in there until we got home.

Sunday was a busy, busy day.  We got up and went for another run.  This time we took a shorter route because we had made pancakes first and were on the late side.  Of course our run took us to a playground and we played for about 40 minutes before heading back home.  Again, super heavy stroller!  We survived though.  Then we showered and headed to Costco.  I have decided that Costco is really like Target.  Your go for one thing and come out $100 poorer. I love Costco though and they are a really great company (unlike Target), so at least that part makes me feel better.  There were a ton of samples and Evan and I enjoyed sampling sausage, salmon cakes, wantons, perogies, quesadillas, coffee (I sampled this alone), and Belvita cookies.  Evan really liked the salmon burgers so we bought those (he will probably change his mind and I'll have 20 salmon burgers to eat alone).  Along with a million other things even though we just wnet for coke, eggs, and chips.  Oh well, at least our fridge is stocked now.

There is no room for anything else!  Ivan keeps saying that we better enjoy it now because pretty soon we'll only be able to eat eggs, beans, and tortillas.  We had some cubed steak this weekend and Ivan was like...pretty soon we won't be able to afford meat so we better enjoy every last taste.  I said we could probably buy cubed steak every once in a while since it is only $2.55 a package.

Evan and I also made sure to put on our USA jerseys for the game on Sunday.

We were very excited.  Ivan invited our golf friend over to watch the game too so I made 7-layer dip (of course because Ivan LOVES this and asks for it as often as possible) and tacos.  Everything turned out and I even managed to do the laundry, fold the clothes, and clean the bathrooms.  Nothing short of a miracle.

Now it's back to work and off to sleep for a bit.  Hope you had a fabulous weekend too and didn't look this pathetically tired when you work up this morning (we are both looking pretty rough)!

Two Fridays in a Row

It is Thursday evening and I am on the bus home and for the second week in a row I have felt the urge to blog.  What is going on here??  

Today was a good day.  I spent a lot of time working on an email that gave explicit instructions on how to sign up for a Thunderclap.  It involved steps and screen-shots and circles and more.  It took forever. However, after I sent it out I received multiple thanks on writing such an easy to follow email.  Success. This made me immensely happy because yesterday I sent out an email that was written by someone else (but I was supposed to review) and I didn't catch that it said Aids rather than AIDS.  Big deal!  I felt like a complete failure after I realized it...although I highly doubt anyone noticed.  So, this email kinda of made me feel a tad bit redeemed.

Then I went on a nice run during lunch.  It was hot though.  Close to 90 degrees and I have the sweat to prove it.

I only went 4.5 miles but I still sweat buckets...and continued to sweat for at least a half hour afterwards.  Sure wish we had showers at work sometimes.  But oh well, I will just shower when I get home.  Or tomorrow.  I am gross like that.

That is all I have for now.  Short and sweet.  I am excited to listen some new music that I downloaded on my bus ride home, so I am going to do that.

Happy Almost Weekend!!!

Sleeping, Pools, and Eggs

On Tuesday night Evan fell asleep at 5:30pm and didn't wake up until 6am...and only because I woke him up.  Sounds amazing, right?  Well, not particularly because for some reason he didn't want to sleep alone.  So, I had to hold him from the second I got home.  This made it difficult to do much...like change out of my work clothes, eat dinner, get lunches ready for the next day.  I kept trying to wake him up thinking he'd eventually wake up and then never go back to sleep.  Nope, he would flutter his eyes open and then they would slowly close back up.  There was no waking him.  He has been sleeping horribly the last week or so - not napping, going to bed at 10pm, etc. - so maybe his body needed to catch up on some sleep.  I didn't successfully put him in the bed until 9:30pm.  I watched a lot of 19 Kids and Counting on the iPad on the sofa with little kiddie in my arms!

Yesterday I did something I haven't done in weeks.  I went for a run!!!  I was supposed to do a track workout with my friend but she texted me in the morning saying she wasn't feeling well.  Normally I would have just been lazy and hopped in the shower and started working but since I already had all my running clothes on I decided to just go.  Plus it was supposed to be over 90 degrees out so I figured a morning run was a good idea.  And it was.  It felt really awesome getting out there again.  My favorite thing about running in the heat and humidity is the scent of honeysuckle.  It seems even more potent than usual when it's extra hot and humid.  It reminds me of the summer I trained for the Marine Corps Marathon in memory of my Uncle - there was a lot of honeysuckle on my route and I loved breathing the scent in.

I did about four miles and when I got back I could feel my hamstring pain again.  You would think that after three weeks of no running my hamstring would get back in order.  Nope.  So I did some glute-strengthening exercises (I read that weak gluteus can lead to hamstring problems) that I saw on Runner's World and then I did half-pigeon pose to stretch out my glutes, hips, and hamstrings.  They were still sore all day but feel better this morning.  I also sat on a nice pack.  I hope all this helps.  I brought my running stuff with me today but I am uncertain whether I will venture out at lunch since it's supposed to be 97 degrees today.  I will be a ball of sweat and then will have to change into my work clothes again.  Not sure if I'm that brave.

After work  I picked Evan up and my sister mentioned that they were going to head to the pool...so we decided to join them.

My mom and Evan had a blast in the pool in Atlanta so I figured he would love it.  The minute he saw the pool he kept saying "Mimi agua" which I interpreted to mean that since he saw a pool he thought Mimi would be there, since Mimi was at the last pool.  Nope, no Mimi.  He had a blast walking around, playing with toys, and being swung around by Daddy.  I actually ended up playing with my nieces the entire time - throwing fish in the water and then making them find them.  They loved it, but sometimes other kids found them and picked them up which made it a bit challenging.

After the pool Evan took a bath and then headed straight to bed.  He hadn't napped all day and was exhausted.  Ivan went to bed too, so it was just me awake for the rest of the night.  I made eggs with cabbage for dinner the second night in a row. No wonder we go through 24 eggs in a week - that's all we eat.

And now it's another day!

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Have you made it to the pool yet?

Eggs -yes or no?

What was your workout for the day?

Hotdogs and Love Languages

Yesterday was tiring, but with the help of some coffee, I managed just fine.  I was productive at work, ate the rest of my chocolate caramel popcorn, went into a sugar coma, and got home refreshed and not starving (due to the amount of popcorn I consumed).  Mondays are good commute days - the traffic is lighter and so I get home about 20 minutes earlier than usual.  It makes for a good feeling.

I quickly made some pasta for dinner - with sauteed hotdogs and spinach.  I know - dinner of champions.  The pasta and spinach weren't too horrible but the hotdogs were a weird addition.  I wanted some added protein and that was the only option I had.  They were Applegate Organic Turkey Hotdogs so at least they were nitrate-free.  I sauteed them in a little coconut oil and they turned out quite flavorful.  Evan didn't like them, but oh well.  He seems to be opposed to anything with skin these days - including blueberries and grapes.  He puts them in his mouth, realizes they have skin, and spits them back out.  It's annoying because he's loved blueberries from day one and now refuses to eat them.

I have found a new way to entertain him while I'm cooking.

I let him stand at the sink and play in the water.  The water just dribbles out so it's hardly anything, but then he fills his cups and plays around.  This particular face is because he just dumped some on the floor.  That's his guilty look.

After we ate dinner we took a nice walk around the circle.  It was awesome!  I haven't been running in about three weeks due to my cold/bronchitis/sickness I've had for weeks.  I've also been having some weird leg problem - super tight hamstrings that won't go away.  Now that has morphed into a weird pain on the outside of my leg which can't be good.  All my left leg muscles have just been super tight - I can't even touch my toes, or close to my toes.  I can barely bend over because my leg muscles are so tight.  Not sure what's going on, but running hasn't happened.  So, I was very excited about going out for a walk.

I thought this would help Evan sleep, but nope.  I tried to put him down around 9pm but he didn't fall asleep until 10:20pm or so.  Very annoying.  At times like this I wish we had just let him cry it out and fall asleep on his own.  Over an hour to put him to bed is kind of like a nightmare.  Usually it is just two minutes or so, so I'm not sure what is going on.  He has really been fighting bed time - he rubs his little eyes and twirls his hair so I know he's tired, but then he refuses to close his eyes.  I hope this phase ends soon!!!

At least Ivan did the dishes while I was putting Evan to bed so I didn't have to worry about that when I finished.  I've never really done those love language things, but I think Acts of Service might be my love language!  I always feel extra loved when Ivan does something for me.

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What did you eat for dinner last night?

Have you ever thought about what love language you are?

Sometimes the week is more relaxing that the weekend

This past weekend was reminiscent of weekends past...before baby...when life was sometimes more hectic on the weekends that during the week.  It was one busy, golf-filled weekend and I didn't crawl into bed until after midnight last night.  So let's be honest - I'm exhausted this morning, drinking a regular coffee, and may not be able to catch my spelling mistakes.  I usually don't get all my mistakes on a good day, so this blog post could be riddled with grammar errors.  Or just not make any sense.

When I'm tired I crave sugar and the first thing I did was eat a few handfuls of my caramel chocolate popcorn from Friday.  It was good, but didn't wake me up enough.  Coffee, please hit my bloodstream now!

This weekend was all about golf.  I had golf Saturday morning like usual, but then we had a Father/Daughter Golf event in the evening from 2:30-7:30pm.  So, I finished classes at noon and then was back up at the course at 2:30pm.  Yeah - it was a lot of golf.  The girls really had a great time golfing with their Dad's though, so it was worth it.  For some reason they seemed so much happier than they did with Mother/Daughter golf and I have no idea why.  The girls just seem to like golfing with their fathers more than their mothers.  Then on Sunday I coached two little kid classes (5 and 6 year olds) for my brother-in-law, so that means I had golf on Sunday too.  Boo.  Especially since it was Father's Day and having to coach golf right smack in the middle of the day meant that I didn't have much time for anything else.

I did make Tres Leches cake.  I made the cake part before golf and this is what it looked like when I got home:

Hmm, someone ate the corners.  Ivan insisted it smelled too good to leave alone!

Here is the finished product:

Instagram: mapleandmud

Ivan had mentioned he was really craving tres leche cake so I found a recipe on The Pioneer Woman and gave it a try.  It was a bit complicated because you had to beat the egg yolks and then beat the egg whites and then mix them together and then whip the cream.  It was a lot of beating and whipping and waiting - for cakes to cool and milk to soak up.  But the end result was pretty delicious.  And Ivan was really happy with it, so that is what counts.  He also got a belt (that was too big) and a new golf shirt from Evan.

Ivan really is a great Dad and Evan is obsessed with him these days.  If Ivan is not around he is constantly saying "Where's Daddy" over and over again.  It's adorable and I'm so glad they have a good relationship.  Hopefully it will continue to go strong and they will watch soccer together for years to come.

This is my favorite picture of them!

And because it was Father's Day and I love my dad, here's a photo of my Dad and me** from my wedding:

Aren't we cute!  I still wish I hadn't picked such a low-cut wedding dress.  I really didn't think it was going to be that low cut when I bought it.  I loved everything else about that dress except that it was a bit too low.  Oh well, not really a big deal.

**Also, because someone will want to correct my grammar - here is a short grammar lesson about when you use "and I" and "and me". 

"I" and "me" are personal pronouns.   For some reason, people are obsessed with using "and I" for everything - they say "John and I went to the movies" and "This is a photo of John and I" but only one of those sentences is correct.  You only use "John and I" when you are the subject of the sentence (the first example).  You use "John and me" when you are the object of the sentence (second example). 

A really easy way to remember this is: take out the other person and does it make sense to say "I" or "me"?  

For example, in the first sentence (John and I went to the movies), if John wasn't there it would make sense to say "I went to the movies" rather than "Me went to the movies.  Therefore, when adding John you should still say "John and I went to the movies". 

In the second example (This is a photo of John and I), if you removed John would it make sense to say "This is a photo of I"?  NO!!!  You would say, "This is a photo of me."  Therefore, when you add John you should keep it the same and say, "This is a photo of John and me." 

Please do this because I see this grammar error EVERYWHERE  and it drives me crazy.  Even smart, intelligent people constantly post pictures on Facebook and their blog and always say "This is X and I in San Diego".  No - that is not correct.  It is "X and me in San Diego".  Would you ever say, "This is I in San Diego"????? 

If you want a great explanation, hit up the explanation in the Oxford Dictionary.

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Do you notice any consistent grammar errors on my blog???  

What did you do for Father's Day?

Let's Get Random

Don't be too shocked, but it is Thursday evening and I am riding the bus home and have an urge to post.  I'm not sure why because it was a busy day and I am tired, but when an urge to post hits...I don't ignore it.  No, wait, that's not true.  I often ignore the urge to post because I am too busy and can't find the time.  But I have no excuse because I am on the bus and there is never a lot to do.  And my bus friend isn't riding (although he gave me a ride this morning so that contributed to me not getting my nap in and being tired) so I am not talking to anyone.  Don't get too excited though because I don't have much of value to post about.  So, here are a bunch of random thoughts.

1) My necklace broke.  Yup, that beautiful necklace from yesterday fell apart.  I wonder if it was a sign that I was being too greedy.  I felt like I should have only bought one or two things from my Stitch Fix box but I just really loved four of the things and thought that settling on three was a good compromise.  Not when one of those things breaks within the first eight hours of wearing it.  How tragic.  And it wasn't cheap.  I was quite perturbed, with myself for buying it and with the company for selling something that would break so easily.  My coworker happens to be a jewelry fixing expert so she said she can put it back together, so I am hopeful.  I did write a comment to StitchFix too, but I had to complain last time when my shirt shrunk in the wash so they probably think there is something wrong with me.  I think in my note for my next fix I am going to say not to give me clothes that I have to hand-wash or dry-clean and to only give me toddler-proof accessories...because although Evan didn't touch the necklace, I apparently can't handle grown-up jewelry either.

2) I got waxed today in preparation for the summer pool and I forgot how amazing it feels (sorry if any boys read this, but I kind of doubt they do).  Because even though it's a tad painful during the process...it is fabulous afterwards.  Waxing is amazing.  Don't worry, I am not going to show a photo of this.  That would be weird.

3) On my way back from the waxing joint I passed the Popped Republic gourmet popcorn truck.  

Umm, yummy.  On Tuesday I passed the Ben and Jerry's Core Tour truck and snagged a cup of their new salted caramel ice cream for free (it's delicious, if you were wondering).  The popcorn truck wasn't free and I was determined to stay strong and go back to the office and eat my lunch.  So I did.  However, my veggie soup didn't look that appetizing anymore.  And I couldn't get my work done because I kept thinking of pop corn.  Yummy chocolate caramel popcorn.  After a while I got up and made some hot tea thinking that would do the trick.  

Obviously not because I have this delightful photo.  Along with the photo of the bag above.  I felt like it was my responsibility to get this popcorn in the name of productivity.  I couldn't afford to have a unproductive afternoon, could I?

It was quite tasty.  And I probably still have some stuck in the teeth.  I will admit that I might have eaten one handful too many and my tummy is sugared out now.  I left the rest at work in case the craving comes next week.

4) The World Cup starts today and my husband is over the moon.  I was in Honduras two world cups ago ( I can't believe it was that long ago) and it was awesome being there for that.  It was such a unifier.  I could go anywhere and the game would be one and I'd be welcome to watch.  It's not as fun here, but it's still fun.  And the husband is beyond excited.  Honduras plays on Father's Day and I sure hope they win!

5) I am tired and have no idea what I am cooking for dinner tonight.  We already had our lazy dinner of eggs and beans so not sure what else to have.  I made chicken soup last night but it's possible the husband ate all of it.  Pasta?  Stir fry?  No clue.

Alright.  That is all the fabulousness that I am going to leave you with today.  Enjoy your weekend and Happy Father's Day!!!

Traveling with a Toddler and a Stitch Fix necklace

Traveling with a toddler is not easy.  I can tell you that.  That must be why everyone always asks me what it's like and how I manage.  First, I am blessed, because Evan is super easy to travel with and pretty calm on the plane.  I traveled with him in January when we went to Houston and that was a bit challenging because it was supposed to be a four hour flight but it turned into a 5 hour flight and that was a long time for him to sit still in his seat.  Or my seat really, because he flies as a lap child still.  This past flight was fairly easy because Atlanta is only a one hour flight from Baltimore, so it wasn't too difficult to get there.

Taking every baggie out of the box is airplane friendly, but it sure helps me get dinner ready!

But there is SO MUCH STUFF.  Packing for children is not fun!  First, I packed the diaper bag with so many activities and toys and snacks that it weighed at least 20 pounds.  It was SO heavy.  Then I had a backpack that had some of my stuff in it and things that I didn't want to check.  We also had the car seat because if you want to go anywhere in a vehicle you need a car seat.  I know that legally you don't need to put children in car seats if you are taking public transportation (buses, taxis, shuttles, etc.), but taxis are just as likely to get into an accident as I am so why risk it?  So I always bring the 50lbs car seat.  I did by this nifty carrier for the car seat and love it.  It fits the seat perfectly and then I can carry it on my back.  I always check the car seat with my checked luggage and it doesn't count as an extra bag.  If I get desperate I can always throw a few things in with the car seat because they don't weigh that.

Evan can now climb onto the rocking chair by himself.  He loves sitting in his own seats now - but on planes he
still has to sit with me!

In the suitcases go normal stuff like clothes and shampoo, but then I have to remember all the stuff for keeping a toddler entertained at a hotel: blocks, animals, coloring books, books, trains, spatulas, measuring cups, bath toys, etc.  Plus enough diapers and wipes and special baby shampoo and soap.  And swim diapers.  These things get heavy...and take up an entire suitcase.  So, on top of the diaper bag, car seat, and backpack, I also have two suitcases.  And a child.  That is a LOT of stuff.  Usually my husband helps me check in but sometimes there is no one waiting on the other side so I have to somehow get all my stuff into a cab by myself.  This time I was meeting my mom at the airport so she helped me out. 

The airplane ride was a breeze this time because on the way there we flew at 2pm which was close to nap time.  I nursed Evan on the take-off (yes, he is 21 months and I am still nursing) and he immediately fell asleep and then slept for the entire flight.  On the way back the flight was delayed and didn't take off until 9:05pm and that was close to his bedtime, so again I nursed him at take-off and he fell right asleep.  Easy peasy.  The flight home was super crowded so there was a person in every seat.  This made it a bit tight since I had a lap child.  He may have gently kicked the person sitting next to me, but she didn't care. 

It makes nursing a bit interesting though - when someone is practically sitting on top of me.  I'm not a huge fan of nursing in public because I have to try and be a bit more modest (i.e. I can't take my entire shirt off, I have to wear something underneath so that my entire back and stomach aren't exposed, etc.).  Although I have read numerous stories about people having problems nursing in public, this has not been the case for me (thank goodness).  I have nursed Evan on all of his flights and I rarely use a cover (what's the point - Evan hates being covered and flings it off two seconds into a feeding) and no one has ever said anything.  Some people don't like to make eye contact with me - like they are a bit embarrassed or thing I am embarrassed), but that's about it.  I've nursed at the airport too, but usually in gates with only a few people.  I've never had to pump in an airport though, and I hear that that can be pretty rough (it's hard to find outlets in private areas). 

To keep Evan busy while waiting for the plane to board we usually try and find an empty gate and set up shop near the window.  Then Evan can run around, take out his ball, build some blocks, look at planes, make a lot of noise, and wear himself out.  Sometimes we walk up and down the hallways, but this can be hard because of my 20 pound diaper bag.  And Evan eventually wants to let go of my hand and go darting in and out of people and in front of airport carts.

So - that is a brief summary of my experience.  Nothing that I'm sure you couldn't figure out yourself.  I wrote a post of airplane tips with toddlers a while back that might be useful if you are flying too.  So far I have taken Evan on every work trip (a total of four) and am really lucky to have family members willing to meet me at my destination and hang out with Evan while I'm working (thanks Elizabeth, Aunt Pam, and Mom!!!).  That has made all the difference and has made work travel so much less stressful.  It is awesome getting to eat with Evan during lunch and show him off to my work colleagues - who are in love with him, of course.  Plus, I get to see family I normally wouldn't get to see - even bigger bonus!

After spending half a week with his Mimi, he was all set to Skype with her shortly after we returned home.
We usually Skype lying on the floor - so he was all set to go!

Aside from that - not much to report around here.  Oh, except I got my third Stitch Fix box yesterday and LOVED it.  I wanted to keep 4/5 things but really didn't want the 5th thing and it was more expensive to buy the five things than to buy the four things so I decided to just buy three things.  One included this necklace that I love!

I'll snap pictures of the other things too.  Plus the things from my second box, since I never showed you that.  I am really loving Stitch Fix!!!  If you click those links to sign up, I get $20 for referring you.  No pressure though - you can just go to the website yourself.  I just wanted to put it out there just in case you were interested and didn't mind using my referral number.





How is your week going?  Any tips for traveling with a toddler?

Any Stitch Fix lovers out there??

My Old Stomping Ground

This past week I headed back to Atlanta - my home for the two years I was in grad school.  I remember when I was trying to decide where to go for grad school and I was nervous about heading so far south and to a place completely unknown to me.  However, Atlanta turned out to be a great city and I loved everything about it.  I don't love it enough to move there for the rest of my life, but it was, and is, a fabulous city.

Evan and I headed there for a work trip (probably my last work trip to Atlanta ever) and so the first few days were spent in grantee meetings.  My wonderful mother was able to make the trip to Atlanta this time and take care of Evan (thanks Mom!!!), which was awesome because I pretty much spent the first couple days in meetings.  The meetings started at 8am and ended around 5pm and then we had evening events that went from 5:30pm-9pm.  Yup - long, long days.  I stopped in around lunch to eat with my mom and nurse Evan to sleep and then I banana split again.  Since I've been on the same grant since it started and everyone remembers when I was pregnant and I've brought Evan on every work trip - people were very excited to see him again.

Evan was an angel and behaved perfectly for my mom. 

They got to spend so much time together and did lots of exciting things: hanging out at the pool, kicking pine cones in abandoned parking lots, walking around the hotel property numerous times, playing the "dancing farmer" app, and putting stickers all over the hotel room.

Evan loved the pool and kept pointing outside and saying "agua" numerous times a day.  I think a ton of pool days are in our future.  Like all photos, he looks like he's a bit iffy about the entire situation, but really he just isn't into smiling for the camera.

After the work meeting, I stayed a few extra days to see some Atlanta friends.  I stayed the remaining nights with my Peace Corps friend Sarah (for some reason we didn't take any pictures).  Fun fact: she married a Honduran also!  She is now pregnant with her first child (a little boy) and is due in November.  We moved from the hotel to her house on Friday and then headed over to my old roommate's house to see her and her three kids.  I hadn't seen them in about 4 years so it was nice to catch up.

Back at Sarah's house we had a traditional Honduran meal: Pollo Campero!  Ok, so Pollo Campero is actually a Guatemalan chain, but it was all over Honduras too and it's pretty yummy fried chicken.  It was fun eating it and remembering all our Honduran times.  Sarah used to live in the city near my town and when I'd go into the city I'd often hang out with her and sometimes spend the night at her place.  When I first moved to my town she was the person who really helped me adjust to life in Honduras and showed me around the city.  She was starting her third year when I started my first so she left about 10 months after I got there, but we had a lot of great times together.

My mom left the next morning so Evan and I took her to the airport.

Evan was very sad to see her go.  I don't pay attention to him nearly as much as his Mimi does! 

Here we all are together.  I'm not sure what is going on with my leg there, but oh well.  And I swear this outfit looked better when I looked in the mirror than it does on camera...but again, oh well.  It was so much fun seeing my mom and watching Evan and her bond.  After she left he kept saying "Bye Mimi" all day.  And when I'd say "Te amo Evan" he'd respond "Te amo Mimi" rather than "Te amo Mami".  I realize that Mimi and Mami are very similar so he's probably just confused, but I thought it was cute.

After dropping my mom off Evan and I headed to my friend Kelly's house.  I met her in grad school and then she moved to the DC area and then recently just moved back to Atlanta.  From her house we walked to downtown Decatur where we were going to meet another friend Nancy for lunch.  We got there early so played at a very awesome playground for about 40 minutes.  This playground not only had playground equipment, but people also donated a ton of old toys so it also had trucks, cars, fun riding things, those plastic play equipment things, kitchens, etc.  Evan LOVED it and didn't even really go on the playground stuff - he mostly pushed around plastic lawn mowers, road cars, and went in and out of plastic houses.  He was in playground heaven.

When our other friend arrived with her three kids we headed to farm burger for lunch.  It was a bit  crazy because I had Evan, Kelly had her son (two months older than Evan), and Nancy had her three kids (two boys aged 6 and 4 and a girl aged 10 months).  It made for a constantly moving meal, but we still managed to catch up and talk a bit.  After lunch we headed back to the playground for a while and then Kelly and I walked back to her house.  Evan fell asleep on the way so Kelly and I got some quiet time to catch up before she brought me back to Sarah's house (Sarah was working on Saturday - which is why we didn't hang out).

Sunday we slept in a bit and then headed to the Renaissance Festival.  I really lucked out because I didn't have a ticket and just as I was heading over to buy one (for $20), a nice family asked if I needed a ticket and handed me their extra one.  What a blessing!  We really just walked around the festival, ate some food, played some games, and people-watched (very entertaining since so many people dress up).  It was a fun day.  Then we headed home, packed up our suitcases, and made our way to the airport.  Our flight was delayed 1.5 hours so Evan and I entertained ourselves for about three hours (since I like to arrive a bit early when I'm traveling with Evan) before getting on a completely packed flight.

Yesterday I took the day off to catch up, unpack our suitcase, wash some clothes, go to the grocery store, and rest a bit.  Evan found his bird while I was unpacking and it made him think of Mimi.

My mom made this bird for him (and one for herself too) and they play with their birds when they Skype.  This is one way they play - they put the birds in their mouth and then shake their heads around.  So, when Evan sees his bird, he usually does this and wants to talk to Mimi on Skype.  It's adorable.

So, that was my long week/weekend!  What have you been up to since I've been gone???

Special Titi Weekend

This weekend was such a great one.  Not that last weekend, a three day weekend, wasn't amazing too, but this one was jam-packed with fun activities.  I actually got out for a run on Friday night and it felt amazing.  We ended up going kinda late, like 6:45pm, which means we didn't get home until almost 9pm.  No, I didn't run for 3.5 hours.  I did 3 miles and then we played at a playground for over and hour and then we ran 1.5 miles home.  It was cool and crisp and the perfect running temp.  And Evan had a blast at the playground.  Pretty much all of our runs have a playground attached to the these days.

Saturday started off the same: golf.  It's fun waking up and spending the first four hours outside.  I love the outside and when it's nice I would be happy to spend the entire day out there.  Then I had a special day planned with my niece.  I have been looking forward to this all week.  We ended up not having a lot of time because I had to be back at the golf course for Mother/Daughter golf.  I wasn't playing (obviously, because I have no daughter), but I was helping run the event with the other coach.  So, my niece and and I headed over to Barnes and Noble for a special day at the bookstore.  It wasn't the most ideal place because Evan was with us and he doesn't sit and listen to a bunch of stories like we would have preferred.  However, it wasn't't too bad, he entertained himself with a chair for a while.  My niece and I picked out a short book for her to practice her reading and then we picked out a chapter book that we could read together.  I was really hoping for Little House on the Praire, but my niece is all about princesses and faires.  It was funny actually.  She would pick up every pink book in the store and wanted all the books about princesses and faires and it was even better if  the book was covered in sparkles and glitter.  Haha.  I wanted Anne of Green Gables or The Secret Garden, or Little House on the Praire.  Since I didn't want to buy a book that she wasn't going to read, we ended up with The Never Girls: In a Blink...which has faires in it.  And the book was pink and glittery, but she loved it.  Maybe God new what he was doing when he gave me a boy!  We read the first chapter while eating soup and a cookie.

On Sunday we headed to the zoo again.  This time with my other niece.

We had such a fun time.  It was funny because my sister had actually texted in the morning that my niece didn't want to go anymore (she was nervous going without her sister or parents), but I didn't get the text and showed up anyway.  We convinced her to come with us and she had a great time.  She didn't cry once!  And when she started to say she wanted to go back to the car and go home, we were walking back to the car anyway.

We pet the goats, which is my favorite thing.  Evan loves it too, but my niece was very hesitant.  She was fine until the goat turned suddenly, then she jumped a mile high and refused to pet them again.  As you can see in the picture (above), Evan was all about the goat food.

We also took the little zoo train which she loved.  Evan loved it too, he just doesn't like to smile on command.  We saw the giraffes, rhinosourus, elephants, chimpanzees, monkeys, cows, polar bears, and many other things.  We never have time to see everything, but we still had a busy day.  And both kids refused to sit in the stroller, so Ivan and I pushed around bags and drinks.

At the end of the day both kiddos were exhausted.  My niece fell asleep with her new polar bear in her lap.  It was adorable.

Then I got home, made a batch of chicken soup for Ivan and pumpkin soup for Evan and boiled some black beans to freeze.  That is my new thing.  I cook a bag of dried beans in the crockpot for five hours, separate the beans from the liquid when they are finished, freeze the beans and make Sopa de Frijoles with the bean water.  So quick and easy and now I don't have to buy any canned beans.

This is what Evan does while I'm cooking.

And between all these fun activities I even managed to do all the laundry and fold the clothes and even put them away.  Amazing.

How was your weekend???