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?

Chocolate cake face

The start of spring really makes me happy.  I like winter and snow, but I LOVE spring/summer/fall - and I really appreciate it after a very cold and long winter.  And I love it even more now that Evan is walking around and we can enjoy it together.  I love being outside and would spend the entire day outside if I didn't have to work and had nothing to do.  I would sit on a deck and read and eat and relax forever.  Ok, I would eventually get tired of that, but it sounds good right now because I have an overabundance of deadlines this month.

Yesterday was a fabulous day.  It made me really, really happy that we are allowed to work from home a couple of days a week.  Usually I walk in the door at 6:45pm when I go to the office.  I quickly get dinner ready (either make something quick or microwave something I prepared on the weekend), give Evan a bath, put him to bed, wash up the dishes, make lunches, and go to bed.  Somehow that takes me until 11pm to complete.  When I work from home it's an entirely different story.  I end the work day at 4pm and I am already home!!  Best feeling in the world!!!

Yesterday I was quite ambitious.  Evan and I went to the Nature Center near our house and walked around on the trails.

We had so much fun.  We took a trail that was 0.17 miles long, so it was perfect distance for Evan's little legs.  We didn't get there until around 4:30 and the place closes at 5pm so we couldn't go too far. 

He loves trees - poking them with his fingers and sitting/standing on the stumps.  He also pointed out every stick we came across, which were millions.  As you can see, he was also eating a banana - a miracle.  He's finally starting to up his food intake!

Evan loves flowers.  The daffodils are finally starting to bloom here so he was really excited to go look at the flowers.  So excited that he wouldn't turn around for the camera.

The trail ended at a stream/river under a road.  It was very noisy and less quaint when you are under a four lane highway, but Evan was thrilled to walk in the sand and would have walked straight into the river if I let him.  I can't wait to take him to the pool this summer - he's definitely a fish!

Since we didn't have much time, we pretty much walked to the river and then headed back to the car.  Evan walked most of the way there but wasn't thrilled about having to walk back, so I ended up carrying him about half of the way.  Not a big deal, since we're only talking about 0.17 miles.

Being outside invigorated me so much that I decided I needed to make chocolate cake.  I don't even remember the last time I made chocolate cake.  Have I ever made chocolate cake???  Chocolate Covered Katie had posted a healthy chocolate cake with a crazy ingredient on her Instagram page and I happened to have every ingredient on the list - so how could I not make it??  So I did.

The plate is dirty because this was like my third piece.  I also made her Reese's Pieces Fudge Frosting to go with it.  Both were very delicious.  The "crazy ingredient" was cauliflower.  In the directions it says to put the cauliflower in the food processor with milk and vanilla and blend until completely smooth - well, I have a crappy food processor so there was no way it was ever going to be smooth.  So, my cake has some cauliflower lumps in it... which gave it a bit of a cauliflower essence.  It sounds gross but it actually is still delicious.  The alternative was to make it with pumpkin, but I feel like I eat a lot of pumpkin and hardly ever eat cauliflower - so I wanted to do the cauliflower instead.

Evan loved it too - cauliflower and all.  He wouldn't stop moving long enough for me to take a clear picture (it can't possibly be because he just ate chocolate cake....) so most of them turned out really blurry.  You can see all the chocolate on his face though - at least he got some veggies in, right?

I ended up staying up until 11:45pm washing up the million dishes (while simultaneously watching Call the Midwife) that it took to make the chocolate cake, but it was worth it.  Nothing beats spontaneous cooking!  And then when I finally crawled into bed my mind was going a mile a minute and I couldn't fall asleep anyway.  Pretty much every night I lie awake thinking about nursing school decisions and it makes it hard to fall asleep.  I can't wait for the decision process to be over.


Would you ever eat chocolate cake with cauliflower???

Your favorite thing to do when the weather gets nice??

Wow is it cold, mixed with a lot of stress

It sure is blustery outside this morning! It's getting a bit cold to have my hair wet while waiting for the bus, but until I get it cut it's pointless to blow dry it because it looks hideous.  My ears hurt from the wind, which is never fun.  And I'm exhausted because Evan's had a cough for the past few days and it makes for fitful nights of sleep...for both of us.

So this weekend had lots of good aspects.  Hubs joined Evan and me on two of our walks with the dog.  This is always a highlight because normally we split the dog walking duties-he goes in the morning and I go at night.  But the last two nights we went together and Evan got to go in the backpack one night (his favorite thing in the world) and in his truck the second night (his second favorite thing in the world).  

And both nights he got to go on the swings, which he's obsessed with.  We pass a playground with swings on our walk, and he points and exclaims in extreme excitement and then cries if we pass it without stopping.  Even if it's cold and so dark your can't even see the swings.  But he got to go these two times.  I even dressed him up in an old sweater jacket of mine that my parents bought when we lived in Greece and I wore when I was 2 or something.  He looked adorable.

Instagram: mapleandmud

I also did a ton of cooking, since it was a three day holiday.  I made minestrone soup, which is one of my favorite recipes.  It's filled with tons of veggies but somehow the flavors blend well and it's fantastic (I only say that because I am not a huge veggie fan - especially when it comes to two onions, two zucchinis, and a bunch of green beans - if you like veggies then you may not care that the flavors blend together, you would be happy if the soup tasted like veggies).  Great for these chilly days we are having.  I also made more spinach and quinoa patties for Evan.  These are tasty too but I try not to eat too many of them because I like to freeze them for Evan when I can't think of what to make him.  And for Ivan I made shrimp-stuffed shells.  He says he hates lasagna and this is similar to lasagna, but for some reason he loves it.   So it was definitely a weekend filled with cooking and washing dishes.

These are just a small sampling of the veggies that went into the minestrone soup - so much chopping!

The most exciting thing I did was go for a run on Saturday morning with a running friend from Team In Training.  I was going to bring Evan but then Ivan came home from work early so I got to go sans baby jogger.  It was the perfect running morning and we did six miles and I didn't even notice it.  It was great having company because I haven't been able to go with my sister for a while and usually I am paranoid about Evan pitching a fit three miles into a run that I don't enjoy it as much.  We also ran into my best running partner from TNT whom I did all my training runs with...which was random but fun.  This was a great week for running - I did ALL my training runs.

And now for the horrible news.  Remember all that misery we were dealing with at our condo?? Nothing getting fixed, $300 electricity bills, etc.?  Well, now we have to move out.  The owner is getting kicked out of his house so he will either move back in to the condo or he will try and sell the place, because he can't afford to fix it.  There is a small, small chance we could stay but I'm not taking the risk.  But this means we have to find a new place and specifically a new place we can afford and that takes large dogs. I am super stressed and annoyed that we have to use our savings to move rather than for Christmas.  Before I was trying to see if we could afford to buy a Christmas tree this year and now I am wondering if we can afford to buy anything.  And who wants to move in the middle of the winter?  We will either be moving Thanksgiving weekend or Christmas, just what we wanted.  We have to be out by 1 Jan., so not a ton of time.  Moving + winter + toddler + no money + dog + finals for chemistry + nursing school apps = boo x 10.

Tell me some good news in your life so I can stop focusing on the stresses in mine!!

So many things to tell you and the worst run ever

This may be a long post because I have so many things to update you on.  A lot has happened since we last "chatted" and since we are practically best friends I feel like I need to give you the full update.  Hold on to your seats people, it's gonna be a long ride.  But don't get too excited because I haven nothing of real importance to tell you.

First, what is this update with out a mention of Halloween?  I know I am late on this and should have posted on Friday with the rest of the blogger world, but I was swamped at work and by the time I finished all I wanted was to rest my eyes from the computer screen.  However, Evan was the cutest monster ever.  Don't you agree?  My niece was an adorable Angelina Ballerina and I went as myself, so don't make any comments about what my costume might have been.

Instagram: mapleandmud

I bought Evan's costume second hand and mainly because it looked nice and warm.  Figures it was practically 60 degrees that night, but he didn't seem to be too hot.  And yes, we had to go trick-or-treating with his Easter basket because I dropped the ball on a Halloween basket.  I also didn't have a Halloween shirt for him to wear that day either.  I am trying to keep on top of things but I obviously wasn't on top of everything.  We only got candy from a few houses because I didn't want piles of it waiting to be eaten by me.  So,  I had pretty much eaten all the candy by Friday...maybe I should have let him go to a few more houses!

This weekend was a blur of many things.  Saturday started out nice and slow because it was the first weekend with no First Tee!  No getting up at 6am to get ready for golf!  I wish I could say I was productive and did a ton of other things but no, Evan and I slept in.  We walked the dog and had some breakfast and took the morning slow.  Then when Ivan came home I went to take a shower...and read my Runner's World magazine for the first hour (no worries, the water wasn't running).  Ivan caught me though and he came to see why my shower was taking two hours!  Evan and I decided to do a little shopping and banking so the two of us headed out (Evan refused to nap so I gave up after 30 mins).  After the bank we went to my favorite baby consignment store.  I bought Evan the cutest clothes ever.  Seriously, so adorable.  I also got him some puzzles and a new sippy cup.  I then went next door to the upscale dog store for some glucosamine pills for Dolce.  He has a limp that won't go away and I think it is a bit or arthritis.  I had really wanted to buy myself a new pair of pants, but after shopping for toddler and doggie I decided to call it quits.

On the way home Evan fell asleep and when we got home Ivan was sleeping.  I put Evan in his crib and thought I'd make my favorite cookies, great pumpkin cookies, since everyone else was napping.  I have wanted to make these for a while but never found the time.  I put the flour and oats in the bowl and then realized I needed a cup of brown sugar and I only had a few tablespoons. So off to the store I went...all by myself.  Yay - party at the Giant.  When I got home Evan was awake though...so no cookies were made...until that night when he went to bed.  I think I started around 10pm - but the time was changing that night so I figured I could stay up extra late.  And it was worth it.  I love these cookies!!

My instagram: mapleandmud

Sunday was an even more productive and pumpkin day!!!

First, we came off daylight savings time, which is my favorite thing to do.  An extra hour in the day! My dream come true!  I thought I'd get an early run in since Evan would be up early, but I was mistaken.  Evan slept until 8:15am!  I got bored and actually folded and put away our large stack of clean clothes.  After Evan woke up, we headed out for a run.  The worst ever.  It was sunny and when I checked the weather I thought it said 55 degrees.  NO WAY!  I think that was the high, it was more like 46 degrees.  I bundled Evan up but I was wearing shorts and a short sleeved t-shirt.

I can tell you, it was too cold for this outfit.  The second bad thing about my run?  It was WINDY.  So windy!  So I was extra cold.  Plus, the route I went on was kinda hilly and pushing the BOB through the wind, up hills, was ridiculously unfun.  At one point the wind was blowing the stroller sideways and I was having to use all my arm muscle (which, honestly, isn't much)  to keep the stroller on the path.  Then Evan's blanket blew away and I had to run and get it.  On a few of the hills where the wind was blowing directly into my face I felt like I was running in place.  It was one tough run.  It was also the longest run I've done with BOB - 5.5 miles.  I finished the run without walking though and feeling returned to my legs and arms eventually.  And the biggest accomplishment?  Evan didn't cry at all!!!  Usually he starts crying at about the 4 mile mark and I can stretch out another half mile or so, but he was content pointing to every tree for the entire run (and eating a smoothie I made him for the road).  Let's hope this run wasn't a preview of what my winter training runs are going to be!

After I got home, I hopped in the shower and off to church we went.  I bought Evan the cutest church outfit at the consignment store the day before and I was so excited to put him in it.

Sorry for the crappy iPad photo, but he wouldn't stand long enough and at a good enough angle, so this was all I got.  I thought it he looked pretty dapper.  After church we headed to brunch with some friends and then finally headed home.  Evan went down for a nap and I started to do some major cooking.  I made pollo guisado (a Honduran dish) for Ivan and then was going to make pumpkin muffins and spinach and quinoa patties for Evan...however, when I looked in the fridge there was only one egg left and I needed five.  So, quick change of plans.  I ended up making pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin soup for Evan.  I had found some canned pumpkin with BPA-free liners and bought a bunch, so I just happened to have all the ingredients for those two dishes.  I guess I was on a pumpkin roll or something - cookies, soup, and pancakes!  I then decided I had enough energy to organize all of Evan's clothes and pull the clothes that don't fit him anymore and put the larger and more wintery clothes in his dresser.  And then I actually stuffed his diapers!

But with all that cooking and organizing - I didn't do my two Chemistry assignments and I didn't clean the bathrooms....some things never change.

And this morning I woke up refreshed from the extra hour of sleep (don't worry, my body will adjust in a day and it won't feel so exciting anymore)!

Happy Monday!!!!

A Long Weekend

I guess it's been a while since I last posted.  I tried to write a post on Thirsday but I just wasn't into it and didn't have much to say.  So I didn't post what I wrote.  Then yesterday was a holiday so I had off, which would seem like a perfect opportunity to post except I try not to be on the computer or attached to technology when I'm home with Evan.  And when he was napping I did the responsible thing and watched NCIS and Parenthood.  I can proudly announce that I finished the entire season 4 of Parentohood already and am tempted to watch the live version on TV this season, but am not 100% sure.  I just don't know if I can wait an entire year...but then I hate waiting in anticipation each week because they end each show on a thread.  And now I have to choose another series to watch.  Any good suggestions out there?  I don't have a lot of options because I'm watching it on Amazon Prime.  I really wanted to watch Call the Midwives, but it's not on Prime.  Oh well.  I can watch Friday Nigh Lights or Downton Abby or Covert Affairs, and maybe some others.  I will have to see.  I need something good that entertains me while I wash dishes and fold laundry.

This weekend was pretty low-key, which was nice.  After a couple of go-go-go weekends it was nice to stay in the house and chill.  It rained a lot all week and even on Friday night.  That didn't stop us from heading to the football game.  We just put our rain gear on.

On Saturday I went grocery shopping and took Evan to the park.  The park wasn't that fun because he's a bit too little for the big slides and there were no swings, but it was nice to be outside.  We also went to Red Robin, which I love, and had some hamburgers and spent some money at Target.  I bought candy corn M&Ms, but they aren't that tasty.  A bit too sweet for me, but that hasn't stopped me from eating a bunch of them.

Sunday we went to my sister's for dinner and I actually went for a run, by myself.  No baby, no jogging stroller, just me, my shoes, and the pavement.  It was nice and I went 4.5 miles.  I was just gonna do 4 miles but the run felt so great the I ended up doing an extra half mile.  Then I walked the dog to cool down.  

I don't know what's up with his hair.  It is always looks like he just woke up.

Yesterday was beautiful out so Evan and I took Dolce for a nice walk, played on the swings again, and hung out waiting for the dryer guy to come fix the dryer.  I made some bread but I forgot to add the water so it turned out a bid solid and dry, so I threw it out.  I also made salsa chicken in the crock pot and crepes.  In the evening my sister invited me over for hot apple cidar, so I took Evan in his truck and we walked over there.  It was definitely a commitment pushing him in the truck, but he managed just fine.  I read a few books to my sister's kids and drank cidar before walking back home.  Then I ate dinner, cleaned up, did a chem assignment, and went to bed.

He looks so chill...hopefully this isn't a preview of his driving style.

Now it's Tuesday and it's back to work.  Fun times!

How was your weekend??!

Late nights and cold mornings

This post is going to be nice and brief because I need as much sleep on this bus as possible.  Let's just say that this is what the monkey cake looked like at 9:30pm last night.

And I forgot about the white part and had to make an extra batch of frosting.  So I didn't finish until 12:30am.  Well, I guess I finished the cake before then, but by the time I cleaned up and got lunches ready and brushed my teeth it was 12:30am.  And then back up at 4:30am for work.  And to make things worse, I have class tonight until 10:20, so no early bedtime around here.  But here's the finished cake:

It's not my most amazing cake ever and it's not the cake I wanted to make, but I think it turned out ok.  Especially since I was tired and in a bit of a rush.  Ivan made me promise to not volunteer to make a cake again and I wholeheartedly agreed.  Cake making was much easier when I was single...it's not as easy when I have a kid and no free time.

For Becca's gifts (the cake is for her baby shower at work) I made (designed) her a onesie that says "50% Guatemalan + 50% American = 100% Me" except instead of Guatemalan and American it has a picture if the Guatemalan flag and the US flag.  It's not here yet (I created it in Zazzle), but I can't wait to give it to her.  I also bought her some coconut oil (best item in the world, it works as baby lotion, diaper cream, and nipple cream all in one...and does a spectacular job of all three) and Goodnight Vermont.  I love baby showers!  I would have bought more but money is really tight right now.

And the last thing I'm gonna mention is that it's that weird time of year where it's cold in the morning and warm in the afternoon.  Today it was 45* outside when I left for the bus so I grabbed a heavier jacket, but then when I leave work it's super nice out and I look ridiculous with a heavy coat.  Annoying.

Ok, that's all folks.  Time for a nap!

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What's your ideal bedtime?

What annoys you the most about the changing seasons?

  - I love the changing seasons but the above annoys me a little (jacket thing), but the worst thing about spring and fall? STINK BUGS!!  I am so tired of waging a stink war in my house.  I am completely over the stink bugs, it makes it very difficult to open windows and enjoy the nice weather when swarms of stink bugs enter my house.