A Weekend of Food and Running and Food, of course

Every weekend I think maybe I'll blog so that Monday isn't just a recap of my weekend.  But then I can't find time to do anything on the weekends, so it never happens.  So then I am left recapping the last three days on Monday.  Oh well.  I'll get back to my Vermont recap soon.  Maybe tomorrow.  I did remember to take a few pictures this weekend, so at least you don't have to just read a bunch of text.

On Fridays I work from home most of the time and Evan hangs out with me.  Usually he plays by himself while I get work done until my husband gets home around 10am.  This past Friday I decided rather than just eat our lunch together we would take it outside and have a nice picnic.  So, I packed our lunch into a picnic basket and we put a blanket out in the grass on the side of our apartment building.  It was so fun!

Evan had pizza (his new favorite food) and rice.  He ate his pizza and then my yogurt, but wasn't so into the rice. 

Then he was up and running around.

He's really into throwing sticks these days and was so excited to find a bunch hiding in the grass.

Then he realized that he could wander around and I'd stay sitting on the blanket.  He was thrilled not to have me following him around.

He kept walking around and looking to see if I was coming.  Then he'd come back and eat some yogurt and pizza and then go for another "walk".  I was fine as long as he didn't try to go into the street.  It turned out to be a great lunch.  I think we'll do these little picnics more often - it beats sitting inside all day while I work on the computer.  Plus, it tired him out so he went down for his nap really easily!

I usually try and get a run in Friday evening, but Ivan wanted to go out to eat.  Ivan and I have had a few "talks" about how I veto all his ideas without considering them...like when he suggests we go out to eat.  It's not like I don't like his ideas, it's just that I'm cheap and don't like wasting our money on going out to eat. However, when he suggested we head to his favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner...I agreed instead of saying no right away.  That definitely doesn't make me wife of the year or anything, but I'm trying!  So we called up some friends and met them for dinner.  We hadn't been there in over six months or so.  A long time.  We really don't eat out much anymore (probably because I veto the idea all the time).  It was fun though.

Saturday I was back at golf, after two weeks off.  Summer classes are always a lot smaller and I enjoy them a lot more.  The girls are so adorable.  And sweet.  It does make my weekends go faster though because by the time I get home it's the afternoon already.  I made it to the grocery store though and even made it for a short three mile run with a stop at the playground.

instagram: @mapleandmud

We got home really late (well, late for Evan).  Sometimes I feel like the only mom that has no schedule for their child.  I left for a run around 6:30pm and texted my friend to see if she wanted to meet me at the park and she said they were eating dinner, then it was bath time, and then bed time (for her daughter, obviously, not for herself).  I had a twinge of guilt because here Evan and I were heading out for a run, then a playground trip, and we still hadn't dinner yet.  We got home around 8pm and I gave Evan some of the spaghetti Ivan made.

He loved it.  Ivan makes "Honduran" spaghetti - which means he melts a stick of butter into his sauce.  I tend to not eat it because I don't like a bunch of butter in my spaghetti.  However, Evan loves it...probably because he LOVES butter!  He was shoving spaghetti into his mouth like crazy.  After dinner, he took a shower with Daddy and was in bed by 9pm.  Not too horrible, right?  And we had a fun playground date.

Sunday was a bit hectic, like it usually is.  I woke up and made 5-Ingredient Peanut Butter and Banana muffins.  It was a Pinterest find and I thought they would be good muffins to take to LA this week.  They aren't good muffins to send with Evan to daycare because my niece is severely allergic to peanuts, but it didn't make too many.  They were super easy and quick.  I had them mixed and made before Evan even woke up. 

After he did wake up, we changed and headed out for a five mile stroller run.  It was around 9am and it was already HOT and HUMID.  Ugg.  We did about four miles and then stopped at the playground.  We had brought Evan's new tractor that his Papa had bought him (Evan calls it Tractor-Papa) and I thought it would be fun to play in the sand pit.  Unfortunately, the sandpit was filled with a million bees.  Boo.  So, we just put the tractor down the slide and played with it on the ground.

Evan thought it was fun to just push the tractor around.

And yes, Evan went to the park in his jammies.  No one was at the park anyway.  We stayed for an entire hour and not a single other person showed up.  I think people sleep in on Sundays or go to early Sunday church services or something.  Evan loved having the playground to himself (except for having to share with the bees)!  Then we ran the last mile home.

After we got home it was cooking, cooking, cooking.  I had a lot of things on the menu to make: vegan lasagna, zucchini tots, shrimp-stuffed shells, tres leches cake, shredded chicken, and black bean burgers.  I didn't get all of it made - just some of it.

I wanted to make Vegan Spaghetti Squash Pesto Lasagna for my friend Allyson.  She was doing a crazy big two-day bike ride in Colorado (like 130 miles each day, over three mountains) and I thought she'd like something in her fridge when she got back.  In Honduras, when I'd go out of town my neighbors would clean my house the day before I returned.  It was so nice arriving home to a super clean house.  I used to do the same thing for my sister - I'd always scrub the floors and toilets and vacuum, etc. before she came home.  I feel weird cleaning my friend's house though (and it looks pretty clean anyway), so I figured food was the better way to go.  So, I whipped up this crazy complicated lasagna.  I am not vegan and had never made vegan cream sauce.  I've made lasagna with tofu before, but nutritional yeast was not really in my pantry.  All in all, it turned out pretty tasty.  I hope she likes it! 

I also made zucchini tots for Evan - they were delicious and Evan ate three of them after dinner.  I wanted something new to put in his lunches and saw these on Pinterest.  They were super easy to make and turned out to be a winner.  I got the shrimp-stuffed shells made for Ivan - I've made them many times before and he always loves them.  They are a bit time consuming, but I felt like I was making a bunch of other complicated things, so why not add something to it.  I also got the chicken cooked - I just put it in the slow cooker with some water for four hours and then shredded it.  I don't need it until Wednesday to make Easy Chicken Flautas (another Pinterest find), but wanted to have it already done so that the cooking process didn't take as long.

I ran out of time to make the tres leches cake and black bean burgers though.  Maybe I'll have time this week before I head to LA.  Otherwise they'll have to wait until I get back.  I can only make so many things in one day!

I crawled into bed around 12am - yikes!  I seriously need an extra weekend day to get all my stuff done!!

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Did you cook anything fun this weekend?

What types of things do you "pin" the most, if you use Pinterest? 
      - I mostly pin food and clothes (for my Stitch Fix stylists)

Hiking, golfing, and eating

I love three day weekends.  I really love Memorial Day weekend the best I think.  The weather is amazing, summer and hot weather is on everyone's mind, the smell of BBQ is in the air, and we honor all the fallen soldiers who have given their lives to this country.  I remember one year we made the trip downtown to Arlington Cemetary on Memorial Day and it was definitely an experience to remember.  It's a bit far and crowded to go every year but maybe when Evan is older we'll make the trip again.

This weekend was all about the outdoors.  I am still feeling really sick and I was feeling pretty sick and miserable all weekend, but I refused to let that keep me inside.

On Saturday Evan and I went on our first real hike.

We had been practicing at the local Nature Center but this time we headed to a State Park and actually walked on a trail.  It was really fun and I am so excited about more fun hikes like that.  Evan was pretty well-behaved and didn't put up too many fights.  He stayed in the Mai Tai for about half of the hike, then walked about a fourth of it, and then I carried him for the other fourth.

Part of the trail was paved and then we took an unpaved trail for a few miles.  My friend was supposed to come with us but she didn't want to catch our sickness (her mom is undergoing cancer treatment and can't have sick visitors), so we went alone.  At first I was hesitant and was going to just forget about the entire thing, but then I put on my big girl pants and decided to just go it alone.

I am glad I did because we had so much fun.  I made Evan wear long pants and long sleeves because I was afraid we'd get ticks.  So far we are tick free.

On Sunday we had our first visitors.  Well, actually, I guess they were our second because my friend Sarah stopped by on Wednesday and stayed for dinner.  However, we had lots of house-cleaning to do and all pitched in to get it done.  I straightened so much stuff, did a ton of laundry, finally put away the ten loads of wash I had sitting in my room (I have a tendency to do the laundry and then never get around to putting it away).  I also made black bean hummus, 7-layer Dip, and cut up cantaloupe and watermelon for appetizers (actually Ivan cut the fruit up), and made Honduran Enchiladas for dinner.  Ivan even made fresh-squeezed lemonade for us to drink.  It was quite the feast.  We had so much fun hanging out and catching up.  Our apartment is super tiny but it all worked out and it didn't feel too squishy.

Yesterday the hubs and I finally went golfing!!  Amazing!!  The same couple that came over for dinner offered to watch Evan the next day while we golfed.  It was great.  I hadn't golfed in over a year and didn't do too badly.  It was just great being outside and spending time with the hubs.  Since it was Memorial Day and the golf course was extra crowded, we ended up playing with two other guys we didn't know and that wasn't too bad.  I hate playing with other people because it makes me self-conscious, but it wasn't too embarrassing.  I had some good shots.  That night we headed to my bus friend's house for dinner.  She wanted the hubs to come look at her yard and see if he could do some yard work for her.  We got dinner in exchange - good deal!  Especially for me because I don't have to do anything.

So, that was our weekend, how was yours? 

Playgrounds and Play dates

We had some serious playtime this weekend.  Well, Evan did at least.  I had some too I guess, but not nearly as much as Evan.  Friday night we headed out for Ivan's soccer game.  We don't usually go because it's been cold and his games are in the evening, but this game was at a different field 30 minutes away and I was afraid he'd get lost.  It was a tad bit chilly and very windy, but not unbearable, so we decided to stay and hang around until his game ended.  There also happened to be a huge playground so I was hoping it would keep Evan entertained for a while.  It keep him entertained for two straight hours!  It was helpful that there was no one else playing so we had the park to ourselves and he could wander all over the place without out worrying about getting run over by big kids.  I was still shocked that he played for so long. It was too dark outside for pictures, so you'll just have to imagine it.

The next morning we woke up and headed out to meet my Team In Training (TNT) friends and their kiddos. We all got pregnant around our TNT training time and then spent the following summer all walking together.

One of my TNT friends when she is 39 weeks pregnant and I am 29 weeks!

Evan and I ended up walking the 1.5 miles or so there and back, so that was a nice outing.  Evan didn't even ask to get out of his stroller so I was happy about that.  We had so much fun hanging out there.  Evan was super shy again and clung to me about 97% of the time but I was still able to chat.  We had breakfast and then headed to the park for some more playground time.  It was cute watching all the kids play on the playground.  Evan than proceeded to fall asleep so. I stayed for a few hours until he woke up...until my friend's daughter started throwing up actually.  Yikes!  We are hoping it was just something she ate and not Norwalk virus or something.

And I managed to get the grocery shopping done on Saturday, which was nice because that hasn't happened for a while.  I kept having to go on Sundays which always makes my Sundays busier.  It was an expensive day at the grocery store but I had a few random things to pick up.  And for some reason I had put down to buy flank steak and chicken breasts and chicken thighs all on the same trip.  That adds up fast.

Everyone went to bed early so I stayed up eating cookies and watching Call the Midwife by myself on the sofa.  I really cherish the few evenings of quiet I get around here!

Sunday was a bit relaxing on top of crazy cooking.  We went out for breakfast and Evan behaved the entire time.  That was a miracle.  Ivan wanted to order everything off the menu, but that's normal.  Then we got home and I did some cooking.  I made Morraccan Lentil Stew, which I've made before and enjoyed, and Shrimp-Stuffed Shells, which is one of Ivan's favorite.  Ivan had snuck out to go golfing so Evan and I were just chilling.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that while I was putting Evan down for his nap Ivan came home and washed the dishes.  It was a great feeling!

Then I did four loads of laundry, folded them, and even managed to out them away.  But not before Evan got stuck in the laundry basket.

He was not thrilled.  

I also made some Beef and Snow Peas with rice for Ivan (and dirtied a billion more dishes) and gave Evan a bath.  Ivan was at indoor soccer so the house was semi-quiet.  Except for Evan racing around with his toys.  He kept starting by the front door, shouting "go" and racing to the sofa holding his two stuffed animals.  It was adorable.  For our night time snack we shared a blood orange.

Yum!  I was very surprised that Evan even ate it.  Blood oranges remind me of Italy because I remember eating them there all the time.  This orange was from the US and much more red than the blood oranges I remember from when I was little.  It was tasty though!

Then it was off to bed and ready for another week of work!

Roses, Movies, and Big Decisions

Boy do I have a lot to tell you.  I will try to keep it short, so as not to lose your interest though.  I didn't get a chance to blog yesterday because Evan was sick so I had to stay home.  Poor kiddo.  He literally slept all day.  He didn't wake up until 10am and then he fell back asleep around 12:30pm and slept all the way until 6:20pm!  Then he was up until 10pm and fell back asleep until 6am when I woke him this morning.  Hopefully all that sleep helped him feel better.  His fever broke yesterday evening so that was good.

On Friday I had an Acceptd Students reception at Hopkins that I went to.  Every time I go there I get so excited and feel like it is the perfect school for me.  Until I think about how much it costs.  Everyone was so nice and there are 35 Peace Corps fellows in the new class, which  I find very exciting.  I met one girl on Friday and it made me excited to meet the other former volunteers.  Even seeing the scrubs and uniforms was exciting.  I LOVE uniforms and will be thrilled to not have to pick out boring work clothes all the time.  I'm not sure if I have to wear scrubs to class though.  Check out these mugs they gave us.

Isn't that funny?  I guess even if I end up choosing not to go there, I will still have a mug!

On Saturday  Ivan and I celebrated our anniversary.  

It wasn't on Saturday, but that was the only day we had to celebrate so we went with it.  We even had a babysitter come over and watch Evan.  Of course that meant out date was $30 more expensive than it would have been, but what can you do?  Not everyone has family available who will watch their kid for free (and if you do,  I hope you appreciate it).  I had really wanted to see the Veronica Mars movie, because like I said we were practically best friends, but for some reason it wasn't in the theaters anymore.  At least not the theater we went to.  How crazy is that?  So we saw Divergent instead.  I had wanted to see that too because I read the book a few years ago.  It was a good movie and Ivan liked it.  Ivan has no preconceived notions about movies and what is considered a chick flick or not.  He just loves to go to movies and doesn't usually care which one we go to.  This is great for me!

After the movie I raced home, put Evan to nap, and made some Butternut Squash and Black Bean Enchiladas.  I made these a while ago and loved them and we were having a college friends reunion so I thought I would bring them to that.  It was so great seeing my old college friends and all their kiddos.  Evan was starting to feel sick so he was extra clingy and less active, but we still had a lot of fun.  I love those ladies!  Hopefully we can get together again before too much time passes.

Sunday we didn't do too much, just grocery shopping and the rest of the chores.  I made Sopa de Frijoles, Spaghetti Squash lasagna (which was delicious), and Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup.  Everything turned out delicious.  Ivan finished the Sopa de Frijoles in one sitting.  Nice.  

Yesterday I stayed home with sick baby and watched a lot of TV.  I couldn't really do too much because Evan wanted to cuddle so I just relaxed on the sofa and watched a bunch of TV.  Army Wives, NCIS, The Voice, and Call the Midwife.  All great shows, but a bit overwhelming.  Today it's off to work.  This winter has seen a lot of three and four day weekends between snow days and me taking a Friday off for one thing or another.  Got lots of work to catch up on!

What are some new recipes you've been making recently?

The yummiest thing ever

This weekend went by in such a blur.  It must be because it was 70 degrees out on Saturday and nice days seem so fleeting.  It started off with a last minute dinner invitation on Friday.  Ivan couldn't go because he has soccer on Fridays now, but Evan and I went to eat dinner with my friend from anatomy class.  It reminded me why we don't go out to eat very much anymore.  Evan sat in his high chair for all of ten minutes and then he wanted to sit with me.  And then he wanted to get up and run around the restaurant (don't worry, I didn't let him do it).  Luckily a balloon man came and made a few balloon animals and that kept his entertainment long enough for me to scarf down some pizza.  But yeah, eating out is kind of stressful with a little one (at least my little one).

Saturday I lazily woke up to go running with Team In Training.  Ivan was a grump because he had wanted to sleep in and Evan woke up while I was changing (before 7am).  So I ended up taking the little guy with me.  It worked out fine, he didn't have any meltdowns, but we only went about four miles.  One of those miles was the biggest hill ever!!  It was steep and kept going on and on and on...I could see the end but it never seemed to get closer.  Pushing 45 pounds up that huge hill was exhausting and at times I totally felt like I was walking, but I made it jelly legs and all.  

That afternoon I took a two hour yoga/deep relaxation/meditation class with a friend from high school.  It turned out to be a lot of fun and I only had to do downward dog twice so I was thrilled about that.  I hate downward dog and find it to be the most uncomfortable position ever.  If we have to do it for too long or too often I start to hate yoga.  Afterwards we grabbed a coffee and ran some errands.  My errand was to buy a new charger for Ivan's phone because I accidentally sucked it up the vacuum.  Whoops!  And now the rolls thing doesn't work on the vacuum, which is a great since we just spent $40 to get the vacuum fixed.  And I thought it would be a good idea to buy the charger before telling him about the plight of his old one and then come to find out - he had an extra charger at home.  Grrrrr!

And Eavn has started doing some adorable things.  Every once in a while the house goes quiet and I wonder where Evan is...and this is where he was every time.

Hanging out behind the curtain.  Yup, his new favorite secret hiding place.  He bring books and balls back there, it is really adorable.  You just see his little feet sticking out.

Yesterday was a bit crazy.  I went grocery shopping early in the morning, which I don't normally do.  I didn't have time to go on Saturday so I had to squeeze it in.  Then I did five loads of laundry, Skyped with my mom, and cooked three meals.  One for today, one for yesterday, and a vegetarian meal for me for when I cook meat during the week.  And then I did dishes.  And while I did dished I stupidly chose to start watching the last season of Army Wives which was a big mistake because I bawled my eyes out the entire time.  That show is so sad all the time.

And then I ate this.

It really is bliss.  It's like chocolate fudge in a package.  It is sooooo yummy.  It's a good thing I just bought the package and not the whole jar, because I couldn't stop eating it, it was so delicious.  You should definitely buy some.

And now I'm exhausted because when I set my alarm it said I had 4 hours and 59 minutes before my alarm went off.  Boo.  Good thing I bought that planner because I am not doing very good at getting to bed early.  I also woke up on time today because I am determined to blow dry my hair every day now that I paid $200 for my haircut.   I am still sad/mad about that.

What is something delicious that you ate this weekend????

Spring Ahead People

I was going to post about the rest of my Disney trip, because I still haven't even told you about the race, but I am too tired.  Those posts take me a long time because I have to get all the photos organized and I have a lot too tell you, and my energy level is a little to low right now.  I am completely blaming daylight savings time.  Guggenheim (I am leaving this auto-correct word because it is so funny - I have no idea what I typed here, but it definitely wasn't Guggenheim!!!), I really dislike the dreaded spring ahead.  Somehow it makes it much more difficult to get up in the morning when it is 3:30am instead of 4:30am...even when my body adjusts, I am always a little more tired.  I enjoy the later daylight hours, so it's not all bad, but I need my bus nap today.  And, I am waiting for the bus in the dark again.

This weekend was a bit hectic and crazy, starting with Friday.  Evan had his 18 month appointment in the morning and I am in denial that he is already 18 months old.  That is a year and a half.  How in the world did that happen??  Where did my baby go??  He is still a peanut, weighing a whopping 18 pounds and some odd ounces and 33 inches tall, but he is not really my baby boy anymore. We are going to have to stop calling him Baby Evan soon. Boo.  And he wasn't really talking at all before we went to the doctor (just a few words like hot and gracias) and since that appointment he has started saying more things!  Yesterday he started saying "all done" and "book" and "ball".  I have a feeling his vocabulary is going to explode soon.

I also had my Hopkins interview.  I don't really want to comment too much on how I thought the interview went, because it's so hard to say when I am being compared to everyone else.  Maybe I did great but everyone else did better.  Who knows.  The woman who interviewed me was the same woman I had been communicating with during the application process so I was glad to meet her and be able to thank her in person for her help.  Here is what I wore for the interview.

This is a pretty bad photo and a pretty bad photo of me, but I made Ivan snap it as I was rushing out the door and there was no time for repeats.  I had run to TJ Max before the interview to get a new dress and I was quite happy with this one.  It looked better in person.  

I also picked up a few other things at TJ Max.  We needed a new pan because one of mine had seen its last days.   It was actually my favorite pan and one I had brought back with me from Peace Corps.  So it was at least 7 years old, but I know it was older because my friend Sarah had give it to me when she left so it had been used when I got it. 

I think all those scratched are due to Ivan stirring his eggs with a regular fork instead of the wooden utensils!

 I was sad to see it go, but love my new pan.

The lighting is a bit off, but it's a porcelain pan.

I also finally picked up some new work socks.  Ivan was making fun of my old as dirt socks and I found some for cheap, so I finally got them.  Time to throw away my threadbare socks for some nicer ones.

These pepper socks are pretty old.  I think I brought them to Honduras with me!

Straight from the interview I went to my sister's house to babysit the nieces.  I was excited because I love those girls and I hardly ever get to see them.  We had a blast watching Frozen, eating all the food in my sister's house, and hanging out.  It was a bit difficult with clingy Evan and my sister's baby both wanting to be held, but we managed.  I don't think I want four children anytime soon though.

Saturday was a blur but it consisted if grocery shopping and dinner at my bus friend Jacqui's house.  We grilled burgers and caught up on our lives.  I brought a veggie burger, since I gave up meat for Lent. 

On Sunday it was pretty quiet with some cooking, cleaning, and laundry thrown in there.  I made butternut squash and black bean enchiladas and then a teriyaki chicken (both recipes I got from Pinterest) for hubs.  And hubs polished my shoes.

He's been wanting to do that for a long time.  He thought my shoes were deplorable.  And ignore the sofa in that picture...I take the cushions out so Evan can pretend he's at a jungle gym.

Late last night I also realized that I had washed and dried Evan's clothes with a piece of chocolate.

I hope it doesn't stain! And a now I have to wash all his clothes all over again.  Boo!  I tried to take out the clothes without chocolate on them, but I didn't find any.  It's amazing what one piece of chocolate will do!

What's one fun thing you did this weekend?

Busy Busy and Jogging Stroller Run Breakdown

This weekend just flew by!  I guess that is what happens when there are so many things planned that you have no free time. It was a good thing though.  I think it actually started on Friday because it was a super busy workday and I didn't get a chance to relax until late in the day.  Busy work days are good sometimes and stressful other times, I am not sure which kind of day this was.  I finished the work that was due though, so that is always an accomplishment.

Saturday started with a long run.  Yup, after two weeks of no movement, I decided that I would try to do 8 miles with the jogging stroller.  Hubs had to work so I ran two miles to the TNT meeting spot and got there just as they were finishing their warm-up.  It turns out they were doing a 3 mile loop or an 8 mile loop...so I decided to do the 8 mile loop.  I was a bit nervous because I wasn't sure whether Evan would last in the stroller that long, but figured I'd try.

He lasted until mile 8.5 (that's including the two miles it took me to run to the meeting spot).  Then he started crying like crazy.  I still had two miles left, so I wasn't sure what to do.  It was really cold out and he was toasty in his Bundle Me Arctic (fyi - I did NOT pay $100 for this!), but if I had to carry him he didn't't have warm enough clothes.  In the end I carried him because he was screaming so much, but I felt badly because his mitten fell off (figures, how impossible is it to keep two of the same mittens on kids) and his feet were cold because he just had his pjs on (he had a winter coat on, just not winter pants and boots).

Frozen pond we ran by - see - it was literally freezing out!

We managed to walk the two miles back to the start and then one of the coaches drove me home (he has a little daughter and had a car seat).  We then took a hot shower together to warm up!  And I drank an entire glass of hot chocolate with whole milk (since we don't have any other kind in our house these days).

And then I couldn't walk.  Probably a bad idea to run so far with the stroller.  There were some hills too.  One hill was so big I had to walk up and even that was incredible strenuous with the 45 pound stroller. My legs feel better today though.

We then ran (hobbled) a few errands and Evan and I went grocery shopping and then we had dinner at my bus friend's house.  She made the most delicious pork roast and mashed potatoes.  So good!  I ate so fast I didn't take a picture.  Then we chatted while Evan played with his toys (that we brought over) and tried to climb upstairs. 

Sunday we got up early for no reason so I made beans and eggs and Moroccan-style lentil soup.  We ate the eggs/beans for breakfast and saved the soup for later.  In the afternoon I headed to my golf friend's house to make a cake for my sister.  I ended up making  Southern-style Strawberry Cake with cream cheese frosting.  I can't wait to eat it!  It worked out so well because I hadn't visited with my golf friend for a while and baking a cake was an easy thing to do while catching up.  Plus we got to eat lots of cream cheese frosting - delicious!

Then it was home, Skype with Mimi, and bedtime for the kiddo.  

After all those weekend activities, I only snapped one photo:

Dad and son napping during the day on Sunday.  Pretty adorable, huh!  I would like to mention that this happens with me a lot but no one ever snaps a photo.  Evan is totally in love with cuddling - it is the best thing ever.  One of these days I'll write a post about our experience with co-sleeping.  I pretty much love every minute of it - especially when Evan and I hold hands as we fall asleep.  Or he rolls over and puts his arm around my neck.  Melts. My. Heart.

Thursday is almost Friday, right?

I don't know why some weeks feel so much longer than others.  This week should feel short since I worked from home Monday, Wednesday, and tomorrow...but no, it feels long.  And I don't know why I can't get to bed before 11pm these days.  I do know actually.  Evan.  Yup, I am blaming it on my son.  Ever since we moved he has had serious problems falling asleep and even when I know he's exhausted, it still takes him at least 30 minutes before he's asleep.  And since I stay with him until he falls asleep, that means for at least 30 minutes I am with him and not doing night time chores.  I decided a long time ago that I didn't want to let him cry himself to sleep and I believe that he shouldn't ever have to fall asleep alone (if he doesn't want to).  So, I realize that this is a consequence of that decision and I'm not complaining about it, I am just saying that he used to fall asleep in five minutes and now he doesn't.  I don't know if it was the trauma of moving or the confusion of vacation or what, but I hope our bedtime routine shortens soon!  And that he starts going to bed a bit earlier...instead of 9pm.  I really need more than 5.5 hours of sleep a night.

Yesterday he was obsessed with these prongs - he sat in this chair and played with them for longer than you would expect!

Yesterday was super busy at work and then I had a coffee date with a good friend.  Remember one of my 2014 commitments was to be a better friend?  Well, I started by calling some friends I hadn't seen for ages and making plans with them.  My friend Heather was first on that list.  I hadn't seen her for almost 9 months or so.  She was one of my best friends in high school and there is no reason we should have gone so long without seeing each other.  Coffee was fun, although Evan made it a bit of a challenge, and it was nice catching up.

It did mean that I didn't get my run in though.  I was going to go between work and coffee but I ran out of time.  So that means I am going today and tomorrow and Sunday if I want to get my runs in.  I think I am doing 4 today, so nothing too scary I hope.  I am running with my coworker and I think I've just about convinced two other coworkers to join us in the future.  We'll see if that ever happens!

You might be wondering what that is.  That is my favorite Christmas cookie, the candy bar cookie.  My mom sent me home with a few extras after Christmas and that was my last one.  It's a sad day when you eat the last Christmas cookie.  A sad day indeed.  I had to document the yumminess of that cookie and give it the respect it deserves.  Cookie, you will be missed.

And since this post is full of random bits of information, I will continue down the random path.  Yesterday I made a Hello Fresh meal.  I hadn't ordered a box in a while and then I forgot to pause my orders after Christmas so they sent me a box, but they sent it to the wrong address so I cancelled, but it was too late so they refunded my money and the box was shipped to my old address (that is an prime example of a run-on sentence).  I wasn't sure I would get it , but I did.  It wasn't the best box of food this time around, but it was ok.  On Monday I made a spicy shrimp with rice and that was good; however on Saturday I made a beef stroganoff that had no taste whatsoever.  Yesterday I made chicken kabobs with creamy leek risotto.  The kabobs where really good, they were marinated in a honey-olive-oil-spices mixture that turned out to be really good.  The leek risotto was interesting and not entirely delicious.  However, somehow the leeks permeated everything so all my clothes and bags smell like that risotto.  Not pleasant.  Go away leek smell!

Ok, that is all and I am tired...so adios!

Hope you have a great Thursday!!

Talk about cold!!

I wrote a post on Thursday but somehow it disappeared.  I have no idea what happened, except that maybe I pressed cancel instead of save.  I didn't have time to write it again, so you just didn't get a Thursday post from me. It was probably really hard for you, but hopefully you all survived.  I don't even remember what the post was about, but I'm sure it was fabulous.

What has been vey un-fabulous these days is my running.  I went on Monday and then didn't have a chance to go again.  And I was going to go today but I hardly slept last night so I decided it was a bad idea.  I guess I'll go tomorrow, but still, it's kind of sad how pathetic my training plan is shaping up to be.  Chemistry is almost over and I will try much harder when that is out of the way.  I hope.

It has also been really cold.  Yesterday I went grocery shopping and the temperature said 29 degrees.  In the middle of the day.  This morning it was 21 degrees out while waiting for the bus.  Yes, that is cold, but it's even colder when you are standing around doing nothing but waiting.  It felt miserable, like I needed long johns on under my pants.  I am thankful for my nice winter coat though, it at least keeps the top half of me warm.

The cold doesn't stop me from taking Evan and the dog for a walk.  I don't really have a bunting (is that the right word) for him any more but I found this REI thing that looked warm so I put it on him.

As you can see, he wasn't overly thrilled with it.  He especially hated that he couldn't take his hand out.  This REI outfit came from a co-worker who had it from when her kids were little...and they are in college now.  So it is really old.  It worked though because he was nice and warm when we got back home.

He even still wanted to swing.  Apparently it's never to cold to swing.

He doesn't look happy in this picture but I swear he was laughing like normal.  He was just mad that I stopped him so I could take a non-blurry photo.

I surprisingly got a lot of cooking done this weekend.  I was just in the mood.  When I woke up I made pumpkin spice muffins to freeze for Evan.  These are super yummy muffins and Evan loves them.  I found them on Pinterest and they turned out to be really good.  I have a bunch of things on Pinterest that I'd like to make, but haven't gotten around to it - but this is the second time I've made these yummy muffins.  I also make Easiest Crock Pot Salsa Verde Chicken so I could put a little chicken on my lunch salad and then I made Turkey Pastelon for Ivan for lunch this week.  Except he decided he didn't like it - figures.  I think it's really good though - the sweet plantain flavor plus the salty ground turkey flavor is a delicious combination.  Evan loved it too.  So, I packed some up to give to my sisters instead.  It made a lot and had multiple steps (cooking the meat, frying up the plantains, layering the "lasagna", pouring egg whites over top of it, and baking it) so I didn't want all that work to go to waste.

While I was doing this cooking, Evan was entertaining himself by filling up grocery bags with anything he could pull out of the kitchen drawers.

Don't mind the dirty floors - I have decided I'm not cleaning again
until we move.

When he tired of that, he played with the magnets on the fridge.  All he does and push then all the way down so they fall off and then he puts them back up.  I only put out 9 magnets for fear we'd lose them all - and we've already lost one.  I thought we had lost three but I found some hidden inside some pots.  So, who knows where this lost one is (I'm just hoping it's not inside Dolce's belly).

I hope you had a great weekend!  Just a few days until Thanksgiving holiday - yay!!! 

A failed run and a busy weekend

As I told my husband this morning, it's Monday again.  How does that happen so quickly?  This weekend was a blur, I can barely fathom that it came and went already.  I started Saturday off with a walk around the lake.  We haven't done an early morning lake walk in a while, not since I started running.  I had missed them so it was fun to head out early and get a walk in.

Evan was excited to see all the trees.  The entire walk he pointed out every tree and airplane...take a look at that picture again.  There are a lot of trees.

Saturday afternoon we headed into Baltimore to see my brother's in-law football team play Baltimore City College.  Luckily it was a fairly mild day so we didn't freeze too much.  Just a little.  We won, which was exciting!  Then we go to the bathrooms before heading home and Ivan runs into someone he knows.  A guy from the golf course.  How funny is that?  We are in the middle of the city and Ivan finds someone he knows.  Crazy.

That evening we had my niece's birthday party and I also had a First Tee movie night event.  I could only stay at the party for a little while and then I headed to the golf course to watch Dispicable Me with a bunch of little golf girls.  It was cute watching them.  That night, after the movie, it was more of this:

Chemistry - what would I do without you?  I have a test on Tuesday.  Boo.

On Sunday we headed out to see some apartments.  What had been four was reduced to two.  Not much choice.  So we looked at them both and then had to make some decisions.  One was in good condition and we met the landlord and she seemed nice and easy to work with.  However, the condo was a little on the small side...875 sq ft for at two bedroom (our current place is 1100 sq ft).  The other was bigger...1200s sq ft...but wasn't in great condition.  The carpet had holes in it, the walls were in dire need of a painting and had millions of nails in them, the bathrooms were gross, some of the window sills had water damage, and the hallway smelled like cigarette smoke (it was a controlled access-type building).  So, obviously the guy doesn't really care about the place much.  We decided to put our application in with the smaller place with the nice landlord.  Hopefully we can find enough space for our stuff.  And that the owner is ok with our dog.  Still keeping our fingers crossed.

The rest of the afternoon was supposed to be filled with studying and cooking, but it didn't turn out that way.  Evan was tired but burst into tears every time I put him in the crib.  So he ended up napping in my arms and I watched the latest NCIS and Parenthood.  Then we went to the grocery store and spent all our money.  I didn't get to start cooking until 5pm, but I whipped out chili, cornbread, and pumpkin soup while doing three loads of laundry.  Not too shabby.

The only thing I didn't have time for was my run.  I headed out with Evan in the early morning and we got half a mile and he started crying.  I went a bit further and then realized that it wasn't worth it.  So I took him out of the stroller and we walked home.  I am hoping to maybe do a long run today instead.  We'll see.

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!!

Strange pizza, hide and seek, and next semester

So of course I had two posts yesterday, which is nothing short of a miracle, and then today I've got nothing for you.  Such is life, right?  Jam-packed one day and then empty the next.  At work I am trying to create an online learning course...I am a bit under-qualified for this and it is taking up all my brain energy to try and do it.  I feel like this happens a lot.  Anyone out there a Lectora whiz?  Wanna take a stab at designing a course for me for free?  Haha.

Since starting Chemistry our family dinners have gone down the drain.  I just don't have the time nor energy to cook a lot of meals.  Plus, Ivan annoys me and eats a big plate of food right before I get home and then isn't hungry for dinner.  Yesterday I made Evan a can of soup and some rice and I ate a pizza.  I had gotten some stone-cooked pizza crusts from Costco and decided to pop one in the oven for me.  I didn't want the plain tomato sauce with cheese though.  I wanted something different.  Enter my new pizza creation.

It was butternut squash, deli ham, and cheese.  I was afraid it was going to be gross but it was actually really good.  Evan liked it too.  He wasn't into eating too much last night because he saw the dog playing with a toy and got jealous.  The toy was Dolce's but Evan thought it was his so he was a little perturbed that Dolce was playing with it while he was trapped in a high chair.  Yeah, so dinner was super short.  

Then we played hide and seek.  I hid and Evan looked for me.  It was really funny and Evan loved it.  I love playing all night with him and not having to go to class.   Ugg, not too many more classes and then I have to decide what to do about next semester.  Do I just relax with no classes or do I consider taking a Spanish class or something.  I don't know what I feel like doing.  Or what I want to pay for.  Decisions, decisions.

I brought my running stuff to work today, I am determined to get in a few miles during lunch.  We'll see if that happens or not.  I was up until 11:30pm completing an online Chemistry assignment, so I am a little drowsy today. I hate running when I'm tired - except I am tired a lot these days and I have to get these runs in sometime or I'll never be ready for the half marathon!

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!!!!