Broken buses and 10,000 ravioli

I drew this all by myself....

 Ugg, these past few days have been horrible with regards to commuting.  On Thursday my bus never showed up so I had to take the local (and got home at 7:15 rather than 6:30), on Friday the bus never showed AGAIN and I had to take the local and there was a huge accident and I didn't get home until 8:00pm (and keep in mind I leave the office at 5pm), and then this morning our morning bus broke down so I had to take the local.  Seriously bus company - service your buses!!!

Ok, I just had to complain about that for a second...as I sit here going to all the park and rides knowing I'm going to be 45 minutes late to work.

This weekend was super jam-packed.  I had my last day of First Tee.  The girls were actually sad and said they'd miss us.  That means A LOT because a lot of the girls don't love golf and they do it because their parents want them to...and then we spend 8 weeks trying to convince them that golf is a lot of fun and they should keep doing it.  So, it seems like we succeeded and most of them said they'd be back in the spring.  I will miss them and the golf season (and the extra paycheck!), but it will also be nice to have Saturday mornings free again.  And it's getting cold, so it is less fun golfing when it's 37* out like it was this past Saturday.

In the afternoon Evan and I took a trip down to DC to visit my co-worker and her new baby.  I LOVE babies and I really love tiny little newborns.  Her son was born just two weeks ago, so he was little little.  It was fun to see her, catch up, and hear her birth story.  After being pregnant I love hearing about other people's birth stories for some reason.  It's not something I ever thought about before, but now I'm always interested.  My plan had been to bring her some frozen food, but she didn't confirm until Friday night so I didn't have time to make anything.  I stopped by Panera and bought her a bunch of bagels instead, and I had already bought some granola and oatmeal a few weeks ago.  I felt like that was the nicest thing that people did for me when I had Evan - everyone came with food.  It was something that had never occurred to me and I appreciated it so much.  Keep that in mind!  If any one of your friends ever gives birth - head over with food, they will love you forever.

It's a good thing that I am not pregnant right now because I can tell you - Evan was NOT happy with me holding the baby.  He kept trying to crawl back into my lap and push the baby away.  Not in a mean way, but definitely in a jealous way.  I can totally see him being jealous of a new baby.  He played with his toys a bit but kept coming back and trying to crawl into my lap.  He does that when I hold my sister's daughter too.  He's definitely a momma's boy right now - he loves to cuddle with me and will climb into my lap and give me a kiss for no reason.  It's the most adorable thing in the world, but maybe it wouldn't be if I had another baby!

Later that night I picked up Ivan and we tried to go to Costco, but it was closed.  It was really annoying because Evan had fallen asleep in the car and then we woke him up to get him out - only to find out that Costco closes at 6pm!  On a Saturday!  Crazy sauce.  So we went to Target instead and spent a ton of money there.  On non-essential items - minus the dog food.  I HATE going to Target for that reason alone - I always find stupid stuff I don't need (and Ivan finds more) and then then next thing we know we are paying $80 when we only needed $13.00 dog food.  Frustration to the max (and yes, I did just say than and I know it sounds stupid, but I'm not erasing it).

Sunday was suppose to be a bit lazier, but it wasn't.  I got up early to go running with my sister and Evan - even though it was only 37* outside.  Freezing!  And I couldn't find our weather shield for Evan.

See that nice contraption that keeps Evan warm?  Where did it go?  I searched every box, closets, drawer, and cubby that it could possibly be and it is NO WHERE.  I have no clue what happened to it and it's driving me crazy because it's like $65 and I don't want to have to buy another one.  However, when it's cold and I force Evan to go for a run with me, I feel bad having the cold wind blow in his face.  He was fine yesterday though and only started fussing the last half mile, and never broke out into a full cry.  He did pitch one of his mittens overboard though and it's lost forever.  Sorry Mimi - it was one of the Mickey Mouse ones you made him last year.  It was a good run though.

That's me after the run in my running clothes.  Sorry, we don't have a great mirror to take good photos.  Also, I seem to have hurt my food somehow.  I'm not sure how, but it started hurting on Saturday and it's only gotten worse.  I wasn't even doing anything - just noticed this dull throb in my arch area and now it's so painful I can't walk normal.  I had to do a run-hop thing because it hurt to run and I am now hobbling all over the place.  I have no clue what could have happened and I am just praying that the pain disappears.  We'll see.  I'm thinking I probably shouldn't run on it until the pain goes away, even though running on it didn't make it worse.

We did finally go to Costco yesterday and spent a bunch of money on things we didn't need and some things we did.  I bought some Ravioli that I thought Evan would like, but he doesn't.  So, glad I have 10000 more raviolis for him.  And Ivan bought 32 Cokes.  Yup, I guess you can never have too much coke if your name is Ivan.  We also bought a HUGE bag of carrots that Ivan said he's going to help eat.  Ivan hates vegetables so I figured if he was going to eat a few carrots I'd buy them.  Of course we then had to make a quick trip to Giant to buy the rest of the food we didn't want 500 of or that Costco didn't carry organic of - like yogurt and eggs.

All in all the weekend was fun, but my main goal had been to study and that didn't happen much.  I started to study on Sunday afternoon while Evan was napping but then he woke up and was still tired and fell asleep on my chest for an hour.  So I watched Parenthood instead....

Broken bus and a new strategy

Note: I am writing a lot of my posts on my iPad on the bus to work and it is hard to make posts pretty and not make grammar mistakes.  I try my best to re-edit when I get to a real computer, but sometimes that's not for a while.  So I apologize for all the mistakes!

You know it's gonna be a bad day when your bus breaks down and you're going to be an hour late for work.  It's especially annoying because I leave the house at 6am and then the next bus doesn't show up until 7am.  I could have used that extra hour of sleep people.  Instead I'm standing out in the cold waiting for nothing.  It also makes my day feel all discombobulated.  Grr.  Time to put my positive pants on though and just shake it off.  Or look at cute pictures of Evan sharing a clover he found.

Yesterday I had a slight epiphany.  If I wait to take my morning shower until the late afternoon, I don't have to shower this morning.  That saves me so much time. I slept in for an entire half hour longer.  It was glorious.  On Wednesdays I work from home so no one notices if I don't shower.  Then I shower when hubs gets home and I head to class in the evening.  As long as I don't spill chemical substances all over me, I am still clean the next morning.  Why didn't I think of this earlier?

I am still yawning though.  Enough sleep was still not had.  Evan woke up right as I was going to head to bed and I knew I could have put him back to sleep but I decided I wanted to snuggle with him.  Now with class two nights a week and work and golf, I feel like I never see him.  I make sure to snuggle and play with him constantly when I am home, but sometimes I miss him and just want to cuddle at night.  Plus, he likes to hold my hand when he's sleeping so what is more precious than that??  Nothing.  Except maybe him trying to eat a nectarine by himself.

I had a chat with a bunch of my co-workers about raising bilingual kids and I have a feeling it's gonna be a big challenge.  They are all native speakers and were talking about how none of their children speak Spanish well and usually only speak English at home and school.  One of my co-workers has her daughter in a full immersion school but there are not many of those around.  I'd really like Evan to know Spanish, so I am debating speaking to him in Spanish rather than English.  Then at least it would be Spanish at home all the time...until he gets bigger and decides he doesn't want to speak Spanish at all.  Which I guess is common.  We'll just have to make sure we take him to Honduras so he is forced to speak Spanish. 

Ok, I don't have much more to say.  Of course since I'm not on my regular bus I'm not tired enough to go to bed.  So I guess I'll try and finish up Shucked, my book club book.

Have a fantastic Thursday!

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Anyone else out there trying to raise bilingual kids?  Anyone been successful?

Does it mess your entire day up when you get a late sort in the morning?

Any other night showerers??

Random Thoughts on Thursday

I don't have much to say today so I though I would just throw a bunch of random thoughts at you.  And maybe I'll throw in some random photos too.  Nothing like a bit of randomness to get us through a Thursday, right.

~ I didn't fall asleep until almost midnight last night.  I got home from class around 10:45pm, made lunches, washed dishes, washed my pump, got ready for bed, and then couldn't fall asleep for a while.  After thinking so hard for three hours in lab, it's hard to shut my brain off.  

~ On Wednesday after lecture I did two hours of work before crawling into bed and then I slept in until 8am.  It worked out really well because my mind was sharp from doing a billion conversion problems and I knew it would take me a while to zonk out.  So instead I started my work day early and then went to bed. I got a decent amount of work done before bed and then slept a little late.  Win-win.

~ One of the reasons I was late last night was because I met an old,old friend after class.  Andy and I waited tables at Riccutti's and then Luna Bella back in the day.  Like way back in the day...over ten years ago.  We used to be super good friends and he even came to visit me in Atlanta when I was in grad school.  Now that we are both married with kids we never see each other.  The last time I saw him was three years ago at his surprise bday party.  However, we both have class on Wednesdays that go until 10:20 so we chatted for a short while after class.  It was fun to catch up.

~ For my husband's bday my nieces made him a bday card.  My husband actually nailed it to the wall. And not a hidden wall, nope he nailed it right next to my large Ansel Adams print above the fireplace.  Definitely front and center of our living room.  

~ I haven't put laundry away in two weeks.  Both hubs and I are grabbing clean clothes from the hamper.  Hubs keeps complaining about how wrinkled his are.  I don't seem to care.  This weekend I swear I am going to catch up.

~ The photographer who did our family shots sends us photos every once in a while from our photo shoot and I love them.  I am so happy we went with photos instead of a big party.  The photos of Evan are priceless.  I just hope the photos of me turn out and I stood up straight in them.  My posture has been atrocious this past year.

Serious cuteness!

~ I am reading a book called Shucked: Life on a New England Oyster Farm about a woman who quits her cushy job to learn about shucking oysters on an oyster farm.  It's for our family book club and I am learning so much about oysters.  Except I hate oysters so I can't appreciate the author's love of the mollusk (Are oysters mollusks?  I'm too lazy to look it up).  

Ok, enough randomness for now.  Hope you are having a wonderful Thrsday!

A Birthday Weekend!

Before I get into the birthday celebration, I want to cry about the fact that it is dark and a bit chilly at the bus stop these days.  I hate to admit it but I think fall is coming, and after that...winter.  How did summer go so fast??  I only made it to the pool once.  We only BBQed once.  Sad how fast time goes.

And talking about time flying...how is my baby one year old already???  I cannot believe that an entire year has already gone by.  To relive the moment, I read through all my birth story posts (here, here, and here) and hubs and I walked through his birth day in memories.  It is still crazy to think it was a year ago that he was born.  It seems both a lifetime ago and yesterday that it happened.  I have to say, Evan came into this world and stole our hearts.  I love every minute I spend with him.  

We didn't have a huge birthday party for him.  It was hard to resist societal pressure to not go overboard and have a huge party with invitations, decorations, gift bags, games, etc.  There are so many cute ideas and themes and so many other people go all out for their kids' birthdays that a few times I felt a bit neglectful.  However, instead of a party I wanted to spend the money on family pictures.  I wanted to have a nice memory and I thought family photos would be a great idea.  I think it was.  The photographer was amazing and she did such a fantastic job getting Evan to smile and pay attention.  I can't wait to get the pics back (don't worry, I'll post a few here).

My parents did come down to celebrate Evan's first birthday, so that was super fun and the best present ever.  They came on Thursday night, so we pretty much spent the entire weekend at my sister's house.  I took Friday off so that I could spend some time with my birthday boy.  We headed over to my sister's and hung out there all day.  We made Evan's birthday cake and played around with the kids.

How do you like my rainbow cake!!!

He's eating so fast you can't see his hand...he loves cake, just like his momma!

My friend Andrea came over with her two kids in the afternoon for cake.  After Evan was born she came over ever week for my entire maternity leave.  Her visits were a life saver.  She really helped me out and answered so many of my questions and made me feel so relaxed.  So, I really wanted her to come celebrate Evan's first birthday.  We opened some presents and hung out and then headed to my brother's in law football game.

Evan loves his new truck!

On Saturday I had The First Tee in the morning (new fall season - lots of new girls) and then we hung out at my sister's again.  Yesterday morning my sister and I had a 5k race.  

Before the race - hanging out!

It was my first 5k in years...like over ten years!  We signed up and then I happily realized that my parents were in town and could easily watch the kiddos while my sister and I ran.  Perfect!  I had been hoping to PR in the race but never really got a chance to train much.  I had only been running once a week for a month and before that I had probably run 5 times in the previous three months.  Definitely nothing to brag about.  However, I think I did pretty well.  I ran it in under 25 minutes, which was exciting for me.  So maybe not a PR, but not a snail walk either.

That was pretty much the weekend.  Today's my husbands bday and I have nothing for him.  It's sad.  I have to run out today and see what I can find.  It's hard having two birthdays in one weekend - hard on me and hard on the bank!  Plus, Ivan usually has the car these days so it's extra hard for me to get somewhere to buy something.

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Are you ready for the fall?

What did you do this weekend?

First Day of School

Chemistry might not be so bad.  I can't believe I'm actually typing that, but it's true.  I had my first class on Tuesday night.  It's a late one, from 7:30pm-10:20pm.  My bedtime is supposed to be at 10:00pm, so a class that ends after that is just bad news.  It means that by the time I get home, get ready for bed, and unwind, it's practically midnight.  And then I have to get up again four and a half hours later.  And I do that twice since I have class twice a week.

It wasn't that miserable though.  Much less miserable than it could have been.  My friend recommended a set of professors (one for lab and one for lecture) and it turns out, they are great.  The lecture guy is from England and has an accent (and chemistry talk with a British accent is way more interesting than chemistry talk sans accent) and is so nice and excited about Chemistry it's funny.  He actually shook our hands as we came in and asked us our names and then stood by the door and shook our hands as we left.  And the lecture woman is funny and relaxed too.  So, it really could be much worse.  

Last night we got out of lab early so I got home around 8:30pm.  And guess what??  Evan was asleep and Ivan was washing the dishes for me.  It was the best thing ever.  I was happily surprised.  It made the rest of the evening so much more relaxed.  And let's be honest, relaxed evenings are not common in my household.

And in completely other news.  Look at this big boy who lives in my house.

He is growing up too fast.  He practically looks like an adult.  Maybe because we cut his hair.  I didn't want to but since it was always in his face and he was constantly rubbing his eyes because it tickled, I figured it was time.

Here he is before (don't mind me - I look tired 24/7).

And here he is after.

Look at how much older he looks! 

And can I complain that a haircut at Cartoon Cuts cost $16.99.  That's practically highway robbery if you ask me.  Really?? He had like 30 snips.  He's 11 months people!  My husband gets his hair cut for less than that and he requires a razor and they give him and neck and head massage at the end.  Yes, they gave me a certificate congratulating him on his first haircut and put some snippings in a baggie, so maybe it was worth it for the first time.  But next time?  No Cartoon Cuts here, we are just going to the regular barber shop where Ivan goes.

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Are you taking any classes this semester?  When was the last time you took Chemistry?

When was the last time that someone surprised you and did your chores for you?

So many things to say

It sure has been a while and boy do I have some things to tell you.  Don't get too excited, it's not anything really great, just random tidbits.  Last week Evan was sick so I didn't get to post.  I usually post on the bus into work (like now, it is 6:31am), but since I didn't take the bus, I didn't find the time.  Evan is very clingy when he's sick.

And adorable.  Isn't that the saddest/cutest face ever.  He was too sad to go in the stroller so I used the mei tai to walk the dog. And he fell asleep.

No worries though, he is much better now.  His fever went down and although he has a bit of a rash, he's back to his normal self.  And I'm back to work.

And back to school tomorrow.  But let's not think about that now.

This weekend was nice and relaxing.  It was the last week of my summer golf session.  I love the last week of sessions because everyone is so relaxed and happy.  Most of the girls will be back next session, which starts after Labor Day, so it't not a long goodbye.

The most exciting thing I did this weekend was join Costco.  I know, I may be late to the bandwagon, but I'm still not 100% sure we'll use it.  I will see.  We didn't do any shopping, just looked around a bit. Sunday morning was packed so we didn't feel like fighting the crowds.  I hope we love Costco though!

And I finally went on a run! That's a miracle.  I met my sister at 7:30am and we ran around three miles. I have a 5k coming up soon and I'd really like to do well. Plus my parents are here that weekend so they can watch Evan and I don't have to run with the jogger.  Normally I wouldn't mind except that the course is really narrow so I wasn't looking forward to maneuvering around people.

I also tried to get some cleaning done and Evan did his best to untidy everything I tidied, along with make a bigger mess than existed before.

Here he is is playing with the diaper liners.  I can tell you, that was really fun to roll back up!

On Saturday went over to our old neighbors' house for a BBQ.  It was a lot of fun.  They are hilarious and love Evan, so that is a good mix.  Plus, I got to drink one glass of wine.  I hadn't had a glass of wine in months.  Like 6 or so,  it was good.

I also went to the grocery store and spent way more money than I should have.  This seems to be the norm.  I think I need to re-do my budget and adjust the grocery section.  Groceries seems to be more expensive and now that I can't feed Evan just breast milk, I guess he is costing some money too.  $100 a week is just not going to cut it anymore.

On the way home from the grocery store the car in front of me had a bumper sticker that said "I survived the Bataan Memorial Death March."  First I thought he was a survivor of the actual Bataan Death March, but then realized it was the Memorial Death March which takes place in March is White Sands Missle Range, NM.   That is quite an accomplishment - as the Bataan Memorial Death March is serious business. 

 

That's pretty much my update - very random and sporadic.

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Would you ever do anything as serious as the Bataan Memorial Death March?

   - Yes, if I had a team and some time to train.  Alone?  No.

Any other Costco fans? Or other big box stores?

  - I like Costco the best because they treat their workers really well and are a great company...unlike some other big box stores that belong to bad companies.

Bed head

This is Evan's hairdo in the morning.

Do you see how crazy it is! He has a huge rat nest in the back.

This picture doesn't do it justice, but it's pretty adorable.  I love his hair and I'm gonna be so sad when we cut it.  It will have to be soon though because his hair is always in his eyes.  And that can't be comfortable.

This morning we had extra time so we played a little soccer before heading out the door.

If I roll him the ball, he rolls it back.  That's his idea of soccer.  He also kisses the ball before rolling it.  Like a good luck omen or something.  Very cute.

Last night we played jail.

He thought it was really funny.  When I put him in his room and close the gate he loves to throw things through the bars and then reach his arm through and pull them back.  Good thing he occupies himself so well!

And now time for a little nap on the bus!  I finally feel a little more rested today, which is GREAT.  I am so tired of feeling tired.

I am dreading the start of classes in two weeks - how will I survive????

No sleep, caffeine, less sleep, more caffeine....

That is a cycle and it sure is hard to beat.  This week has been especially hard on the sleep cycle.  It started on Sunday when I was up WAY too late getting ready for the week.  I "get ready" for the week so that I'm not up so late during the week packing lunches, etc.  It kind of defeats the purpose if I stay up late on Sunday and then never get a chance to catch up.  Then I'm tired all week, even when I don't have a bunch of things to do.

After being awake until almost midnight on Sunday (this is tragic, since I get up at 4:30am on Mondays) and getting woken up at least four times by Evan, I was TIRED Monday morning.  So I broke my caffeine-free habit and made regular coffee.  Big mistake.  Caffeine is a downhill spiral, in my opinion, especially when you are breastfeeding.  And you hardly ever drink caffeine.

He sleeps so well from 4am-8am...not sure what happens between 8pm and 4am.

Come Monday night, I was wide awake so stayed up late again.  Evan didn't sleep well either.  Tuesday morning?  Another cup of coffee.  And the cycle goes on.  Yup, except I didn't relate Evan not sleeping to the coffee until yesterday.  I'm not 100% sure it's the reason he's not sleeping, but I know it probably played a small role.  He's also teething and today his nose starting running - so those two things make it much harder for him to sleep too.

Sometimes Evan just has to go to jail...except he thinks it's fun,
so it's a good thing I don't use it as a punishment!

It is hard to get my work done if I'm exhausted though, and I have a lot of work these days so I need to be as awake as possible.  However, caffeine doesn't seem to be the best solution - since it really just makes me tired the rest of the week too.  I guess I'll try to catch up on sleep this weekend and then try and start the week out better.  Haha - not sure how possible that is, but it's worth a try.

And can I just tell you this embarrassing story that happened at work??  My boss was walking around introducing his former mentor who was visiting the DC area.  He comes into my office to introduce her and I stand up, shake her hand, and she says...wow, you've got a lot going on in here...while looking at my desk.  I thought she was commenting on how messy my desk was, until I followed her gaze and realized she was looking at my breast pump!  Yikes!  I usually just leave it on my desk because the cord is hanging onto its last string and if I move it, it may not work again.  Plus, no one ever really comes to our offices so it's rare to get a visitor.  I was so embarrassed though.  I couldn't tell if my boss was annoyed at me for having my pump sitting out for the entire world to see, but he didn't say anything.  I didn't really need him to though, I put it out of view two seconds after they left.  I don't think breastfeeding is anything to be ashamed of, but I definitely don't feel like it's super professional to have my pump and its parts sitting all over my desk.  We all wear underwear but I sure don't want to go into my co-worker's office and see a pair of her underwear on her desk!  Ok - so my pump isn't quite that bad, but I had to work really hard at keeping my face from going completely red and keeping my composure!

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Any decaf coffee drinkers out there??

What's the most embarrassing thing that's happened to you this week??

I never thought I'd...Thursday

Have you ever done something that you never thought you'd do? Yeah, me too.

Actually, this is something I never thought my husband would do, but I think that still counts.  It's my blog, so I make the rules.

Last night, after dinner and after giving Evan a bath I randomly asked Ivan if he'd help me clean the bathrooms. They were super disgusting because it is so hard to find the time to clean them. Hubs totally shocked me by saying yes! I could have rolled over in happiness. So we got to work. I sprayed them down and cleaned the sinks and toilets and hubs cleaned the shower and bathtub.  Great deal because I hate cleaning the bathtub and shower. And although hubs hates to clean, he is really good at it and scrubs with all his might, so the shower and bathtub are now spotless.  Or at least they were last night.

For the most part, hubs and I have divided the chores. I think I have way more, but at least he does something. Especially now during the summer when it's hot, hubs comes home from work utterly exhausted. Working outside in this heat is tiring so he often comes home and naps.  I am tired after work too - commuting and working my brain all day is tiring too, but in a different way.  So I let Ivan get away with less chores. And let's be honest, Ivan doesn't care quite as much about cleaning the house. His jobs are to take out the trash, take out the recycle, wash the car, and vacuum.  He does these things regularly so I don't have to nag him about it. If the trash is stinky and I want him to take it out, I just tell him it's stinky and he says he'll take it out.

That's why I was shocked he said yes about the bathrooms. Who likes doing the bathrooms?? No one.  But let me tell you, it went way quicker than it does when I do it by myself.

And then he went back to this:

Watching soccer.  The World Cup qualifying matches are on so it seems like every day is another big soccer match.  The picture above was actually from Tuesday. Honduras was playing USA. That's a big day in our house! I rooted for USA and hubs rooted for Honduras. I have no idea who Evan will root for in the future.  USA ended up winning 1-0, but it was still a good game. Yesterday we watched Japan vs. Italia.  We were both rooting for Italia, or course, since I am part Italian.

While the game was on Evan entertained himself with a box.

He was really excited.

He played until dinner. Then it was bath and bedtime.

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What chores do you have around the house? What chore do you hate doing?

Do you watch the World Cup Qualifying matches? What's your favorite soccer/football team?

Dog bones and my first race

On Sunday I had my FIRST RACE since the Marine Corps Marathon!  It was only 4.09 miles (it was a race to raise money for some victims of the Boston bombing), but I had to run with the jogging stroller.  I have only run about 2 miles with the stroller and really have only ran about 3 miles without it.  I just haven't found the time to go for long runs these day.  I was a bit nervous about how it would be (there were two hills on the route and we did two loops), but it turned out fine.  I started in the back but then passed a bunch of people (which is HARD when you have a stroller because you really have to weave in and out carefully).  I even passed people going uphill with the wind blowing right in my face. 

We're finished!! 
(This was taken after we had finished, but we were pretending to run it in.)

I finished in 39.27 which is approximately a 9:38 pace.  I was pretty happy with that - especially since I had started way in the back and it took me a long time to get into a good pace, so I think my last two miles were faster than that.  I will probably not run with the jogger in too many more races since it is really annoying to manuever.  I don't mind pushing it, but there are just too many people and it makes it hard to get around without running over feet.  This was a small, local race so it wasn't a big deal.  We don't have a lot of money for races anyway, so I'm not sure how many more I'll do.  Probably not a lot.  My next big race will most likely be the Disney Princess Half Marathon in Feburary that I am planning on running with my sister.  I really wanted to do the Baltimore Half this year, but it's so expensive that I am pretty sure I'll miss it.

Look at my big arm muscles!  Hahahahaha!

After the race I wanted to go home and sleep but Evan had different plans.  He has a new thing for dog bones.  Every time I closed my eyes he was after it again!

He scoots himself all the way to the dog bone...

He grabs the bone...

And then he tries to eat the bone!  Gross!!

I didn't realize he was going to put it in his mouth so the photo is blurry because I grabbed the bone out of his hand (it might have been two seconds too late).  One day before Evan could scoot around the house I went into the kitchen to grab something and came back and Dolce and Evan were chewing on this bone together - Evan on one side and Dolce on the other.  Yikes!  Evan's new favorite thing is Dolce - he scoots all over the house just to be near the dog.  Dolce finds it very annoying!

For the rest of the afternoon we played around, did laundry, and walked to the library to return a very over-due book.  My family book club is discussing The Roots of the Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santo on Tuesday.  I finally finished the book but hadn't returned it and it was due last Monday.  Yikes!  I had already renewed it twice so I couldn't renew it again.  The library wasn't too far away and I had to walk the dog anyway - so we just walked up there and back.

How was your weekend?

Do any races??

Sick Little Boy

It has been a week of sickness in this house.  Last weekend Evan was just not himself.  He was super clingy, wouldn’t sleep in his crib, wouldn’t nap, and didn’t want to be put down.  This made life quite difficult – especially bedtime.  I had a very tired little boy.  And because he didn’t want to sleep in his crib at all and was waking up all night with a fever, I didn’t sleep much either.

What?  Me?  Cause problems?  Never!

By Monday night he seemed to be back to normal, minus a severely runny noise.  I got him to go down pretty easily and he was fine at my sister’s on Tuesday.  Then he started coughing – one of those wet, congested coughs.  And he coughed all night long – little coughs that wracked his tiny little body.  So I stayed home with him today, took him to the doctor, and am trying to nurse him back to health by giving him lots of steam baths.

The doctor checked him out and ruled out an ear infection (the fever + him pulling on his ears made me think maybe an ear infection or teething – neither it seems).  She gave him some meds to put in a nebulizer if he starts coughing at my sister’s house (however, he’s not going back there until Monday…hopefully he’s better by then).

What are you talking about?  I’m the cutest thing around town!

Sick babies cause lots of stress.  And not just stress because it’s horrible to have a sick baby, but the stress of trying to balance work and family.

Yes, the dreaded work-life balance.  A stressful balance here in the United States of America.

I work for a great organization that recognizes that family is very important.  That’s definitely made my life so much easier.  I can work from home a couple days a week, I can adjust my schedule as needed, I can take Evan on my work trips (although someone always comes with me to watch him).  However, it is still hard.  All night long Evan was coughing and coughing and coughing and I kept thinking: do I work or do I stay home?  Do I stay home and take Evan to the doctor?  Do I go to work and hope he’s ok?  Is he well enough to go to daycare?  Can I take him to the doctor on Friday (when I work from home)?  I already had Monday off and I worked from home on Wednesday – if I don’t go to work today then I will have only gone one day this week.  What’s the right choice in this situation?

It’s always better to stay home and play with me!

Yes – all this was running through my head at 2am.  I don’t want to be a slacker at work and I don’t want to be a mom that works when she should stay home with her sick baby.  That balance is SO HARD.  And honestly, I never really imagined these types of things when I was growing up.  I guess in my head I thought maybe I’d stay home with my kids, like my mom did.  Then I wouldn’t have had to make choices like this on a daily basis.  But I went to college and grad school and Peace Corps and I love my job and I love working.  And there is NO WAY we can afford for me to stay home and take care of the little one. 

But on days like these – I kind of wish I could.  When there is no relief from the guilt – guilt for not going to work or guilt for sending my baby to daycare when he’s sick.  Either way, there is guilt.

Look at me – I can move around now!  I make life more challenging!

I guess I’ll just have to get used to that guilt because I have a feeling I’ll be struggling with these issues of work vs. family for a long time.  Unless I win the lottery.  Which means I should probably buy a ticket because although the lottery is pretty impossible to win – it’s even more impossible to win if you don’t have a ticket.

And another thought – why is it so much easier for me to take off work than for my husband???  It is so much harder for him to ask for off, so I usually end up taking the day off unless I’ve taken a bunch of time off already.

Such is life.  And no matter what – this little angel always comes first!

I’m a little angel and I like to smother you with kisses and hugs!

An Update on Evan’s Eating

I thought it was about time that I posted an update on how Evan’s eating’s been going.  It has definitely been a difficult road.  It is starting to get better though.  When I posted last time we were unsuccessfully trying to get Evan to eat a few purees.  We failed miserably. 

After doing a lot of reading, I decided to skip purees and do baby-led weaning.  Basically, the philosophy is that instead of pureeing food, you just give babies the same food you are eating.  You put a few options in front of them and they pick up things, put it in their mouth, spit it out, gag a bit, and hopefully swallow it eventually.  It was a bit nerve-wracking at the beginning because I was really afraid he’d choke.  He’d put a bunch of stuff in his mouth and start gagging, but he never choked (as of yet).  This wasn’t a 100% turn-around though.  It’s not that Evan started chomping down and eating like a pro.

Not at all.

He played more often than ate and spit out way more than he actually swallowed. 

Evan eating (aka playing) with his dinner of tomato and broccoli.

If he swallowed anything at all.  The books and internet all said that baby-led weaning babies tend not to really eat much until about 8 months and before then they are just learning about food and practicing chewing (but not swallowing).  Since he consistently refused purees, I was thrilled that he actually put food in his mouth from his tray or my plate, even if he wasn’t swallowing it.  Food close to his mouth = progress.

For the most part, he wasn’t eating too much but I cleared it with the pediatrician and she said that babies don’t need too much nutrition-wise, aside from breast milk, until they are 1 year old.  So we persevered and kept putting food on his tray and hoping he’d one day start shoving food into his mouth.

Chomping on some chicken.

To tell you the truth, it is HARD feeding him.  I didn’t realize that I ate so erratically.  During the week I eat breakfast at work because I leave the house at 6:10am and there is no time for breakfast in the morning.  Even when I work from home on Wednesday, Ivan still takes Evan to my sister’s at 6:15am, so there is no breakfast time.  Evan’s lunch is always done at my sister’s house (except Friday), so dinner is pretty much the only meal time I have with him.  And I used to eat dinner after Evan went to bed, but now that he’s suppose to be eating solids, I try to eat with him before bed.  This is hard.  I get home at 6:30pm and I usually like to play with him for a while, walk the dog maybe, and give him a bath between 7pm and 7:30pm.  Well, cooking dinner can take up to an hour.  So, I try to find quick things that we can enjoy together or we munch on left-overs.  But then I also need to try and find something for him to eat for lunch. 

Eating asparagus and strawberries.

These are some of the things I’ve given him:

• Broccoli (roasted if I’m organized or just frozen – thawed of course)
• Asparagus (he loved this for a while)
• Tomatoes
• Romaine lettuce
• Pasta with olive oil (an easy kind to grab, like penne)
• Rice and beans (his new favorite)
• Fruit (oranges, bananas, strawberries)
• Soup (I’ve tried tomato and lentil)
• Bread (his absolute favorite thing – French baguettes, tortillas, bagels)
• Couscous
• Sweet potatoes (roasted)
• Chicken tamales
• Pancakes
• Scrambled eggs
• Salmon
• Picadillo (Cuban ground beef dish)

I’m sure I’ve given him other things, but I can’t think of anything else right now.  He’s also eaten some “processed” foods like Ella’s Yum Yummy bars (loves these), Happy Puffs, Little Duck Tiny Fruits, and Happy Yogis Yogurt Drops.  He likes all of those but has a hard time picking up the dried fruits.  The hardest thing is trying to make sure he doesn’t get a lot of salt – the pediatrician said too much salt in babies can harm their kidneys.  Well, food has a lot of salt in it (soups, bread, tamales) and even though I’m not a big salt person (I never add salt to food), a lot of the food I eat does have salt in it…and sometimes a significant amount.  So, although I feel like I eat fairly healthy, it’s not quite healthy enough for Evan.

Eating some salmon.

That’s pretty much the food update.  Now that he is 8 months old he is starting to eat more and more and that makes me a bit relieved.  The other night he shoved some rice and beans in his mouth and actually swallows the tortillas.  This morning he ate a bunch of tortilla and eggs.  I’m hoping that now that he’s gotten a bit more used to moving food around his mouth, he’ll start eating a bit more.  Baby-led weaning has really worked for us and I’m glad we went that route.  Although it would have been a lot easier to puree a bunch of foods and be done, it’s been a lot more fun seeing him eat “adult” foods.  And supposedly baby-led weaning babies turn into less picky eaters – so we’ll see about that!

Someone in the house LOVES the fact that Evan is starting to eat…

Dolce cleaning the high chair and making sure no food goes to waste!

If you have kids, what foods did you feed them when they were little? 

Do you eat a lot of salt? 

Do you feed your dog “human” food?
Dolce doesn’t usually get any human food, but I do let him clean up some of Evan’s food, if it’s healthy…like broccoli, eggs, tomatoes, oranges, etc.  No grapes, onions, or garlic though – all poison for doggies!

Going for a walk with Bob

Notice how the title of this post says walk and not run.  Yeah, I’m not sure what happened to me and running.  We are apparently not friends anymore.  I was doing really well with running – I ran a few times a week while I was on maternity leave and then I even continued to run during lunch while I was at work.  Then I got really busy and I didn’t have time.  And since laziness begets laziness, I quit running on the weekends too.  I think getting up so early during the week along with being tired from going to work, going to class, and being a mom started catching up to me and I just wanted to be lazy. 

The thing is, I really love running.

I guess I will wait until my motivation returns.  I have a feeling it will return with the warm weather.  We’ll see though.

Even though I haven’t been running, I did get my booty out for a walk or two.  With BOB.  Let me tell you – I love my BOB.  I was a little hesitant spending so much money on a stroller, but I am so happy I did.  Not only is BOB my favorite color, but he is an awesome stroller.  And I finally went out for a decent walk with him.

I don’t know what I was thinking but I had it in my head that Evan had to be 6 months old to ride in the BOB without the car seat.  I must have made this up in my head though, because when I looked at the instruction manual it said 8 weeks.  What was I thinking???  I had been dying to use my weather shield but thought that I had to wait until Evan was 6 months (since the weather shield does not fit over the car seat). 

Good thing I had the sense to look at the manual.  The second I discovered Evan was old enough for a walk in the BOB, out we went.  The first two times it snowed.  No worries though, Evan stayed nice and toasty and dry inside his plastic igloo.

He seems to always fall asleep when we go for a walk. 

Dolce and I got wet though.  It’s too bad there isn’t a weather shield for Dolce.  Or a dog raincoat that would fit him.  Along with doggie booties.

I love going on walks with Dolce and Evan (and BOB). 

The only problem is getting BOB in and out of the apartment.  First, the BOB stroller is a bit heavy.  And large.  And I live on the third floor of a walk-up condo.  At first I was carrying the BOB downstairs, then running back up and getting Evan and Dolce.  But then I had to strap Evan into the stroller outside and then put the weather shield on.  So, instead I decided to get him all set in the house and then go down the stairs with him in the stroller.  This has worked but it can be tricky trying to get the stroller down the stairs with one hand and making sure Dolce doesn’t bolt off with the other hand.  Going back up the stairs is just as fun.  We are getting better – and my arm and back muscles are slowly getting stronger.

Dolce is a great walker with the stroller.  He sometimes walks too close and gets run over (see picture below), but for the most part he walks right next to me and doesn’t act like a maniac.

Notice all the dog fur stuck to the wheel.  He hasn’t quite learned that he needs to give the stroller some space.  He’s working on it though.

I can’t wait for my walks to turn into runs.  I really can’t wait to go running with Evan.  It is the whole reason I bought the BOB – so we could spend quality time on runs.  So far he seems to enjoy the stroller, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed he stays content in there.  It’s too bad I can’t take Dolce for runs with us – we could have a fun family outing.  However, Dolce is getting old and has some leg problems so running isn’t the best for him.  Also, if he could run, winter would be the best time.  When it gets warmer it’s not the best idea for him to exercise too much.  He’s really an artic dog – so the summers are a bit too hot for him.  I feel bad leaving him at home though.

For now, we’ll keep taking him on long walks.

And I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a few good runs coming my way!

Fitting in a Run

It is a bit hard finding time to run when I have a newborn four-month old at home (how long is a newborn called a newborn???).  By the time I get home from work it is 6:30pm and I have too much to do.  Plus, when I get home I want to see my baby and tickle him and make him smile and catch up with my husband.  Not lace up my shoes and go for a solo run.  It is also dark and freezing by the time I get home – a huge deterrent.

When I work from home, I could go for a run but I am more excited to be done work early and spend time with the baby and husband.  So I usually don’t.  I am “supposed” to do strength training on work-from-home days but I haven’t gotten myself organized to do that yet.  One day it will happen.

So, the only other option I have left is to run during my lunch hour at work.  This works for now because it is freezing outside and I don’t sweat too much.  We don’t have showers in our office building so I pretty much have to change back into my work clothes after going for a run.  I usually cool off while I eat my lunch and then change.  If I am a bit sweaty, I wipe off with Ponds Wet Cleansing Towelettes.  It’s not the same as a shower, but it works just fine. 

                        ^^After getting my run on^^

It is nice running during lunch because it gets me away from my computer and recharges my brain.  I get tired of running around the White House and National Mall over and over and over again, but I’ll live.  It is the best option because it has the least number of streets to cross.  City running annoys me because I have to stop for so many lights that I feel like I don’t go anywhere.  People walking catch up to me every block.  Once I get to the mall area in DC there aren’t any lights and I can run a bit easier.

Sometimes I am too busy to run during lunch though, so that is annoying.  Plus, I sometimes get passive aggressive remarks from coworkers about how I don’t have enough work if I have enough time to run and get my work done.  First, I try to be as efficient as possible.  Second, I work really long days.  I am in the office from 7:30am until 4:50pm – that’s almost a 9.5 hour day.  So, I don’t feel too guilty getting a run in when I have the time.  I am not running 10 miles during lunch or anything.  The most I do is 4 miles but that is rare.  I usually only have time to squeeze in a 3 mile run.  Obviously, if I have to choose between meeting a deadline or going for I run, I meet my deadline. 

And if it is below 20*F outside, I don’t run.  I don’t really have clothes for that temperature, so I skip it.  If we had a gym at work I could run on a treadmill, but we do not. 

After having a baby and having way less time, I find that I am much more motivated to go for a run at lunch.  I know that if I don’t get my run in that day at that specific time, I won’t have a chance to make it up.  I can’t just go another day because there aren’t many other options.  So, unless it’s impossible to squeeze in, I am usually out there running around the monument during lunch.

                       ^^Back in my work clothes, after a good run^^

See, you can hardly tell I went for a run.  Just my hair is a bit ugly since I had it in a ponytail for the run and then tried to shake it out afterwards.  Now, once summer comes and it’s 95*F outside, I’m not sure what I’ll do.  Maybe I’ll take a short lunch and then run after work before getting on the bus.  We’ll see what happens when the time comes.

When do you get a run in?

Anyone else run during lunch?

Baby Baths

Bath time!!

When we were trying to get Evan to go to sleep easier, we decided that we needed a bedtime routine.  Something that would relax him and let him know that bedtime was coming.  So, we decided that a nice warm bath would be a great part of our bedtime routine.

When we first started the routine, bath time seemed to take forever and I wondered if maybe we shouldn’t have chosen such a long activity as part of bedtime.  However, now I love bath time and I’m so happy I get to spend that time with Evan.

At first Evan wasn’t a huge fan of the bath, but now he LOVES it.  He splashes around in the water and loves when I pour water all over him.  When the bath water starts to get chilly and his toes a bit wrinkled, I get him out of the bath and dry him off on the floor.  Then I slather him with coconut oil, while kissing his cute little belly. 

After getting dressed for bed, we spend a few minutes playing in front of the mirror and combing his hair.

It sounds like such a simple routine, but it is just the best.  Hopefully bath time can remain our time as he get older.  Since I work all day now, special “us” times like this are rare. 

What’s your favorite time of the day?

Do you take a bath/shower every day?