Mother's Day Weekend

{I didn't take any pictures this weekend for some reason so I'm interspersing adorable pics of Evan through the months for Mother's Day - since he made me a mother}

He was so little here!

I have a bit of a dilemma - my bus friend now moves over for me to sit next to him in the mornings.  I'd much prefer to sit alone in the mornings because it's my time to blog and sleep.  However, I feel rude walking past him when he has clearly already moved seats so I can sit down.  Then I don't get my very important nap though...and I can feel the difference as I try to get my work done.  It's painful and makes me want regular coffee instead of the decaf I fixed.  Ugg.

This weekend was great though, so I can't really complain.  On Friday I met up with two of my friends from the community college where I took nursing pre-reqs.  We went to Panera and chatted about nursing and all things that go with it.  It was so fun.  One girl is already in the nursing program, I start in the Fall, and the guy is starting next spring/fall.  It was so nice catching up. 

Before his first haircut!

Saturday was golf in the morning and then normal grocery shopping in the afternoon.  The golf girls were pleasantly calm today (at least my group).  It was a nice change from the running around that they normally do.  Kids can be crazy, especially with golf clubs!  Evan was taking a long nap so I was able to sneak out and grocery shop in peace.  Evan isn't too horrible at the store yet, but it's still more peaceful to go alone.  It's also more expensive.  Somehow I only had about ten things on my list but still managed to spent $150.  And I didn't even buy anything fun - definitely not going to be making any candy purchases or baking brownies or cake this week!  The grocery store is a money suck - I need a budget diet!

And then Sunday - Mother's Day!  Hubs went into work in the morning and Evan and I slept in until 8am.  Quite glorious.  Well, I was up at 7am, but cuddled with Evan until 8am.  Nothing like a Mother's Day cuddle.  Then I wore up and opened my present from the boys: a new pair of TOMS!  Yay!!!

Look at that face - and that hair !!

Then we got up and made blueberry muffins, bacon, and eggs (for Evan and Ivan) and oatmeal and coffee (for me).  We watch a little of The Voice and relaxed and then showered.  We had plans to go pick up my nun-friend and take her for lunch.  She's not a mother and her mother passed away years ago (my nun-friend is 85!), and so I thought it would be nice to take her out again.  So, we drove into the city and picked her up and headed to Panera.  I love going there with her because it's relaxed, we can chat for however long we want, and Evan can move around a little more than at a regular restaurant.  I ended up ordering something off their "hidden" menu - Steak Lettuce Wraps.  It was pretty good and not nearly as greasy as some of their other food.  Did you know Panera had a secret menu?  It's on their website but not listed on their in-store menu.  You have to ask for it at the register and know what you want.  Pretty sneaky, huh.

After we came home Evan took a nap (he has really been into 3-4 hour naps these days) and I got a meal in the crock pot, the dishes done, and dinner cooked (the crock pot was for Monday).  My plan was to get all of dinner ready so I could go for a run with Evan when he woke up.  Total fail.  He woke up at 6:30pm but then was super clingy until after 7pm. He wouldn't let me put him down or change his diaper and he just wanted to hide his face in my neck.  By the time he was ready to go in the stroller it was too late to get a run in with playground time, so we just ate dinner.  Oh well, should have gone in the morning.

Evan's first race!

We ended the day with a Skype to my mom.  Evan loves Skyping with Mimi and the minute you mention it he runs to find his bird (my mom made two stuffed birds, one for her and one for him and they play with them on Skype) and comes and sits in my lap.  It's adorable.  He was a bit wild yesterday and was throwing golf balls, climbing on everything, and throwing a few fits, but it was still a nice chat.  Then off to bed he went and I followed shortly.

Evan with his Mimi!

 Now I just have to get through another week at work and being away from this kiddo - which is hard when he's adorable and cuddly and a little easier when I spend all night dodging golf balls!

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?

A Broken Rule, a Tragedy, and Catch-up

Sorry I didn't get a chance to post last Thursday.  I went to work (the only day that week due to MLK Day, a snow day, and my telecommuting days), but I ended up sitting with a bus friend who wanted to chat the entire time.  Yes, I have broken my cardinal bus rule: no more bus friends after Jacqui, especially male bus friends.  The reason I became friends with Jacqui in the first place was because she was rescuing me from a male bus stalker who wanted to sit with me all the time.  She started sitting with me so that he couldn't and it saved me (the guy was actually mad at her and yelled at her for sitting with me all the time - he had serious problems).  When Jacqui stopped riding the bus I promised to stop making bus friends and I really promised to never make a male bus friend because they always turn out to be creepy.  All rules broken.  As hard as I tried not to, I made a new bus friend.  And he happens to be male.  He was just so friendly that I would have had to be down right rude to get rid of him and that's hard for me to do.  He seems happily married with two young girls so I am hoping that he never invites me for coffee or to stay the night in his "condo" or any other creepy gross things.  There are only so many different buses I can take to escape the weirdos.  But the point of this long tangent was to say that the bus was crowded that morning so I sat with him and then couldn't write my blog.

Saturday morning I headed out for a run.  Amazing, right?  Well, now that I have joined up with the TNT  group to do my long runs (not fundraising, just running with them), I feel more compelled to go.  It's a good thing too because it was like 13 degrees but felt like 5 due to the wind.  Yup, it was chilly.

That was my running outfit.  It kept me nice and warm (kind of, I was still a bit frozen).  The face mask was useful in keeping my mouth from freezing off, but it did get some condensation on it that froze.  I ended up doing 7.18 miles in one hour and five minutes, and that was including our water break stop.  That was pretty fast for me..I was tired but glad I kept up that pace and survived.  I admit I am a bit sore but I'll just have to push through.  Our half is coming up in like a month.  Yikes!

And on Sunday Evan and I decided to be brave and go back to church (the last time I went we got "the Look" because Evan hasn't figured out the difference between an indoor and an outdoor voice and so I stopped going - but I've decided I am going to try and ignore "the Looks" and persevere).  There had been a random shooting in our mall the day before and church was on my mind as a place to go and find peace (no matter how often you hear of gunman shooting at random people on the news, it feels very different when it happens in your own community).  This morning driving past the mall on the bus there were four or five reporters reporting early this morning and the mall is still an active crime scene.  I could also see police headquarters set up in the parking lot too.  Just very surreal.  Evan wasn't too bad at church and the nice woman in front of me specifically told me that it didn't bother her if Evan made a lot of noise.  I was thankful for this.  I am glad we went mass because the homily on the shooting was very good and I did feel better afterwards.  The thing that stuck with me the most was the priest made a comment about how it is much easier to buy guns and ammunition in this country than it is to get decent mental health care and that is sad.  And it really is very sad.  People are hurting in this country (mentally/emotionally/physically) and it's our responsibility to take care of them but we seem to be doing a really bad job of it.  And I wish I knew what was causing people so much pain and making them want to kill people and then themselves rather than getting help.  It's easy to be dismissive and say people are crazy - but that is not helping anyone.  As a society, we need to start figuring out why and what we can do about it because it it getting scary around here.  Ok, that's enough on that topic.

Onto something much happier: Evan!

And now I am gonna update you on some funny things Evan has done.  The other night he was eating dinner and put this bag over his head.

He ate his entire dinner like that.  He'd lift the bag up and I'd put some food in his mouth and then he'd put the bag back down over his head.  It was hilarious.  And surprisingly he ate more than he normally does - he actually finished all his dinner!  I'm debating whether I should put a bag over his head every night for dinner (don't worry, I made sure he was safe and wasn't suffocating himself and I don't let him put bags over his head without supervision).

And take a look at his new seat.

Ivan caught him sitting on Dolce and looking out the window.  It was so cute!  Then he started bouncing on Dolce and that was less cute.  Now he tries to climb on Dolce every time he can.  Less fun and way less cute.  Pretty much I have to separate the two of these creatures these days because I try not to let Evan bother Dolce too much.  You just never know when a dog is going to have enough and the last thing I want is Evan hurting Dolce and making him snap/bite him (this has never happened and the only time I've seen Dolce snap is at the vet when having stitches removed).  Plus, Dolce weighs about 65 pounds and Evan is about 18 pounds - so there is a big difference there.

Ok, I'm gonna banana split.  Hope you have a great Monday!

Five Question Friday

Just typing the word Friday makes me very happy when I have a three-day weekend ahead of me.  One extra day to relax.  One extra day to get things done.  It’s amazing how wondering that feels.  Yay for holiday weekends!

I felt like doing Five Question Friday today, in honor of relaxation and good things to come.  If you want to participate, hope over to Five Crooked Halos and link up!

1. Do you wake before the alarm or stay in bed until the last possible moment?
   Well, that depends.  If I am getting up for work, I rarely wake up before my 4:30am alarm goes off.  Unless Evan wakes up and wants to eat.  Which happens often.  I am usually so happy to be in bed that I wait until the last possible moment to get up – five seconds extra rest can be the difference between a good day and an exhausting day!
   
2. Who should get a baby shower?  Is it just the first baby or all babies?
   I know a baby shower is traditionally to shower the new mom with new stuff for the baby.  However, I believe that baby showers are a great time to shower moms with love.  My sister has had three kids and I’ve given her a shower each time.  Of course, not huge showers with registries or anything – that was what we did for the first one.  For the other two they were more intimate gatherings with a few gifts.  I kind of feel like each child is worthy of some sort of celebration!
   
3. How will you spend Memorial Day?
   I have a wedding on Saturday (my bus friend’s wedding – that’s how much time I spend commuting to work…I’m going to the wedding of a woman I met on the commuter bus!) and then on Monday we are having a small BBQ.  I love BBQs so I am excited.  I hope the weather cooperates!
   
4. Do you have a storm/tornado/hurricane/fire plan for your kids/house?
   No.  We should, but we don’t.  We don’t really live in an area that has many natural disasters though – at least not yet.  With global warming who knows what the next ten years has in store for us.  My fire plan would be to exit through the front door and if the fire was in the way of that, to go to one of the bedrooms, put a wet towel under the door, and wait for the fire engines.  We are on the fourth floor so jumping isn’t really an option.  I should get an escape latter, but I haven’t yet.
   
5. What is your favorite morning drink?
   Coffee with cream and sugar.  I love coffee in the morning – I love the idea of it more than I actually like the drink, but a nice creamy warm drink in the morning is the best feeling.  When I was pregnant I hated the taste of coffee so I drank tea every morning (and sometimes just hot water) and it worked too.  But there is just something special about coffee.  And I drink decaf so it’s not really the caffeine.

 

What are your Memorial Day plans?

Do you have a long or short commute to work?

Fill in the Blanks Friday

I love filling in the blanks!   If you want to fill in some blanks, visit Lauren over at the little things we do and link up!

1. Over this Labor Day weekend I will be waiting for Maple Baby to show up, walking with friends, going to church, hitting up Sunday brunch, and cooking Honduran enchiladas with my former bus friend (she's still my friend, she just doesn't ride the commuter bus anymore...).  Sounds like a good weekend to me!

2. With the political debates going on right now, my current thoughts are not concerned with them.  I have pretty strong political leanings and I already know which candidate I'm going to vote for so I don't really pay attention to the debates.  I like to read the results of the debates and the synapses of both convention speeches, etc., but I don't actually watch them.  I don't watch any TV to be honest.  And I don't particularly trust what politicians say when they are running for office - you never know what they truly believe until they are voted in.

3. Today is my last day in the office.  I am actually sad.  It is so weird to think that I won't be back here until December.  I will definitely miss my work friends and the interactions and the fun times we have.  Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to spending time with my newborn and all that, but it will definitely feel weird when I leave today.  Crazy!  I am still working from home next week, but that is a much different scenario - no 4:45am alarm clock, no 1.5 hour bus ride to work, no 2 hour bus ride home, no 12 hour days, etc.  Did I mention it feels weird????

4. The best thing I've cooked recently was crepes?  I haven't really cooked too many fantastic items during my pregnancy because I haven't been too hungry or too motivated.  I have started cooking crepes for hubs in the morning though and they turn out pretty tasty.  I made fried rice last night but it didn't turn out so tasty.  I can't think of anything amazing that I've cooked recently...maybe after baby comes?  Probably not!

5. The last thing I bought was baby-related, I'm sure.  Probably a diaper.  Oh wait, I know.  The last thing I bought was a subscription to The Honest Company Household Essentials Bundle.  The Honest Company makes diapers and organic, chemical-free household products (like detergent, hand soap, sunscreen, bug spray, surface cleaner, shampoo, etc.) and I have been wanted to subscribe to their service for a while.  I got the free sample in the mail and I love the stuff.  We won't use the diapers, but I am happy to have found a good company that makes safe household products.

6. The best movie I saw this summer was nothing.  I didn't see a single movie all summer.  The last movie I saw was Hunger Games (which was awesome), but it wasn't during the summer.  I love the movies but we just haven't had time to go.  Or money.  I doubt we'll have much time after Maple Baby comes either.

7. The best book I read this summer was nothing.  Yikes!  I didn't watch movies and I didn't read - what did I do????  I read some baby books but I sure wouldn't list them as "best books" or anything.  I am currently reading Jasmine Nights by Julia Gregson, which is good, but I 'm not even half-way done.  And now that school has started I'm not sure how much reading I'll get in.  We'll see.


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What good movies or books have you seen/read this summer?

What are your Labor Day plans??  BBQ?  Last pool visit?  Beach?

What is your favorite dish to cook?

Spots of Happiness V.4

Is it really Friday again?  My how time flies these days!  I guess having so much stuff to organize and get ready makes the time go by much faster than normal.  This week was full of happy spots, so let's see if I can remember them!

* Another baby shower!  My co-workers threw me a very lovely baby shower at work this week.  It was so fun and beautiful.  They even had a theme: Pea in a Pod.  So cute!  The entire conference room was decorated and there was a huge cannoli cake and food and presents.  It was amazing.  I felt so loved!  My coworkers are AWESOME!

* We also had another party at work - but a going-away breakfast.  Not quite so happy, but I'm happy for my co-worker because she is embarking on a new adventure.  I imagine it's scary to start a new life path and I think it's amazing when people do.  So, although I'm sad to see her go (we've worked together for almost five years), I'm happy that she is getting an opportunity to fulfill a dream.  And I know it will work out!

* While on the topic of being happy for other people, I'm happy for my best bus friend because I am pretty sure she's getting a new job!  I'm sad for me, because she won't be on the bus anymore, but I'm thrilled she found a job that is only SIX minutes from her house!!!  For those of you who don't understand, we commute 3-4 hours a day for work.  That's a LONG time.  It takes about an hour and twenty minutes to get to work in the morning and about two hours to get home.  Sometimes it takes longer, sometimes it's shorter (but not often).  Either way - it's TOO MUCH TIME.  I am so happy that she has found a new job that she really wants that is soooooo close.  Her life will drastically improve!  I, on the other hand, will be stalked by scary, sketchey old men again.  Boo.

* I am very happy that I have an umbrella the size of a small house.  It was pouring rain this morning and everyone else was getting soaked (in their tiny umbrellas that barely cover their heads) but I was completely dry because my umbrella was so big.  It's a golf umbrella and people always make fun of me because it's soooooooooooo huge, but really, it works so great.  And this morning, no one made a comment at the bus stop about how large my umbrella was.  I'm sure they were jealous.

* Dress Rehearsal!  Hubs and I took a Dress Rehearsal class at the birthing center.  Basically they go over what to expect during labor, when to call the midwife, what to bring, what to do, etc.  It's exciting and scary at the same time.  It could literally happen any time (but we're not ready, so don't happen yet!).  I also heard from my doula so we are meeting next week.  I am hoping she's nice, experienced, and doesn't make me feel awkward (since I will have to birth a baby in front of her).  Actually, I am hoping that labor makes all my modesty disappear because I am a little apprehensive about giving birth in front of people.  I feel awkward already.  Maybe once the pain starts I'll get over it.  At least I hope I will.

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What spots of happiness have you had this week?

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

 - Getting baby's room organized!

Do you have a huge umbrella or one of those tiny ones?