Slides and Tears

I am working from home all week so it's been difficult to find time to blog.  I don't have a 1.5 hour bus ride in the morning, so my routine has been thrown off schedule.  For two weeks in April every year Evan's daycare is closed and I have to find someone else to watch Evan or take vacation.  Last year it worked out well because I had a work trip to Birmingham and my aunt meet me there and watched Evan for a week and I was able to shuffle him around between friends for the other days.  This year, not so much.  I've taken a lot more work trips and both my aunt and my sister have already done (or are signed up for) two trips, so I didn't want them to ask for another favor.  So, I found another daycare to bring him to for a week and then I'm taking a week of vacation.

The daycare was recommended by a friend of mine and we went over to visit and the woman seemed nice.  Evan has other thoughts though.  The first day he was ok and I snuck off when he was outside playing.  Yesterday he was a bit more clingy but I snuck off while he was chasing after a ball.  Today?  He refused to be fooled and grabbed a hold of my hair and hung on for dear life.  The woman took him so I could leave and Evan screamed bloody murder.  It was very painful.  I thought that each day would get better but it seems that each day is worse.  Now that he knows I'm going to drop him off and leave he gets all panicky when we get there.  I really hate it.  It took all my self control to not burst into tears and drag my little baby toddler back home with me.  I think we avoid this situation normally because my husband usually drops him off and he tends to be less clingy with his dad.  Plus, I think he was familiar with my sister when we started dropping him off there so he's never cried at all (and maybe she smells like me or something so it's not quite as scary).  Boo.  It makes me sad.  And I miss him 10x more when he's at this new place than when he's at my sister's.  Just one more day and then our vacation starts and I can make it up to him by spending every second with him for the next week.

We did have a good weekend though.  It was SO beautiful out that I wanted to spend every second outside.  And so did Evan.  He has even learned a new word: slide.  That is a clear indication of how much time we spent at the park.

He had a new love of slides and can go down all by himself (if it's not too steep).  Sometimes he'll just perch on the top and enjoy the view though!

This was the perfect slide for him because he could get to the top and slide down all by himself.  Then he found the other park for the older kids and decided he liked the steep slide too.

This slide was much steeper and he had problems getting on it.  I usually caught him half way down and would have to reposition him - he would be head first, on his back, on his belly, etc.  Luckily the park wasn't really crowded so he had time to explore without fear of being knocked over.

He has also now developed a "smile" face, which is weird because I don't usually make him smile when I take photos and I don't feel like I take a TON of photos of him.  But somehow he learned and now sticks his head out and makes a goofy face.  Here are some others.

He likes to get as close to the camera as possible (and yes, I realize he needs a haircut).

Here he was eating his Sunday breakfast of pancakes dipped in maple syrup (although he didn't eat the pancakes, just sucked the syrup off of them), eggs, and sausage.  He is a sausage fiend and gobbles it up first.

Alright, I have to banana split and get this posted so I can get some work done.  I am a bit exhausted because I was up until after midnight getting work done and then had to get up early this morning to get Evan to daycare.  Since we only have one car I've been running (literally) Evan to daycare in the morning.   It's a nice and easy way to get a 4 mile run in, but today it was only 31 degrees out!  I had to dig my winter running clothes out again.

I hope you have a good Wednesday!!

When cold is now warm

Isn't it weird how your body adjusts to different temperatures?  This morning it is 40 degrees out and I feel like I could have worn my spring jacket instead of my winter coat.  It felt quite nice outside waiting for the bus.  But really, it's 40 and that is not actually a warm spring day.  However, after waiting for the bus in single digit weather all winter, 40 degrees seems quite warm.  It will be extra nice when it's light out in the morning, because ever since the time changed it's been dark.  And I have wait for the bus in front of an apartment complex that burned down so there are no lights and every morning I practically jump up and down as the bus comes because I'm afraid he won't see me standing on the corner in pitch black.  Let's just say I am ready for spring!

In anticipation of spring, I got a few hairs cut.

Wow, it feels amazing to have short hair again!!  I literally hadn't had my hair cut since last April.  My hair was long and blah, so I always wore it in a pony tail.  Ok, so the ponytail was partly due to my laziness but even when I felt less lazy there was no point in doing my hair because it was so blah.  I feel like a new person with my hair cut and normal looking again.  Now I have to actually blow dry it more often then putting it in a ponytail (remember, that was one of my 2014 commitments - look less frumpy and blow dry my hair when I get it cut).  Especially because it cost me $184 to get it cut.  Does that seem like highway robbery to you???  I was a bit shocked...I guess prices go up when you don't go for a year!  Last time I thought I paid $150 and that included tip.  Yikes!  No wonder I only go once a year!!

Yesterday was Father's Day in Honduras so we had a very small celebration.  Ivan got fried fish.  

I'm not sure what Evan's doing in this photo, but he refused to smile.  It kind of looks like he's making fish noises....

That's one of his favorite meals so it was his special treat.  There are not too many places that serve the entire fish (head, eyeballs, and tail) rather than a fillet, but we have found a place right down the street from us.  Since he never knew his dad and was sad growing up as a kid never celebrating Father's Day he is very into celebrating both the Honduran and American Father's Day.  Honduran Mother's Day is the same day as the American Mother's Day so I don't get an extra day to celebrate.  Oh well, one day is enough for me!

Also, I got this exciting new planner in the mail today.  Remember how a few days ago I boasted about how I can survive on only five hours of sleep??  Well, I can assure you, my memory is not happy with that arrangement.  I have forgotten so many things that I decided I need to write EVERYTHING down. So, I started with a beautiful Erin Condren planner that I have been eying for a while.  I was so excited to get it!!

It came in this beautiful box all wrapped up pretty.  It even smelled nice too because she had a candle scent sample in there that smelled refreshingly like a tropical beach.

And here is the beautiful planner!  Isn't it wonderful?  I got to customize the front and back with pictures and had a fun time picking out which photos I wanted on it.  On the inside it has a monthly calendar and a weekly calendar, so I can stay nice and organized.

I love the planner and hope it makes me write down everything so I don't keep missing deadlines or airplanes!

Here's to being more organized!

Also, here are a few photos from our hiking adventure last weekend - I am determined to turn Evan into an avid outdoorsman!!

Notice how we brought his shovel with us - it comes with us everywhere we go.  He did think it was really fun trying to pick up pine cones with his shovel and throw them into the woods.

He still has a huge love of trees and wanted to touch every tree we passed.  It made for an interesting hike through a forest.  He got pretty excited though and would just go up to each tree and touch it for a second or two.  Quite adorable.

 

If you look closely, you can see that he's standing on a tree stump.  He stood here for at least five minutes.  Apparently, it's even more fun to stand on a tree than it is to touch the tree.  He was very excited and stomped around on this truck.  Then he saw an airplane - another one of his loves.

Today is supposed to be 60 degrees so I am very excited to get a run in and maybe a few more outdoor activities this weekend. 

Happy Thursday!!!

Random Thoughts

I don't have anything in particular to tell you, so I'm just going to give you a bunch of random thoughts that are floating through my head today.

~ It is freezing yet again. This is getting to be old news, but I think this is the coldest winter I remember in Maryland.  My toes are frozen from waiting for the bus.  And my cheeks.  I brought running clothes to go running at lunch but I think it's only going to be like 12 degrees out so I don't know if I brought warm enough clothes.  We'll have to see if I can make it.

Evan in the backpack waiting to go out and walk the dog in
in the freezing cold.

~ I have reached that age when exhaustion isn't flattering.  I remember when I was in college and I'd stay up all night studying and the next day I would look fine.  Maybe a little glassy-eyed, but that was about it.  Ha, not true anymore!  Now I get deep, dark circles under my eyes and they (my eyes) look like they've sicken into a deep crevice.  And I look old.  Yesterday I only got a few hours of sleep and when I went to the bathroom at work I looked at myself in the mirror and was appalled.  I looked so old!!  My eyes were sunk so deep into my skull I could barely see them.  Not a flattering look at all. I must get more sleep.  I didn't do too well last night so we'll start tonight maybe.  I'm not sure why I can't get to bed before 11pm.  I remember back in the day when I would try to be in bed by 9:30pm.  How was that even possible!!

This picture has nothing to do with anything except that
the other day I found a bunch of my kitchen utensils in the
garbage and I can only blame this munchkin.

~ I need a new TV series to watch on TV that is on Amazon Prime.  I tried watching Alias but it was really hard to follow.  I couldn't keep up with all the plot twists and turns.  I may try it again later, but I had to take a break.  So. Now I am watching Quantum Leap.  I loved that show as a kid and it's fun to watch.  There are only two seasons though, so it won't last too long.  Did you watch that show as a kid?

~ I am going to Houston tomorrow for a work trip.  My sister is driving over from Dallas to watch Evan while I present at and attend a conference.  I am excited she is coming.  I am excited about the conference too.  It is looking to be a very forward thinking conference and like it.  They have free childcare!  And they have "Scent Free" sections so people who are sensitive to scents (like smelly perfume, cigarette smoke, etc.) can sit in peace.  I can't sit there because my deodorant and shampoo are scented, but I really like the idea.

~ I am having so many problems getting my nursing school applications in.  Just when I think everything is golden, something new comes up.  Hopkins wanted my Description of Service (a document that I wrote that states everything I did in my two years in Peace Corps) and now Peace Corps says that they can't find it.  What???  How can that be missing?  Grrr.  Not sure what that means exactly, but Hopkins has a really great Returned Peace Corps Volunteer program and offers scholarships and now I am afraid I won't be eligible.  Boo.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they find the document buried under my maiden name or something.

Ok, enough random thoughts for today.  My eyes won't stay open.  The black bus abyss is dragging me under.

New for 2014

I think we are slowly coming out of the polar vortex.  It was 27 degrees out when I went running yesterday and only 25 degrees this morning while I waited for the bus.  It doesn't really bother me too much waiting for the bus in the cold, dark morning except for one thing.  My toes getting really cold.  That must be why people wear boots in colder climates, because it keeps their feet warm.  My little leather work shoes and old, thin socks are no defense against the bitter cold.

And yes, you read that right, I finally went for a run.  It was only three miles but it felt good and I didn't keel over from lack of physical fitness.  I just have to be able to add 10 miles to that and I'll be golden.  It was a bit chilly and although I never warmed up enough to sweat even one drop, I wasn't freezing the entire time.  My face was cold but other that that it wasn't too horrible.

And now to my new year commitments...

Looking back on my 2013 commitments, these are pretty much the same.  So, I didn't commit to them very well.  I will try and do better this time around!!!

I don't like to call them resolutions because most resolutions fail miserably.  Not that my commitments don't fail with time but I am hopeful.  My co-worker says that 2014 is going to be our year and I really want to believe that it will be.  Last year, although it had it's great moments, did not end well and I could use a more positive year in 2014.  There are a lot of things I'd like to commit to do better in 2014, so here they are (yes, I realize I am a bit late in these but I have been doing them since the beginning of January,  I just didn't get a chance to write about them.

 
1. Be a better friend. 
 

My bus friends - haven't seen them since this photo
was taken in May!!!

I have some really amazing friends and in 2013 I called in a lot of friend favors but I rarely was a good friend back.  Between adjusting to being a working mom, taking classes, coaching golf, etc., I was kind of overwhelmed and good intentions like phone calls and notes and letters and short visits just never happened.  I can't expect to have great friends if I am never a great friend myself.  This year I want to get more organized and keep in better touch, get more coffees, send more notes, etc.

2. Be a better housekeeper.  

Evan will always challenge this endeavor as he sees it as his mission to take out everything I put away!

 Last year I got a bit lazy with chores (for most of the reasons above), and the house was often a mess.  This year I would like to make little changes so that the place is more presentable.  For example, make the bed every day.  Ivan thinks it's stupid to make the bed when you are just going to sleep in it again, but I like looking at a made bed.  It makes the room look nicer.  I'd also like to find places for all the stuff that accumulates on the dining room table.  We'd like to eat family dinners there but we are always moving junk around.  And then I'd just like to be more on top of things like cleaning bathrooms, doing laundry, washing dishes, etc.

3. Be less frumpy.  
 

Not the frumpiest, but hair in ponytail, no make-up, and bad posture - changes could be made.

 I haven't completely fallen into the frumpy stage, but I am close.  My hair is always in a ponytail, I never have make-up on, and I wear the same sweatshirt and jeans every day of the weekend.  Something must be done!  I can't continue to let myself fall to the wayside.  So, a little self-improvement can't hurt.  First on the list is better posture.  I need to stand up straight, end of story.  I also need to start putting on some make-up every once in a while.  And blow-drying my hair (when I get it cut).  I can't look like I just rolled out of bed every day.

4. Do more things.

Camping - let's do more of this!

After Evan was born we slowed down a bit, activities got expensive and we were content to just hang out at home.  Nothing wrong with that at all, but now Evan is older and it's fun and easier to go places.  I'd like to go to church more, take Dolce to the dog park more, play more golf, do more fun activities like the aquarium and zoo.  Take Evan to the playground, on hikes, and for bike rides.  Get more camping in.  Things like that.  

Ok, those are most of my commitments for the year. I realize there are a lot and they are quite involved but if I succeed in just one area I will be a better person for it!

What commitments did you make for 2014??

Christmas Vacation Part II (and lots of photos)

Before I get started I just have to mention that it is 3 degrees out and with the wind chill it feels like -14 degrees.  I thought I was going to freeze waiting for the bus at 6am but Ivan nicely waited at the bus stop so I could stay in the warm car.  I was very appreciative.

Now, back to pretending I am still on vacation and enjoying life in Vermont.

You would think that a nice storm was adventure enough and that the rest of the trip would be smooth sailing...but you would be wrong.  This year my younger sister and her family came up for Christmas and my older sister stayed in Texas.  Usually it is the other way around, but we had fun my my younger sister and her family...although we missed my older sister and her boyfriend.  

The babies eating breakfast - they are only 3 months apart

Due to the large amount of ice on the trees, they were getting heavy and many branches were breaking and trees were falling.  It you went outside you could actually hear sporadic crashing in the woods.  Unfortunately, one or two trees looked like they were going to fall right on the house in the direction of the guest bedroom!  And they weren't little trees.  My Dad called some tree people to come cut it down but they couldn't come until the next morning.  The tree looked so precarious that my sister and family ended up sleeping in my parents' room and my parents slept on a mattress in the living room.  Ivan, Evan, and I were fine because we always sleep in the basement because it's much easier down there with Dolce.  So we were safe from falling trees.  Luckily no trees fell and the tree guys came on Christmas Eve and cut them both down (they were each 88ft tall!!) for a hefty price.  

What an adventure!

Then it was Christmas!  

My parents' tree - it is so pretty, I love it.  They've had the same
tree for 23 years or something.

We have a Christmas tradition were Christmas morning we wait until everyone is awake and then we munch on Panetone (an Italian fruit bread) and open presents.  My Dad is responsible for handing out the presents and we open them one at a time.  I know it seems slow and arduous but I love it.  That way you can thank the person who gave it to you, see what other people got, and watch people open your present.  Plus it prolongs the gift opening session.

Getting ready to open presents Christmas morning

This year Ivan and I didn't buy anyone presents.  We sent out an email in advance so people would know and wouldn't think we had forgotten.  We just didn't have the money after moving and putting down our deposit and everything.  That put a small damper on the holidays because we love gift giving and we had great ideas for people's gifts this year.  And there is something extra special about buying Christmas gifts during the holiday.  Plus, people still bought us stuff and then we felt bad opening things from people we didn't buy anything for.  Such is life though and we'll just have to make it up next year.

I got some great gifts like a Barnes and Nible gift card, new clothes, a Peace Corps calendar, a teapot, tea, Christmas ornaments, a necklace, a big blanket, a cookbook, a microwave popcorn maker, new sheets.  I loved everything.  

Evan looking at the tree...before Santa came.

Evan got lots of fun gifts too.  We gave him a wooden train and a piggy bank (we had purchased the two items before we spent all our money on moving).  He also received some clothes, some ornaments, some little cars, books, a hammer type toy, a puzzle, some bath toys, and other things I can't remember this early in the morning.

Ivan was most excited about a gift certificate to his favorite Chinese Buffet.  The gift certificate was for $60.00 and the buffet only costs $5.95 a person.  Super cheap, right!!  So he went twice and treated the entire family one time.  He still has almost $20 left for when we return.  That man loves his Chinese buffets.  He also got a Honduran soccer scarf, new socks, clothes, and some other things I can't remember because I wasn't able to pay attention while I was opening mine and Evan's gifts.

The rest of the trip involved lots of time hanging out with Evan and my sister's girls, chatting with my mom, sledding in the woods, hanging out at my Aunt's house, and drinking lots of tea.  

Evan had a great time playing with kitchen items!

Evan dancing in his Christmas outfit.

Getting ready to go sledding!

Playing with Mimi on the kitchen floor (we spent a lot of time in the kitchen).

Evan in his snow outfit - coat, snow pants, snow boots, and all!

The trees were still frozen days later - this is the view from
the living room window.

Evan loved taking every item out of the drawers and playing with them all over the kitchen floor.

Playing in the little rocking boat my parents had - so cute!

Cousins happily playing in the kitchen - check out the doll stuck in the basketball hoop!

An attempt at a cousin photo in front of the tree - complete failure!

Hanging out with Papa (ignore the opened pantry in the back)

The weekend before we left we headed into Burlington to go to the Echo Center, which is a lake aquarium geared toward kids.  Evan loved looking at the fish, playing in the water, and playing in the kids room which had a boat and a little slide.

He could have stayed here forever!

Looking at snakes.

I had to take a photo of Evan in his shirt next to the Caution Wet Floor sign - that shirt is so special beause
my friend made it for me because I have that same tattoo.

It was a fun place.  Afterwards we headed to dinner at the Skinny Pancake where my Dad's second cousin works and enjoyed yummy crepes.  They were really delicious.  

And that my friend is my recap! 

The only other adventure we had was coming home from an attempted trip to Burlington (we turned around because it was snowing too much and we passed three accidents in an hour) we went to drive down the street my parents' house is on, only to find out that an electric pole had fallen and there were downed wires all over the street.  We called the electrical company and headed to Chinese Buffet to wait while the wires were removed.  It turned out that they were cable wires instead and we could just drive over them.  Which is what we ended up doing the rest of the time because the cable company never came out to fix them.  Luckily they weren't the cable lines to my parents' house so we still had TV and internet. 

We had an uneventful drive home and came home to find our house ransacked.  Oh wait, no, it wasn't ransacked.  We left it looking like a disaster because we hadn't had time to unpack anything.  I spent the rest of the week trying to get things organized and figure out how we were going to fit everything in our new place.

I'm still working on that.

I sure miss vacation. I really miss sleeping in until 8am and not having to commute into the city everyday.  And getting home so late.  But at least I don't have class this semester, so that's a big positive.

And as far as my half marathon training goes - it isn't going anywhere.  I had all these plans to run in Vermont and half my suitcase was filled with running clothes - and then the ice storm came and the ice never went away.  I was too nervous about slipping and spraining an ankle so I didn't go.  Plus, there are no sidewalks where my parents live and I have to run on road that have a speed limit of 50mph but no shoulder - with a snow-packed street it just didn't seem like a smart idea.  Of course not training for my half marathon doesn't seem so smart either!

How's the weather where you are?  Are you suffering from the Polar Vortex too???  Have you ever run a race with little to no training???

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!!! 

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!!

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....

Cold mornings

Winter is a coming.  This morning before heading out I grabbed a scarf and put on a heavier coat.  Not a winter coat, but something heavier than my spring jacket.  It was in the 30s, which is cold for me.  I even put Evan's winter hat on.

I had a pretty exciting day back to work on Tuesday.  A few weeks ago I was asked to give the closing remarks at a Congressional Briefing.  I didn't really want to do it, but decided I would because who knows when I'd be asked again.  I was a bit nervous, but it went ok.  I feel like I could have done a better job and if ever asked again, I would, but it was my first time so I wasn't exactly clear on what my role was.  I didn't do a terrible job, but I could definitely have improved.  After, I took a picture in front of the podium, like a complete dork.  Oh well, sometimes you have to look ridiculous!

I had to get up extra early so I could look professional...meaning blow dry my hair and put on make-up.  After all that work I don't think I looked that professional anyway.  I could seriously use a haircut.  My hair was so drab, even after spending time drying it and stuff.  A haircut is just so expensive and we are so short on cash.  It would be nice to look decent again though, rather than frumpy.  Maybe one of these days.

My running is going slowly these days.  I went once at my parents' house, but that was it.  I really need to step my game up.  I usually get my runs in at work, it's the weekend runs that allude me.  I feel like I still have plenty of time, but in reality I don't.  I am going to try to be more vigilant about getting out there often and for longer distances.  Let's hope it works.

Not much to share today.  Hope you are having a great week!