Crazy-Busy-Weekend with an Extension

Let's just say I got the weekend off on the right foot by going on a 4.5 mile run on Friday evening.  Pretty amazing, right.  Especially since this is what it looked like on Friday morning.

Pouring!!!  Evan was enjoying the little spray that came in the screen.  And how do you like my flowers?  I hope I don't kill them - I am not so great with growing things.

After the rain, the sun came out and it was perfect weather so Evan and I went for a run.  I ran 3 miles and then we stopped at a playground for an hour and then I ran the 1.5 miles home.  It felt great and Evan had a blast at the playground.  We went to our favorite tot-lot again - it's nice and small, Evan can use all the equipment without me following him around, and no one is ever there.  Win-win.

Saturday started with golf again.  Like usual.  It was a bit chilly out in the morning, but we survived.  Luckily I borrowed my husband's pants so I wasn't too cold.  I also took the car and had grand plans of heading to the grocery store and the mall before going home...but that failed.  Around 11:30am I looked up from golf and there was Ivan jogging up the golf course with Evan in the stroller.  Yup, he couldn't handle being stuck at the house with no transportation so he ran the 4+ miles up to the golf course.  So - no grocery store or mall by myself.

Instead, Evan and I headed to the nearby Wine in the Woods.  The woman I coach golf with happened to have two complimentary tickets and it was hard to say no to a free afternoon event.  So, we headed out there for a "relaxing" afternoon.  I had been years ago when I was in the my early 20s and remember it being a fun, relaxing time.  I think I am just getting old.  I saw waaaaaaaay too many bellies (even when I was "youthful" I didn't find belly shirts attractive) and thongs and heard lots of language that I'd prefer to avoid.  And people were just plain rude and drunk (obviously!).  People would stay at the tasting table trying every wine there.  We'd be like third in line and it would still take 20 minutes to get a taste because the people in front of us would stand there forever tasting every wine they could before moving on.  So annoying.  And yes, I took Evan (pretty inappropriate to take a toddler to a wine festival but it was outside and I wasn't planning on drinking much - and Ivan was golfing so I had no choice), so it was a full-time job making sure he didn't get trampled on by festival goers.  Once we finally had our fill of wine (5 sips for me), we put a blanket down and bought some yummy Greek food and relaxed a bit.  It was much nicer this way - we sat on a blanket and ate while Evan played around. 

Here he is, enjoying the festival!

Then I went grocery shopping - with Evan.  This time I only spent $130 so I felt like that was a bargain.  I still don't want to up my budget above $100 but I think I am going to have to.  I'm not sure I can make $100 work anymore.  It's been months since I've been able to keep it that low.

Sunday was a super fun day.  I headed out for a six mile run/walk with some TNT girls.  They are on the plan of walking up hills, running the rest.   It was a very relaxing way to go and it was really fun catching up with them.  Evan was an angel and didn't make any protest peeps for being in the stroller for so long.  I love starting my days out with a good run.

Then we headed to the mall to exchange my shoes.  Ivan bought me new TOMS for Mother's Day but he bought the exact same pair I had (because he said he at least knew I liked those ones). 

My old pair - they now have a hole in the toe.

 He suggested we go to the mall and see if there was another pair I'd like instead.  I was trying to decide between two pairs:

Multi TOMS Love Canvas Women's Classics

Mixed Woven Women's Ballet Flats

 I ended up with the ballet flats.  The LOVE ones were a lot brighter when I put them on and I liked the sutley of the flats.  They were super comfy as well.  I love them!

Sunday night I headed to my sister's to babysit while she worked and her husband went to a meeting.  I love babysitting those crazy girls and we had a blast.  We played at the playground, made Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup and Chili (I usually do my cooking on Sunday and thought it would be fun to have the girls help me out), ate dinner, and watched some TV.  It was a fun evening.

Then Evan got sick.

So, we spent Monday (yesterday) at home recovering.  He took a 5 hour nap!!!  And then was a lot better.

That's my recap!

Roses, Movies, and Big Decisions

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

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

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

On Saturday  Ivan and I celebrated our anniversary.  

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

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

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

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

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

Tuesday's Random Thoughts

I don't really have too much to say today so I thought I would just say a few things that are on my mind.  And I have no photos, so those few things aren't gonna be as interesting without pictures.  I really need to get the camera back out and start taking more pictures!

* It's supposed to snow again tomorrow.  I am kind of over the snow a little.  Yes, it looks pretty and all but it can be a pain.  It's hard to run with the snow and ice and every time I walk the dog or take Evan out in the stroller I have to dry the dog and the stroller off because they track in so much mud.  Yeah, I know we have plans to one day move to Vermont and they get snow until April, but maybe it will seem different.

* Evan is starting to get a cold or something and I really hate when he's sick.  He is so sad looking and his little coughs shake his entire body.  Plus he doesn't sleep well and just looks miserable.  I am hoping it's just a cold and not the flu or pneumonia or any of the other sicknesses that went through the daycare last week.

* I still haven't heard from the Peace Corps about my Description of Service.  I have a feeling they are never going to find it.  I really, really hope that that doesn't affect the possibility of getting a Peace Corps scholarship if I get into Hopkins.  It probably will, but it would be nice if it didn't.  I guess I will be happy that it is just that form that I'm missing  and not something vital to my application like a transcript or something.

* Yesterday was my sister's 30th birthday and I felt bad because I think she was disappointed.  Her hisband had a meeting and had to leave at 6:30.  I made her a cake and came over and we ate and opened the few presents from me, but I think she was sad that it wasn't super special.  That there wasn't a bigger fanfare for leaving her 20s.  I guess since we are all going to Disney to run and that was the "big" thing she wanted to do...it made her actual bday less special.  Hopefully our Disney trip will be fun and make up for it.

* We had a really great book for book club called Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt.  I loved it.  It was sad and really tugged at your heart strings but was worth the read.  Plus, two of the characters had AIDS and it took place at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the late 1980s...so I found that really fascinating.  I recommend reading it.  I am excited to discuss it.

* I haven't done the dishes in two nights.  They are just sitting in the sink.  I was so tired last night that I didn't have the energy to wash them up after coming back from my sister's.  Plus, I ate a few meatballs and 1.5 pieces of really sweet strawberry cake for dinner so was probably in a sugar coma.  Ivan said he's wash them this afternoon, but with a sick boy he might not get a chance to...and they'll be waiting for me when I get home.

* I am really sad to hear that Shirley Temple Black passed away.  I loved The Little Princess - that was one of my favorite movies as a child.  My sister and I watched it ALL the time. 

Ok, I think those are the random thoughts I have for now.  Evan was up a lot last night so my brain isn't working too well.

What random thoughts are floating through your head?

What was the last good book you read???

Wow is it cold, mixed with a lot of stress

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

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

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

Instagram: mapleandmud

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

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

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

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

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

So many things to 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.

Frozen yogurt, bike rides, and brunch

This weekend was so much fun.  It started with a trip to Target Friday evening.  I try my best not to go to Target because even if I only have to buy one thing there, I end up spending $100.  It's impossible to just get what you need.  Literally, impossible.  We were just going in there to buy a mini-grill and charcoal and we left with bags and bags of stuff.  To the music of $150.  Yikes!  But, I have to say, we got some exciting stuff.

We then decided to meet my sister and her family for dinner.  We went to the village center (kind of like a strip mall I guess) and all got different things and then ate at the tables outside.  I was going to get sushi but decided on Subway at the last minute.  Ivan had Chinese - of course.  It was a fun time.

On Saturday I had golf in the morning and then we were going to grill at the lake.  Except the weather was a bit cloudy and Ivan wanted to play golf.  I wasn't really in the mood to grill either, so I let him off the hook.  Evan was a bit sick so I felt like it was better to just hang out at home anyway.

But Sunday - that was the fun day.

I was planning on going to church in the morning because Ivan was going to ride his bike to work (and then I'd have to car for church).  However, Ivan over slept and was running late so he took the car instead.  Evan slept until 8:45am anyway, so we wouldn't have made it to 9am church even if we had the car!  I think he slept so late because he was sick, but at least when he woke up his nose was running a lot less than before.

When Ivan got home he wanted to go to brunch at Mimi's Cafe.  He's really in to brunch these days.  We used to go to brunch with some friends but they moved to Florida, so we need to find new brunch pals.  Except that Ivan has soccer on Sundays again so it might not work out very well anymore.  Since we didn't get to grill on Saturday, Ivan promised that we'd do something together on Sunday.

We decided to go on a family bike ride!  I cannot explain how excited I was about this!
 

In Target on Friday we had come across a Schwinn bike trailer on super clearance for only $47.00.  It was so cheap that we couldn't pass it up.  So we put it in our cart, found an infant bike helmet, and were already planning our great family bike outings.  I wasn't sure if we'd actually get out there for a while, but I was wrong.  Ivan wanted to just bike around the neighborhood, but I am not one to do anything "easy".  I must do everything to the extreme.  So I convinced him it would be a good idea to bike to frozen yogurt.  It was probably a 6-mile round-trip ride - and a bit hilly at parts.  My thighs were definitely protesting and I wasn't pulling a baby and trailer like Ivan was.  However, take a look at the bike I was forced to ride.

I got this picture from google, it is not my actual bike.

It's a Schwinn Jaguar - a beach cruiser, to be exact.  Definitely not something meant to go up hills and on paths.  It's meant for the boardwalk and beach living.  My sister had originally bought it to take to Outer Banks, but then never did so she gave it to my husband and me.  I owned a mountain bike but when we had to "pick" bikes, no way was Ivan riding the cruiser!

So we put dragged the bikes and the trailer down three flights of stairs, put Evan in his little helmet (cutest thing on the planet), and made our way to frozen yogurt.

 Then we relaxed and ate our yogurt before getting back on our bikes and heading home.

Pink lemonade with coconut and blueberries (the blueberries were mainly for Evan)

Ivan got vanilla with strawberries and coconut

We made sure to put some toys in there for Evan, so he didn't get bored.

So much fun!  Evan didn't complain once - not about having to wear a helmet or being in the trailer.  I think he liked having the wind in his face and bouncing along!

After we got home, Ivan walked the dog and Evan and I went to the grocery store.  Then I made dinner and Ivan gave Evan a bath.  I made one of our Hello Fresh meals.  It was so yummy.  I'll do a post about Hello Fresh soon - I love it!  This was citrus salmon with summer salad.  The little plate is Evan's. He usually loves salmon but was too tired to eat this time.  So he threw most of it on the floor for Dolce.

After Evan's bath, he was determined to avoid getting a diaper put on.  He tooled around in his towel looking like a super hero.  It was too cute!

My aunt made this towel - it is so big and fluffy.  So much nicer than regular baby towels.

He was going so fast that the pictures kept coming out blurry!  But he did stop to play with the laundry basket - one of his favorite things.  He loves to put thing in there and then take them out.

 
I still wasn't in bed before 11pm though.  Boo.

But it was such a great day, I can't complain too much!

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Did you do anything fun this weekend?

What time do you go to bed?

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!