Even keel

Went to parents' night at Seth's day care this evening.  Our first open house, it was fun.  It was nice to be around some other parents who have kids Seth's age.  I have a lot of online friends with kids but not many in real life unfortunately.  They had little discussion groups led by the various toddler class leaders and we sat in on the "Positive Discipline" session.  It was really interesting.  I could go on and on but the one thing Mr. Bill said that really stuck with me was "try to keep an even keel."  He said toddlers are often after your attention and they don't discriminate between good and bad attention.  I'm so bad about staying calm when Seth is ... (throwing a piece of pear across the room immediately after I've told him not to / throwing wooden blocks at the tv / using the entertainment center as a jungle gym) .... being naughty.  I'm a reactor.  I react.  Sometimes badly.  I guess my motivation is to avoid that ashamed feeling I get after I totally lose it.  The reality is that MOST of Seth's "bad" behavior, er - frustrating behavior, is completely natural for kids his age, especially boys.  Throwing and climbing are skills that he's proud of.  Mr. Bill said I might have to tell Seth 100 times a day that it's not okay to throw his toy cell phone at my head.  I just have to keep telling him, and try to stay calm in the meantime.  Yikes.  He really is a good kid, though.  ♥ him!

A Pinter-Test

Let me start by saying that I was already a fan of pre-made breakfast sandwiches before this.  But when I saw this on Pinterest I just had to try it.  Well, it's a good idea in theory, but on a scale of one to five stars I would rate this two stars -- meaning "Meh, I wouldn't do it again."  I haven't completely developed my rating system but stay tuned and you may just find out what five stars means to me.  But I digress.

Why this was a flop:
Reason #1 - the eggs are too small.  I even used a jumbo muffin tin, so I don't even what to know what it would be like with the standard size which appears to be in the photo.  I have these little custard bowls that I usually cook my eggs in the microwave in and they turn out perfect.

Reason #2 - I hate, hate, HATE cleaning my muffin tins.  Hate.  It.  I sprayed them with Pam and still had to scrub scrub scrub to get cooked egg off the sides, yuck!  I spray my custard bowl with Pam and the egg slips right out -- like buttah.  Then right into the trusty old dishwasher it goes, easy peasy.

I suppose if you were going to make a huge batch of these, and I mean HUGE, then cooking the eggs like this might save you some time.  But it takes me less than a minute to cook one at a time in the microwave, so in the 10 or so minutes it took to bake them in the oven it was pretty much a wash.  Then when you add in the extra time I spent scrubbing that stupid muffin tin, UGH!  I did like the idea of toasting all the english muffins at once on a baking sheet though.  But while they're toasting I'll just go back to my microwaving.

Next time I might have to take more pictures to document the process.  But I didn't think of it until I was all done, so this is all you get.

P.S.  I like to wrap mine in wax paper and then put in sandwich bags.  I can keep a week's worth in the fridge and I think they reheat just fine in the microwave right in the bag.  The muffins don't stay crispy that way but I personally don't mind them getting a little soft.  Mmmm.

Cannon Beach part 1

I'm just giving myself 8 minutes to start this.  But I wanted to talk a little bit about Seth and how amazingly awesome he did in the car.  On the way down we split up the trip and drove to Seattle (4.5 hours) on Thursday, then to Cannon Beach (3.5 hours) on Friday.  Monday was a doozy (sp?) clocking in at a little over 7 hours drive time.  I rigged the DVD player up on the seat in front of him and for the most part he sat contentedly watching either Toy Story or Charlotte's Web (the newer one with Dakota Fanning).  He probably slept for an hour each way.  Most of the time if he fussed I could just give him a graham cracker or some Kix and that kept him busy.  It was very much appreciated.  On the way back on Monday evert time we would stop and get out for a bit he would literally run in circles non stop until we got back in the car, I should have taken a video of that.

Huh, time's up!  Lame.

Failure is not an option

Getting my workout in today was tough, I knew it would be.  Last night at the hotel pool Seth slipped and fell and gave himself the most enormous goose egg on his forehead.  So I kept him up a little later than normal for observation.  As a result he slept in this morning until the late hour of 8am!  The weather in Cannon Beach was abysmal so there was no chance I was going running anyway.  The guy at the front desk when I was paying the bill said we officially saw the last day of summer (yesterday).  We got the car all locked and loaded and headed out of town around 10:30am.  After a long day of driving I got yet another migraine (I had one Friday too when we arrived), but still had to unpack the car and bathe Seth to get the last of the sand out from between his toes.  By the time he was settled into bed it was almost 8:30pm and the LAST thing I wanted to do was exercise, but of course I did because that's the rule.  I don't know why I never thought of doing this before!

Anyway, we had a blasty blast at the beach.  Blog and pictures about that maybe tomorrow night.  I'm not sure how I'm going to sleep now with all the caffeine and endorphins coursing through my body.  I'll have to rely on my friend Mr. Ambien tonight I guess.

Week 1 complete!

So far, so good.  I've definitely gotten back into the swing of things and I look forward to my workout every day.  There is nothing I love more than accomplishing a goal, and getting to accomplish one every day -- pretty flippin' sweet.  I'll admit, a walk around the neighborhood with Seth in the stroller is not exactly heart pumping, but I say it's better than nothing.  And it all counts.

This weekend will be a challenge because Natalie, Seth, and I are going to Cannon Beach with my mom.  But it shouldn't be hard to convince anyone to take a walk on the beach with me.  Monday will be the hardest since we'll be heading back to Spokane and I'll probably be anxious to get on the road in the morning.

Here's to the next 358 days!

Day 1

Whew!  So far, so good!  I got in my 30 minutes on the elliptical this afternoon while Seth was taking his nap.  Seriously though, ever since I made the announcement that I was going to do this I have been dreading this day!  It's so weird because most of spring and summer I was really doing awesome eating right and working out like crazy.  I'd actually crave exercise, I'm not kidding.  I lost about 14 lbs altogether.  And then the last week and a half it's like I just threw it all out the window!  Hehe.  Every day I didn't exercise I literally told myself I might as well wait until my birthday and then I'll have no excuses left!  Silly how the human brain can rationalize like that.  If I wasn't reasonably sure that I'll get pregnant in the next month or two, I'd turn this into a real weight loss challenge.  But that will have to wait until after baby #2 comes, or we decide to keep our family a trio.  I do have a long term goal of running the Spokane 10K next October, but that would also depend on our family plans.

I don't know how or why but I suddenly decided I really want to get a juicer.  We get this produce delivery every other week and there's always some random stuff that I can't figure out what to do with, or we just can't eat it fast enough before it goes bad.  I feel guilty every time I end up throwing something away, which happens way more often than I'd like to admit.  So I thought how awesome to just throw it in the juicer and see if Seth will drink it!?!  Or me, I guess :)  Turns out juicing is like, a big deal.  Once I started researching juicers I quickly determined that of course I can't just run out and buy one at Wal-Mart.  To make a long story short I've settled on a certain one that has kind of an absurd price tag.  Eric says I'll juice for a month and then lose interest and it will be one more kitchen gadget that collects dust in our house.  I told him he might be right but we'll never know if we don't get one, muahahaha!  So we made a deal and I'm just going to have to be patient and save my pennies.

In case you were wondering, no, I am not going to post every single day about my exercise.  I'd like to try to post once a week just to stay honest, but life does happen.

It's only my birthday for another hour and 20 minutes.  I better go make the most of it and sleep.

Seth 20 Months

Dear Seth,

Yes, I know I have been seriously slacking in this department, especially taking pictures. In your photo albums it will be like months of your life never happened. I'll try to be better, I promise. Not that you care but I guess I do. Here's the classic monkey picture. You are a lot less cooperative these days and you had some SUPER cute poses cuddling with the monkey and smiling but by the time I got the camera up to take the picture you were on to something else - mainly trying to climb down from the chair.





Let's see if I can cover all my bases here. Sleep: not much has changed there - you still usually take 2 naps a day averaging an hour to an hour and a half each. You still sleep around 12 hours a night, 7pm - about 6:45am on the dot. We'd really love it if you'd learn to amuse yourself until 8am every morning but those days will come I'm sure. Most mornings you wake up frantic to eat breakfast, or at least that's what it seems like. Which leads me to...

You sign "milk", "eat", "water", and "more" now ALL the time. Sometimes when it's appropriate but other times when you just got done eating 5 minutes ago. However, basically anything that's not pancakes with peanut butter, graham crackers, Foster Farms corn dogs, or fruit, usually gets thrown on the floor immediately. If we try to feed it to you you make a face and turn away like we're feeding you poison or something. Meat - forget about it. Pizza - no way. Mac and Cheese - you've got to be kidding. Your uncle Michael can sometimes trick you by pretending to dip the fork or spoon into something you like but then actually feeding you something else. I imagine you'll be wise to that in no time flat. The last two days I've really been desperate to get you to eat meat and vegetables and also to get substantial food in your tummy to last you through the night. So I've pureed some soups and turned on your favorite On Demand nursery rhyme segments to watch, during which I could probably feed you anything you're so entranced you don't even care what's going in your mouth.



I know, I know, eating while watching TV is a big no no but I'd say it's better than letting you subsist on graham crackers and milk. Maybe we just need to build some trust so you start to realize what I'm giving you actually TASTES GOOD! You do love Mexican food though. Sometimes we go meet Daddy up at this place by his work and you usually chow down on an enormous chicken enchilada with rice and beans with no complaints whatsoever. You also love your milk and ask for it constantly. When you're done you fling your sippy cup down to the ground as hard as you can. We need to work on that.



Earlier today you were sitting right where you are in the picture above, with a bowl of Cheerios and I caught you dropping them down the vent. Tsk tsk. Just one of many mischievous things on your agenda I suppose. I think my main concern right now is the climbing. You are my little mountain goat and you climb on anything and everything. You're getting really good at jumping now too, but so far you just do that on the ground. Any day now you'll be launching yourself off the couch or the roof. Another thing I struggle with is the throwing. We really encouraged you to throw balls here and there from day 1 and so now you think it's okay to throw everything. Like wooden blocks for instance. At my head. I don't have much basis for comparison but most people seem to agree that you are more adept at throwing and catching than most kids your age. I definitely think you have a future in sports. The other day I was thinking that you had two speeds - turbo full sprint and asleep. You basically run everywhere you go and seem to have an endless supply of energy. These days when you run away from me I actually have to run myself to catch you. This was not amusing earlier today in Bed Bath and Beyond. Anyway, we're going to work on channeling that energy and next Thursday you start your first session of SoccerTots. I am SO excited, even though I won't even be there. I really hope you love it as much as I think you will.



Still not a ton of talking but you've added some words since I last wrote them down at 17 months:

Before -
Ball
Juice
Night night
Kitty
Doggy
Mama
Daddy
Uh oh
Whoa!
No

Now also -
Bubble (this is like the cutest thing ever)
Boat
Pool
Home
Eat (you say this while signing it, also pretty cute)
Yeah
Hi

You wave and say hi to everyone you see. I know there are a few more but I can't think of them right now. You will attempt to repeat almost anything I ask you to but there are definitely some sounds that are easier than others. Your comprehension never ceases to amaze me. Last weekend we were out at the river and I asked you if you wanted to go for a ride on the jet ski, and you immediately went into the house, into your room and picked up your life jacket. Speaking of the river, you've spent a ton of time out there this summer and never really got too excited about going in the water. Not that I blame you, it never did warm up much. You've been perfectly happy splashing around in your pool though after it sat in the sun all day.



Future photographer?



Well this blog is getting epic and it's after 10pm already. Now that Mama has her new laptop and this busy busy summer is coming to an end, there may be more regular documentation going on.

Night night!




Love, Mama

To the fair!

Right now the Spokane County Interstate Fair is going on, so we decided we needed to take Seth down to see all the action. It was extremely hot but we had a pretty good time.


We headed down after Seth woke up from his morning nap, so that put us at about lunch time. Of course we got Seth a corn dog, what else would a toddler eat at the fair? He seemed to like it alright, although I think he is partial to Foster Farms. The hand dipped one was super salty and didn't have the sweetness he is used to.


We went through all of the animal barns one by one. This little baby goat was really not happy about being in his cage.


After the animal barns came the BEST part of the day - PONY RIDE!! I gave Seth a $5 bill to pay for his ride, I think he did a great job.



Despite his serious expression in the pictures, I think he really did have a good time.


After the pony ride it was time for ice cream. I got a chocolate cone and while we were waiting in line for a milk shake Seth got a lick. Then another lick. Then he started biting and I had to run away. He and Eric shared a chocolate shake and it was a huge hit.

Here he is trying to get it back after Eric set it down for a minute.


BRAIN FREEZE!!!


The hot tub displays were next, very fun to stick his hands in the water squirting everywhere.


Mama was getting cranky and I think so was Seth so we headed home for a break. Seth took a little nap and then we headed back down for a bit. Eric had really wanted to catch a little bit of the kids' tractor pull and it wasn't until 5:30pm. Even after his nap I think Seth was a little exhausted from the day.


I didn't get any pictures of the tractor pull, you'll probably just have to wait until Seth is old enough to do it. The youngest kids I saw were age 4 so it might be awhile. It is pretty cute though and I think Seth will do awesome once he gets to try it out.


We wrapped up the day with a chocolate dipped frozen banana while we walked around the commercial exhibits and I accomplished my goal - Culligan water cooler for the house. Woot! Eric will not allow me to keep my Brita pitcher in the refrigerator so it will be nice to have cold water finally. It's only $2 a month + water and the fair special was buy one bottle get 2 free. It is $5.50 for the 5 gallon bottles and every 10th one is free or something like that. I've been wanting one ever since we lived in Canada so I'm pretty excited. The water dispenser valves are supposedly "child proof" but I'm taking bets on how long it takes Seth to figure them out.

Next up - Seth 20 months!

Zoo fun!

Just got back from a weekend on the West Syyyde! We took Seth to the Woodland Park Zoo yesterday to celebrate our 7th anniversary. That's right, we are super romantic like that. In retrospect, maybe it wasn't the greatest idea to get married on a holiday weekend? There's always something going on and it seems like it's hard to plan anything for ourselves. Oh well. Anyway, the zoo was cool but SUPER CROWDED. And it was a little hot so we got tuckered out pretty fast. I kid you not, at one point we saw a really hairy guy just wandering around with his shirt off. Classy. I forgot to even bring my camera, so I'll have to try to get some of the pictures my mom took and post those later.

Some friends of ours from Spokane just recently moved to the Renton highlands so we spent some time with them last night at their new house. It was so weird driving around on the roads I must have driven hundreds of times when I was in high school, to and from Club Highlands or whatnot. Talk about a trip down memory lane. We tried to go to Chuck's donuts this morning but sadly they were CLOSED for Labor Day. Boo. I will have to remember that for next time. They have the best maple bars, mmm.

On the way home we stopped off in North Bend to have lunch at check out the Coach Outlet. They were having a huge clearance sale and also handing out 30% off coupons at the door. It was complete and utter mayhem in that place. I looked and looked and amazingly could not find anything that I couldn't live without. So Eric escaped a little richer than he thought he would (although that would have been a nice anniversary present to myself). The west bound traffic was backed up from the top of the pass all the way east of Cle Elum. I was so glad we were going the other way. If you live in Seattle I do not recommend going east on 3 day weekends. We stopped at Starbucks in Ellensburg and the girl working the drive through told me it took her 8 hours one year to get to Seattle on Easter weekend. She said there was a lot of traffic but also an entire onion truck had tipped over so they had to clean that up as well. Which reminds me on our way over there was a giant trailer full of corn capsized between Vantage and Ellensburg, so that was pretty crazy.

Back to work tomorrow, I'm looking forward to the short week. I'm feeling guilty for not having any pictures of Seth on here recently. So here's one from a year ago today ;) He was just starting to crawl, and now he sprints everywhere he goes.

My birthday resolution

I decided that for my 32nd year I am going to commit to exercising for 30 minutes a day...  EVERY DAY.  That's right, 365 days in a row with no days off. I thought about giving myself some wiggle room, i. e. a finite number of cheat days or something, but I really think 30 minutes is pretty reasonable and there is no reason why I can't at least make it a goal. I read an article talking about how you should try to exercise every day, just as much a part of your routine as showering and brushing your teeth. Although it is possible that I've never gone an entire year without missing a shower either...
Anyway so I am just putting it out there for accountability purposes and documentation.  They say when you write your goals down you are more likely to succeed. My birthday is on the 15th so I have a few more days to rest up!