today

in need of pedicures

angry face

why can't I play?

yoga baby

time out

routine

You know, there is something to be said for routines.

Mine is all in shambles right now. Joe's work shift got changed. He used to work 6-3, then go to the gym and be home around 5. Then we would have dinner and I would get to train, spend some time with the family, and go to bed.

I am sitting here, on Day 1 of the new work schedule, realizing that I am going to have to have community support to continue training. He is getting home around 6 now, then by the time everyone is fed and settled it will be 7, which is practically sunset (not to mention, soon a formidable time of day heat-wise to do any serious activity outside.)

I have the gym, which has childcare, but they interrupt workouts for everything- crying, diapers, everything. It just isn't a six mile run if you stop every 2.5 miles to address issues for 10 minutes at a time. Plus, at the gym, everything is indoors- re: hell. Treadmills, stationary bikes, yuck. I wanna be outside, feeling the road, smelling the flowers.

So, that leaves me with finding some well-intentioned friends and neighbors I can trade sitting with, so that I can get 1.5 hours of child-free time each morning. Hmmm...

It isn't impossible, but right now everything is up in the air. I just don't know what the new routines are going to look like...

What I know for sure, though, is that weekends are completely taken. We both have long trainings in all three sports spread over two days, so that means 3-4 hours per day per person, so 8 hours each day, is taken up with training. That leaves time for Daegan's soccer games and not much else.

I am not complaing, just puzzling... how will this work? I know it will, but right now things seem really, really up in the air.

soccer practice

Spring

So, as part of a photo challenge, the assignment for the week was Spring. I decided to show what spring was to me, instead of traditional images... :)

title: snot season

 

title: not today

title: last season's blooms

title: not quite following instructions

untitled

Working for Peanuts

Yesterday, I was all set.

I had my food processor out.

I had my dry roasted, unsalted peanuts.

I had a righteous indignation at the preservatives in my store-bought peanut butter paired with an astonishment of the price of natural peanut butter.

I turn the food processor on.

I pour the peanuts in.

Whining and grinding result, and eventually the peanuts begin to lose their recognizable shape.

This is where I lost it.

Did you know, if you put peanuts into a food processor, you get... ground peanuts?

NOT peanut butter? Nope. You get peanut dust. WHY that surprised me, I don't know. But it did.

I read the label on my sugar-laden peanut butter, and notice the key ingredients.

I pour in sesame oil, very, very slowly. About 1-2 tbsp for a whole jar of peanuts.

Finally, I had peanut butter.

However, do you know what peanuts + sesame oil taste like? Bland nuts. Yuck.

I add 2 tbsp brown sugar and 1tsp of salt.

How 'bout now? Perfect.

I throw in a small handful of peanuts at the end, just to get that crunchy texture... and Voila!

I made my own all-natural peanut butter with HALF the salt and MORE THAN HALF the saturated fat for MORE THAN HALF the cost of buying it at Whole Foods.

I was stinkin' proud of myself yesterday. All-Natural peanut butter just tastes better. Less like candy, more like nuts. Fabulous.

standing OVER you

A conversation, my kitchen, yesterday afternoon.

"Mommy, I want some gum. May I please have some gum? Yes you may." (Yes, he answers himself, but we are working on it.)

"No, baby. You may not have gum. Mommy is making dinner."

"But Mommy, it's on the fridge. Right there. Reach up."

"I know you are a hungry boy, sweetie, but I am making dinner. You may have gum AFTER dinner."

"Mommy! You are tall! You can reach it! Daegan short, Daegan too small. Daegan not reach it. Mommy need get the gum!"

"Daegan, put on your listening ears. Yes, Mommy CAN reach the gum, but Mommy WON'T. It is too close to dinner, you can have some AFTER you eat."

"Oh, that's ok, Mommy. I get it. Daddy is taller. I go get him, he get gum."

Yikes, kiddo, I think you are missing the point...

Logan's Turn

fun in the water...

FSOT: CARRIERS

This is a brand new, worn once, minkee and espresso reversible pouch, Lucky Baby.

$35 postage paid, OBO, PPD

27-27.5" bottom rail, 25-26.5" top rail, again a little stretch, so I want to allot for that.

And the piece de resistance... the 4.6 espresso cotton indio, super thin.

The first pic shows the thinness and the color the most accurately.

$135, PPD *HOLD, temp loan!*