Friday, February 24, 2012
Ice Cream Bar: Favorite Moment
A thousand favorite moments between them are neatly organized and filed away in my mind. Today was one of the sweetest. She was so excited all morning to meet him for lunch (Tim was post call today). When she saw him across the street she started jumping up and down yelling, "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" He crossed one street, we crossed another and she ran to him as if she was experiencing the happiest moment of her whole life. We had a family date at The Ice Cream Bar. That's when I caught this:
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Buttoning Up
I'm sitting here trying to breathe. It's always a challenge during pregnancy but throw another bad cold on top and I'm open-mouth breathing, gasping for breath pretty much all the time. And yes, this makes about the 16th cold I've had in the past 12 months. I think I'm just worn out. So I'm going to just button up the loose ends. Simple.
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Ada likes to pick out her own clothes now. It started with just shoes and socks but has expanded to include the whole outfit. This was part of her ensemble last weekend as Tim, Ada and I went out to do errands. Stupidly, I didn't bring my camera - she was quite the picture running down the sunny city street with her hair streaming behind her and her ruffled skirt kicking up and her brand new magic wand that I made for her that morning out of a stick and bits of left over ribbon. She says, "Hi!" to every single person we pass and they must like it because they all pause to say "Hi" back and they smile. She is so friendly and I love how at her age all people are equal, including the drunk, smelly homeless ones.
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Fizzy Tub Colors
This was an absolute impulse buy when we went to Bed Bath and Beyond to get some stain remover. Actually, I was looking for Calgon (do they even sell that stuff anymore? Where can you still buy it? My mom used to keep it in a pretty jar in the bathroom and it smelled so good) when Ada spotted Elmo. I let her carry the jar around the store to keep her from having a tantrum and we ended up buying it. Excellent use of $5.00, by the way. Every night she is actually excited to pick her bath color. I like to pretend we're doing a little science/art experiment when she sees that yellow and red make orange. Oh, and they don't stain or smell.
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There are a few lemon trees in our neighborhood. Man. It just kills me to see unharvested fruit trees. On our way to run errands or go to the playground Ada likes to stop at a pair of lemon trees a few houses down from us. She gets really excited about it and says hello to every single lemon on the tree.
Smoothie Recipe
Five different times in the past week I found myself typing out this recipe. We have smoothies probably about 4 mornings a week. Other mornings I make a fresh-pressed green juice. The liquid breakfast is working well for me right now. Plus, this is way healthier than jamba juice.
Start with 1 banana, about 3/4 cup non-fat plain yogurt, and about 3/4 cup milk. Zizz it in a blender.
Then, add a scoop of protein powder and something green like spirulina, kale (I love lacinato) or spinach. Don't freak out. I swear you will never, ever know the green stuff is in there. Start small if you're new to this. I like it green and Ada can't tell so I add a lot of spinach.
Zizz it again. Should look something like this.
Then add enough frozen strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and/or cherries to make it a pinkish-purplish color. If it gets too thick you can thin it out with more milk or some juice. Here's what we use, for reference.
Let the small child pick her favorite cup and which color of straw she wants. Enjoy!!
Just for laughs, I LOVE THIS POST. Someone just passed that on to me and it's too friggin' hysterical to not share.
And then there's THIS POST which just made me pee in my pants.
*******************************
I'm pretty sure the weekend is going to be good. I'll be back later with more pictures and stories. The "magic" and new sandbox deserve a little more space. See you later!
*******************************
Ada likes to pick out her own clothes now. It started with just shoes and socks but has expanded to include the whole outfit. This was part of her ensemble last weekend as Tim, Ada and I went out to do errands. Stupidly, I didn't bring my camera - she was quite the picture running down the sunny city street with her hair streaming behind her and her ruffled skirt kicking up and her brand new magic wand that I made for her that morning out of a stick and bits of left over ribbon. She says, "Hi!" to every single person we pass and they must like it because they all pause to say "Hi" back and they smile. She is so friendly and I love how at her age all people are equal, including the drunk, smelly homeless ones.
 |
| Would you like a tour? That's a satin plaid skirt with an under-ruffle, white tights with hearts down the sides, lime-green edged socks with mermaids on them and her brown and pink Dora sneakers. I had nothing to do with this. Nothing. |
*******************************
Fizzy Tub Colors
This was an absolute impulse buy when we went to Bed Bath and Beyond to get some stain remover. Actually, I was looking for Calgon (do they even sell that stuff anymore? Where can you still buy it? My mom used to keep it in a pretty jar in the bathroom and it smelled so good) when Ada spotted Elmo. I let her carry the jar around the store to keep her from having a tantrum and we ended up buying it. Excellent use of $5.00, by the way. Every night she is actually excited to pick her bath color. I like to pretend we're doing a little science/art experiment when she sees that yellow and red make orange. Oh, and they don't stain or smell.
*******************************
There are a few lemon trees in our neighborhood. Man. It just kills me to see unharvested fruit trees. On our way to run errands or go to the playground Ada likes to stop at a pair of lemon trees a few houses down from us. She gets really excited about it and says hello to every single lemon on the tree.
*******************************
Smoothie Recipe
Five different times in the past week I found myself typing out this recipe. We have smoothies probably about 4 mornings a week. Other mornings I make a fresh-pressed green juice. The liquid breakfast is working well for me right now. Plus, this is way healthier than jamba juice.
Start with 1 banana, about 3/4 cup non-fat plain yogurt, and about 3/4 cup milk. Zizz it in a blender.
Then, add a scoop of protein powder and something green like spirulina, kale (I love lacinato) or spinach. Don't freak out. I swear you will never, ever know the green stuff is in there. Start small if you're new to this. I like it green and Ada can't tell so I add a lot of spinach.
Zizz it again. Should look something like this.
Then add enough frozen strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and/or cherries to make it a pinkish-purplish color. If it gets too thick you can thin it out with more milk or some juice. Here's what we use, for reference.
Let the small child pick her favorite cup and which color of straw she wants. Enjoy!!
*******************************
Just for laughs, I LOVE THIS POST. Someone just passed that on to me and it's too friggin' hysterical to not share.
And then there's THIS POST which just made me pee in my pants.
*******************************
I'm pretty sure the weekend is going to be good. I'll be back later with more pictures and stories. The "magic" and new sandbox deserve a little more space. See you later!
Monday, February 20, 2012
10 Things
I like a clean house. I'm not talkin' moderately orderly here. There once was a time when my husband, before he was my husband, swore I should seek psychiatric attention for how insane I was about keeping the house clean. The sucker married me anyway, God love him. Nothing escaped my attention. I've been known to take an oven apart (using a screwdriver) in order to get it clean.
It doesn't stop there either. Cleaning the house is a form of therapy for me too. Whenever something is heavy on my mind I get to scrubbing the baseboards. Existing within a clean house gives me a tremendous sense of control - it's sort of nice to know that I can control something. Getting a house sparkling clean and super organized is something I'm good at. Really good. Or at least I used to be.
After years of trying to counteract my husband, our mini-zoo (job hazard) and now a toddler I've practically all but given up. The battle is so uphill and the victories so few and far between that I just can't retain my enthusiasm and energy for achieving a clean house. Don't get me wrong, I still like to live in one but getting there comes only from great sacrifice. What do I mean exactly? Well, life is pretty damn demanding these days. We all have to chose how we spend our slivers of precious time. For this Monday's Listicles, the topic is:
Sleep: Duh. I can't think of anything at all that I would rather do than nap whenever I wanted. Sleep is so glorious. I fully recognize that I probably feel this way because it's been about 3 years since I've slept really well all through the whole night.
Hang Out With My Kid: It was easy at first cause all she did was eat and sleep. I couldn't really see how people couldn't keep up. Forgive me, I was so new at this. Sooooo naive. Time wore on, she changed, I changed...the evolution came to rest at me deciding it was OK to have a (kind of ) messy house and happy kid.
Connect IRL or Online: I miss my friends from grad school and vet school and beyond. I have the pleasure of calling some of the most wonderful people around "friend". I also have a rich online life. Don't mock it. Some of these ladies I've "known" for years and we depend on each other for support. They're very important to me.
Craft: This is where creative can meet perfectionist...or not. It doesn't really matter. Frankly, I like sewing because it can be done perfectly. It's also a great outlet for my artsy side. I totally dig having kid(s) because they give me the perfect excuse to craft to my hearts content.
Take Pictures: I'm still learning and practicing. I want to be better at this.
Read: I have a stack next to my bed of all these GREAT books just begging to be read (like THIS ONE). Ada won't permit it when she's awake. And when she's asleep I'm pretty much right behind her. I've finished exactly one book since she was born (not counting children's books of which I've finished hundreds).
Be in Nature: I used to hike and backpack a lot. I really loved it. We don't do it as much now that Ada outgrew the external frame pack but we are dying to get back into it. We've had some amazing hikes. Until then I'll take any tiny bit of time I can get. Plop me in the middle of a trail with dirt under my boots and the wind in the trees and I am a peaceful, centered girl. Nature is my church.
Play in the Garden: I come from a long line of gardeners. I even continued to garden when I was in grad school in Ohio. We grew the most amazing chard that summer. San Francisco presents it's own challenges. Especially since we live on the top of a cold, windy hill that often hosts the fog line. We have some carrots ready for harvest - we started them from seed 18 months ago. Yeah, it's like that but we're having fun!
Do Yoga, Go for a Walk, RUN!: God, I miss running on a regular basis. I really, really miss it. I would also love to do one of the 2 hours long ashtanga yoga classes that Tim and I used to do together in grad school about 11 years ago!
Fantasize: Instead of cleaning my house I'd like to have daily massages, travel the world, go shopping with no financial limits or, the best of all, live my regular life and pay someone else to clean my house.
It doesn't stop there either. Cleaning the house is a form of therapy for me too. Whenever something is heavy on my mind I get to scrubbing the baseboards. Existing within a clean house gives me a tremendous sense of control - it's sort of nice to know that I can control something. Getting a house sparkling clean and super organized is something I'm good at. Really good. Or at least I used to be.
After years of trying to counteract my husband, our mini-zoo (job hazard) and now a toddler I've practically all but given up. The battle is so uphill and the victories so few and far between that I just can't retain my enthusiasm and energy for achieving a clean house. Don't get me wrong, I still like to live in one but getting there comes only from great sacrifice. What do I mean exactly? Well, life is pretty damn demanding these days. We all have to chose how we spend our slivers of precious time. For this Monday's Listicles, the topic is:
10 Things I Would Rather Do Than Clean the House
Sleep: Duh. I can't think of anything at all that I would rather do than nap whenever I wanted. Sleep is so glorious. I fully recognize that I probably feel this way because it's been about 3 years since I've slept really well all through the whole night.
Hang Out With My Kid: It was easy at first cause all she did was eat and sleep. I couldn't really see how people couldn't keep up. Forgive me, I was so new at this. Sooooo naive. Time wore on, she changed, I changed...the evolution came to rest at me deciding it was OK to have a (kind of ) messy house and happy kid.
Connect IRL or Online: I miss my friends from grad school and vet school and beyond. I have the pleasure of calling some of the most wonderful people around "friend". I also have a rich online life. Don't mock it. Some of these ladies I've "known" for years and we depend on each other for support. They're very important to me.
Craft: This is where creative can meet perfectionist...or not. It doesn't really matter. Frankly, I like sewing because it can be done perfectly. It's also a great outlet for my artsy side. I totally dig having kid(s) because they give me the perfect excuse to craft to my hearts content.
Take Pictures: I'm still learning and practicing. I want to be better at this.
Read: I have a stack next to my bed of all these GREAT books just begging to be read (like THIS ONE). Ada won't permit it when she's awake. And when she's asleep I'm pretty much right behind her. I've finished exactly one book since she was born (not counting children's books of which I've finished hundreds).
Be in Nature: I used to hike and backpack a lot. I really loved it. We don't do it as much now that Ada outgrew the external frame pack but we are dying to get back into it. We've had some amazing hikes. Until then I'll take any tiny bit of time I can get. Plop me in the middle of a trail with dirt under my boots and the wind in the trees and I am a peaceful, centered girl. Nature is my church.
Play in the Garden: I come from a long line of gardeners. I even continued to garden when I was in grad school in Ohio. We grew the most amazing chard that summer. San Francisco presents it's own challenges. Especially since we live on the top of a cold, windy hill that often hosts the fog line. We have some carrots ready for harvest - we started them from seed 18 months ago. Yeah, it's like that but we're having fun!
Do Yoga, Go for a Walk, RUN!: God, I miss running on a regular basis. I really, really miss it. I would also love to do one of the 2 hours long ashtanga yoga classes that Tim and I used to do together in grad school about 11 years ago!
Fantasize: Instead of cleaning my house I'd like to have daily massages, travel the world, go shopping with no financial limits or, the best of all, live my regular life and pay someone else to clean my house.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
I Did It!
OK, after extensive exposure to Dora, that phrase will never be the same.
No, I entered a contest. It's about your "Journey to Motherhood". I don't usually win things so I don't have my hopes too high. It sure was healing to write that post though.
No, I entered a contest. It's about your "Journey to Motherhood". I don't usually win things so I don't have my hopes too high. It sure was healing to write that post though.
And thanks to Christina who pointed out that the whole thing was going on.
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