Balanced Diet

My friend, Tara came over for dinner tonight with her kids.  Her husband is also out of town so we’re celebrating…I mean…missing our spouses terribly.  I attempted to make stew and cookies all afternoon but Eva would just sit at my feet and cry until I picked her up.  I would periodically stop to play with her but I was running out of time and soon had no choice but to let her squawk for a bit.

I went about my business and realized quite a while later that Eva was gone and wasn’t making any noise.  This is the universal sign of trouble.  I heard rustling in the laundry room and found her enjoying a healthy snack of dog kibble.

Her mouth and both fists were jammed full of dog food.  I don’t know how long she was eating it, but she sure was mad when I made her stop.

I wonder what Nosy Nancy would have to say about this.

All Alone

Michael flew to Texas this morning for work and won’t be home until late Friday night.  I had to feed, dress, and comb Eva’s hair, alone.  I had to wrestle Eva all by myself for 3 long hours at church today.  I had to stand in the rain and wind while I buckled her in the car seat.  I had to carry both the baby and the bag of books and snacks.  I had to reassure myself I looked nice today even though my hair resembled the Cowardly Lion because Eva and Aika both refused to say it.  I’m going to do everything all week all alone.

I miss Mykey already.

Rained Out

I had a 5 mile run planned for this morning.  It was drizzling rain when I got out of bed.  No problem, I can run in a little rain.  By the time I put my clothes on and gathered up all my crap, it was pouring outside.  I’m not going to run in a downpour.  Last Saturday I was a mile from home when the clouds opened up like that and it was miserable.  My dog was wet the rest of the day.

I’m clearly neither a devoted runner nor an Oregonian if I use rain as an excuse not to run. 

Too bad I don’t get to eat those extra calories today.  I’m all about maximizing the amount of food I can shove into my gob.  (Refer to this week’s “Stomachache” post.)

Date Night

I’m cashing in a favor and dropping Eva at a friend’s house so Michael and I can go on a date tonight.  We’re having dinner at a local restaurant that supposedly has the most amazing sweet potato fries a person can hope for.  We’ll see.

I have to admit I’m somewhat nervous; a little nervous about leaving Eva and a little nervous that Michael is going to drive by the restaurant and take me parking instead.

I really want those fries.

Six Months

We marked six months in Oregon last week.  I can’t believe it’s been that long already.  Most of the time I feel completely at home here.  However, sometimes I will have a brief moment where I feel like I’m just visiting, and I’m ready to head home.  The past six months have been exciting, terrifying, happy and lonely.  I have discovered new strengths, new weaknesses and I have worried about my ability to cope. 

Through it all, I have not regretted moving.  I never thought I could ever be this far from my family, but it has been a blessing in many ways.  I have made friends I wouldn’t have otherwise made, I have strengthened my relationship with Michael and I have come to appreciate the friendships I have with my siblings and my parents in a more profound way.

I think a part of me will always ache for home and that quick drive to a family gathering.  I will always wish Eva could grow up with her cousins nearby.  I will always be homesick for this guy I know who treats me like crap.  (His initials are A.J.  Hopefully that doesn’t give away his identity.)  But life is about experience, learning to stretch beyond what we think we can handle and enjoying the journey while we’re on it.  I’m grateful for where my journey has taken me so far.  And no, those aren’t tears in my eyes, I just cut an onion.

Let’s take a peek back at the past six months:

Here we are getting ready to pull out of our neighborhood in Idaho Falls.  Notice the snow on the ground; there’s none of that in Oregon.

The day we took possession of our new house.  I’m packing a few extra pounds in this picture.  (It was a long winter.)

Unpacking.  This makes me shudder.

 

Eva when we first moved in.

Eva now.

It’s been a wonderfully adventurous six months!

Why Does My Stomach Hurt?

I feel like Rose on the Golden Girls when she has a stomachache but she doesn’t know why.  Dorothy asks her if she ate anything unusual and Rose rattles off everything she ate that day and it’s mostly junk food.  This was totally me yesterday.  Here’s what I pounded down my pie hole:

• 5 chocolate chip cookies
• 7-layer bean dip and a half a bag of chips
• 2 calzones
• Ice cream
• Kit Kat bar (full size)
• Cream cheese and crackers
• Pepperoni slices (while I made the calzones)
• Cinnamon breadsticks
• Licorice
• Chex Muddy Buddies   
• 4 Mini Milky Ways

My stomach was so bloated it looked like I had shoved the Goodyear Blimp under my shirt.  What a delicious Sunday.

All Up in My Biness

I went to the park with one of my friends the other day.  Eva is too young to really use the park but it was a chance to get out of the house and enjoy the sunshine.  I sat there like an iguana and let the rays soak into my bones.  I tried multiple times to get Eva to play in the grass but she wasn’t having it.  She just kept on crawling over to the wood chips under the toys.  At first I would pick her up and move her back to the grass, but that was a nuisance and I tired of the routine quickly.  So I let her sit in the wood.  She straightaway began gnawing on the wood chips.  I didn’t care because I was busy warming my bones.

Soon two other women began talking about Eva and pointing over at me.  I knew exactly what was happening.  The one woman, who I will refer to as Nosy Nancy, shouted over to me.  “Do you know she’s eating the wood?”  “Yeah,” I replied.  Nosy Nancy wasn’t placated with this.  “You shouldn’t let her eat the wood chips.  It’s probably not good for her.”  I responded with an apathetic, “Hmm.”  She shot me dagger eyes and I could tell Nancy wasn’t going to leave it alone.  I walked over to Eva, dug the wood chip out of her mouth, emptied her hands of the sticks that were next in line and moved her back onto the grass with me.  Eva screamed.

And Nancy wouldn’t let it go.  “I don’t have a problem with kids eating dirt,” she said, “but these wood chips are really dirty.”

What?  Wood chips are dirty but dirt is clean?  There’s a difference between eating dirt and the wood beneath the playground toys?  You wouldn’t have bothered me if she was eating dirt because, you know, that’s acceptable?  My suspicions that Nancy was an idiot were cemented.  I didn’t bother to comment.  Seeing that I wasn’t going to engage in lunacy with her, Nancy turned back to the other mom and commenced a ten minute conversation about the merits of eating dirt.  She also threw in a few jabs about how she just couldn’t imagine letting her kids eat the wood particles.

Well, imagine this.  You’re stupid and your kid is a gremlin.   

Gross!

I’ve come to the realization that being a parent requires a high tolerance for things of a disgusting nature.  The majority of my time is spent washing poop, snot, vomit and half-chewed food off of my hands.  I’m thinking I should just quit washing my hands.

It would free up a lot of time.  

Under the Weather

Poor Eva is sick.  She started with a runny nose yesterday and has progressed to congestion, sneezing and coughing.  Thankfully she is still pretty happy in spite of me obsessively wiping her nose every five minutes.

One big downside is that I’m tired today.  Sleep was hard to come by last night.  Eva was up every couple of hours because of her inability to breathe clearly.  Unfortunately, Eva feels rested enough to make messes so I have a lot of housework to do.  Plus it’s laundry day so I’m trying to scare up the fortitude to complete my chores. 

See Exhibit A:

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

I need a maid.

Warrior Dash–The Finale

Pictures are in from the Warrior Dash.  They are terrible and sparse.  Apparently since we were the first wave, the photographers didn’t have everything set up correctly.  There are only photos from one obstacle and the finish line.  I’m pretty bummed about it.  In any case, if you are so inclined, you can see them here:

www.warriordashphotos.com    Click on the “2013 WD North Plains, OR” link.  I was bib number 94519.

I hope you notice that the last two pictures are not of me, but of some other guy.  It would hurt my feelings to think you can’t tell me apart from him.  There are also two other pictures that you can locate by choosing “Assassins Drop” from the category drop down box.  I am pictures 2-5 and 2-6.

Horribly disappointing!  I would have loved to see pictures of me wading through the cold pond, climbing over the mud mounds, or rappelling down the tall wall.  I’m shaking my head in disgust.    

New Talents

Look what I did today!  (Not as impressive as what my sister did today…she had a baby, but still.  Look what I did today.)

I canned fruit.  Peaches and pears.  I feel so domestic and June Cleaver-ish.  I’ve been wearing an apron for most of the day.  The 50’s are great.

And, welcome to my new nephew!  (He is unnamed at the moment but the name I suggested is under advisement.  I suggested Buford.  It’s a sturdy name.)

What a productive day for me and my sis.   

Decisions, Decisions

Eva can’t decide which movie to watch.  She pulled all of these DVD’s out of the cabinet to read the story line on the back of each one.

This is a very important decision after all.

Warrior Dash

Yesterday I ran in the Warrior Dash.  It was a 5k mud run with eleven obstacles.  I was really nervous about it but it turned out to be a lot of fun.  I felt great and could tell that all of my training was worthwhile.  The race was in the woods west of Portland and the terrain was really steep and muddy.  I was glad I’ve been running so many hills.  When a lot of people had to walk up the hills, I ran on by.  That was kind of cool.  It was a beautiful morning and being in the woods was nice.  My only complaint is that the humidity was a little high so I did find myself struggling to catch my breath at some points.  Other than that, a very successful race.

This is Janna, the woman who has been diligently training with me.  Here we are before the race.  (It was early, hence the bags under our eyes.)

              

And here we are at the end:

The other two girls are Janna’s friends.

The race people took pictures at each obstacle but I don’t have the link to them yet.  I will post it once I do.  I’m curious to see how ridiculous I look. 

After we washed off in a muddy pond, we headed home.  We stopped in Portland at Voo Doo Doughnuts just for fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I might be strung up for saying this, but I didn’t think it lived up to the hype.  They were good doughnuts, but I won’t dream about them at night.  Of course, I’m not much of a doughnut person anyway so that could have something to do with it.

In all, it was a fun day.  Now begins the 10k training.    

Einstein

We gave Eva a bowl of dry Lucky Charms cereal last night to keep her occupied while we ate dinner.  It was her first experience with Lucky Charms.  She ate them for a while and then dumped what she didn’t want onto the floor.  As Michael was cleaning them up he realized something.  Eva ate all of the marshmallows and left the cereal behind. 

She’s no dummy.

Green Thumb?

This is the squash plant that is thriving in my garden.  Do you know what’s amazing about this squash?

• I did not plant it
• I do not water it
• I do not weed around it

Yet there it is.  It produces those yellow summer squash that are pretty much peaked zucchini.  (Peaked, as in pee-kid.  Look it up.)  You gardeners out there will understand that we have so much squash I could start a farm stand. 

On the contrary, I lovingly planted a sugar snap pea plant earlier this summer.  I watered it and weeded around it and said nice things to it.  This is what I received in return:

 

This plant produced one pea.  One.  And it was tiny.

Clearly my best approach is to be hands-off in the garden.

Housewife

I’m taking my duties seriously today.  At this very moment I have laundry washing, fruit leather drying in the oven, pear slices dehydrating and I’m working on the dishes.

I’m also still in my workout clothes, I haven’t showered yet and I smell very strongly of body odor.

My housewife-type clearly leans towards the “Frumpy” spectrum today.  Perhaps “Organic” is more politically correct…

Bronco Slaughter

We had our clocks cleaned last night in the season opener.  It was horribly embarrassing and frustrating.  My poor Broncos were ponies.

Is it too late to align with a different team?  You know, one that will win?