Week 17: Exploring Kansas City with the Mad Ones

In Week 17, we explored some new parts of Kansas City with some very dear Fort Leavenworth friends of ours who happen to be moving way [too] soon. It is a funny concept, time, because one year is not enough time to get to know people you don't initially (really) click with on more than a surface level. Yet for those rare souls of whose intensity Love will only ever partially satisfy (the ones you seem to know immediately), one year is but a blink of an eye or a thousand years, you know? Like either way, the concept of a year is pretty meaningless. 

These friends are of the latter sort - The ones you'd still be friends with even if Facebook wasn't around after they moved to create the illusion that you are somehow going to be friends for life :)

I promise I have not even had a single glass of wine while writing this. In case you're wondering.

 “the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.”
 -Jack Kerouac, On the Road

City Market

This place is an outdoor market that has been around since the 1920's, in the style of my beloved Pike's Place Market in Seattle. Though nobody was throwing fish, we still enjoyed a fresh cup of coffee and a good chat with the owners from City Market Coffeehouse. I bought black jelly beans from Plantars Seed Co Herbs and Spices, watched the giant riverboat wheel spin at the Riverboat Museum, enjoyed yummy gyro meat and hummus from a Mediterranean cafe, and best of all, bought cumin and anise for $1 a scoop from the Arabic Market. Amazing find and a wonderful day out with JUST mommas :) We need some more of those. I look forward to heading back down here when the weather is a bit warmer and all of the vendors are out!

Sea Life Aquarium

I would recommend this as the perfect weekday place for kids 5 and under. Henry went with his 2 best buddies, and I think they all had a marvelous time, but it is small, and I would definitely not recommend ever going on a crowded day! We were so lucky to have experienced this with only a few other families and one school group on a weekday! The whole thing takes only about 30 to get through, and I highly recommend getting your tickets in advance, online, rather than at the door. Not only do you save $4, but you actually have a chance of getting in. I am so glad we finally did this and that Henry is at an age where we don't (usually) need the stroller anymore. Pretty good find...just plan accordingly :) 

Week 16: Craving Comfort and Navigating Toddler Independence

Week 16 brought with it a new level of stress (can that be considered something "new"?) when I began to realize that there is no way humanly possible that I can cram all of the needed test information from every field of science into my brain before July 20. Middle Grade science teachers, I cannot believe you had to take this test! It is insane. I feel like it would be easier if I just took the one for High School biology and said to heck with it! Alas, I cannot. I am determined that I can somehow pass this. Come on, brain, you can do it (insert sound of creaky stairs, here)! :) In any case, Week 16 was all about craving comfort, be it comfort foods, comfortable clothes, yummy smells (with the exception of the downstairs pee-pee bathroom/Henry's office), good friends, good wine, hot tea, and Lego city parties.

I'll be the first one to admit that when it comes to comfort, I don't like new things. I love my rut and my old standbys. Stress comes, and I am like a donkey in mud when it comes to trying new things. That was one of the main reasons I began this blog - To force myself out of the rut I knew would come :) Having a 2-year old helps a lot with that because you start seeing the World through their eyes, which see everything new. Then, you become inspired to keep trying. Having friends also helps with that because when you don't feel like being adventurous, they are there to at least make you try a new food or suggest a new way of doing something. 

This week, my very dear friends across the street brought Henry and I an extremely good, new comfort food: Corn Chowder with Roasted Tomatillos and Poblano. I think they actually roasted the corn too, which was amazing. It is vegan, gluten-free, and soooo good with crusty bread and of course, a frothy ale.

Other Week 16 Newness:

• Overland Park Farmer's Market: The City of Overland Park is about an hour away from Fort Leavenworth. We went on opening day of the Market, so not all of the vendors from the list were there, but it was good! We walked away with carrot oatmeal raisin cookies, fresh olive oil rosemary bread, and farm-fresh eggs! I am looking forward to going again.

• First Dentist Appointment: As traumatized as Henry was (he screamed bloody murder the entire visit), he now blesses "the dentist" in our nightly prayers :) After that experience, so do I.

• Down the Stairs: Apparently, Henry has decided to start walking down the stairs front-facing, like a big boy. The first time I saw him do this, my heart leaped out of my mouth and onto the floor, but he made it the whole way, and then exclaimed, "all by myself!!" complete with one giant, sweet grin :) 

• New Running Partner: Our first running date went well! I love it when people say they don't usually talk when they run and then talk the entire run :) Or when they say they are slow and will probably have to walk and then you are sprinting to catch up with them. This new one, she's a high-energy character. I immediately liked her (before we even ran) because she was ready 15 minutes early. 

Week 15: Pure Goodness

In Week 15, my 2-1/3 year-old said bye-bye to his binky forever (pacifier). He still had been using it for naps and nighttime, but one day, it went to the play with Bambi, and it started to rain. Since binky doesn't like getting wet, he just stayed with Bambi and Thumper, warm and dry. We'll probably see him again, but he's decided to stay for a while :) In the meantime, Binky has been replaced with bedtime stories, which seemed to be a pretty smooth transition.

Other new goodness for Week 15:

• Poop on the Potty: We had several days in a row of him telling me he had to go, me listening, and then him going. We also had a couple of him not telling me until after he had gone, or him telling me and me not listening, or him telling me and then not going until I put his pullup back on. But progress!!

• Roasting sticks: Our amazing friends who happen to live across the street came over for dinner and brought one of the best presents, ever, and they had them handmade by prisoners! They are amazing and so well-crafted, and I have always wanted fancy roasting sticks! The memories I have of camping and roasting marshmallows with my family as a kid are not only some of my favorite; they have become somewhat sacred because they include my sister when she was still innocent - Long before the vicious cycle of addiction became her. It is amazing how you preserve the people you love. Everyone does it differently. In my preservation of her, we happen to be camping, and she has a face covered in sticky marshmallows and dirt.

• The BOB: I have been running with Henry for almost 2 years in the JEEP. The JEEP has served us well for $175. We have logged many, many miles, both on and off-road on that thing. But, after 6 miles the other day, we blew a flat. The following day, I borrowed our friends' BOB Revolution. It was like nothing I had ever experienced running with Henry. First of all, he was completely weightless (vs. the Jeep where it feels like I am pushing 50 lbs). Second, the shock absorption? OH MY GOSH: phenomenal. I felt nothing. And finally, the turning capabilities - This thing turns on a dime. Now, ideally, for running 5-6 miles, you would want a fixed wheel (and a 16" rather than the 12" front wheel), so after much research and emailing random marathoners, we decided to purchase the BOB SUS. Apparently, this model has even better shock absorption than the Revolution (which is insane to even imagine), and is truly off-road capable and durable. We found a pretty good deal (about $100 less than the sticker price) from a dealer on Amazon. Extremely excited! I honestly did not think that by this age, Henry would still like running with me! If anything, he likes it even more, and we are able to go longer distances, which is great! My sweet buddy bee. He has probably figured out that Momma is a lot less grouchy when she runs, haha.

• Lab Safety Procedures: I know you are all at the edge of your seats with the excitement of our lives right now, so you will be even more excited when I tell you that this week, I memorized the Lab Safety Procedures manual for teaching science labs to Jr High and High-schoolers. Someone gets HCl on their skin? I can handle that. A fire in the lab? No problemo. A funny smell? Evacuate. Oh yes. Your children will be safe with me. And they will map recessive alleles in fruit flies like there is no tomorrow.

• Five Guys Burgers and Fries: There is a first time for everything, but few are as memorable as this cheeseburger. Danger, danger, danger. Hands-down, best burger and fries I have ever had. Unbelievable.

Week 14: Bandwagons, Butterflies, and dusting off my Brain

A bandwagon came rolling through Week 14, and folks, I JUMPED right on! Why have I not tried compression socks for post-run muscle recovery until now? They are amazing - Worth every penny! If someone had explained to me that wearing compression socks after a long run or a hill/speed workout would cut muscle soreness in half and feel like I had received a leg massage, I would have jumped on that wagon years ago! In fact, I am so obsessed that I got a pair of compression shorts also. They feel a little weird (like putting on a catwoman suit, not that I know from experience what that is like), but they do wonders for my hips and back. Seriously, this compression thing is fantastic. I am generally late to jump on bandwagons, but better late than never! 

Other great new things we tried during Week 14:

• Omaha Zoo Butterfly and Insect Pavilion (and some of the rest of the zoo, too). We had some lovely and generous invites to peoples' homes for Easter Sunday this year, but I was really feeling like getting as far away from tradition as possible and creating some new memories with Henry, since Ted couldn't be here. The entire day was such a blessing! Hands-down one of my favorite memories with Henry, so far! He loved the butterfly house and did so well with everything. This is probably one of the best zoos I have ever been to. I can't wait to go back! 

• Peach poppyseed vinaigrette. Delicious - We had over spinach greens with walnuts.

• First (for real, timed) practice Praxis 2 exam (middle grade science, for those of you who are new). My first big reminder regarding test taking: ALWAYS go with your first instinct answer! Ahhh! It is worse when in scoring your work you can say, "I KNEW that!!" Then all you want to do is kick yourself! Or, in my case, make some flashcards, drink hot chocolate, re-stain a teak picnic table, play trains with son, review important historical science figures and voltage equations, take son on wagon ride, then be too tired to kick yourself :)

• The Living Room Exhibit at Powell Botanical Garden in Kingsville, MO. This was such a creative and artful display! We were lucky enough to have some friends who wanted to come along with us to this. The boys seemed to really enjoy themselves, and I can't wait to get back for the wildflowers! Henry is such a fun little explorer; he seems to really enjoy just observing and touching every plant and animal we come across. What a fun little person!