Week 9: Oscars Parties and Puppy Dogpiles

We did not try as many new things in Week 9 because I spent most of it being sick and road-tripping back to Kansas with my favorite 2-year old buddy. But, in spite of the continued and worsening sickness, our last days in San Diego with Daddy were happy ones and included one of my new favorite memories. I spent much of our last full day as a family together for a long while in Urgent Care, but Henry and Ted had some good quality time together, which made all of us happy. I was too sick to even be sad at that point, and all I remember is going into the bedroom to lay elevated on some pillows, after taking copious amounts of randoms, which included something with codeine as well as ZzzQuil, nasal spray, and essential oils. I turned on the Oscars, and my sweet husband and son crawled up in bed with me with their new Thomas the Train I-spy book, and we had the absolute best cuddle time ever AND we got to witness that spectacular mini-show of Les Miserable (Ted was especially excited about that part). And finally...eventually...I fell asleep in a big puppy-love pile. 

I've never hosted an Oscar party before, but I think I will, from now on. Especially if there is a Thomas the Train, puppy-pajama dogpile with my sweet family included :)  

Henry and I are home now, safe and sound, and I am slowly but surely starting to feel better. I am thankful for our special time with Auntie Shana, Uncle Eddy, Cousin Ira and Baby Leif and with our other good friends in San Diego (and so, so sorry for missing the ones we missed due to being sick!) 

We miss our other Third already. I feel like I left with a lot of doubts and nervousness about how this year was going to work and whether or not any of us (Ted, Henry, or myself) were strong enough to handle (insert whatever you can think of inserting, here). I think I came back knowing that I am not, and being totally okay with it because Ted and Henry aren't either. 'Cause ya know what? None of us are that strong - We aren't supposed to be. So, you just accept weakness sometimes and move forward - And often times that is when you finally allow growth and healing and figure out what it is you are supposed to be doing. It helps especially, when you come home to find a homemade lasagna and pot of daffodils on your counter :) 
  

In addition, I left with a 2-year old and came home with a 2.25-year old. Apparently, there is a difference! Most amazing, impressive kid, this one. I just loved driving home across New Mexico and Northern Texas with him in the bright morning sun. I will never forget that. I hopefully will forget how over road-tripping he was by the time we were in Northern Oklahoma :)

Other new things I tried in Week 9:

• Dermatologica skincare products. I love Proactiv, but here in Kansas my pruny skin cannot handle that much Benzoyl Peroxide. Plus, it's time for some grown-up makeup.

• ZzzQuil. I love this product. It works. 5/5 stars.

• Chicken tortilla soup from Islands - So yummy for sick mommas (but without the cheese).

Week 8: The Best Dates Ever and my Quest for A World Covered in Curry

Week 8 brought with it so many new things! First, lets start with food. I don't think I have mentioned that I have had this horrible and annoying upper respiratory funk for the last couple of weeks. It started with a dry, hacking cough and moved to my sinuses, and then just left me with an overall din of fatigue and exhaustion and scratchy throat. All the while, none of it was a show-stopper (except that one day when Henry watched Thomas and Friends 40 times in a row and I couldn't peel myself off of the couch longer than it took to change a diaper or peel a banana). So mostly, we just partied through it like we do. When I am sick like that, I crave sushi and curry like there is no tomorrow. Thus, I tried 2 new foods this week: curried kale chips and curried tofu salad with pineapple, dried cranberries and cashews. Both were amazing, so stay tuned for the post where I try to recreate them (and post recipes).

My Lover was working like crazy again this week, but we did manage to squeeze in an actual, romantical sushi date at On The Rocks in La Jolla (across the street from our first date at a coffee shop called The Living Room). While dating my husband is not new, it is still exciting because it is rare, and he's still the only person I ever want to go on a romantical date with.

And speaking of dates, Henry and I had our first ever momma-son coffee date! Now you have to realize that this boy has been a runner since the moment he figured out how to walk. He hates hand-holding when it is needed (unless he's sitting by me on the couch or on the beach). Hand-holding = screaming bloody murder every time. The stroller has been our friend in public places, and we don't participate in activities near traffic or streets or steep ravines or malls, etc. without either having him in the stroller or carrying him. He is also a big, heavy boy, so carrying him has become pretty challenging. Then came the refusal to sit in the stroller :) We had been practicing walking next to momma on the hiking trails and on the sidewalk for a couple of months now...Fast-forward to trying it out in public places here in San Diego, and he now walks next to momma the whole way AND stays by me (as long as he can say "hi" to everyone in the coffee shop while I am ordering)!!! A Christmas miracle!!! Just one of those little things to most people, but pure happiness for me! yay. I am very good with this, even though it means my buddy is growing up very fast. My little Love...

Other new things for Week 8:

• Got and began studying for Praxis II exam in July (middle grade science...also surprised myself by doing well on the physics and solar system questions). Very exciting!

• New sushi place - Yummy Sushi off of Carmel Mt Road...5/5 stars from this sushi connoisseur! Plus extra credit for having 2 saltwater tanks in the middle of the restaurant. 

• Sweet potato kale salad from Jimbo's in Rancho Bernardo.

• Beta-glucan and Symbiotics colostrum-pineapple chewables for rebuilding my immune system (suggested by Sister-in-law, Shana).

• Began and almost finished new crochet project for Sister-in-law Jenn's MOPS group auction.     

Week 7: Mermaids and Talking to the Ocean

Week 7 has been a busy and wonderful week in San Diego! We have had great fun visiting our old stomping grounds and have tried many new things. Ted has been working very hard getting his crew ready to pass inspections for their upcoming deployment and fitting in quality family time with us while we are here. Of course, we wish we could see more of him, but I cannot be sad about being able to get in quality girl time and conversations with my best friends and my son, every day! One of my favorite new things that we did this week was just sit on the beach and watch the waves crash against the sand (Henry and I). He seems to love doing this as much as running in the sand, and one day he just plopped down and I sat down next to him, and we began telling our story of the little boy who talks to the ocean. This may top my favorite Henry memory list :) What an amazing son I have. 

Other new things we did or tried in Week 7:

• A new beer! Coronado Brewing Co. Mermaid's Red Amber Ale: Ted did not care for this because it was too hoppy and therefore too much like an IPA and unlike his favorite nutty ambers that teeter on being brown ales (in my opinion). I normally dislike IPAs as well because they taste like perfume, but I have to say, I liked how they did this. Even though it was hoppy, it had just enough of a fruity twist to overpower the floral notes, and what I ended up getting was something along the lines of peach and rose petal hues. I actually liked it, which is weird because I normally do not like any hint of fruit or floral in my beer, whatsoever. I guess this is a great example of how complex craft beers can be and why one should continue to try new things :)

• Balboa Park Science Center: One of my girlfriends here has a daughter Henry's age, so we took them to the upstairs area of the IMAX Science Center, where they have this great play/discovery room for kiddos under 5. We've done a couple of things like this before with Henry, and he seemed to be a little overwhelmed and overstimulated, and it wasn't all that fun. So, I was really happy that he had such a great time here and wanted to stay and explore all of the activities. He is at the perfect age for this stuff at this point, but up until this point, I really don't think he has been. Every kid is so different! I love spending time with other kids his age and noticing all of the diversity in 2-year olds.

• 1-20: Henry can now count to 20, which is cool, but the concept of "how many" doesn't necessarily have anything to do with being able to count. For example, if I ask him how many feet he has, he may count to 2 or 4, depending on his mood :) He also seems to have a good memory for numbers such as street addresses and such. 

• The Little Red Caboose: We got a new book, and he loves reading it to us, which is also a new thing (him reading to us). He is a very good memorizer. Future botanist? :)

• I finished a crochet project (that was a fast one!)...

• I think I have officially decided what I am going to do when I grow up (what I am going to do for a career when Henry starts pre-school when we move to Northern Virginia next year). I've known I was not going to go back to being a field biologist or a consultant since I left my job. I thought for a long time about going for my Master's in Occupational Therapy and teaching people how to do the small things that will empower them to live their lives again after they've been in accidents. I've also thought about getting my teaching credential and teaching biology and/or earth science at the Jr High level. I've been thinking heavily about this all year, and I think I am going to teach. When I was interning after college, I got a lot of opportunity to teach environmental science projects to kids of all ages, but Jr High was my favorite, and having strong female role models in the science community is a topic that is becoming more and more important to me the older I get. I think it would be fun because I have 10 years of experience working in the field and could (hopefully) transfer that passion of nature and of science to kids. The idea of being a substitute teacher for a while also appeals to me because I could get teaching experience while still being able to be there for my family in the way that I would like to be. I haven't really talked to a lot of people about any of this, so if any of this comes as a shock to anyone, hopefully it is a good shock :) 

          Climb aboard, explorers!! :)

Week 6: San Diego with a 2-Year Old, a New Book, and Licking Sand

Week 6 was basically all brand new, in a sense. The last time Henry was here, he was between 3-11 months old, so through his 2-year old eyes, everything we have done this past week may as well be new. This and seeing the look on his face when he saw his Daddy for the first time in over a month made the 3-day road trip here totally worth it. Henry is such a great traveler. I am more and more impressed by him the older he gets. My favorite moment though, beside reuniting with Daddy, meeting my newborn Nephew #5, and getting in good, quality girl talk with my best girlfriends, was taking Henry to the beach in the early morning and watching him chase sandpipers, and then, when I told him that they were eating bugs out of the sand, seeing him get down on all fours and lick the sand. He's such a character and a good pretender! On the flip side, he has also been much whinier than usual and has not been wanting to go down for naps or to bed. I think he is officially over traveling and ready to get back home to our routine and to his bed. I predict that he is going to fall madly in love with the beach, and the two of us are just going to become beach bums and live in a surfer van in the south Mission Beach parking lot and write poetry and play with dump trucks and live off of carnitas burritos and homemade tomatillo salsa.   

Other new things we tried in Week 6:

• East of Eden (John Steinbeck). I just have to say: Thank Goodness for this great work of fiction. My soul has been restored, and so has my love of reading. I just got done telling Ted that my new rule is that I am never going to read new fiction again unless a) the author comes highly recommended by someone I trust, or b) it is from an author I already know. I just don't have time for crappy reads anymore, people! I have a 2 year old! Time is-a-wastin'! My BFF and sister-in-law recommended East of Eden to me when she was pregnant with Nephew #3, and it is with great sadness that I am just now getting to it (because I stole her copy). I adore Steinbeck's writing. I want to bathe in it and drink it and imprint it on my brain to replace all of the complete shit that I have read over the last year and years past.

• Hemp milk

• watching cartoons in bed in the morning

• oatmeal raisin cookies for breakfast

• first playdate with a girl