Week 39: Let's Celebrate 75% Completion!

What's new?

In Week 39, we celebrate a milestone: 75% of the way through the year! And just because we can, we will give thanks for all of it: our successes, our failures, our dreams, and our realities. My favorite ways to celebrate just about anything include eating food, chatting with friends and family, wearing a good pair of jeans, being outside, and making lists. 

Non-mom-jeans. The last time I bought a pair of hot jeans (the really good kind) was 2006. I didn't even buy any after I lost weight! Desperately needing to channel Linda Hamilton in the Terminator (and not owning a gymnists body or a machine gun or a cigarette), I got a new pair of Joe's. And it worked. I look exactly like the photo above. 

September foodie penpal. My second foodie penpal (check out The Lean Green Bean for an explanation of foodie penpals) package was full of deliciously sweet and energy-filled treats. Brookside acai chocolates are delicious! I love dark chocolate and was quite excited to discover that these were chewy. I LOVE chewy candies. I also had no idea Brookside was owned by Hershey. Way to go, Hershey. Henry and I love the honey sticks, which he had never had, and honey is a completely underestimated, natural anti-bacterial and anti-viral food. Agave nectar has nothing on honey, as much as it tries. I had had the Sweet Leaf mint green tea before, but was pleasantly surprised by my foodie penpal's ballsiness to include a glass jar of liquid in my package. Maybe my Linda Hamilton alter ego will give me the strength I need to be that brave in my future packages :) The homemade cookies were a sweet touch - Ted would have devoured these, being that they were peanut butter and chocolate, had he been here! I love orzo and fruit leather for running fuel - Orzo always makes for a nice, chilled pasta salad. Throw in some feta, cucumber, and tomato...maybe a little olive oil, and you have a delicious meal. My penpal also included special treats for Henry, which I thought was the sweetest thing ever.

Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge (Mound City, MO). This is an hour and a half north from Fort Leavenworth and completely worth every speck of your time. What a perfect time of year as well being the fall migration! There is a 10-mile loop around the refuge that is basically a driving tour (slow) with lots of places to get out with the spotting scope or camera, or just sit in your car with binos. We enjoyed seeing American white pelicans, osprey, turkey vultures, snow geese, loons, turtles, and lots of monarchs everywhere. We will definitely be back this winter to try to spot some bald eagles! 

Used food dehydrator. We can't wait to make some homemade teas and dried fruits. I may or may not include a specimen or two as well :)

If you will recall, at the Halfway Point, I created this list of goodies for completion to have done before the end of the year:

Here is what we have completed:

• ditch the sippy cup/switch to full big-boy cups only - done, for the most part. Cups with a lid are still nice for taking on runs, hikes, and in the car, kind of like a Nalgene.

• Pass the Praxis - by the Grace of God, I did pretty well on this crazy test!

• finish current book - yes 

• make it through a playgroup session without trying to leave the building barely, but yes

• successfully find a preschool in VA before we move there - yes, though I am not head-over-heels in love with it, as compared to how I feel about his current school/teacher

• pick peaches from local orchard and freeze enough pie fillings for peach pie until the end of the year They didn't open for u-Pick this year, but I was a farmer's market stalker, and have peaches galore. 

• take Henry owling and to a local owl lecture at a nearby nature center while he is still obsessed with owls - We did go owling! However, we did not make it to a lecture because they were all late in the evening (bedtime) rather than what I was hoping for (a couple that were in the early morning). Both are good times to go owling. He is still loving learning about owls, who fascinate us both.

• get a cute grow chart for Henry's room - done! He's growing like a weed.

• start preschool - yes

• not sit in the parking lot and cry for 3 hours on the first day of preschool like a total loser - yes, thanks to a very good friend

• seriously. get a life - I still have anxiety leaving him every single time. But it goes away within about 12 seconds after dropping him off :)

• say "please" and "thank you" consistently - He has started doing this! I am so proud. This was really the only thing I cared about on this list, and it happened. I've noticed he is better at saying please and thank you to strangers than he is to his Momma, however :) I am probably the same way with my Momma...

• squaw creek national wildlife refuge

Here is what is in the process of being completed:

• potty training completion - If you could graph this progress, it would look like a wave. Just within the last few days, he has been telling me "help"; grabbing himself; then holding it for a few seconds, which is awesome. He only does this in cotton undies - Pullups are a joke in case anyone reading this is just about to start this adventure.

• KS/MO bug collection - Just have to finish and affix my labels! Would like to get a couple more species.

• finish current crochet project and complete about 5 more - I don't know about the "5 more", but should be finished with the current behemoth in a month or so

• finish the rest of current book pile...about 8-9 of them, not counting the teacher resources now on my list - Probably more like 4.

• finish writing current short work of fiction - I think this will actually happen. As usual, It needs to be simplified a LOT for a short story.

• call my grandparents more regularly - Trying...My limited phone talking time is usually spent calling one of my parents, siblings, or sister-in-laws, so I really, sadly, have to schedule time to call anyone else, including friends. Though, is it really that sad? It gets done that way. Just life, I think.

• learn new tree identification (list) - Sucking it up on this one. But I have learned a few...

• try one new smoothie week per week - More like, every 2 weeks :) But yes.

• teach my son to catch and throw a football - working on it! He has a good arm, though teaching someone to catch is HARD when you suck yourself :) haha

• teach my son to ride his bike - Well, we are getting on, being pushed, and are fascinated by big kids on their bikes. Working on it...

• find a place to live in VA - Working on it. I think my Husband has much more lavish taste than I do, but I have always known this. I like cozy. He likes an echo :)

• get my child to willingly eat a vegetable/food in general - If green smoothies count, then yes.

• complete a half marathon on Post before we leave - One more week! Yay.

• make sure he can recognize his name (written) before he gets to his first day of preschool - I think he can recognize his name...He knows the spelling. not 100% sure if he really knows it or has just memorized it :)

Week 26: Climbing Mountains and the BEST Foodie Penpal, Ever

What's new?

Week 26 was full of mostly deliciousness and a smidgeon of growing pain. In addition, I have had the worst bout of insomnia for the last few days (who knows), so please bare with me as I typo my way through this post and regale you all with the Newness.

• My Foodie Penpal package arrived!! Oh my goodness - A huge, cyber-hug and a thank-you to the beautiful and thoughtful Laura (and please check out her website, Urban Starlings!). As I opened her package, I LOVED how each item was individually wrapped. Each totally non-fat item :) Yum. First of all, the Sahalie Tuscan almonds were devoured within 2 days of opening. Second, dry Italian salame. The end. But not really...Sonoma Jacks soft cheese wedges and coffee candies. Cheese straws. SWEET note. What it was, was a celebration in a package. 

• La Croix sparkling water. The grapefruit is my favorite, but I also gave the cran-raspberry a try this week. Not only does this beverage seem like such a splurge (is it because it comes in a can???), but it has no sodium, artificial color, flavor, or sweetener. When it is 88 degrees out, and you just finish a 5 mile run pushing your 35-pound son in the jogging stroller up a hill, those little, mini (but HEALTHY) splurges in life sure are welcome! And they will not give you a beer belly or digestive disorders (diet soda) :)

• My little Love is going to preschool. We toured the facility and signed him up, and boy has that experience elicited some major growing pains in this momma. On one hand, I have never been more excited for him to begin this (what I think will be a) wonderful experience. His teacher seems so amazing in all of the ways that I need his first teacher to be. He loved her (in fact, he keeps asking to go back and see her!). She reminds me of my Sister-in Law, Whitney's mom. Not super gushy or emotional, but sweet and caring. I think maybe a little bit of a control freak, which I liked. I think Henry will challenge her, but I think she can challenge him right back, in a loving but firm way. I am so happy that he will get structured, quality time with other kids learning about things like following directions, manners, trusting and (hopefully) bonding with other adults, and working as a group. On the other hand, I feel nervous. Since birth, the most we have ever been apart with him in someones care other than my husband is 4 hours, and that maybe happens once every 3-4 months. And usually it is no more than 2 hours :) I am extremely picky about who cares for him. For example, I would never in a million years do something like Sitter City. I would have all of the teeth rot out of my head and bleed to death before I ever, ever, ever did that. I know it is time to climb this mountain, and I sincerely believe that there will be a happy little boy at the top. Ted has been such an amazing husband listening to me freak out about all of this, even on deployment. I sure do miss his cool, calm and collected physical presence during times like this. I'm pretty sure Henry does too :)    

• A new recipe, which I super-modified from this month's issue of Southern Living, from a recipe called Chicken Salad Exotique. This is SO yummy and easy to make! I am completely, 100% obsessed with this kind of old-school chicken salad recipe:

1 baked chicken breast, cut up into small squares

1/2 cup of organic red grapes, halved

1/2 cup unsalted, roasted almonds, chopped

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1/4 cup mayo

1 tsp oregano

a dash of salt and pepper

Week 23: The Good Graces of Time

What's New?

Dear Week 23, 

You were not an easy week, but within the good graces of your time, we have learned much about the amazing strength of our little boy. Please tell future weeks to go easy on this momma, lest I forget what I have learned about my 2.5-year old during this time :) And please, please remember: I am only a Padawon in all of this. There is still so much to learn in order to be a Jedi Master deployment momma, and I am not always 100% sure if want to be, for that matter.

Ted left at the end of last week, after only having been here a week, and each day since has been a parenting adventure trying to explain that each light left on in another room does not mean that daddy is home. Every time a car goes by or a male runner passes us on the trail, that is not daddy either. Daddy is on a ship in the ocean. He is probably having coffee with Nemo. He is protecting people from sharks, so the sharks don't bite them and make a big, giant, owie. 

Sometimes, distraction seems like the best thing, and other times, just talking about it really matter-of-factly is good. Still, most times, a big hug and a kiss and a good, long walk is the best thing. I find that if I let him lead with all of this, he usually works through it using his own little brain. Yesterday, I heard him upstairs get out of bed during his nap and go into mom and daddy's room. He was just sitting in a chair we have up there going, "daddy's room. this is daddy's room," very definitively. That must have brought his little heart some peace because then he ran into room and took a nap :)

Thankfully, one of my good friends brought over a couple of books for us to look at, which ended up being so great (and we ordered our own copies). He LOVES Over There (by Dorinda Williams). It has some very simple illustrations and is action-oriented (i.e. "I brush my teeth here. He [Daddy] brushes his teeth there." Just really could not be any more perfect for Henry! We have also enjoyed the activity book (created by Julie LaBelle) and have already completed our first deployment time capsule. There are cute ideas in there befitting for a 2-3 year old, such as connect the dots (and it is a Navy ship). 

My mom also sent a U.S. Navy Alphabet book, which I had never seen. Not only does Henry love this, but as a terrible Navy wife, I have learned more from this book about the Navy than I have ever known! :) This book should be given to every new Navy spouse. "V is for vessel" people! 

Another great "resource" has been just simple prayer!  Every adventurer's pathway calls for meditation and prayer at some point, and we do this often. Not only has it been a great bonding time for us, but I think to teach our kids to rest and be still in the small spaces of the day, amid the running around and endless structure or lack thereof, in many cases, is teaching them how to use a tool for real happiness. We are the praying type, and we believe prayer works, but even if you are not, teaching your kids to just count to 10 and take a deep breath every once in a while is a good thing in this World.

Going beetle and spider hunting and playing puzzles. Making chocolate chip cookies and raisin trains. These are the things that make us both happy turtles. So that's what we are doing, for now.

Other Week 23 Newness:

• Finally got my dream kitchen tool (besides the Kitchenaid pasta maker attachment)! A rice cooker/food steamer with a timer. This thing has been LIFE CHANGING. It has a white and brown rice setting, but you can also cook quinoa, lentils, or just about anything in half the time. I am eating a ton more vegetables with the steamer - and I just love it. Now if I could just get Henry to eat this stuff :)

• Henry did his first bird call: the California Quail. Yes, I was beside myself with glee.

• I signed up for a Foodie Pen Pal! Doesn't that sound exciting?? It was created by a dietician whose blog I came across via a gal who I sometimes get Weight Watchers recipes from. Check it out!! The Lean Green Bean