Last night I got a few friends together for Thai food and a movie. E and D had their Daddy-Daughter-Date-Night; they headed over to Green Lake for hot pizza slices and a walk to the playground. She's really been into 'racing,' and 'beating you,' and unfortunately while racing, the toe of her shoe caught the corner of some raised cement and really crashed landed hard. It doesn't usually take her too long to recover from these missteps, but apparently this time she was a wreck, and her poor little knee's showed it the next evening at bath time...ouch!
Well, it seems that we're quickly heading into these lovely warmer days and I'm beginning to get the feeling that her tiny shins and kneecaps have only begun to get worn in with all our outdoor activities.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Scuba
When E was younger (I mean like 3 months - 1 1/2 years old, before she could talk to him on the phone) I would hang up photo's of D at her eye level when he was gone on tours. I plastered them everywhere: on the wall next to her changing table, on her highchair tray, down both sides of the hallway, in the car; everywhere. It was a way I could keep him close to her in those long drawn out weeks. I suppose it was a bit for me too, being a single parent for months at a time and on call 24/7 was hard. Keeping up appearances while holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries were repeatedly missed stung a little. Maybe in some ways it kept him close for me too, memories of the times we did have together. But, I'm straying from the point.
These photo's played a pretty important role here at home, and E talks about them from time to time. In particular she asks about the one I hung in the bathroom just above the tub. It's a shot I took while we were in Kauai for my sister's wedding. The day before we left the tropics my parents made reservations on a day-long sight seeing tour around the island. We all were plagued with a bit of seasickness but D jumped at the chance to do a bit of scuba diving and I grabbed a picture just before he splashed in.
E loves this picture, and until recently I didn't really understand why. I mean she wasn't there, it doesn't bring her back to that sunny afternoon in Hawaii 4 years past. Perhaps it was because he's playfully sticking out his tongue, or maybe it was the thrill of seeing her dad in this uncommon paraphernalia, or just plain excitement to see documentation of him enjoying life around the water. It was puzzling to me. She has taken to the water like a fish, already learning so much in the short time she's been enrolled in her weekly lessons. In this way, she and I are cut from the same cloth. But she really identifies with her dad in this picture. Her attitude is almost like: "Well duh Mom, you and me like swimming, but look, Dad does too."
She's seen the professional scuba divers down at the ferry docks slowly entering and retreating from the waters edge. She'll stand motionless with her mouth open every time, in total awe, not quite able to picture the real people underneath all the tubes, masks, flippers and tanks. Oftentimes we're at the aquarium during feeding times. She'll stand off to the side almost refusing to watch these folks in scuba gear. She's panicked somehow that she's witnessing something that isn't altogether OK, but not quite able to look away.
But safe at home in her warm 3 inches of bubbly water she happily recreates these underwater scenes. Nearly every bath time she requests goggles and does a little deep sea diving herself. Placing one end of her goggle elastic in her mouth like a snorkel she'll declare: "Mom! I'm a Scuba!"
Then it started making sense: She's been unable to wrap her mind around the fact that Daddy wore all that same stuff, and very likely the people under all that get-up are nice daddy's and mommies too. She's scared of these guys and her way of working through her fear is, and really always has been to become a little bit obsessed (i.e. Pirates). Owning it. She has to personalize it so it's not so scary anymore.
These photo's played a pretty important role here at home, and E talks about them from time to time. In particular she asks about the one I hung in the bathroom just above the tub. It's a shot I took while we were in Kauai for my sister's wedding. The day before we left the tropics my parents made reservations on a day-long sight seeing tour around the island. We all were plagued with a bit of seasickness but D jumped at the chance to do a bit of scuba diving and I grabbed a picture just before he splashed in.
E loves this picture, and until recently I didn't really understand why. I mean she wasn't there, it doesn't bring her back to that sunny afternoon in Hawaii 4 years past. Perhaps it was because he's playfully sticking out his tongue, or maybe it was the thrill of seeing her dad in this uncommon paraphernalia, or just plain excitement to see documentation of him enjoying life around the water. It was puzzling to me. She has taken to the water like a fish, already learning so much in the short time she's been enrolled in her weekly lessons. In this way, she and I are cut from the same cloth. But she really identifies with her dad in this picture. Her attitude is almost like: "Well duh Mom, you and me like swimming, but look, Dad does too."
She's seen the professional scuba divers down at the ferry docks slowly entering and retreating from the waters edge. She'll stand motionless with her mouth open every time, in total awe, not quite able to picture the real people underneath all the tubes, masks, flippers and tanks. Oftentimes we're at the aquarium during feeding times. She'll stand off to the side almost refusing to watch these folks in scuba gear. She's panicked somehow that she's witnessing something that isn't altogether OK, but not quite able to look away.
But safe at home in her warm 3 inches of bubbly water she happily recreates these underwater scenes. Nearly every bath time she requests goggles and does a little deep sea diving herself. Placing one end of her goggle elastic in her mouth like a snorkel she'll declare: "Mom! I'm a Scuba!"
Then it started making sense: She's been unable to wrap her mind around the fact that Daddy wore all that same stuff, and very likely the people under all that get-up are nice daddy's and mommies too. She's scared of these guys and her way of working through her fear is, and really always has been to become a little bit obsessed (i.e. Pirates). Owning it. She has to personalize it so it's not so scary anymore.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
In the Lanes
D gave me a great gift last weekend: The Promise of "'Till 9:00." I have until 9AM every morning to do as I see fit. And what I really want to do is get fit. So I gradually started collecting all my swim stuff, and psyching myself up for the challenge.
Before I got pregnant with E (I was too nauseous to swim with her growing in my belly) I swam laps nearly every morning, and I've really missed it. It's hard to get into any exercise routine when D is so 'in-and-out' with his job, but right now he's home for a nice long stretch and I'm hoping to make the best of it. I had to get a new suit and cap, but my goggles were in good shape, and my sister-in-law thoughtfully got me a 10-punch swim pass for Christmas, so I was good to go.
It wasn't easy this morning. It's hard to convince yourself when you're all snugly in bed and even your 3-year-old is still sleeping that what you really want to be doing is slipping on flip-flops and chipping the ice off your car to head over to the pool. But I did it! That familiar humid chlorine climate hit my face and I couldn't help but smile. The water was warm and that initial aquamarine view below the surface made me giddy. It's where I wanted to be. I won't lie, it was a hard workout. I only made it about half of the way through my original program, and I was winded with my muscles shaky when I climbed out of the water (and are still remarkably tired 1 1/2 hours later as I write this). But I did it, and I'm excited to do it again tomorrow; to hopefully become a regular.
When I got home E had a nice sleepy smile for me and D even had a hot slice of cinnamon toast and coffee waiting. I could get used to this.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Flakes
It won't accumulate much, it's melting just about as fast as it's falling. But it's a nice change outside the window.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Falling in Loaf
I have fallen in love with my bread machine (I have an earlier model). It's sat dormant in it's box for years in our garage but after a little prodding, I carried it upstairs to her rightful place in the kitchen. I put her to work every week now with new recipes (whole wheat, cinnamon raisin, french, and today the infamous WHO bread). The lovely thing hums and jiggles for a few hours and when our warm bread is ready to be turned out onto the cooling rack she gives be a little 'beep-beep.'I love her.
There is something so wonderful about piling simple and fresh ingredients into her bucket and without any more work on my end, out pops a nice loaf for us to use all week. For years I had the misleading assumption that bread machine bread is less healthy than something I would mix and knead myself, I thought they required a store bought mix for some reason. But now all the preconceived notions have dissipated and she and I are of one mind: Warm bread is good any time (especially when you use the 'delay' button for a piping hot slice in the morning).
* note: I've found that it only takes 2tsp. of yest to make the WHO bread recipe in our region/altitude, otherwise the extra 1/4 tsp creates an air bubble under the top crust...
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Easter Weekend
We started Saturday off like usual; at ZuKafe for some coffee and pecan cinnamon rolls. Then we were off to our local egg hunt. The playground was not unlike an anthill, covered with little ones scrambling for chocolate eggs and their parents juggling cameras and camcorders! Of course the Easter Bunny made an appearance just like last year, and E surprised me again with total confidence and a huge smile (I guess a furry bunny is way less daunting than a old man in a red suit).
Since it was such a beautiful day (but deceptively chilly) we made our way down to Green Lake for E's first bike ride around the lake. We packed a simple lunch of cold homemade cheese pizza, apple slices and water and happily visited with the ducks while we ate. She had a great time, taking time of course to smell the flowers...
E received and early present from the Easter Bunny, new jammies!
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
This morning was dark, wet, and windy. We all eventually rolled out of bed for Ella's egg hunt and scavenger hunt that we prepared the night before. She had a ball trapsing all over the house with clues on where to find all of the wonderful treasures (thanks Grandma & Grandpa Bazan and Great Grandma & Grandpa Davis). We then tripped off to the breakfast table for some yogurt and granola, then scrambled to get ready for church. I was glad the service had been pushed back 15 minutes from it's normal start time, I dunno where the time goes on mornings like this.
We had a nice afternoon with a mellow lunch at our house, a few naps were taken, and then it was full gear in preparation for the dinner my entire family was coming for! This is actually surprisingly rare considering all 3 kids and their families live within a 20 mile radius. It's just that all 3 of us married people with unconventional work hours (touring musician, fire fighter, and a pediatric nurse) and very often there's at least one spouse missing. So, today was pretty special. Dinner was great: ham, mashed potatoes with smoked cheddar and mustard seeds, green beans with pine nuts, fruit salad (Yummy, Yummy! - Wiggles, we're still humming the tunes), rosemary biscuits, deviled eggs, cabbage salad, with peach & blueberry cobbler for dessert.
After our meal we played a few rounds of UNO so E could show off her newly acquired game playing skills, and we could let our food digest...
Nice weekend.
Since it was such a beautiful day (but deceptively chilly) we made our way down to Green Lake for E's first bike ride around the lake. We packed a simple lunch of cold homemade cheese pizza, apple slices and water and happily visited with the ducks while we ate. She had a great time, taking time of course to smell the flowers...
E received and early present from the Easter Bunny, new jammies!
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::This morning was dark, wet, and windy. We all eventually rolled out of bed for Ella's egg hunt and scavenger hunt that we prepared the night before. She had a ball trapsing all over the house with clues on where to find all of the wonderful treasures (thanks Grandma & Grandpa Bazan and Great Grandma & Grandpa Davis). We then tripped off to the breakfast table for some yogurt and granola, then scrambled to get ready for church. I was glad the service had been pushed back 15 minutes from it's normal start time, I dunno where the time goes on mornings like this.
We had a nice afternoon with a mellow lunch at our house, a few naps were taken, and then it was full gear in preparation for the dinner my entire family was coming for! This is actually surprisingly rare considering all 3 kids and their families live within a 20 mile radius. It's just that all 3 of us married people with unconventional work hours (touring musician, fire fighter, and a pediatric nurse) and very often there's at least one spouse missing. So, today was pretty special. Dinner was great: ham, mashed potatoes with smoked cheddar and mustard seeds, green beans with pine nuts, fruit salad (Yummy, Yummy! - Wiggles, we're still humming the tunes), rosemary biscuits, deviled eggs, cabbage salad, with peach & blueberry cobbler for dessert.
After our meal we played a few rounds of UNO so E could show off her newly acquired game playing skills, and we could let our food digest...
Nice weekend.
Friday, March 21, 2008
The WIGGLES - Live
What an amazing time!
(dancing her heart out)
(the man himself)
(oh-so happy)
(outside the stadium)* I took 426 shots this evening, but I'll be sensitive to the non-fans...
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