The highlights reel

Well hi. I feel like it’s been awhile. That was my fault really. Time does fly, doesn’t it.

To catch you up on the latest news, here are the top 10 happenings in the last few weeks. Our little family highlight real, in no particular order:

1. I got promoted! It’s now Assistant Director Rebecca. Yay me!

2. The impossible has happened- I managed to get 100 people (half of them kids) through a culinary extravaganza and no one got hurt. There was even liquid nitrogen. And knives. And hot surfaces. You can read about it here.

3. I officially decided that my maternity leave starts August 6 after learning that my place of employment does not (as standard practice) offer paid maternity leave. As in ZERO days of paid leave. But if you work a little magic with sick days (and vow to yourself that you won’t get sick next year) poof!, a three month paid maternity leave appears.

4. Henry learned how to kiss. To kiss- you smush your faces together and say “Mmmm-WAH!”

5. Henry laughed victoriously as his long hair continued to mock me.

6. Our family started its trek into normalcy as we consider (ugh) a second car and a double stroller (double ugh).

7. My little brother and his lovely fiancee FINALLY announced their wedding. I can hardly wait!

8. This might be the best banana bread ever. Especially when you add a ton of chocolate chips and walnuts then sprinkle sugar on top.

9. Reality TV season started. I know you’re all excited.

10. Deron continues to impress me for many, many reasons. I love you hubby!

Tulip Time in Holland, MI

Our family spent the weekend in lovely Holland, Michigan. And true to its Dutch history, the city loves tulips. They were everywhere and we saw all kinds of tulips. They are really beyond description, so I thought that I’d be annoying photographer lady and show you some photos.

And a special thanks to Deron and Henry for tolerating me during our afternoon walk. I think I photographed every tulip variety along the way.

Enjoy!

Peep, peep

Yet another reason to love my husband…

…one of his favorite candies are Peeps. But not just any Peep…only the yellow ones…only the birds.

Hubby- sometimes you just makes me smile.

 

Photo credit: coffeechocolateandcheese.blogspot.com

Vacation within a vacation

While visiting my parents in Florida, Deron and I had a mini-vacation just for ourselves.

We drove down to the quiet town of Apalachicola, right on the Gulf coast. It was so charming and so full of history. A real treat.

We went to the beach on St. George’s Island…

We ate some delicious oysters at Boss Oyster…

And took in the fishing culture…

It was our first night where both of us were away from Henry and to be honest…it was wonderful. We got to stay out as late as we wanted. We slept in as late as we pleased. We didn’t worry about diapers or goldfish crackers or binkies.

It was just me and Deron.

Just like it used to be.

Long walks.

Good conversations.

A happy couple.

 

French babies don’t get fussy

Hubby recently forwarded this article and now I’m intrigued, wait, even more intrigued by the French.

The article is written by an American mom living in Paris and she has made an observation: French babies, toddlers, and young children don’t get fussy. They wait. Calmly. Without crying. For everything. The secret seems to be that French parents emphasize patience and independence with their kids while providing a consistent framework, or cadre, for the day. Basically, the author suggests, the parents are in charge. She puts that in contrast to the American parenting style where everything (or at least most things) is dictated by the kid (who decides when the family gets to eat sleep/eat/go out), kids demand instant attention and gratification, and the kids are not always able to hold it together.

This may or may not be true. I don’t know.

But it has me wondering- what can we do to help Henry grow into a patient and independent toddler?

The author, Pamela Druckerman, has a new book coming out this week and it might be worth a read. Or maybe it is finally time for us to go to Paris hubby? wink-wink

Starting the day right

If I had to list my three favorite everyday, inconspicuous, not-nearly-appreciated-enough activities, it would go something like this: 1) going out to breakfast, 2) finding time to veg on the couch, and 3) sharing wine, hors d’oeuvres, and stories after a long day at work.

Lucky for me, we started our day with a breakfast date at Over Easy with our lovely and very enjoyable friends, Wes and Colleen. What a great way to start the weekend!

Since Henry joined our family, Deron and I have made an effort to go out for breakfast more often, especially since restaurant dinners are so few and oh so far between. And it seems to be working out for the best- it’s a wonderful routine. It puts me in a good mood. We enjoy some very yummy foods. And I guess lingering over a good cup of coffee, eating a stack of pancakes, and sharing laughs with your friends and family makes all the work week stresses seem distant (always a good thing). Plus, we get to explore the trendier restaurants in the Chicago area before the crowds descend. It’s a win all around.

And now that I think about it, some of my most lasting food memories, heck, some of my most lasting memories revolve around breakfast. There was the time we stumbled upon Captain Crunch french toast at Blue Moon Cafe in Baltimore (best breakfast of my life). Eating a B&B breakfast at the White House Inn in Portland (my inspiration for at home breakfasts). Eating huevos rancheros in Cozumel, looking out over the ocean before a scuba diving trip (so beautiful). Going out to breakfast with my mom before our annual girl day/birthday shopping trip (fueling up for a day full of shopping).

I’ve had some good breakfasts in my life. And I hope that I can pass on my appreciation and the wonderfulness of this routine to Henry and his future siblings. Teach them that is important to sit down for a cheery and delicious meal in the morning, to celebrate Saturday/Sunday with a stack of warm, outragreously decadent baked goods, and to start the weekend days off right.

 

 

Baby wields hammer

As Deron began to re-assemble our (now turquoise) IKEA furniture, he got a little help.

Move completed!

Okay, so it took us two weeks to move to the apartment across the hall.

BUT, we are done!

As we get settled into our new place, I’d like to reflect on lessons learned during this move:

1) There is such a thing as taking too long to move. Two weeks is just too dang long. We spent EVERY DAY for two whole weeks moving bits of stuff across the hall. Come home from a full day of work and move some more. To be fair, given our time and energy constraints, we couldn’t have moved much faster. But moving becomes tedious after about a week. It’s boring and at that point, you just want to be done with it.

2) Deron and I are gross people. After removing all our furniture and decorations, we observed a layer of grim over our whole apartment. It was dust lines on the shelves. Dirt behind our dressers. Piles and piles of cat hair under the bed, in the closet, on the ceiling (!). We were pretty disgusted. And resolved. We are not going to do that again. Yuck!

3) Crappy IKEA furniture is still crappy after a coat of paint. Don’t believe what the design/DIY blogs tell you, paint cannot work magic on an IKEA bookshelf/table/dresser. It’s still broken in three places and wobbles. It’s still cheap. Now you’ve just painted it a different color. BUT, I will say that by painting our IKEA furniture in a color I love, I can at least tolerate those pieces in our apartment. For a little while. I hope.

4) Dishwashers are amazing! Strange as it is in this day and age, we didn’t have a dishwasher in the old apartment. Everything was handwashed. Even all the dishes after Thanksgiving dinner. And since Deron and I are gross (see #2), our dishes were never that clean. There were bits of crud leftover on all our plates. Our glasses always had water spots and a milky haze. It was embarrassing. Now, oh now we have a dishwasher. And I can never go back. It’s me + dishwasher from here on out.

The boring, tedious part of moving is done. And now the fun begins. It’s time to decorate!

On a side note, sorry for my blogging hiatus. Moving was seriously time consuming. No time for Henry pictures or videos. No time to write. Hope to remedy that soon.

Hello new apartment!

The lease is signed.

We have the keys.

Our stuff is moving across the hall.

It’s finally here…moving day! Well, moving weeks.

Over the course of the next two weeks, we are moving out of our one bedroom apartment into a remodeled two bedroom apartment across the hall. Thank goodness…it’s the easiest move in the world.

We are SO excited for our new space but there are some sad feelings lingering around too. This is the first place that Deron and I lived in as a married couple. This is the place where Henry spent his first year of life. We’ve spent the last six years here. Many memories. So many memories.

Ahhh…but it is time to move on. We’re in a new phase of life and we are ready for a new apartment. So, we bid a fond farewell to our lovely first apartment and welcome the move into our new place. Hello new apartment!

 

 

Deron’s Christmas Wish List

 

 

Something he wants: toys!

Legos Volkswagon T1 Camper Van

Other things he wants: Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens, digital camera tripod, remote shutter release

Something he needs: dress clothes and accessories!

Fossil Grant leather watch

Other things he needs: Fossil front pocket wallet

Something he wears: Patagonia t-shirts!

Patagonia Mountains and Clouds T-shirt

Other things he wears: t-shirt, t-shirt

Something he reads: books about food!

Ruhlman’s Twenty

Other books he reads: Medium Raw, The Nasty Bits