Conquering Boredom

That was the theme of our days last week. And, I'll be honest, it was a struggle and we were not always successful.

Why was boredom such a big issue this week?

* Carver was up by 6:30 a.m. every single morning this week. He usually wakes up between 7:30 and 8:00...sometimes even a little later. After 7 solid mornings waking up early I am fearing that it is a new trend.

* 2012 has brought a renewed attempt at being financially responsible and staying on a budget. Buying a new car and expecting a sweet baby in a few months solidified this need. So, less options for entertainment.

* It's been fairly cold outside and apparently this week will be even colder. I do love winter, and cold weather, but with a child that would live outdoors if possible, it tends to be a little bit of a struggle.

* Early in the semester (of teaching) = limited drama and limited grading of papers/exams and those other time consuming things.

* Hoping/trying to limit Carver's TV exposure. Which is a good thing, but let's face it, he is much more calm when he is momentarily distracted by Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in between his sprints around the house, unloading of every toy he owns, and trying to break into the kitchen cabinets, the bathroom, the washer and dryer, climb on every piece of furniture, and go around turning on and off every light in the house.

Sometimes I just need a moment of peace.

It's been a long, long, long week.

Here are some of our attempts at structured activity:

We spent countless hours at the park. We go almost every day, weather permitting. Sadly, we are both getting a little bored with the park. We may need to venture a little further away and visit some new ones.

Watching the airplane fly across the sky.

We've played and played and played with sidewalk chalk...and stolen the red berries off of our neighbor's bush...and "weeded" the flower beds. (i.e. I pull out the weeds, Carver pulls up the daffodils and tulips that are just starting to break through the ground--- and that I wait for all year in anticipation, and throwing handfuls of mulch out of the bed and into the yard).

We've taken Lea for walks. In hopes that she and I can both burn a few calories.


We read a fun book about Noah's Ark, I painstakingly put the ark together, and Carver has done his very best to destroy it. He loves it though, and I must give a shout out to the publisher of the book for using heavy-duty cardboard paper for the ark. It's not indestructible, but it should take him a little time to shred. (Thank Ellen, Terry, and Emerson for the sweet birthday present!).


We made brownies. From a box. They were good. Let's not think about how many I ate.

Watching the mixer....

Turning up the speed to maximum velocity...

We gave Lea a bath. I wanted a picture, but thought that protecting Carver was the more responsible thing to do. Lea does not love baths and really did not love Carver trying to help bathe her.

We're learning to color with crayons without breaking them or drawing on the walls.

And, we (or I) have made our plans for Valentine's Day. Stay tuned to see how that turns out-- we'll see.

One Month

Oh sweet girl, you have no idea how sad this last month without you has been. You are so greatly loved that your absence has been like a ringing silence in my ears, and a profound emptiness in our home. I hope that you know how cherished you were, and are.

I promise that I will move past this deep sadness and remember you only with really good thoughts. With a smile or a laugh or a fun memory. Your legacy to me should be no less.

You are one of the very best gifts I have ever received. And, I bet I'll still be saying that decades from now.

You are greatly missed.

January-- the other stuff...

It has been thoroughly documented that January was hellish in most ways. It has been a struggle to try to resume some normalcy in our day to day life. I can't say that the sadness and overwhelming emotions didn't sneak into most parts of each day, but I did try to escape as much as possible. With the exception of the New York trip, which was momentous, January was mostly made up of quiet moments and normal things. Attempting to focus on these small things is helping me to be thankful for all that I am blessed with.

We went to MOPS twice, and church, of course. Carver is doing a great job at easily being left with the
childcare workers and playing with the other kids.

Lea is adjusting to life without a best friend. I think she has struggled some-- she was very dependent on Delia, but she now goes almost everywhere with Carver and me. She has only been left alone twice this month, otherwise she rides along wherever we go.

Carver has been giving Lea a lot of attention-- not all of it wanted-- but she is quite patient.

Enjoying some black beans and rice... thank God for white shirts and bleach. And yes, he can use utensils, don't worry.

Carver loves "reading" with his Leap Frog Junior-- a Christmas gift from Nana and Papa.

We've played outside a lot and enjoyed the mild winter. I love watching Carver get so absorbed in whatever he is playing with. Covered in chalk or dirt or whatever. This, to me, is exactly what 2 year-old boys should look like. He also loves his basketball hoop from Grandmama and Granddaddy. Sorry, no pictures of it. The ones I have show the disaster of our garage and are not fit for public viewing.

We found out that Carver will be getting a baby brother in a few months :)

Carver survived a pretty bad haircut (both the experience and the cut), of which he is solely to blame-- he was being ridiculous. We've tried to compensate for the poor cut by occasionally putting gel in his hair to create a messy-type look. It's pretty cute but tough to get a picture of...

I've been trying to decide which pair of these new TOMS ballet flats that I need first...which is not technically a "January" event since they just came out yesterday on Feb. 1st but.... whatever. Retail therapy.

I've been using Pinterest as a form of escapism and wishing that I was as thin, fashionable, creative, and motivated as all the people I read about. Maybe one day.

We have also been taking some walks lately, up to check the mail and then usually we walk around the neighborhood for a bit. Once a started letting Carver actually walk with me I can barely get him into his stroller anymore for the longer walks.



Daniel has updated his blog recently. Check it out and show him some love so he'll be encouraged to keep doing it :)

I've also been enjoying my new iPhone which enabled me to take about 99% of these pictures. A useful gadget.

So, we'll see what February holds for us. I don't have high hopes for it, but a little bit of peace and rest would be welcome.

28 Days

Please God, let February be better than January.

New York!

For Christmas, Daniel "gave" me a weekend trip to New York. The catch? It was for just the two of us, Carver had to stay at home.

It was difficult for me to agree to leave him for the very first time. Really difficult. But, I knew that Daniel and I would have an incredible time, just the two of us, and that an opportunity like this would not happen again for a really, really, long time.

So, about a week ago we kissed the boy goodbye and headed off to the airport. We arrived in New York on Friday afternoon and got settled into our hotel. Which was right in Times Square and super nice. After settling in we explored the surrounding area a bit, sampled some street food, and headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

The view from our hotel room-- Friday

Times Square

Street Food!

Empanadas

For our first night we followed a recommendation from our concierge and went to the Italian restaurant, Tramonti, on "restaurant row" not a far walk from our hotel. The restaurant was very good, and non-kid-friendly, which was perfect. The interior was dimly lit, with dark wood floors and beams, white linens, and excellent food-- we loved it. The exterior had some random, sort of breezeway of sorts added with a somewhat tacky yellow sign that seemed so out of place with the style of restaurant. But, otherwise it was a great choice. We had bruschetta, salad, and pizza (of course).

After dinner we grabbed a taxi and headed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We had about 2 hours until closing and I could have literally spent the entire day there. We headed directly to the most important areas-- Greek and Roman sculptures, medieval art and artifacts, etc. It is an enormous and absolutely incredible museum. I think Daniel even liked it.



On Saturday morning we woke up to falling snow and freezing temperatures. We bundled up and braved the elements in search of FAO Schwarz. We did a little shopping for the boys, found a Starbucks, and explored the incredible shopping establishments.

The view from our hotel-- Saturday

Lunch was at Junior's (also a recommendation). They had really good sandwiches, burgers. etc.

I really love places that bring out random starters. Here it was pickled onions and beets, and slaw with pickles.

Creative parking solution...

After lunch we rested at the hotel for a bit before getting ready for our last night out. On Saturday night we ate dinner at Stecchino, a bistro in Hell's Kitchen. Another not-kid-friendly establishment. We had salad, pork chop (me), ribs (Daniel), and a chocolate tart for dessert. It was fabulous.

Heading out to dinner and the show.

My grilled pork chop with potatoes, spinach and cherry peppers.

Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart

After dinner we walked across the street to see Wicked! The seats were about 3 rows from the front in the orchestra section and they were expensive but oh-so-worth-it. I loved the show, absolutely loved it.

Our hotel is behind the sign-- the tall building in center (top) of picture.

Sunday we headed home. Which I was actually a little sad about. I was super excited to see Carver but I sort of wished I had agreed to one more day in NYC. Our flight home was great-- we flew business class and I am now convinced that it is the only way to fly :)

Just look at this view on Sunday-- it was a gorgeous day. Seriously, I almost begged Daniel to stay one more day.

I am so grateful to Daniel for setting up this extravagant gift. It was so much fun to be a "couple" again and not just parents. (Though I don't plan to leave Carver again for a really long time). It was a perfect trip, an incredible memory, and I am so incredibly thankful for that time we got to spend together.

I'm already daydreaming about where we should go next :) In a year or so...