skip to main |
skip to sidebar
4. Because we think we'll be in our house for a long time, and because we're mostly over the deathly fear of our kids drowning, this year we became members of our neighborhood pool. The pool opened Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, which was too chilly for swimming. But Monday we were there. And we'll be there as much as possible through Labor Day. The boys will do swim lessons and so hopefully next year Rhett can do swim team. I'm excited!
5. Chuck and I were trying to take a picture of just us for a book my sister was working on. Ollie did not seem to want to make it easy. He kept photobombing and we kept laughing so he kept photobombing! Oh that kid. (See below.)
6. Um, so, yeah, we bought a trailer. I blame my mom, but sadly she won't take financial responsibility. We have to go pick it up over 4th of July weekend, so I can post pictures then. But yeah, we're a bit excited.
7. My parents are going on another mission! This time it's to Frankfurt, Germany. They'll be public affairs missionaries for 18 months. And yes, YES, we will go visit them next summer. We'd go now but thought we'd give them some time to get settled. We're nice like that.
For the past couple of years, I've been lucky to be part of a group of friends who semi-regularly get together for dinner parties. These aren't just normal dinner parties nor were they regular pot luck dinners. No. They took a nod to the Iron Chef of tv fame and were competition dinners. Each hosting couple chose an ingredient (e.g., nutmeg or pistachio) or a method of cooking (e.g., BBQ) and then each attending couple was assigned a course. Everyone then had to make their course to include the special ingredient. At the end of dinner (if we remembered), we voted. Best Use of Ingredient. Best Tasting. Most Visually Appealing. Can you tell that everyone was a winner of something? But of course we were all winners because we all got to hang out with each other and eat good food.
The founding member of our D.C. chapter is moving (and not just moving, but moving halfway around the world) next month, and so our most-recent Iron Chef was one for the books. (But not the last! Not the last!) Tears were shed, pictures were taken, good times were had.
Yep, I got my bike fixed. After years of ignoring it, I was finally inspired by all of Rhett's riding. Of course, I can't ride it in my current condition. However, just because I can't ride doesn't mean Rhett can't. And just because I can't ride doesn't mean I can't run. Rhett can ride, and I can run (albeit slower than my normal slow pace). So Saturday and Monday mornings we did both together. It was one of my favorite mom moments to date.
I have had the opportunity three times in the past eleven days to make my new favorite food: Toasted Coconut Lime Rice Krispie Treats. The first time was for a work function, the second was our Iron Chef, and third was for a Memorial Day BBQ with friends. They are amazing.
Don't worry: I get it. Not everyone likes coconut, lime, or rice krispie treats. In fact, three out of four people in my house don't care for these. But if I'm shopping for ingredients, and I'm making them, then I'm going to do what I want. And what I want is to eat these. So good.
But it's not all quiet at home. To all ten or so readers of this blog, sorry for being absent for over a week. A couple of weeks ago I herniated a cervical disc. I've pretty much been in constant pain. No, I'm not sure how it happened, although while stretching in bed one morning before a run, I did experience a distinct "POP" in my body and haven't been the same since. The first week after it happened, I was pretty much on self-induced bedrest mainly because I couldn't really do anything else. Then I decided I couldn't live like that and forced myself to get up and do things, even if I was in a huge amount of pain (although steroids did help some). Last week I actually did stuff, but not nearly at my usual functional level. Anyway, when I feel up to it (sitting is the WORST), here are some posts about my ordeal I'd like to write:
1. Lessons Learned
2. What's Really Important
3. How Bad Daytime TV Really Is (with the exception of Judge Judy, but she's not on until 4)
4. How Awesome My Friends Really Are
5. Weird Things I Believe
6. A Depressing Post on Missing Out on a Repeat of This Awesome Girls' Running Weekend
Lots of posts because, you know, bedrest just leaves you alone with your thoughts. Until then, sorry. If you want pictures, you'll just have to check Instagram.
Of course there are other things going on that I should document:
1. My new favorite food, if rice krispie treats count as food
2. I Got My Bike Fixed!
3. Iron Chef
4. The Beginning of Swim Season
5. A Photosession Photobombed by Ollie
6. We Might Buy a Camping Trailer After All!!!
7. My Parents' Mission Call!!!
P.S. For the medically curious, it's the disc between the C6 and C7 vertebrae in my neck.
P.P.S. And yes, good memory you! Chuck also had a herniated disc. He recovered quickly and promptly forgot how terrible it was until I decided I couldn't let him be the only one in the house with that issue. Unfortunately I can't share my MRI with you because I have no idea how to manipulate the software on the CD they gave me. Trust me: it's ugly.
Do you remember in "The Sound of Music" how Captain Von Trapp used a whistle to summon his children? I kind of want to do the same thing, except instead of names, I just want to save my voice from repeating the SAME SEVEN THINGS ALL THE TIME. Currently, these are at the top of my "why do I have to repeat myself all the time" list:
1. The house is not a playground.
2. It's after 7:15 p.m. I'm off duty.
3. In our house, you'll learn to eat foods you don't like.
4. Only one boy at a time in the bathroom.
5. Stop bothering Bruno.
6. We don't touch other people's food.
7. Get your clothes out of your mouth.
What about in your house? What whistle short cuts do you need?
As always, it's a good thing that they're cute...
In our prayer right before we left to go camping:
Bless us to have a safe drive. Bless us to have safe camping. Bless me to like salmon soon.
On why he doesn't like the song, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow":
BECAUSE OF THE SWEETNESS!
After falling down the stairs:
I just fell into a lot of damage.
