Easter

We went to the in-laws' for the weekend.  It was great weather the whole time and we got to spend a lot of time outside.  It made for some fun pictures.

Little C is the Easter Bunny!

This is the egg shirt from Positively Splendid.  Everyone thought it was adorable.

Heidi, our dog, loves going to Arlington because she can run all over their 11 acres.

Babies love babies.

This is not a great picture, but I wanted at least one of us in our easter dresses.  I also made that cardigan.

 Little C was glad to be home.

So was I.  It was a lot of driving and terrible traffic.  But it was a great Easter weekend spent with family, and reflecting on what Easter is all about:  Renewal, forgiveness, and love.

Little C's baptism dress

I finished Little C's baptism dress minutes ago, and I'm really happy how it turned out.  As you can see, she is too.

I had a vague plan when I started: lots of ruffles.  And this is what I ended up doing.  It is made from 2 tshirts from Michael's for $5.  No kidding.

And I decided to use it as my audition in the One Month To Win It contest.  Yikes!  I'm excited, I think I have the ability to win this thing if given the chance.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

In other news, I ran a 5K today, hoping to see what kind of shape I'm in for racing.  It has only been a few weeks of actual, regular running, but I think I'm doing great.  I was the first stroller to cross the finish line.  And it wasn't exactly a stroller friendly course, a majority of it was on a loose gravel trail.  Little C loved all the bumps and off-roading, she growled and waved her hands most of the time.  

too loud for the math center

I just want to share a funny thing that happened last week:

I own a pizza restaurant and am constantly hit up for donations, sponsorships, etc.  Last week we got a call for prizes for a math center project at the college in town.  The prizes would be incentive for students to get help in their math classes.  AKA: a good cause...not that all the other million calls I get aren't good too, but I like this one, and this is America...ok, nevermind.
Anyways, I called the woman back and said I would bring the gift certificates up to her the next afternoon.
I showed up to the building without a room number to find, just hoping to stumble into the correct office.  I did--after stumbling into 4 wrong offices.
Once I got there I introduced myself (too loud), and tried to hand over the envelope.  the lady went to shake my hand.  I jerked back the envelope so that I could shake her hand and almost made her fall because she was reaching for the gift certificates.
She asked me if I would like to meet the lady puting on the program?  Sure! (still too loud).
Into the next room we go, and the woman there tells me "Thank you.  I heard everything from the other room.  We really appreciate you coming down here."
I tried to tell her how much I liked the idea, and ended up saying something to the effect of, "Math is good."

Duh.

I thought the best thing for everyone would be if I just left, but of course I ended up in the supply closet instead of the hallway.

Dang it.

I'm sure they liked the free pizza, but they are probably wondering how in the world I manage to run the place, much less get dressed in the morning.

I'm in training

...for a half marathon.  It's in six months.  I just got serious this week with workout plans, jump rope and 2 5lb dumbbells.  A friend of mine is also a personal trainer (handy much?) and she put together some plans and exercises.  I told her I thought I needed to work on my core...silly me.  She decided I needed all over toning.  And I'm getting an all over tune up.
But I love the way I feel.  It's like I actually finished something when my run and workout is over.
So this week I spent a lot of time with the jogging stroller and not so much time with the sewing machine.  Bummer, but I'll appreciate it in the long run.  I'm only 24 I should be out in the sunshine running down the roads while I still can.  I did however try 2 new recipes this week from the Moosewood cookbook.

I am always up for a good vegetarian meal.  My husband is not usually a fan.  But he like the muffins (because muffins aren't supposed to have meat anyways) and the polenta lasagna (I doubled the amount of spinach).

Little C sleeps the whole time I run.  It's kind of a funny combo seeing me struggle down the road and her just snoozing away.
But I have come up with a project that compliments the running, Little C needs some protection from the wind (no I'm not running that fast, it's just windy here).  I will have to think on it and come up with something cute.

70's party

Went to the library the other day and I found tons of books I wanted to check out.  I had to narrow the list because when I tried to put them all in the stroller basket it collapsed!  

My "narrowed" books.  I also got a few books for my husband.  He's planning to build some outdoor furniture this summer.

This is an awesome book!  There are tons of recipes that are not as difficult or full of exotic ingredients as I expected.

 That night we went to a birthday party for one of my friends.  It was 70's themed.  We went all out with Farrah Fawcett hair and his creepy mustache.

You can't see our short shorts and knee socks in this picture.

My friend's birthday gift was magnets!

This was our Christmas card.

When we got home there was a cat in our yard.  I swear it was right there.  A family hung up posters for an orange tabby with a white bib, but the only light I had was the camera and when I tried to snap a picture he darted.  I ran all over the block looking for him, and never saw him again.

thoughts on being a good mom

I have a 4 1/2 month old baby girl, and with all my heart I want to be the best mom I can for her.  Before she was born I ate carefully, thinking about what would be best for her.  I seriously considered cloth diapers because they might be the best.  I spent too long trying to pick out a stroller carseat combo.  Who has enough time, or brain power while pregnant, to interpret every safety standard and suggestion while also trying to match a damn color scheme?  That nightmare ended when I let my mom, who is a very good mom already, pick it out.  The pediatrician tells me different things to do or watch for each time we visit, and every set of grandparents has their criteria for being a good mom too.

It is exhausting trying to do it all.  And I know I'm not doing it all right.

So I breastfeed.  I know, 100% that it is the best food I can give Little C.  There is nothing better for her.  This one thing I am doing is...perfect.

That said, there is one other thing I am doing to be a good mom: getting healthier!

We (the husband has jumped on the fitness train too) need to be around, and be able to run, jump, and play with Little C in order to be good parents.

Enter Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and the jogging stroller.

In conclusion, we will be eating organic produce this summer from a local farm via a CSA (Community 

Supported Agriculture), and I will be training for a half marathon in October.

 This is a good tidbit from the book:

"If I had to quantify it, I'd say 75 percent of my crucial parenting effort has taken place during or surrounding the time our family convenes for our evening meal.  I'm sure I'm not the only parent to think so.  A survey of National Merit scholars--exceptionally successful eighteen-year-olds crossing all lines of ethnicity, gender, geography, and class--turned up a common thread in their lives:  the habit of sitting down to a family dinner table."

This is my mom.  I love her.  We ate dinner together most nights, and she made those dinners.