Not Each Day Is Easy

I would say the majority of our days here have been fine.  Good, even.  And when there are multiple days like that and I'm feeling like we are finding our groove, it's easy to forget that we are still in the beginning stages of this big change, and not every day is going to be smooth.  I was definitely reminded of this today.  Well really, this week in general.  The fact that I've been in a funk is undeniable.  Henry and I have a pretty established little routine day to day, but I know it's not a long term reflection of what our days will look like, and I'm just getting incredibly anxious to get our plans sorted out.  I think we are both bored on occasion, as we don't see many other people than just each other.  Don't get me wrong, he's my very favorite person in this world to spend time with, but it's hard starting over knowing no one.  It leads us to do the same things over and over again most days, which I don't think he minds quite as much as I do.  But I'm trying to be creative.  I know I'm lucky that we get to be together all day long, even if it is just the two of us most days, and I need to make the most of it because one day we will be busy again. I do not want to whine away in this space, so for tonight I am relaxing, and feeling more positive as I sit here and recharge.  With a glass of wine in hand, I'm searching for more activities to do with Henry, so that his days are full of fun, exploration, and adventure.  I am also dreaming of carving time for activities that center and inspire me. And as always, trying to just continuously work on being content with the now.  I can get so stir crazy, and while I love to wander and explore, I truly want to enjoy the slower days as well.  It's a constant battle for me, enjoying slower paces and not losing sight of patience.  I am a busy person by nature, while I crave a slow day here and there in the midst of incredibly busy days, I thrive in the faster pace.  Right now I'm adjusting to the exact opposite, and am hoping to be patient with myself and those around me while I do.

As always,
thanks for listening.

The Long Weekend

I was so happy to have a long weekend this past week, because it meant an extra day with Eric free from work, a family get together with some family members I haven't seen in quite a while, and a few outdoor adventures too.  It was so nice to have my sisters and nieces and nephew here too, and I know Henry adored that part.  It was so wild with all of the cousins together that I didn't have time to snap a single picture of the chaos.  My sister had her camera at the ready though, so I'm excited to see the pictures of the whole bunch of goofballs together.  We had a picnic, we went to the park, rode the mini train, fed ducks, and oddly enough the best toy of all was my oldest sisters wedding dress that each babe wanted to try/sit on.  Too cute.

 We decided to take a quiet little trip to the farm (Eric's family's), just the three of us (plus dogs).  It seems Eric's entire family is the most at peace when they're there, and I think Henry feels it too.  He was so excited to see the horses, walk through the tall grasses, pick old dandelions, and sit to soak it all in.  It's refreshing for each one of us to go out there and enjoy the quiet, and now it's one hundred times more special because we get to see Henry explore.  One large reason for moving back was to give Henry that very opportunity that was so special to Eric growing up.  

We grilled the most delicious food on Monday evening, and before we knew it the weekend was over.  I'm not complaining though because in one short day it'll be back again.  I'm hoping to make some delicious tailgating snacks on Saturday, and on Sunday my plan is to bake my first loaf of bread, and a pan of granola bars.  I think it must be the little hints that fall isn't far away that put me in the mood for baking  and cooking. Or maybe just the fact that my creative energy hasn't had much of an outlet recently and it's time to let it out.  

What did you do over the long weekend?

What's In My Bag

It's a long weekend, hooray!! Anyone have some fun plans?  My family is having a little get together tomorrow so it will be fun to see family members from far and wide that I haven't seen for a while.
I love seeing these "What's In My Bag" posts circulating, so please leave me a link if you have one on your blog!

Despite that small pile of random junk on the left, this is pretty good for me.  I generally have a bag FULL of things I don't need, if we're being honest.
From the left-
*Various receipts and coupons.  I try to save receipts for the checkbook, but obviously I don't excel in that department since they're wrinkled in a little ball and spread all over the place.
*Small canvas bag from a little fair trade store in Anchorage called Grassroots.  It's essentially packed with Revlon Lip Butters.  I rarely wear stuff on my lips, but I like having the option to occasionally, and lip butters are my favorite!
*Moleskin planner from Barnes and Noble.  If love the simplicity of this planner.  It's thin, but large enough I have space to write in each day of the month calendar.  I have to have a full month view or I can't keep track of things at all.
*Random tidbits- mini altoids, pens, headbands, etc.
*Fossil wallet.  I love this wallet and got it on mega sale at Nordstrom in Anchorage.
*Lucky Abby Road leather bag.  I pined after this bag for a long time, and decided to look for a used one on ebay.  I lucked out and found one for a great deal, in nice shape and perfectly worn in!  It was the first thing I ever bough off ebay, and I got into a little bidding war winning it in the final 7 seconds.  I made quite the scene over it and kept shouting that "I won"!  Eric reminded me about 10 times that I didn't actually win it, I bought it, but it still felt just as exciting to me.  I love it!

So that's that! Anything fun in your bag?  Something random and hilarious?  I remember finding a newborn sock in my purse months after Henry was born. I finally took it out.
Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

Skin Talk

Good Morning to you!
I've been thinking a lot about my skin lately, and how to better take care of it to make it look its best.
For the last few years my skin has just gotten more and more dull, and I'm not loving it.  I think it was a combination of the dry Alaskan air year round for three years, pregnancy hormones, maybe just being a few years older, losing sleep, who knows.  But I've sort of been on a mission to get it healthy and glowy.
So far there are two things (well, three) that I find are helping, and there's one more thing I'll be trying in the future.

1. Face wash cloths.  I use the dry Olay cloths that you wet and then scrub your face with.  I find that my face gets much cleaner with these than when I use my hands or even a washcloth.  For a while I tried just using my own cloth and some organic cleanser, but for the time being these are what works best for me.  In the future I'll be trying a Clarisonic, which washes the face while exfoliating and I'm looking forward to that.  I hear it makes a world of a difference.

2. Coconut Oil.  Coconut oil is one of those things that has been used for years for skin care, but is now circulating on Pinterest and on blogs and becoming somewhat of a beauty fad.  I usually read about those fads and then just move on, never giving them a try because it's only a matter of time before something else is the new "best thing".  But this seemed worth trying.  Everyone said it's the wonder oil, can be used for basically everything and has great effects on skin.
So I bought a jar of organic coconut oil, and have replaced my moisturizer with it for the last two weeks.  I have to say, I probably won't be going back to regular moisturizer.  You need the smallest amount, it smells, great, and my skin has improved quite a bit in the past two weeks.  Really!  I feel great not putting all kinds of chemicals on my face all night when this works just as well. I've heard that if you have acne prone skin this works well to improve it.  So essentially, it's great for all skin, and a zillion uses.  (eye makeup remover, face wash, etc)  My skin has definitely had a bit more of a healthy glow since using it, and it will be so nice for the whole body during the winter months!

3.BB cream.  Like I said, I'm kind of behind in skin care trends, and a few weeks ago I had no clue what a BB cream was.  It's a cream that moisturizes, improves skin tone, helps blemishes, and provides coverage as well.  So essentially a tinted moisturizer but one that is supposed to actually help your skin not just cover it.  As soon as I heard of it I rushed out to find some.  I wanted to start with something inexpensive from the drug store first, so after reading some reviews I decided on the Garnier BB cream.  I was hesitant because tinted moisturizer has never been my favorite.  While dewy skin is nice, it always makes my face too sticky, and never gives quite enough coverage.  The Garnier one surprised me.  I actually really enjoy it and it makes my face just dewy enough.  I hear the Smashbox Photo Ready one from Sephora is perfect, so I may think of springing for it, but we'll see. For right now I'm really happy with the results from the Garnier one! And it's a quarter of the price, so I'll take it.

So that is what I have for now! I'm much happier with the feel of my skin than I was a few weeks ago, so I'm excited to see what a few more months does.

Today.

Ugh.  Today was an interesting day.  I can't say it was a bad day because nothing particularly horrible happened, it was just frustrating.  A day that I giggle about a little bit now, but only because I've already spent enough minutes wanting to just rip my hair out.  You know the type, I'm sure.
After prying Henry's mouth open to examine his gums, I've got it all figured out.  The poor boy is in pain as his last few teeth make their way through.  Of course they save the best (worst) for last.  He's irritable, then happy, then sad, then hates life, then happy, and starts it all over again.  He generally handles the pain pretty well, better than I would I can safely say.  But right now it is giving him this extra bit of attitude, a short fuse, and every minutes is a test of patience for me.
Anyway, today started by waking up early.  Even earlier than yesterday which was earlier than usual.  So he was tired from the get go, but as usual he couldn't possibly consider going back to sleep because he was too excited about breakfast (can't blame him there.) We went to the park and finally met some other parents and babies who happen to be the exact same age.  Henry thought it would be fun to throw sand at all of them, except for one little girl that he hugged and kissed (well he threw sand on her too, actually.)  The more I asked or told him not to, the more he would get this little twinkle in his eye and throw a bit harder.  Great first impression. So we left the park, headed home for lunch which he squeezed all over the place, and then went down for nap.  The boy was lucky when he woke up. Who doesn't love waking up to find that your grandparents are over and have brought delicious pie?  He gobbled up a good portion and then we headed out for the dog park, just Henry, Finn-dog, and me.  We had such a great time playing.  But I looked away for one second, and when I looked up he was squatting and playing with something... I thought "oh please let that be a leaf", though I knew better... I got closer to find that indeed, he was squeezing a fresh log of dog poop between his fingers. Just really digging in. (Enter gag)  There's no time to be a germaphobic freak when you're a parent and alone with your child.  I couldn't avoid touching his hand like I would have liked to.  I had to wear the big girl pants and carry him off making sure he didn't touch his face, and find somewhere to wash it off.  Dog water seemed to be my only option so we rinsed in that, and then used sanitizing wipes in the car.  I've decided to just not think about it, or I'll dwell on the grossness of it all.  I'm sure he'll do it again 234987 times in his childhood, so I had better get used to it now!
And with that, happy Wednesday to all. :)

Pudding For Breakfast!

Everyone has been raving about the tiny nutrition-packed seeds, chia seeds, lately.  Thanks to sites like Pinterest, there are constantly more ideas for ways to use them and incorporate them into your diet floating around the internet.  I hesitated to write about them here since I don't want to simply repeat what everyone is already saying, but they're worth the mention I think.

Like flax seeds (which we use often in all sorts of foods), chia seeds pack a lot in their tiny little selves.  They are rich in fiber and necessary omega-3 fatty acids, as well as antioxidants.  Sounds like something we can all get behind, yeah?  My favorite thing is that they are so tiny that they're easy to put in essentially anything.  Sprinkled in smoothies, on top of salads, in pancakes, etc.  You'll barely notice them.  I have been seeing loads of recipes for chia seed pudding, and I thought I'd give it a shot.  When soaked in liquid they absorb it and create a gelatinous pudding, much like tapioca.  I don't really love tapioca pudding, but I wasn't going to let it stop me from trying, and even when I don't like something I try to still offer it to Henry because he often does like it (like beans!) Anyway, I used this recipe from Deliciously Organic as a starting off point, but my measurements were different because I just wanted to use my whole can of milk :)  

It was literally the fastest and easiest thing I've ever made.  Much easier than even just instant pudding which is packed full of sugar.

I used:

1 can of light coconut milk (2 cups).  I've heard a lot of people use soy milk, almond milk, etc. 

1/2 cup chia seeds (the whole seeds not the milled ones)

That is seriously all that you need, unless you'd like to sweeten/flavor it a bit.  You can either add something at this point (I used a little bit of vanilla, and a squirt of agave nectar), or just keep it plain and top with something later.  

I've read about using cocoa powder, fruit, maple syrup, etc.  But I really loved the simple vanilla with a tiny bit of sweetness from the agave. 

Anyway, just stir it together, and put it in the fridge!  It is probably thick enough to eat after only a few hours, but we left ours over night and Henry ate it for breakfast this morning along with his Morningstar sausage patty (I know, those things together make a weird breakfast... whatever works.)

Baby-tot loved it and I did also (he's still walking around with random seeds glued to his face!)  I'm excited to experiment a little more with these little seeds.  If you have a way you love to use them, please share in the comments below!

When The Change Is A Little Hard.

It's been a busy few days (well, months) so it feels good to sit for a minute and write.
We are still trucking along over here, essentially starting over and just trying to find our groove.  I've found myself feeling confused this past week.  About work and how much time I want/ am able to put toward that, where I'll work in general, school, and how to balance my time while accomplishing the things I want to.  It's harder than I thought it would be.  I have to get the coursework done, I need to reach the zillion hours required to take the IBCLC exams, I need to earn some sort of income, and I need for my main focus to be on Henry.  So figuring all of that out and how it makes sense here and where to do it all has been a little bit of a stressful challenge.  I find myself just wishing I could run back to my old job (I knew it would be the case) and am missing it quite badly.  Spending my time being sad about that though isn't helping anything here, so from here on out I will try my hardest to focus more on all of the things here that help me to feel like we made the best decision we could by moving.  I expected this all to be a hard adjustment, as we had a good life there and a good family of friends.  Expecting it doesn't necessarily help in the moment though, so little reminders of why we are here are helpful.
I know we made a good choice because:
*Henry is so happy already.  He has had zero problems adjusting and I am so thankful for that.  He loves the activities we've been doing, he loves our house and is entirely comfortable here.  He is seeing his grandparents a lot whether we have dinner together, have a date at the children's museum, or just run into each other at the grocery store.  He loves every bit of it.
*We love seeing more family.  It doesn't matter that we are adults, it is still comforting to know that our parents are near by.  We all give each other plenty of space but it's nice to know they're all just across town, and we love seeing them. Also, Henry has more cousins just two hours away and it has been so much fun to see them together!  I love knowing I won't have to miss important events anymore.
*We also get to see old friends
*We are already planning some trips and it's amazing to know we can pack up in the car and go somewhere.  We couldn't do that in Alaska and it was a difficult thing for us.
*Groceries are cheaper, we love that!
*Eric works from an office at home now, and it's really nice seeing him when he pops out through the day for a few minutes.  We also get to all eat breakfast together because he goes to work a bit later due to time difference between here and Alaska. It's nice for now :)

It's strange being back in my hometown but feeling so differently now.  I went away as a fresh out of high school student and came back as a family, so it's like a new place but I keep thinking of those previous years. Does that make sense? I think when we adjust it will be the perfect place for us, we'll carve out our little space here. Here's hoping that time comes soon.

Happy Henry loves it here!