So, last weekend we took a vacation

This is what happens when you're slathered in sunscreen and playing with your iphone.

We had RSVP'd yes to the wedding in late winter.

When I thought for sure I'd have a job by now.

When I didn't think it was possible that a significant portion of our savings for  this unemployment could be lost on a technical snafu.

Before I realized that our new health insurance deductible would be quite so high and Lola would be visiting the ER so soon.

Not only had we RSVP'd, but I'd paid for the room and sent the wedding gift over a month ago.

We were going to the wedding even if we had to eat peanut butter sandwiches and hard boiled eggs that I brought along (and we did.)

However, the problems began almost immediately. Upon arrival, we found our room would not have air conditioning during a major heat wave and with an asthmatic child who was already showing signs of a cold.

After some tense negotiation we were able to get into a room for that night, but would have to move the next night into an un-air-conditioned room. I was able to get out of the reservation for the 2nd night, which significantly helped the money situation, we celebrated by eating at the restaurant. Conservatively, we each ordered an appetizer and Lola got a kids meal. Afterwards, we finished the couscous tuna salad I'd made for lunch on the trip but which Lola wouldn't touch.

The night was lovely, our room was on the precipice of a cliff with a beautiful view. As twilight fell, the fireflies started up. They were much smaller than the ones in dc and everywhere. Lola and Jonathan tried catching them, but they kept slipping through their fingers. I was able to grab one but he wouldn't light up in my hands. I let him go and he fell into the deep grass, lighting up as he went.

That night we cuddled into bed when suddenly the thunder started. Then the wind. The room shook, the lights flickered several times. The lightning flashed and there was a large boom. The patio furniture blew against the side of the building. The lights went out.

And stayed out.

That morning they were still out. Our plan for a cheap morning breakfast was negated because the entire mountain had lost electricity. The dining room had made a makeshift breakfast buffet on propane and they charged everyone the buffet price. Awesome.

The planned purchase of $3 oatmeals had been upped to $11 per adult and $8 per child.  After a slight fit I got the manager to charge me the child's price as I can only eat 1/2 cup of food. But it was still not in the budget. However, since it'd take at least an hour to drive anywhere else, and we weren't sure if they would have power, as the word was the entire surrounding area had been it, we bit the bullet and ate. It would surely be cheaper than lunch.

After breakfast, we cleaned up, put the wedding clothes in the car to change into later, and hung out in the shade climbing on rocks. At lunch we made peanut butter sandwiches and hard boiled eggs.

We put together a puzzle in the main office, which was pretty nice until Lola poured all of my hard work back in the box. I get pretty serious about puzzles.

Then it was time to change. So off to the car we went. I pulled my dress on over the one I was wearing and shimmied out of the other in the parking lot covered by the open car door. Jonathan somehow managed to get into a suit while inside the car. Lola was relatively easy. Then with the air conditioning on full blast I fixed our hair and makeup.

The wedding itself was lovely, though the venue still had no power, they'd secured a generator for the space so they still provided dinner and music, but it didn't have enough power to turn on the AC. Lola had started to get lethargic and we realized she was burning up with fever. We'd been coaxing her to drink well all day with not much success.

The bribing began. We offered chocolate milk and orange juice but she just fell asleep. As soon as the cake was cut we dashed out. To drive through downed trees for a few hours all the way back to DC with a stop once we reached civilization for tylenol (the first she's had since the hospital visit.)

We've spent the past few days holed up in our bedroom with the AC on plying Lola with any drink she desires and trying to keep her fever down.

And I need a vacation.



Road Trip Couscous Tuna Salad
adapted from my brain and thousands of standard tuna salads at potlucks


1 cup whole wheat couscous
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 cup greek yogurt
1 can tuna
1 cup frozen peas

Cook couscous according to package directions. Mix garlic powder, salt, pepper, mayo, yogurt and tuna. Toss with couscous and peas. Pack up with a bunch of ice. Enjoy.

If you like tuna macaroni salad you'll love this. My stomach no longer tolerates pasta. Which I love. But the longer I go without it, I don't necessarily miss the pasta so much as I miss the vehicle for all of the wonderful things that pasta conveys. Luckily, whole wheat couscous is kind to my stomach and provides an extra protein punch.

On watching Lady and the Tramp 100 times

There's finally been a respite from Caillou in our house. Thank god. Caillou is fine for the most part, but there are two versions of the show.

There's the version that Lola loves, which generally has three short episodes fit into a half hour segment, and a short 'learning' sequence at the end where they review something learned in the episode.

Then there is the other version.  It has several episodes as well but they are punctuated with live action puppet sequences and the voice actor for Caillou is different and much more grating.

I can't tell the difference in the opening sequence or the descriptions for these but Lola can as soon as the music starts.

And if its the puppet version god help us.

It's a jungle out there

Late April and still manageable

I have never gardened before.

When I was 12 I watered my mother's garden one summer when she was feeling ambitious and we were living on 11 acres of woods. The garden was a 15 minute walk away from the house uphill through the woods and required thousands of yards of hose and large barrels. It was the most terrible job ever. Almost as bad as being assigned to pick up sticks in the woods which was another favorite of hers. At least that job was in the shade. (She recently told me she only made me do this ridiculous job because I read too much, I think I'll just sign Lola up for soccer.)

I learned nothing from this experience with gardening other than how to use aloe vera after being sunburned.

Naughty children get (char)coal.

So today I was going to discuss wrestling with squash in a square foot garden (don't worry the wrestling match did occur and you'll hear all about it tomorrow) but I'd rather talk about yesterday when Lola said her tummy hurt and she needed medicine.

Your Easter Moment of Adorableness

Misadventures with Broccoli

So, as previously posted Lola has begun eating food. I have/had big plans for making all of her baby food from scratch. Unfortunately, I have not had the time/equipment to make it quite successfully.

We started with rice cereal which is not easily replicated at home, so I bought that and procured a fancy (affordable) food mill in anticipation of starting her on vegetables. I chose a non-electric one because 1- it's cheap and 2 - I have a food processor, a blender, and a hand blender so I figured I was covered in the electric arena and didn't need to spend money to get one labeled "Baby."

Anyhow, when it came time to try a new food I decided on green beans because I had them in the freezer! Thanks angelfood! I quickly discovered that you need a formidable amount of beans in the grinder to make it work as the sheer mass of food being pushed by the metal disc is what helps push it through the sieve. So I had to make a lot more than I bargained for and the skins were too tough and just collected in the bottom while i pushed them around. After about 20 minutes I collected about 2 tablespoons of baby green beans that had made it through the sieve (and a cup of mushed and mangled ones in the mill) and fed them to Lola. It was very anticlimactic she took it all in stride and didn't seem to notice the difference from rice cereal.

So, I decided I would buy pre-baby-fied green beans and move on to other vegetables with the food mill. I rummaged through the freezer and faced with lima beans or broccoli I decided broccoli had to be easy to grind! Maybe it was, don't really remember...what I do remember is Lola turning red and choking and me panicking and wishing I had taken that course on baby Heimlich and CPR.

After the trauma I realized that I have never seen broccoli in the baby food aisle, and the fibrousness of the broccoli keeps it gritty no matter how small you grind it so the grit was most likely the problem.

Back to baby cereal and liquified green beans for the time being. I'm not giving up but I will be getting the blender out because for now at least I think I need some motorized, electric, pulverizing help. I wonder if I could get one of these...

On having an extra thirteen pounds strapped to your chest

I had a c-section of the unscheduled, emergency type because labor started but Lola took her sweet, sweet time getting out. So, I had received this lovely sling custom-made for me that collected dust for 6 weeks while I recovered. But when I could walk up stairs and sit up without pain I finally pulled it out and discovered how liberating it is. Well, as liberating as you can get with an infant tied to your chest.

This amazing contraption is the only way I can handle commuting during rush hour on the metro. Trying to squeeze a stroller onto a sardine packed train is a lesson in futility. It's also the thing that allows me to get work done while I've got Lola in tow at the office. I can sit her on my lap with the sling just wrapped around her so she can't fall while she plays with her toys on my desk and occasionally deletes a file when she finds the keyboard! I can sit her up over my shoulder so she can see what's going on behind me. I can lay her down for a nap or feed her a bottle with one hand while I point and click with the mouse. I can even manage to go out with just one bag if I pack correctly.

There are several options out there, but since I am a well rounded woman with rather sizable assets I opted to go with something custom made. Rather, a lovely person gifted me with something custom made. I can't recommend this sling enough, it's very simply made, but has several versatile positions for baby, as well as an array of options for fabric. And if you don't like any of the options they have you can send in any fabric you like. You can even have one made for daddy out of a manly fabric!

Now must publish post before baby grabs keyboard!

Don't forget your sunscreen!

We were so excited by the beautiful day out that Lola, co-worker Sarah, and I went out for a long walk after lunch. Lola had a great time, charming all the passersby while peeking out from under her sunhat while perched in my sling. Unfortunately, I didn't think about her poor little chubby cheeks being exposed to sun, because when we got back to the office they had a touch of sunburn. So, terrified that I've exposed my baby to skin cancer I am now armed with information. Thank you internet! I will be marching out to the drug store tomorrow to get some good old-fashioned zinc oxide -the opaque white stuff you used to see on lifeguard's noses (whether in real life or on television.)I want to get her a little whistle and life preserver so she can play the part.

I suppose I should start wearing it myself, though I'll get the grown up chemical ridden version because I don't think I can pull off the lifeguard look.

Baby's first dinner!

We went to the pediatrician today for Lola's 4 month (though she's almost 5 months) check up and the doctor gave the go ahead for food! I had been concerned that Lola wasn't getting enough food because she is very fussy about taking her bottle and it is difficult to get her to drink even the lowest end of the range for her age. However, Doctor said her weight is fine and to just follow her lead.

I knew if I went home before I went to the store I wouldn't be able to bring myself to venture back out so I didn't take the time to research what I wanted to buy, which in hindsight might not have been the best thing to do as I thing I should have gone for a brown rice cereal instead of the plain rice cereal but for all of you better prepared mothers out there this seems to be a pretty good mini article about choosing baby's first cereal.

Anyhow, we came home and whipped up an exciting mix of formula and rice cereal. Yum! I thought it was ok- much tastier than formula, Daddy thought it was disgusting and baby thought it was delicious!




It's so exciting- she actually LIKES eating food as opposed to breast milk or formula. She opened her mouth for more! We're going to try her on this for three days to make sure she doesn't have any adverse reactions and then introduce a vegetable! Give that three days and so on and so forth to make sure we isolate any foods that cause a bad reaction.

I'm really, really excited about trying out my new food mill! Any suggestions for baby's first vegetable? I'm leaning towards green beans.

The week is over!

Finally.
I'm so drained I can't think of a better title. Lola is too.

She fell asleep as I was clearing off my desk. Stayed asleep while I put her down to get on my coat and back pack. She grumbled for a minute when I tucked her back into her sling but by the time I got to the metro she was out again, and stayed out through the entire metro ride, walk up the broken escalator, run to the bus, and is now out on the sofa, still half in her sling.

I felt like curling up and doing the same but good friend Sarah, who has a Costco membership, is coming over tomorrow for lunch and a trip to the Mommy candy store! So, I managed to pick up all the stray baby socks and onesies and grown up socks around the house, toss them in the laundry, load the dishwasher, clean off the counters, pour myself a big glass of water, and now I get to settle in and watch jeopardy.

Week one of back to work is done!