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.

Snot-nosed Disease Carriers

Beware: those cute little cousins may have made my 6 month old giggle and smile, but they have brought a pox upon my house! Lola, The Daddy, and I have all come down with a burning throat, low grade fever, crusty eyes, and stuffy nose.  I think I have managed to not completely fail at motherhood in the past week but I definitely failed at laundry and general order and cleanliness (not to mention bloggerness.) Luckily for us, I picked up this sweet little gadget at the store a couple weeks ago. Turns out it was a wise impulse buy! This thermometer is a pacifier! It only cost about $10, and prevents me from having to stick something up my darlings bum when I'm just being paranoid.  I'll keep the rectal thermometer around to confirm but really glad I don't have to deal with snaps and diapers as frequently.

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...

Just Add Tuna

Working and taking care of a baby simultaneously is strenuous. I finally arrived home at about 8pm with no energy and nothing easily available to fix a quick dinner except for some leftover pesto in the fridge. I put some water on the stove to boil while I started feeding Lola. Good friend Heather, who came along for the ride this evening, took over the preparations, but kept poking around in my cupboards for something additional on the plate. The only thing I could think of was tuna... so, I can report that pesto tuna pasta is not altogether unpleasant- though I can't say I would want to make it again.

Still, I'd rather eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow than expend the energy to make a sandwich tonight.

And with that- I will retire to my chamber. I have 6 glorious hours of sleep ahead of me. Hopefully, there will be only one crying baby intermission.

Sisyphus

Sisyphus deserved his punishment: he tried to outsmart the Gods and was an incestuous murderer. Mommies, however, get the special joy of pushing that boulder up the hill day after day as a special bonus just for doing their part (whether intentionally or inebriatedly)to propagate the species.

Today's illustration: finally got out of my spit up on, binding work clothes, decided my current pj's had seen a few too many baby saliva baths and tossed them in the dirty clothes in favor of fresh, comfy sweat pants and t-shirt. Got all comfy on the couch and fed Lola her evening bottle... only to have it all come back up 3 minutes later. Goodbye last pair of clean comfy pajama pants... hello chilly night shirt and laundry time.