A few of today's favorite things

Destination: Isle of Palms

Our travel proved not to be quite the adventure I was anticipating, thankfully. While we did encounter a few bumps in the road, the drive took just around 9 hours, as projected.

We left at 7:00 pm after Roscoe was fed, bathed, pj'd, nursed, and snugly situated in his car seat--blankie, books, and all. We stopped at Starbucks for drinks and treats, and then jumped on I-95 where we averaged a speed of 17 miles per hour for about an hour. After that, we hightailed it to SC, arrived to a batch of hotels around 12:30 am and quickly realized why not booking ahead is a bad idea. Three hotels in a row, all full to their brim. We got lucky (if you can call it that) and squeezed a fifty dollar space out of a fourth motel located just before the on ramp.

It was raining, and while Roscoe had slept soundly for the entire 6 hours he woke with a fury when the car stopped, clawed at the blanket we had draped over him to repel the water, and then remained disoriented. He wanted nothing to do with sleeping separately from us, and we alternated for at least an hour between the swing and our bed with no luck. Even nursing was unsatisfactory.

By the time 3:30 am arrived, both Andy and I had submitted to the fact that perhaps we would not be going back to sleep, after all. In fact, at only a fifty dollar loss, we discussed getting back in the car and resuming the drive.

Then, without rhyme or reason (besides exhaustion), Roscoe fell asleep--I'm not sure of the time. By 6:30 am he was awake again, and so were we!

The last leg of the trip was just under 3 hours and Roscoe (and I) slept the entire way.

We drove straight into downtown Charleston, dipped into a fantastic fountain, ate lunch at a local bakery and eventually found our way to our home away from home located just a few steps from the sand. The rest of our family arrived throughout the afternoon, and the boys got reacquainted making the beach their private playground.

McFatty Monday Week 26

I'm at the beach this week determined not to GAIN weight, and hoping to work at least 4 runs into the schedule. I even packed my heart rate monitor, jump rope, and fitness bands.

I'm also determined to enjoy the local cuisine. The last two days we have been on the hunt for ice cream. Today we hit the jackpot!!

Strawberry for Roscoe, Cinnamon for me, and Espresso chocolate chip for Andy.

I have good news on the fat loss front, but my stats are back at home. In summary, while my weight stayed the same over the weeks that I trained with Amy, I lost 4% body fat!

Happy Monday!

Friday travel

Tomorrow night we head to Charleston, South Carolina. Ten days of ocean views, southern hospitality, cousins, regional exploring, family dinners, and who knows what else. It's going to be marvelous.

But before our beach vacation can truly begin, we must first brave the 8.5 hour drive. We have very little experience traveling with Roscoe. Our one and only road trip was a 3.5 hour drive to Fort Lewis Lodge and, if you remember, it actually took 7 hours. This does not bode well for us.

An unhappy Roscoe is a most unpleasant thing, particularly when he's confined by a car seat. Our first line of defense will be to break up the drive into two 4.25 hour stretches, and we're planning to spend the night somewhere along the way. Our second line of defense will be to leave in the evening after Roscoe's bedtime routine which should guarantee that he sleeps most, if not all, of the way. Our third line of defense will be to stock the car with his favorite toys, books, snacks, and good tunes (our current favorites are Caspar Babypants and Picnic Playground).

If all else fails, we are not opposed to pit stops--don't be surprised if 8.5 hours turns into 24.

Do you have any tips for keeping little ones entertained on the road?

Well, folks

It looks like we failed to make a sibling for Roscoe.

I know! We can hardly believe it. Is it possible to have that much sex around ovulation and NOT get pregnant? Apparently.

I won't divulge how many pregnancy tests I peed on. It's way too embarrassing. I guess since we got pregnant with Roscoe in the first month, I assumed that it would happen again in just the same way. Phantom symptoms be damned, I was so sure I was pregnant. Not until the hundredth negative on July 5th did I finally accept that it wasn't likely.

So, we are officially on cycle #2! Last time, we had nothing better to do but to sit around and think about getting pregnant and I remember vividly how crazed we were during the two week wait, and how tortured we felt at the idea of having to attempt another go at it the following month. It was lucky then, for our impatient pre-baby selves, that our plan was flawlessly executed.

This time around, our lives are so completely different and we are so not in control of much of anything anymore (a fact that we've proudly accepted!). So, while a March baby was my "ideal", this month I plan to take full advantage of my ability to cross things off my "not for pregnant women or new mothers" list just because I can. Rock climbing, anyone?

Our life is so full and demanding right now that I welcome time that allows for Roscoe to be one month closer to two when the new baby arrives, for me to continue to work on cutting out the night nursing and to build up my courage to begin to transition Roscoe to his crib. It's one more month for hot summer night runs and heart rate monitors that register in the 170s (!) and one more month to continue to whittle away at these last stubborn pounds. Plus, I realized over the fourth of July that I haven't been drunk in over two years. Obviously, I didn't miss it but come to think of it, maybe I'd like to have a few drinks!

In the end, I do believe that making babies is fun and can be pretty darn romantic so this time around I don't mind stretching out this first step just a little bit longer.

I know I'm not the only one trying to conceive--did any of you have any luck this month? I want to hear about it!

CSA Week 7

In this week's CSA bag I found:Sweet corn, cucumbers, swiss chard, patty pan squash, new potatoes, scallions, tomatoes, green peppers

This week's veggies offer some of the best variety we've seen all season and I'm bummed that we're leaving on vacation in just two days and will not have the opportunity to fully enjoy it.

Friends, get ready. I'm going to drop by with something to share!

Next week, since we'll be gone, my good friend Heidi--an avid baker and farmer's market guru--has agreed to pick up our share and make good use of it. Tune in next Tuesday to find out how she incorporated the vegetables into her weekly menu. I'm excited because she's very creative in the kitchen! And her daughter Lillian is an adventurous eater, just like Roscoe, so I anticipate some adorable baby and veggie photos!

The vegetable I enjoyed most this past week was definitely the beets. I had no idea they were so easy to handle, and the recipe I chose was no fuss: roasted beets with fleur de sel, olive oil, and fresh lemon juice. It was a rare treat to enjoy something from the earth in such pure form.

Have you ever tried beets? Did you like them?

Last week's recipes:

Scallions: cheddar and scallion bread

Beets: baked beets

I shared the cucumbers and snow peas with my parents

Zucchini and squash: two loaves of zucchini bread

Turnips: mashed yellow turnips with crispy shallots --the crispy shallots were fantastic!! duh. Fried = delish.

Sick in the summertime

In the middle of last night we woke to a harsh barking cry. It was so distinctly "croup" that I whisked Roscoe off to this morning's first available pediatric appointment. The pediatrician confirmed my diagnosis and administered a dose of oral steroids to prevent further inflammation.

Have you ever heard croup? You can listen here, it's pretty pathetic. I babied Roscoe all day long which made me feel fortunate that I can be home with him to provide everything that he needs when he's not feeling well, while also completely drained and downright exhausted. If Roscoe doesn't nap, neither does Momma. I've grown to rely on those breaks in the day as much as he does.

I'm headed to bed to recharge. Give your babies a hug tonight.

Red, White, and Blue

This morning Roscoe kicked off our fourth of July weekend by opening a bottle of blue nail polish and dumping its contents onto himself and our white carpet. We were only missing something red to be truly festive.

I knew something was up when the loft fell silent for a few short seconds. A break just long enough from the babbles and baby stomps to alert me to turn my attention back to a little monster covered in blue, including stroke marks around his mouth where he clearly tested the edibility of my new summer color.

After I verified that none had actually been ingested, and that the blue was only superficial, my Momma Bear instincts fell to the wayside and I turned my attention to the carpet. After several vigorous cleaning attempts (not by me, of course!!), I can report that it will never be the same.

If anyone has any tips for cleaning nail polish from carpet, I am all ears. And FYI, if you let nail polish dry on skin it will flake off on its own--no need for harsh removers.