Cross-country skiing really?

So in an effort to get myself pumped to move to the Land of Lincoln I've been checking out everything about our probable new community--Bloomington/Normal. I got on the school district pages, checked out the downtown shopping and eating, shopping, and lots of other stuff. Scott and I love to use the parks system in CoMo--from soccer fields, walking trails, and dog parks Columbia has been great for this need. So I checked out the Bloomington and Normal parks systems. Disturbing discovery. You can cross country ski on the 20 something mile trail b/w the two cities.

First thought---what a great trail. Second thought--cross country skiing, that's weird. I decided to check all the parks and such, and I kept seeing a theme at the big parks with trails--cross country skiing. The little wheels in my head began to turn---that's not just weird. To be able to cross country ski (have the equipment necessary) it must snow, and snow a lot, and stay on the ground a long time. I shudder at the thought.

For a true southern girl this really freaks me out. When we first moved to Columbia it was winter--the worst winter of my life. It snowed like every other week. I HATE cold weather. Sure it's nice and expected at Christmas, but please don't drop below 45 degrees the rest of the year. I also really crave sunshine, Scott even jokes I'm powered by solar panels. When I looked at a US map I was freaked to see just how far north we would be. I'm decent at geography--not great, but I was shocked to see I would be parallel to Philadelphia. Bestill my poor heart, and not in a good way. Is three years up yet?

Maybe I'll love it and find my calling as a snowbunny, but that's hightly doubtful. I guess I'll need to stock up on winter wear this year.

My day Tuesday

6:30 am wake up and get ready for the day

7: wake Colin

7-7:30 make/feed each of us breakfast and clean it up

7:30-9 dress Colin, play with Colin and dogs

9-9:30 take Colin to sitters for my doc appt with a detour to Starbucks

9:30-10:30 wait at Doc's office for 35 min. and see him for 5--all clear

10:30-1100 hang out with sitter and her kiddos (ahh adult time)

11:15-11:45 paint bathroom touchups (while Colin was asleep in car--bad mommy, but he had missed his morning nap--thought I'd let him sleep for 20 min.

11:45-1:00 Wake up a very sweaty baby, feed him, play with him while I watch the Secret Life of the American Teenager, and lay him down for early afternoon nap (see above entry) I laid him down with out shorts on due to previous sweatines-BADDDDD idea, see later entry.

1-2:30-finish staining deck--spill stain on foot while I'm at it--ughhhh! Have to chase dogs off deck after they break through the barrier and come running up the steps (luckily I hadn't started the main floor (doing the cutting in on the sides of the posts). Put them inside. Dogs bark. I'm mad, put them in kennels. Dogs bark. I'm madder. They've probably woken Colin, but I have to finish the deck.

2:30-2:45 come inside to a SCREAMING Colin--- did he ever sleep?what could be wrong?---he's pulled off his diaper, thrown out his lovies, and oh yes, peed out of his crib. I see a pool of it on the front ledge (luckily lovies were off to the side of the crib). Put on diaper, strip bedding, including mattress pad, clean carpet and crib of pee. Throw bedding in laundry. Note to self--he always must wear shorts or pants.


2:45-3:30-play with Colin

3:30-4:00 chop veggies for turkey veggie meatloaf w/balsamic glaze and cook while Colin eats a snack

4:00 start to assemble meatloaf and discover--out of parmesan cheese. CRAP! Grab Colin and dogs and head to the store. Luckily there's one less than five miles away. At store purchase 4 items in addition to cheese, including bananas.

4:15-4:45 Unload groceries-Colin sees banana and goes to his seat. Give him banana and assemble meatloaf. Colin eats banana in record time, still hungry (I know he just had a snack an hour ago) Give him chocolate bunny grahams. He's looking sleepy. I chop potatoes for mashed potatoes

4:45-6:15: cook potatoes, prep salad, waiting on meatloaf. Scott arrives home. I look through the mail, entertain Colin some more and finally ready to eat

6:15-6:30 Colin eats a ton of food. He actually eats the meatloaf, feeds himself mashed potatoes from a bowl w/spoon, and eats a pureed veggie mix I had previously prepped and frozen (note to self--last of it used, must make more). Scott cleans up dishes and we load back into the car.

6:30-7:45 we go shopping for new patio furniture. We're evidently a couple weeks too late for this. Almost everything is gone-we went to three places.

7:45-8:15 help get Colin ready for bed, and say goodnight. See I have two very hyper dogs.

8:15-8:45 take dogs for a jog.

8:45-9:00 finish cleaning kitchen.

9:00-10:00 watch Addicted to Beauty and talk to Scott

10:00 shower and bed. I read a few minutes and pass out.

10:45-3 am--deep sleep

300 wake to a SCREAMING Colin--very unusual. Go in. Nothing seems to be wrong. Just angry baby. Rock him for 5 or 10 min and lay him back down--no fuss.

315-345 lie awake listening for Colin.

finally fall asleep for good.

This sounds crazy, but it was a great day (minus the pee incident). I LOVE being busy. I've had way too much sitting around at home time this summer. Today proves to be less hectic, but still busy.

This picture makes me smile

It's all sweetness and cuteness. No whining, no crying or tantrums. If you wonder what's in his left hand, it's a plastic spoon. He almost always has something in one or both hands. Things he likes to carry around: spoons, toothbrushes, hair brushes, headbands, a duster, his lovies, a ball, and anything else he can find.

Yum, yum...it's all about the food

Here's Colin desperately trying not to pass out. He didn't fall asleep, but just barely. It was pitiful. It was a long week traveling, and poor little man had a cold, and he could barely breathe at this point.
Sampling an English muffin at First Watch the day after his ring bearer debut.

Waving to me as I was trying to get some snaps of him eating a slice of pizza.

Imos...yummmm

Can I get some more?

He likes it. He likes it. Colin really likes it. Imo's that is. This was Colin's dinner part two. He had eaten a banana, veggies and cheese prior to this. We were kind of late with our dinner--Imo's, but he wanted to join in and finish his veggies and eat some pizza. By the end he wanted his own slice.

Peaches and Cream pancakes

My mom bought us a bunch of peaches from an orchard when we were in Cape. We were having trouble eating all of them fast enough, so I decided to figure out a recipe to use them that was simple.

My mother-in-law makes a great peaches and cream dessert, but I like it in cooler weather, and I didn't want to get all the ingredients. So I thought can I put peaches in pancakes? I did and it worked!!!

I grabbed my trusty Best Recipe cookbook for a trusty pancake recipe and started fiddling with it. I used Colin's whole milk to create the buttermilk (added lemon juice, but I added more than suggested). Instead of using 2 c of the buttermilk I only used 1-3/4 c and added a couple of Tbs of plain yogurt for extra creaminess. I increased the sugar by from 2 to 3 Tbs and I added cinnamon to the mix. I didn't add the peaches to the mix. I drained my peaches (I had sliced them on Thursday), and after I poured my pancakes in the skillet I sprinkled them with bits of peaches, and then flipped them to cook them in. The cookbook had recommended this technique with blueberries, and I thought it would keep the pancakes from getting too runny. For topping, I created my own cream. I mixed equal parts sour cream and plain yogurt and then added sugar to desired sweetness. The result: just what I was hoping for--delicious. The peaches were just the right amount--a little goes a long way--and the cream was yummy. I highly recommend. I'm sure you can use good ol' Bisquick if you like as well. I love tweaking recipes for what I want.

Illinois here we come

So I guess it's all about final. I think Scott will be accepting the offer on Monday to take the job in Central Illinois with Wirtz Distributing. It will be a very different situation from his job here in Columbia. Here he goes the office every day, and it's five min. from the house. In IL he will only go the the office a couple of times a day, and the rest of the time he will be in various towns all over Central Illinois checking on his managers. He has been very close with the other managers here and will miss that camaraderie. Not sure when he will be expected to report. I would assume sometime b/w Sept 15-Oct 1.

We have been working furiously this weekend to finish things to make our house look presentable for interviewing realtors this week--power washing, painting, hanging organizers in garage, re-staining the deck and deck stairs, and parts of fence (the staining I've yet to do...waiting on power washing to be finished). It is never fun to move. I hate it in fact. I dread having people come in our house and judge it. Also I hate having to just leave the house to clear out for buyers. I hope we don't have to do this too many more times.

Visit with Nana and Papa

Not sure what he's doing, but what a funny face!
Kicking the ball. He's gotten really good at kicking the ball with both feet. He can also throw the ball, stomp his feet, and turn in circles. His dancing is all of a sudden much more varied.

Clanging the cymbals.

Enjoying the fountains at the pool. By the end he was putting his face in them--trying to "eat" the water.

A boy and his ball. Never leave home without it.

Cheese-face. Yes, garlic and herb cheese with crackers. I swear he yelled, "more chips!" At least it sounded like it.

Preparing for fallout. The next minute it was on Colin's head, and before this picture it was on Colin's head. If you bend down it could be on your head.

Come here ball.