Julia time!

On Saturday Evie and I had a Julia day! For living a little more than a block away, we can sometimes go for weeks without seeing eachother. We went to Kaiserslautern to visit the H&M there and because Julia had found a review for a Thai food restaurant in the area as well. Any place that doesn't have 37 different kinds of schnitzel on the menu is worth trying!

We found the H&M without incident, although the parking way atrocious. The store is located in an outdoor pedestrian shopping area and the nearest parking lot, while conveniently only about a block away, is less conveniently packed to the brim, and European sized--meaning cars 1/2 the size of our Corolla fitting into spots 1/3 the size of the Corolla. We finally snagged a spot and after feeding Evie in the car, were on our way.

At H&M I found some mittens for Evie. The pink pair above will be for this winter, and the other (what kind of animal is that? Kangaroo? Rabbit? Long-eared Bear?) was just too cute to pass up, so I bought a pair that should fit her next winter. I also found a pair of chunky knit mittens for myself and a scarf in the most beautiful peacock blue.

After H&M we returned to the car and put the address for the restaurant into the GPS (YAY for GPS!) We drove to a closer spot, the street now being more deserted as the stores had begun to close. We'd gone less than a mile and by the looks of it, the restaurant was located right where we'd just been. As we meandered back through the streets on foot with no restaurant in sight, I sheepishly realized that the address had been reset for H&M (BOO for human error with GPS!). Once we figured this out, we recalculated and found the restaurant with little trouble. You can see above, our highly sofisticated baby navigating system. I can see it now, the day when strollers actually have built in GPS. Oh boy.

Evie "sat" in my lap once we were seated; she was getting tired of being in the car seat and wanted to be closer to the action. It was at this point, while Julia and I were perusing the menu, that Evelyn decided to provide some...ahem..."music" to accompany dinner. Also at this point, I realized that I'd forgotten the Tooty-Pooter's diaper bag in the car. Oops. Rookie Mom Mistake No. #12: You think that just because you've recently changed the diaper, there won't be need of another diaper in the immediate future. Lesson learned. We made it through dinner, but we were hurried and took half of the meal to go. Despite being rushed, I really enjoyed eating out--I had the Pad Thai Moo, and it was delicious. I'm so grateful to have a friend like Julia who is willing to hang out with someone who poops during dinner (Evelyn not me!!) and lives life in cycles of 2-3 hours (Me, because of Evelyn).

Illustration Friday: Clique

Don't you hate it when you're an outcast amoung mannequins? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, The Sunglasses Clique.

Weighing in

Why is it that working out makes you feel SO good after you've done it, and yet it is SO hard to get up and do it?

It's been one of my goals here in the early life-with-baby months to try and do a modest handful of things for myself every day. My list, not in any order, includes these things:

1. shower
2. get dressed
3. extra bonus points for hair and make-up
4. work out
5. leave the house at least once (taking the dog out does not count)
6. draw, or do some sort of creative activity

It is amazing how such a simple list can become very difficult to complete. I am a list maker and planner by nature. I think I do it more out of comfort nowadays than necessity. There was a time where my schedule was so packed that if I didn't write everything down, I would surely forget something. These days we're much more "relaxed," but I still have the urge to plan. I am trying very hard to resist this urge nowadays, because the result is usually a complete joke. The minute I think we've found a pattern or dependable routine, and thus plan some activity accordingly, it's as if Evelyn KNOWS and behaves differently just to get my goat. Because I cannot plan, I'm left to fly by the seat of my pants. I have my mental list, always at the ready, and must be ready to jump when Evie provides an opportunity to complete a task. Sounds like it would work, right? (We're ignoring the part where Evie is setting all the rules. At this point, it is easier this way. Believe me.)

The only trouble with this brilliant system is sometimes I don't feel like doing whatever it is I need to do at that golden moment of opportunity. It is much more appealing, say, to eat candy than it is to exercise, and when the weather is as it is in Baumholder much of the time, it is much more appealing to do ANYTHING rather than go outside. And then some things just become a vicious cycle; there is little motivation to get dressed when your only fitting options are still of the maternity variety, and feeling like a cow in your zipper-less pants does not particularly encourage you to workout, which of course, is the only way to get to the magical land of Zippered Pants. Most days, however, I somehow find a way to get all, or nearly all of those 6 "to-dos" done.

I am making progress. (I need to keep telling myself that.) I have lost 23 pounds since giving birth have about 40 to go. Hmmmm....maybe I should just leave it at "I have lost 23 pounds" and not mention the other 40. I am starting to feel more fit and I'm trying to remember that I need to be patient (and kind) with myself in this process. I didn't gain the weight overnight, and it won't go away that quickly either. In the meantime, I think I seriously need to look into some clothes that require more than one step to put on. Convenience is one thing, but somehow zippers, buttons and laces can make you feel a little bit more human when you're covered in spit-up.