5 Things

• coffee outside in the morning is my new favorite thing
• this poor blog's been pretty neglected lately. I actually have several unfinished posts that just need to be finished, once I find the motivation. I'm trying to not just throw things together, and that takes time, I'm finding. May was a very busy month, with graduations, family visits, and a high school reunion. It is nice, and needed, to be home, and have some space in my days for catching up.

• Speaking of space, I'm feeling the need to create more of it, in many ways. There's a rummage sale at my church coming up, and I want to do some major purging for that (all those things I've been holding onto just in case). I need to do a media fast of some sort. Less multitasking. Practicing the daily office-getting better at that. Yesterday morning at church our pastor led us through a time of silence, stillness and meditation that ended with a focus on the attributes of God we love, and the things we may need to let go of to create more space for Him. I loved it. It seems to be the theme of my life lately. Just the other night, having dinner with friends, one was talking about clearing out clutter, literally and figuratively, as a way to make room for God to bring new things into our lives-like relationships, opportunities, more quality time. I have to laugh- sometimes these messages are so clear, and it seems like everywhere I go the same words are being spoken. It's even in Nicky's complete enjoyment of a pile of dirt as I type this. Okay, I'm listening. 

• Our backyard landscaping project is so close to being done. The garden is flourishing, the patio is done, the grass is growing (still needs to fill in, but it looks better each week), and the dog run is in place. This week we need to fill the french drain with small rocks, then take a load of excess dirt to the green landfill, and pick up a load of free mulch from there, to cover the remaining dirt. We've also been thinking of making a raised melon patch but that may turn into a project for next year, since it's gettting late in the season. We'll see. Even though it's taken months, I'm glad we're doing it this way. I'm going to be so proud of this thing once it's done. I never realized how much work it was to make a patch of raw dirt look pretty!

• This year we're growing three kinds of tomatoes (cherry, beefsteak and yellow pear), basil, cilantro, red bell pepper, poblano pepper, jalapeno, butternut squash, and yellow squash in the garden, and rosemary, mint, and thai basil in pots. Lots of caprese salad, salsa, calabacitas, fresh marinara sauce, and maple roasted butternut squash in the near future....I love summer.

5 Things

• Silas is teething, I think. I have never heard him cry as much as he did yesterday evening. He's had a low fever for a few days but no other symptoms of sickness. We tried every trick and remedy last night, but I think what finally put him to sleep was sheer exhaustion. My poor little baby. 

• I've been going to Zumba once a week with a friend, that's about all I can do right now but as Silas gets older I'm hoping to do more. It's so fun, I forget I'm even working out. I haven't really kept up the Couch to 5K thing because my knee started hurting pretty early on. It's a bummer, but I don't really think running is something I can do too much of. The first few runs felt wonderful, but then the pain kicked in and just persisted from there. Trying to work off some stubborn baby fat, but not stressing over it.
• Nicky is most likely starting kindergarten this fall. It makes me a little sad, but mostly I'm excited for him. He's so ready, and he needs the structure and stimulation. We submitted his application today-so we should be hearing back soon for testing, etc. 
• The garage is progressing s l o w l y. But it will get done! I've had a few really productive days and a lot of days where I pick up one or two things. Other upcoming projects this spring: laying sod in the backyard, starting up the garden, and setting up a nice patio area to eat outside. Loving this warmer weather.
• On Saturday we went to a really fun, Lucha Libre themed birthday party. Nicky decided his luchador name was "Machismo" since that's the name of a character in a book we were just reading. 

Silas hanging out during the festivities:

....and now for some productiveness! Happy Wednesday.

5 Things

1. Last night I was sitting in the Walgreen's parking lot listen to the radio. The host was talking about a new study (there's always a new study, but still...) that basically found that the constant checking of social networks for status updates, etc. is causing people to have shortened attention spans and brains that are similar to a baby's. This makes us live only in the moment, distracted by buzzing and noises and bright lights, just like an infant. Hmmm.....methinks I may be suffering from this problem. I need to read more books.

2. My first day back at work was Monday. It was a hectic day on the busiest floor of the hospital, but I think it went well for the most part. I was a little nervous about remembering passwords, and the charting system, but everything came back as I was doing it. I did feel painfully slow, however, in getting meds passed and checking in on people regularly. So much of my job is dealing with interruptions; the challenge becomes just getting the basics done before the shift ends. 

3. I was only able to pump milk once during the entire 13 hours I was there. Ouch. There is a breastfeeding room on the Labor & Delivery floor that's comfortable and private, which I'm so grateful for. I thought I would have to find an empty room or run out to the car. So now I know there's a good place to pump, it's just a huge challenge to leave the floor for 20 minutes to do so. I guess I could try to combine one session with lunch so maybe I can squeeze in two sessions.

4. I started the Couch to 5K running program last week. I've done two so far. It's a little hard to fit them in, even though it's only 30 minutes 3 times a week. I have to be ready to leave right when Ricky gets home from work, and I can barely finish before the sun goes down ( I guess I could run in the dark, but I'm a weenie about that). Anyway, I've decided to add running a 5K to my goal list for 2011.

5. Silas is settling into a nice schedule. He falls asleep around 7 pm, then really just wakes up 2-3 times to eat but other than that sleeps until 7-8 the next morning. It makes the evenings quite relaxed around here; that's probably when I get the most done.

5 Things

1. Proof that Nicky's been paying attention at church: the other day Silas was crying in his carseat, and I was gathering my pillow, water, etc to feed him. Nicky, a little exasperated at all the noise around here these days, leaned over the carseat and exclaimed "Silas! The battle is the Lord's!!"

2. Silas is a sweet little cuddler who very much dislikes being put down. I have two baby carriers (well actually three counting the Snugli, which I haven't taken out yet)-a simple over-the-shoulder bag type sling, and a Moby. They are such lifesavers. Otherwise I would have to choose between crying baby and the use of my arms.

3. My brother deployed to Afghanistan yesterday. He called from the airfield, while they were waiting to board their plane. I was so grateful for that; it really made my day.

4. Tonight we are going to an ugly sweater/potluck/white elephant Christmas party. Ugly sweaters bought, potatoes are boiling to make cream cheese mashed potatoes, and pecan tarts in the making as well.

5. Thank God for walgreens.com. Yesterday I was able to wrangle the boys into Christmas jammies, take about 50 pictures in order to get 2 decent ones, throw a photo card together and pick it up in a few hours. Services like these make the holidays work for slackers like me.