Camping

This weekend Cole and I were able to leave K with Grandma and go camping all by ourselves.  We went to Stamp Falls and got to listen to the river all night.  Delightful.  On Saturday we spent the day at Sproat Lake.  Probably one of the nicest lakes I've swam in...ever.  It was interesting going back to the little tent after camping all summer in our new monster tent.  It was wonderful being able to choose when we got up based on only us. 

There is something so satisfying about camping.  Leaving behind the excess of the modern life and getting back to basics.  The stresses of life seem to fall away- nothing so complicated can exist while camping.  I LOVE it!

Holy Batman, He Forgot the Baby!

Our generous friends babysat K last night so Cole and I could go see The Dark Knight Rises.  As usual with this series, it didn't disappoint.  I think The Dark Knight is still my favourite one though- who can beat Heath Ledger as the Joker? Theatre was packed- half price Tuesday- it was expected.  Of course Cole sat us in the exact middle, so I soon felt trapped and like I was suddently pregnant again and needed to pee every five minutes.  Mind tricks- as soon as you're blocked in, your bladder has a holding capacity of a pregnant lady but if the theatre was empty I probably would have been fine.  I went twice before the movie started to try and avoid the awkward climb over people situation in the middle of the movie- although still had to anyways.  I stood in the back of the theatre for the last 20 minutes after my pee break so I didn't have to disturb everyone all over again.  After climbing over them twice before the movie started and once during it, I wasn't about to go back during the climax and climb all over again.

On the way home, Cole was so enthralled with the movie that he drove by the babysitter's place as if to just go home.  He forgot about our daughter.  If that's not a film recommendation for you men out there, I'm not sure what is. 

Also, one of the times I was up to go to the bathroom before the movie started, I walked by this lady with her TINY TINY baby.  I had to stop and talk to her- it was TINY.  Apparently her daughter had been born 10 weeks early at 2 lbs.  She was now 8 weeks old and still looked so little (no big surprise, she's still 2 weeks early at this point).  How amazing that the will to fight to live is alive even in a 2 lb person.  Incredible. 

Salad Week

I decided this week to try out four different entree salads.  The summer heat has hit and I wanted a break from slaving in front of the stove.  If you'd like to try them yourself, find the "recipes" here.

Day 1: A salad inspired by one brought by my friend last week at a dinner party.  Loved it!

 Day 2: Taco salad- a classic that I slightly change on a regular basis.  Fed me for lunch for 2 days after as well!

Day 3: A salad I make a lot in the summer seasons but this time I added some prawns to make it a main.  The carmelized onion and feta cheese crostini were so decilious I planned to make them the next night as well but got so busy we didn't even eat till after 9 so they were left out.  So so delicious.

Day 4: Steak salad.  I tried out a chimichurri sauce for the first time ever and thinned it out a bit with more oil so it could be a salad dressing.  I find it an AWESOME steak condiment but too bracing to be a full dressing on a sald this size. 

Who wouldn't want to eat salad all week when they are as awesome as these?

Summer!

Summer is here! FINALLY! Our first summer activity was playing at the spray park.  K can cruise now so I spent the afternoon chasing after her as she checked it all out.  At one point I stayed behind her for a while to see if she'd ever look for me.  She didn't. 

It's hard to get good pictures or videos of her now that she's really on the move, so this is all I've got.

 

I love her new crab swimsuit

I think it's adorable that water shoes come this small

one of the only pictures where she's looking at me

running away

taking a break from the spray park

running amok with our garbage....

She really enjoyed herself and I love that the waterpark is fenced in and it's level so it's easy for K to run around.  Whenever we went back to the grass she fell every step or so cause of all the little hills.  It was pretty funny.  She was super friendly and loved seeing all the kids- unfortunately, the other kids mostly find her to be an annoying baby in the way.  I had to steer her away from the big kid water fights so she didn't get trampled.  One time, this little boy (I'd say 3 or 4) barged in on K's fun with a sprinkler and kept running to the ones K was going for so he could stand on them so she couldn't get them.  K was a pretty good sport- even when the little boy walked up to her (she wasn't even in his "bubble"), put his hands on her face and pushed her down.

All in all, a pretty good day.  It will be repeated many times again, I'm sure.

Click HERE for the video of her running through the spray park (pretty good for an almost 10 month old if I do say so myself).

Dressing Room Tears

Shortly after giving birth I went clothes shopping to find some things to get me through till I lost more baby weight.  It was disheartening and depressing and difficult.  Almost enough to make me break down in tears in the dressing room- but I have a fairly strict no crying in public policy so I didn't.

The weight loss has been slow and unfortunately, the weight I gained after getting married due to some pretty stressful situations has been the most difficult weight to lose.  Pretty much all of the baby fat is gone now, it's the extra stuff I'm working on.  I've been working (pretty) hard at it lately, and I am seeing some positive results.  I'm using Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and I love/hate it.  I love it because it's short and I can feel myself getting stronger.  I hate it because it's intense and hard and sometimes she's annoying.  I blast music so I don't hear her and just grit through it till the end- I mean it's only 20 minutes, but it's a hard 20 minutes.  I definitely feel stronger and like my body is starting to feel more like it's supposed to. 

I have boycotted scales for a long time now- mostly because I don't think the numbers do anything other than make me feel bad.  I go with how I feel, how I look and how my clothes fit.  I went shopping again the other day to pick up some summer stuff and was happy to see that I was another size down from just a few months ago.  It was almost enough to make me cry in the dressing room- but this time out of joy.

(Now that I've posted this I fear I will be scrutinized and checked out to see if in fact I am losing weight.  Resist!)