Lightened

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Weekend Update

This weekend was the second annual Daddy/Daughter Camping Trip.  Damian and Avery said they had a great time, though D was quite tired since he didn't sleep much.  As he put it, "I'm not really made for camping."

D intended to take Avery straight from the campsite to the Timbers/Sounders game this afternoon, but Avery decided she wanted to skip the game.  I think it's safe to say she's not going to be going to any more games this season.  Ah well, D really enjoys the games, so it wasn't a waste of money to get the season tickets.

Since I had Saturday afternoon and evening all to myself, I made plans with friends.  Christie & Amber came over in the afternoon to do some crafting.  After that we headed to dinner at Pepita's, followed by a movie.  I think I must have inadvertently eaten gluten - or something else makes me very sick - because by the time I got home, my stomach was not happy with me.

This afternoon, Avery and I headed over to pickup Elise so Avery would have a playmate for the afternoon.  RHG was out of town, so I coordinated the playdate with Jay.  It was the first time I've planned any playdate via a father.  It's no different than coordinating with a mother.  I took the girls to the park and then stopped at a store before we all headed back to the house to spend a couple more hours playing.

D & I dropped both girls with Jay for our evening date night.  We also had a date night on Friday night, but that one was using a real babysitter. Avery was so excited to have our neighbor come over to sit for her.  Anyway, D and I just went for sushi and a movie, so it was typical date night fare for us.

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Lightened Load

While I miss Turtle and I wish I'd gotten to have another three years with her, things are much easier with no dogs.  It's so much easier to keep the house clean.  It's also easier in the mornings and the evenings.  Dogs don't need to be fed, or watered, or let in and out.  I don't have to find an hour each day for dog walking.

A few things are more difficult without a dog around.  I still am not used to the crumbs or bits of chips on the floor.  I might have to ban eating in the living room.  That thought never occurred to me before since I've never had to vacuum or sweep due to food bits.

 

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Reading

I'm in a reading slump at the moment.  I'm reading a book written in the 1800's that was apparently instrumental in shaping Lincoln's views on slavery, however, it isn't the sort of book that is utterly captivating.  I am 30% of the way through the fourth book in the Ender's series of books, but it's not pulling me back to it they way the other three did.  And I haven't found any in my typical genre drawing me in.

Fallout

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Timbers Game & Timbers Game Fallout

Avery did awesome at the game last night.  She was engaged the whole game according to D, she could describe her favorite part of the game (watching D wave a big flag), and she was still wide awake when they got home at 11 pm.  She fell asleep about 11:30, I think.

In the lobby of D's office building before the game - I wish we'd had a real camera for this picture.  So cute.

Avery did not do awesome today as a result of said very late bedtime.  My friends (you know who you are) looked at me a bit incredulously when I said Avery was going to the game despite the late start time.  Originally, that was my reaction too when I found out the start time.  D pointed out it wasn't that late and she's been up that late before without dire consequences.  With time, it became a given in mind that she'd go, which was why I said to the aforementioned incredulous friends, "Late nights every once in a while don't seem to impact Avery."  Yeah, half of that is true.  The night part of it; the next day part of it, not so much.

So today was just awful.  Avery was either exceptionally sweet and adorable, or a complete nightmare throwing fits over nothing - and she'd turn on a dime between these two states. Unfortunately, the distribution was something like 10% sweet, 90% nightmare.

Avery is still going to go to the next evening game, but I will 1. ensure that I'm mentally prepared to deal with the fallout the next day (e.g. not scheduling a playdate I then have to bail on) and 2. maybe I'll pick up D and Avery from the game to expedite their arrival home.  Something like that.  We'll see.

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Poop

My stellar day with Avery was only just topped off when the three kids (G date night) were in the tub together.  Nolan pooped in the tub.  D is out for the night, so I had to manage poop fallout on my own.  Ew.  I don't know how long they'd been sitting in the tub with poop as I was busy tidying up the bathroom and closet before I noticed something odd floating there.  I quickly escorted Avery and Elise into the shower, then transferred Nolan into the shower.  Next, I fetched bleach & fishing implements (read: slotted spoon and a large bowl).  First, I rescued the toys from the poop-infested water.  I put those in a sink of bleach water.  Then I scooped the poop, then I let the water drain, then I washed the tub completely out, then filled it back up to the top with bleach water, then I ran the jets just to be aggressive about it.  I'll probably end up cleaning that sucker another few times before I can bring myself to use it again.

Elise asked to sleep in Avery's room, so I dragged our extra twin mattress in there.  I haven't given them the chance to sleep in the same room in quite some time, so it'll be interesting to see how they do. Update: as of 8:20, they're still awake, but they're being fairly quiet and I'm lacking any motivation to do something about the talking.

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Go figure

Fortunately, before Avery's complete meltdown this morning around 10 AM, I managed to make both banana bread and the meat sauce for tonight's dinner.  In the banana bread, I substituted brown rice flour for regular flour and guess what?  Best banana bread I've ever made.  Not "good for gluten free" bread; best bread ever.  Go figure.

The meat sauce was made for the kids to have spaghetti tonight.  I made myself brown rice to mix in with it.  Guess what?  I actually prefer it mixed in with brown rice versus eating it with pasta.  Go figure.  

Crisp

From blurry to crisp

The gluten seems to have cleared my system.  I'm feeling much more energized, awake, and focused.  As I described it to Stacey at dinner tonight, comparing my life with gluten to my life without gluten is like comparing a nice, crisp, colorful, vibrant photograph with one that is of the same object, but is instead blurry, unfocused, and generally a bad picture.  Yes, it's a picture of the same thing, but the effect of it is entirely different. 

This gluten sensitivity discovery is seriously a life changing thing for me.  Why else would I still be blogging about it when I've done, what?, 20 or so posts about it already?  I have little doubt that this event will be like 9/11, my wedding, and Avery's arrival: an event that has a definitive before and after. 

I also realized how truly and utterly grateful I am to have discovered this sensitivity.  I am so freakin' happy I'm gluten sensitive.  That means that I wasn't crazy, I wasn't lazy, I wasn't pathetic!  I really had started to think that maybe I was all those things.  After all, who else needs to nap 2 hours a day plus sleep 8 hours at night and is STILL tired?  RHG sent me this article from CNN, which at first glance appears to be about celiac disease, but is more about gluten sensitivity.  It made me feel so much better.  There are other people that feel like they've been hit by a bus when they merely eat gluten.  That is precisely how I felt for years.  For whatever reason, I never had any gastrointestinal distress (TMI: I never have any problems in that area - something to constantly astounds my naturopath and acupuncturist).  But I'm putting together that I'm much more prone to headaches and general unwellness when gluten is in my system.  It may not be the gluten triggering it, but it definitely does something to my body that makes it less able to fully function.  And it definitely robs me of all my energy.

Oh, and the woman in the article also experience acne.  Guess what also cleared up when I stopped with the gluten?  Yep, acne. 

The 38

It was just Stacey and me for dinner at Ned Ludd tonight.  If anyone in PDX is looking for a great place to eat, I highly recommend it.  The entree was very good, but it was the salad and the dessert that stood out for me.  I got the sour cream panna cotta with rhubarb sauce.  I don't particularly like sour cream, nor do I usually order panna cotta (boring), but the rhubarb sauce was irresistible.  Thank goodness it was because it was divine.

I should note that everything about the restaurant screamed Portland.  Portlandia could film there as is, without even making fun of it, and it would be hilarious.  Air plants everywhere, the waiter was quintessential Portland hipster/foodie worker, the bathroom looked like a homesteader museum, and I shit-you-not I swear the notepad the waiter used to take our order had a bird on it (maybe it was a pine cone or something, but it was in that genre).  And there were nettles and soba and farro all over the menu.  So Portland.  I love Portland.  I love to make fun of Portland.  And I love living in Portland.  

Go Timbers

Before dinner, Avery and I stopped at D's office to get her changed into her Timbers gear and pick up D.  I dropped them off at the McDonald's near the park.  Avery was so freakin' cute in her Timbers gear.  In McD's, D warned her that it would be very loud in the stadium.  I told her that meant that she could yell, "Go Timbers!" as loud as she wanted any time.  I meant during the game, but she turned and yelled, "Go Timbers!" to the patrons of McDonald's.  I swear, there is nothing cuter than a 3yo in full-on Timbers gear.  It's enough to make me a sports fan. 

I just checked and it looks like the Timbers won!  Woohoo!  Hopefully it wasn't too rough on D and Avery sitting through the game in the pouring rain.  D was told their seats are under cover, but D wasn't overly confident they were, so fingers crossed. 

Wonders

Wonders never cease

I cooked dinner with no recipe yesterday.  I know.  I was shocked, too.  We like this blue cheese encrusted filet mignon recipe.  One day it occurred to me that I might like to have meatballs made with blue cheese, panko, and parsley.  I tried it last night and it was delicious. I was most pleased with myself.  We had green beans and potatoes (from my ridiculous trip to the farmers market) with it.  When Avery was eating the green beans, she said, "Just like Teacher Theresa!"  They often have green beans at lunch, so I guess she now associates those with Teacher Theresa.

Following my monumental dinner, I went to workout while D put Avery down for the night. When I came home, Avery wasn't asleep yet, so I went up to have a quick cuddle before bed.  She was so cute: "You go to gym gym?"  After confirming that I did indeed go to gym gym, she said, "You go change your shirt."  I was a bit sweaty, I guess.

Teacher Theresa

Avery seems to really love being around Teacher Theresa.  She talks about her often.  She seems happier when I drop her off on the days when TT is there all day.  Avery goes to school two days per week, but TT is only there ½ day on one of those days.  As such, I'm going to ask if I can shift Avery's schedule so that she's there on days when TT is there full time on both days.  It puts the days Avery is in school on a schedule less than ideal for me, but I figure it's more important that Avery is fully happy there.

"Training"

I have to put training in quotes since I'm never sure how serious I am about this stuff until I've been doing it a while.  However, since we have signed up the half marathon in October (what was I thinking?), I figure I should at least attempt to train for it.  D came up with a training schedule for himself.  I'm adapting it to my personality and tendencies and we'll see where that lands me. I don't care about my time for the half marathon, but I do care about not injuring myself, so my main goal is to be in good enough shape to get through it in one piece.

I went to the gym immediately after dropping Avery off at school.  I did both cardio and weights, then came home and walked the dogs.  So my entire morning was spent being very active.  I plan to go to the weight toning class tomorrow (unless I chicken out, which is always a possiblity when it's a workout class - I'm fine once I'm IN the class and I've done it once, but getting through the doors that first time kicks my ass).

Daddy / Daughter Camping Trip

D and Avery were invited on a first annual daddy / daughter camping trip!  I am both excited and jealous.  While not a camper, I know Avery will be so excited on this trip and I'll miss not being able to take part.  However, what could be better than daddy/daughter camping?  Not much, I'm sure.  She's undoubtedly going to have tons of fun with Daddy and the other girls.  We will need to purchase a tent, but I think it's well worth it for such an event. 

So, ladies, I have a free free weekend!  (Did anyone see Rules of Engagement this week? If you did, you'll get the "free free" reference.)  Planning shall commence offline if anyone else can manage to free themselves of kiddos for the weekend (edited to add: which is at the end of June).