Dork Alert

In an effort to streamline as many things as possible before I go back to work full-time, I decided to revamp the way I do dinner at our house.

I'll go ahead and warn you that if you don't already think I'm a dork (unlikely), you will after this.

Here are the steps I took to create our new meal plan:

1. Assign a category to each weeknight--for example, every Monday is Mexican/Chinese night, Tuesdays are sandwich nights, etc.  One night every week is for leftovers/storebought pre-made meals.

2. Select four meals in each category--4 sandwiches we like to eat, 4 crockpot meals, etc.


3. Write out full ingredient lists for each meal--ultimately, this helped me with the grocery lists.



4. Write each meal on a square of paper and arrange in a grid--the purpose of this was so I could organize the grid so that ingredients overlapped to avoid buying green peppers two weeks in a row but only using half the pepper each week.  And to avoid doing meatball subs the same week as spaghetti.

This is the step where I lost Brandon.  He was almost ashamed of my dorkiness.

5. Use the grid and the ingredient lists to create a grocery list for each week.

6. Sort the grocery list by section of the store--produce first, meat next, etc. so items are in the order that I come to them as I shop.

7. Each week, print the week's shopping list--cross off items already in pantry/fridge. Add items like breakfast foods or deodorant.

8. Pray it works.

So the idea is that I have a month of meals we can cycle through, with prepared grocery lists to limit the 3-times-a-week, "Oh crap, I forgot ____," trips to the store.  Those trips always cost more time and money than anticipated. 

We have been trying it out for 2 weeks now, and I've found a few kinks in the system (sides I forgot to put on the list, Brandon's constant cravings for Mexican food, etc), but overall it's working great!  I know I'll have to revamp it when we get sick of the same 4 weeks, but for now we're set!

In related news (preparing to go back to work), I took C to my school one day last week so that when I start saying, "Mommy's going to work," all the time, she'll know where it is that I really am.  I also wanted to get my bulletin boards done.  This was C's idea of helping:

lying ON the bulletin board paper in my classroom.

Also, while I went to a workshop last week, Carson had her very first day at day care.  It was a tough but necessary day.  There were 2 parts that sucked.  The first was dropping her off, which I knew would suck.  Thankfully, Brandon was able to come too, but unfortunately we got there before her teacher had arrived.  So we had to hand her off to the director and did not get a chance to talk to her teacher and help C get acclimated to the classroom. The control-freak in me found this unsettling.  What if the director forgets to tell her about C's allergies?  What if they put her in the wrong classroom? You know how the 'what ifs' go--no logic, just worry. 

When we left, she did the pitiful cry--not the dramatic or angry or 'maybe this will get me what I want' cry--but the bottom lip out to here, you just broke my heart cry.  So I guess it was good the departure was quick like taking off a band-aid.

The second sucky part was, when I came to get her, she was standing in the classroom by herself, straight-faced, 5 feet from all the other kids playing together. Just watching them.  My heart fell.

BUT I had to remind myself that that's her personality, exactly.  She is an observer.  She is stoic and reserved until she gets a good feel for a situation.  She will watch until she is comfortable, and then she will be REALLY comfortable.

As soon as I walked in the room, her face lit up and she wanted to show me all the things she had played with.  She was even reluctant to leave when I told her it was time to go.  Phew!

Here she is in the morning before her first day of "school."  I swear, I did not ask her to pose for that second shot.  She did it totally on her own.  What a ham!!!

My Daughter Is a Weirdo

Okay, that might not sound nice.  But it's only unkind if you think being strange is a bad thing.  And I don't.  Not on its own anyway.  Granted, there are some oddities that have negative consequences, like hoarding or obsessions of various kinds.  But my daughter is unique and always makes me laugh.  And I can call her a weirdo because I say it with a mother's love. 

Still not convinced?  I present to you Exhibits A-G.

Exhibit A




She sucks her toes.  This really should be enough to convince you on its own, but I will continue.

Exhibit B




Just chillin'

Exhibit C




She holds her popsicles like this.

Exhibit D




Master of Disguise--she was sitting there calling, "Caaaarson, where aaaaare yoouuuuu?"

Exhibit E




She wears her daddy's clothes

Exhibit F




Unfortunately for her cousins, she seriously values her personal space.

Exhibit G




When I tell her she can't have a snack bar for breakfast, this happens.  It was way louder in person.











Really, I could go through the whole alphabet with this one but I think you get the point.

I sure do love my little weirdo!

Shopping

If you know me, you know that shopping is not one of my favorite things to do.  Every once in awhile, I'll get a bug and feel like hitting up Target or Home Goods.  But in general, clothes shopping is fairly low on my list of preferred activities (I have a list for everything). 
BUT sometimes it just needs to be done.  Like when you're wearing the same camis you wore back in college.  Or the soles of your shoes have holes in them.  Or you've spent the last few years a) pregnant, b) recovering from being pregnant, c) working part-time (thus only a part-wardrobe is required), or d) all of the above.

Now that I'm staring down a new school year, during which I will be working full-time for the first time since Carson was born, I took a good look at my closet and realized that, while it is full, it is full of things that do not fit.  Somehow, although my weight is the same as it was before I had C, the shape of things has shifted.  So first, I tried on a bunch of stuff to see what should stay & what needed to go.  Then I made a list of key pieces I was missing (nice khakis, short sleeve cardigans to make some of my sleeveless shirts work-appropriate, etc).  Then I informed Brandon that I would like to have one full day to shop.  Not to shop together (even though he & C would have the best of intentions if they came) but one day, just me, no time limits, no interruptions.

And my amazing husband delivered.

On Wednesday of this week, Carson spent the day with Daddy.  And I got a whole. entire. day. to myself!  I went to the North Georgia Outlets and shopped my brains out.  Seriously, I was brainless by the time I came home. Shopping exhausts me physically, and especially mentally.  Too many decisions. 
Anyway, I noticed several differences between this day and usual errand-running:

1. I could drink/eat/pee whenever I wanted.

2. I didn't have to carry ANYTHING.  I put my phone & money in my pockets and took off!  I felt so free.  I imagine it might have been more liberating than going bra-less was for women in the 60's.  But I have no intention of finding out.

3. "Trying on clothes" involved more than holding a shirt on a hanger up in front of myself and deciding, "Mmm, that looks about right," before tossing it into a cart.

4. I was able to visit and revisit certain areas of the store, try things on more than once, and even create entire 'ensembles' through trial & error.

5. It was maybe possibly a tiny little bit lonely.

I just wanted to say thank you to my amazing husband for providing me with a much-appreciated day to myself.  I know that I'm so blessed to get to spend so much time with Carson, and I also know that I am a better mom today because I got that 'me-time' yesterday.  It wasn't needed, but it was definitely an amazing bonus.  Thanks babe!

And because I'm not a total dummy and I know that most of you read this blog to see C, here's a pic of her finger painting earlier this week.  She did great getting dirty (she's kind of prissy about getting messy) until some paint got on her leg.  Then she seriously stared at me for a full 5 seconds (which, like dog years, is about 7 times that for a toddler) and declared, "All done painting!  Wash!"

What We've Been Up To

The past few weeks of summer have been rather similar to the first few that I posted about--storytime, craft-type stuff at home, etc.  Here's a quick summary and some pics that are mostly from my phone.

Father's Day--we had an amazing day!  First, we went to the Children's Museum in Atlanta (all exhibits are for children not of children). My whole fam came so we could see my dad and everyone else.  We did not bring our camera, so please check my brother's family blog for the full story and pictures.  Here are a few from my phone:

We left a little early so we could make the Braves game and give C some time to rest in the car. Honestly, even though Brandon was so excited about going to the game, I thought it might be a disaster.  Because of the incredibly hot summer we've had and the timing (specifically NAP time), I had my doubts.  I'm so glad I was wrong! All 3 of us had a great time. Our seats were in a section where the concessions were air conditioned and full of comfy seating, so we could just take a break in the AC when it got too hot outside.

Cheering

Discussing the pros & cons of instant replay in MLB

Lunch Dates--we've met up with Jana, Christine, Daddy, and various coworkers of Brandon's for lunch over the past few weeks.  One of C's favorite lunches was at Downwind, which is a little hole-in-the-wall with great food and a view of the landing strips at the Peachtree-DeKalb Airport.

Time with Lila--I'm loving watching these girls become more aware of and interested in each other.  Even little things, like C will pick up a toy and say, "Lila like that one," if it's a toy Lila plays with when she's over. We went to Lila's 2nd birthday party, which you can read about here.  Also, Lila has come to play with us, C has gone over there, and I got these cute pictures when we went to Lila's house to play in her little pool and sand/water table.  The girls spent most of the time moving the sand from the table to the little pool.

 

  

Swimming--Brandon's mom's complex has a pool, and my parents joined their neighborhood pool this year, so we have had several chances to swim lately. Yay!  Here she is, ready for a cookout and some pool time.

Doctors--Carson had her follow-up with the allergist, which went well. The guy on the phone SAID there would only be talking, not testing...but he is a big ol' liar.  C and I were both surprised when they decided to re-test for dairy & eggs, and also check for a few nut allergies. Carson was seriously a champ though. We had been doing A LOT of talking about doctors, shots, stethoscopes, opening her mouth for the doctor, etc.  Carson let the nurse and doctors listen and look and measure everything, and the only time Carson cried was when they actually pricked her for the test. She recovered within 30 seconds and charmed the socks off of the office staff.
We also had her 18-month checkup (about a month late), where we learned she is two things I never thought I'd have in a kid:  75th percentile for height (33") and 10th percentile for weight (almost 22 lbs--which means she still meets the weight requirement for her infant car seat).  She grew almost 5 inches since her one-year checkup in December!  I'm pretty sure I've never grown that much in a year, let alone 7 months.  Again, she did great and didn't get upset at all when the doctor examined her.  It was our first doctor visit ever without a single tear.

In other basic Carson news, she has made some major strides in her language skills lately. Pronouns are flying all over the place, as well as complete sentences (sometimes minus a conjunction or two).  A few of my favorites:

• Moe, Kaila poop outside.
• You ok Mommy? (I guess because we ask her this a few times a day after a tumble)
• Mommy do it. Not Carson.
• This one. Not that one.
• Put it in the box (when cleaning up).
• Coming through! (sounds like come-a-doo!)
• Oh my goodness! (minus the 'd' sound)
• No, no Mommy! (well, I don't love this one but it's funny to hear her say it).

She has also dropped her first nap this summer, which was an amazingly smooth transition.  For awhile there, I thought I might have to discuss with her future Kindergarten teacher how to work in an extra rest time for C in the morning because I didn't think she was ever going to stop taking 2 naps a day.  She is still very tired by naptime and sometimes dozes off in the car if we run errands in the morning, but overall it has been a surprisingly easy switch!

We have some more fun things planned for the next few weeks, including a sleepover at Gram's and cousin Patrick's birthday party. 

Hope everyone else's summers are going as well as ours!