Downs

• I still don’t have enough time in the day. Whenever I mention this I feel like I’m whining because of course I’m making choices that restrict the amount of time I have. If I was willing to either keep Calvin in daycare longer or was willing to listen to him scream, I wouldn’t have to make supper at night and I would have more free time. However, I can’t quite compromise enough for that. At least I get to listen to interesting stuff as I cook. Today I listened to Podcast Beyond Belief’s “Raising Skeptical Geeks” episode. While I’m not a secular humanist, I do find many of their topics and discussions interesting. I was surprised that several of the panelist encourage their children to believe in Santa Claus when they’re young. This is something I’ve never understood. My family did celebrate Christmas but I always knew the presents were from mom and dad, not Santa. Anyway, one panelist said he purposely let his children believe in Santa so later in life they would be able to remember believing in something only to discover it wasn’t true. I find that idea a little disturbing. To me, it feels like you’re purposely betraying your child’s trust in order to teach an object lesson. Anyway, even though I don’t agree with every opinion, I do like hearing about different parenting beliefs and techniques.

Ups

• My TMJ episode seems to be going away. I’m still taking ibuprofen multiple times a day but don’t have to have as high a dose.
• Jaeger said it was funny that in the last entry I mentioned I liked routine and then the next bullet point talked about a new way I was trying to exercise. I do admit that at first this sounds contradictory. However, for me, my routine is that I exercise. I’ve been really struggling ever since Calvin was born on how to get a reasonable amount of exercise each day. I’ve now walked to daycare 3 days in a row and I think this may be my best exercise idea yet. Calvin would get restless if I tried to do a full hour of walking with him in the stroller but I get about a 1/2 hour of exercise walking to daycare and then feed him snack on the way back. Today I also was able to squeeze in a little bit of weights and ab exercises.

Calvin Moment

• Calvin loves pushing his little umbrella stroller around. I don’t know if he enjoys it because he’s pretending he’s a grown-up or if he just likes things with wheels. However, he had a lot of fun wandering around our neighborhood pushing his stroller today. For the walk to daycare I take our jogging stroller which is too large for Calvin to manipulate. However, the umbrella is just the right size for him.
• Calvin has learned how to spin himself in circles and make himself dizzy. In fact, I think he might be working on a new word, “de-e”

Simplification

• Shipped off another box of books to the thrift store.

Downs

• My weight is creeping up again. A fondness for food and not much time to exercise are a very bad combination. However, now that life is back to normal for at least the next couple of weeks I’m going to work on it more.
• Around Monday I started having a TMJ flare-up. Not sure why it’s happening now as it usually is triggered by stress. Ibuprofen is my friend.

Ups

• Mom left on Tuesday. It was great having her here but I also like going back to my normal routine. I’m sure I would be a very boring person to observe but I really like routines.
• I tried something new today. Instead of driving to pick Calvin up from daycare, I walked. It took a little longer than driving but it allowed me to squeeze in almost an hour of exercise. I’m going to see if I can do this on a regular basis. I also was able to do weights and abs today.

Calvin Moment

• All of a sudden Calvin has an obsession with daddy. He frequently points to the door and says, “daddy?” hopefully. Daycare has asked me to bring in a family picture that they can put on the wall. I was going through pictures yesterday and Calvin excited pointed and said, “daddy!” every time he saw a picture of Jaeger. Eventually, I printed out a couple which he eagerly clutched in his hands.

Simplification

• Jaeger did a lot of work in the basement Sunday. However, I haven’t done much recently. I’m just trying to stay afloat.

Downs

• N/A

Ups

• Mom is here. She’s having a lot of fun interacting with Calvin and giving me tips on how to potty train him.
• Speaking of potty training, Calvin is making significant progress. Today he told us three times he needed to go before he actually went.
• I survived another week of playing the piano at church. This week was particularly hectic as I was moved up 2 weeks from my normal schedule. I didn’t pick my music out until this week. In addition, I had to accompany someone for special music and wasn’t going to see the music until I got to church. I don’t sight read well. Several days ago I finished Mercedes Lackey’s The Sleeping Beauty. In it, one of the princes is fated to have a tragic end. Anytime fate is about to catch up with him, his talking bird companion trills, “DOOM!” at which point he usually can avoid his fate one more time. Anyway, I woke up this morning feeling very stressed about playing for church. All of a sudden, I heard the little bird trilling “DOOM!” and decided messing up special music probably wasn’t the worse thing that could happen Anyway, it all went fine. I’m very glad it is over and have another 6 weeks before I do it again.

Calvin Moment

• After church mom, Calvin and I met up with Jaeger and had a picnic at the Eben G. Fine Park which is right next to the Boulder Creek. After Calvin’s nap, he played beside the creek for a while. At one point, a little dog came bounding up to Calvin and licked him. Calvin was startled but laughed. Shortly afterwards, the dog’s owner showed up with a tennis ball. The owner threw the tennis ball into the creek and the dog joyfully jumped in after it. However, instead of returning the ball to his owner, the dog gave it to Calvin. We transferred the ball back to the owner and he threw it again and the whole process repeated several more times. Eventually, we decided to teach Calvin how to throw the ball. He couldn’t throw it far but was delighted every time it left his hand and the dog frantically scrambled after.

Simplification

• Didn’t do anything today.

Food Diary

• Breakfast – Peanut Butter Berry Fruit toast
• Lunch – Hummus Sandwiches, Doritos, and Panda Bar Brownies
• Supper – Burritos
• Evening Treat – Maybe some chocolate?

Downs

• I don’t enough hours in the day. Just finished making supper for tomorrow and am exhausted.
• I wasn’t able to make supper last night so had to make it while Calvin was around after daycare. He whined and hung onto my leg almost the whole time begging for my attention.
• I’m playing for church this week and haven’t had a chance to pick out my music yet.

Ups

• Managed to sneak in both weight and ab exercise. I tricked Calvin into letting me exercise by putting on a video of children singing.
• Listening to a new audio book, Still Life by Louise Penny. Several years ago I listened to the second in the series, not realizing at first that it was series, and enjoyed it. I ran across the series accidentally and decided to start with the first one and work my way through it. So far I’m enjoying it. The descriptions in the book are so relaxing.

Calvin Moment

• Jaeger brought Calvin down from his bath to say good night to me. I picked him up and Calvin looked at me then opened his mouth and leaned forward like he was going to bite my nose. However, he went for my lips instead. My best guess is he was trying to kiss me. I kissed him back and he tried it a couple of more times obviously pleased with himself.

Simplification

• Didn’t do anything today but shredded great swaths of paper over the weekend.

Food Diary

• Breakfast – Oatmeal with berries and soy milk
• Morning Snack – Apple
• Lunch – Toasted cheese sandwich and 2 chocolate pieces
• Snack – 1 chocolate piece
• Supper – Mac & Cheese with lots of broccoli
• Evening Treat – 2 chocolate pieces

Downs

• Calvin refused to take an afternoon nap today. He sat and alternated between screaming and mumbling in his crib for an hour. Finally, I gave up and got everything ready for a stroller ride in hopes he would sleep that way. He didn’t fall asleep for a half hour but did eventually take an hour nap. Unfortunately, I managed to puncture my tire with vicious stickers and so had to push the stroller the last mile home with a flat tire. The silver lining to all this is that I exercised for more than 1 1/2 hrs today.

Ups

• Other than Calvin’s nap, he was in a pretty good mood today which was good because daycare was closed for an in-service day. In the morning we stopped by a second-hand children’s store and I bought him a couple of books. I was really looking for a tambourine but am having trouble finding one that doesn’t come in a set.
• Yesterday, a library copy of Blameless arrived for me. I was momentarily startled when I saw it in the library catalog because I thought I had preordered it but apparently I hadn’t. The second in the series had a shocking end so I sneaked a peak at the last page of this book to make sure it wouldn’t end on a horrible cliff-hanger. Reassured, I started reading it last night and am enjoying it immensely. Come to think of it, maybe I decided not to buy it until I could see the ending for myself.

Calvin Moment

• When Jaeger got home he took the tires off the stroller so he could inspect the considerable damage to the tube. Calvin wanted to play with the wheel and Jaeger inquired if I thought that was safe. There was a nut at one end that he conceivably could choke on but I wasn’t worried as he hasn’t been able to unscrew anything yet. I relayed this to Jaeger so we let him play with the wheel. A couple minutes later I looked up from what I was doing just in time to see Calvin successfully unscrewing the nut. I took it from him just as he got it free. I suppose I should get use to my son proving my wrong about stuff

Simplification

• Didn’t get around to doing anything today.

Food Diary

• Breakfast – Oatmeal with berries and soy milk
• Morning Snack – Blueberry pastry and the crusts of a peanut butter jelly sandwich (this was Calvin’s lunch but I thought the crusts would be too hard for him to chew).
• Afternoon Snack/Lunch – Several pieces of Cinnamon Raisin Bread
• Supper – Haystacks
• Evening treat – 2 Chocolate Pieces

Downs

• Calvin had a very restless night last night. This wouldn’t have been nearly as bad if I hadn’t gone to bed at 12:30am.

Ups

• Yesterday, I decided I needed a break from Cast in Chaos so I picked up Ruthless by Anne Stuart. I wasn’t really expecting to like it. The only reason I even knew about it was it was mentioned several times on RRA-L, one of my favorite places to find good romance books. Anyway, I didn’t think I’d like it because the Publishers Weekly review said in part, “Stuart’s writing is crisp and quick, and her characters are finely and memorably drawn, but Rohan’s often violent and predatory treatment of Elinor goes well beyond what most readers will find acceptable in an ostensible hero . . .” I will admit that Stuart skirted a very fine line but somehow she pulled it off for me. Reading this book felt like consuming a whole box of chocolate at once. I knew I should stop but I couldn’t.
• In a similar vein, I just finished listening to Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Cruise. I didn’t think I’d like it as I had started trying to read the book a while back and given up. However, excluding Agnes and the Hitman, I often like listening to Cruise better than reading her. This surprises me a little as usually I don’t like listening to romances and prefer to read them.
• Because I was only 1/2 hr away from the end of Welcome to Temptation, I went ahead and did ab exercises so I could do something useful while listening.

Calvin Moment

• Jaeger gave Calvin his bath tonight and then brought him downstairs. I was in the kitchen making supper for tomorrow night and Calvin rushed over to me and begged me to pick him up. I did so and he sat there in my arms chirping happily while playing with my headphone cord. He can make the cutest little noises when he gets his way . . .

Simplification

• I emptied the shredder and shredded yet more paper. Does it ever stop?

Food Diary

• Breakfast – Oatmeal with berries and soy milk
• Lunch – Toasted Cheese Sandwich and 4 chocolate pieces
• Supper – Thai Stir-Fry with Brown Rice and a Kiwi
• Evening treat – 2 Chocolate Pieces

Just got back from our anniversary trip. It was a good break.

Friday
Jaeger’s mom arrived Thursday night to take care of Calvin while we were gone. Friday, we hung around in the morning so Calvin could get use to Nana again. We left around 11 and drove to Boulder to look for 2-person board games. We ended up getting Ingenious. We decided to grab lunch before heading up to the Breckenridge area. We originally intended to eat at Noodles but got sidetracked by Modmarket. It was good food and I was impressed by the calorie counts on the menu.

We headed out of Boulder and made it to the Galena Street Mountain Inn Bed & Breakfast in Frisco right around 3. We checked in and went to our room which was nice and tastefully decorated. After relaxing for a bit we headed out and walked down the main street in Frisco. Naturally, we had to pop in to the local book store and got seduced into buying a copy of Outdoor Parents, Outdoor Kids.

For supper, we went to the Dillon Dam Brewery. In general, I’m dubious about “American” food but Jaeger seems to like it. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I got the Naked Pasta which was really good. Since it was our anniversary trip, I also convinced Jaeger to split an ice-cream topped brownie with me. It was HUGE but very good also.

After supper, we went back to the inn and played one round of Ingenious. It’s an amusing game. Not quite as captivating as Catan or some of the other multi-player games but for a two person game I think it’s pretty good.

Saturday
I woke up too early Saturday morning. I think I’ve become too use to getting up with Calvin. Also, we had a king sized bed which always seems too big to me. It’s hard to snuggle up against Jaeger and still be able to stick my feet out of the covers at the same time with a bed this big. The good thing about waking up early is we had plenty of time to get down for breakfast. The breakfast options included granola, fruit, French Toast, and bacon. We passed on the bacon but the French Toast came with real whipped cream and was delicious. Thus fortified, we headed off to hike up to Mohawk lake.

The Mohawk Lake hike was good and just about right for my fitness level. It was a little wimpy for Jaeger but he seemed to survive anyway. I especially liked the beginning of the trail that started in forest. I’m not as fond of the rocks and bare landscapes that appear after tree line, from both an aesthetic and hiking perspective. We got up to Mohawk Lake and Jaeger wanted to explore the ridgeline. I headed back down to the lower Mohawk lake and waited for him while listening to Welcome to Temptation.

After we arrived back at the car we headed into Breckenridge to eat lunch. Lunch was good but I was especially impressed by the German Chocolate Cake Hot Chocolate. It was a little warm for hot chocolate but I had to order it anyway because it’s so rare to see something other than just boring hot chocolate on the menu. It was quite tasty and I didn’t regret my choice. We spent the remainder of the day wandering around Breckenridge. For supper, we at at Shangri-la. The food was very good but unfortunately they were short staffed that evening which resulted in very slow service. This caused some altercations with other restaurant patrons but we weren’t starving, didn’t have children, and had plenty of time so still managed to enjoy ourselves.

We went back to the hotel and played two more games of Ingenious, so far I’ve managed to lose every round, before heading to bed.

Sunday
Today, I still woke up pretty early. Jaeger was still sleeping and it was too dark to read in the room so I just listened to my audio book some more until he woke up. We ended up being too late for breakfast so grabbed donuts from Daylight Donuts in Breckenridge. After breakfast, we took the free gondola ride up to the Peak 8 base area and wandered around. During the summer area they reconfigure everything to offer activities aimed at families. Once Calvin gets a little older we’ll have to take him up there, I think there’s a lot of stuff he would have fun doing. We took the gondola back down and decided to take a tour of a mine. It was pretty interesting and we learned several interesting tidbits about mining in Breckenridge. For instance, the mine we toured used rats instead of canaries to warn of impending cave-ins or oxygen problems.

After our tour finished we ate lunch and then just relaxed for a bit. I read Caste in Chaos. It’s the 6th book in the series. I really like the series but this one isn’t inspiring me as much as the others. However, it’s still a good read. After reading for a while, we decided we were done with Breckenridge and were ready to start heading back home. However, Jaeger wanted to see Boreas Pass so we took a slight detour on the way home.

By the time we were nearing Denver, it was 5:30. If we had continued home, we would have gotten there right before Calvin should go to bed. I was worried that seeing us would make it harder for him to go to bed on time so we decided to go eat supper in Boulder. We ate at Black Pepper Pho because we thought it was time to start eating a little healthier. I really enjoyed all the eating during our trip but I’m afraid I’ll be paying for it later. We headed back home and arrived just as Calvin was going to sleep. Jaeger’s mom reported that Calvin was in a good mood all weekend which is always good to hear. Whenever I leave him, I always have this slight fear that he’ll spend the entire time crying, even though I know he won’t.

It was really nice to get away for the weekend. I was giddy with the feeling of freedom for the first day. However, now I’m ready to see Calvin again.

Downs

• Calvin had a restless night last night. Jaeger’s magic has also worn off and Calvin now screams whenever either of us try to put him to bed. Our current theory is we might be trying to put Calvin to bed too late. His bedtime has gradually snuck up to 8. Tomorrow we’re going to try 7:30 and see how that works out.

Ups

• I did both weights and abs today.
• I got a Tdap vaccination today. This year pertussis, whooping cough, is especially bad. In California it’s officially at epidemic levels. I subscribe to the Boulder County Public Health Twitter feed and saw that they were offering free vaccination for caregivers of children under 2. I assume this is because they are trying to boost the herd immunity of the community since the DTaP doesn’t have the best effectiveness rate for the pertussis component. Up till this point, it hadn’t occurred to me that I should get vaccinated. However, I obligingly called BCPH to get an appointment. I showed up today and the nurse exhibited surprise that I hadn’t received the vaccination postpartum in the hospital. I racked my brains but I couldn’t remember signing any such consent form so I assume I must not have. I had lots of needles sticking into me but I don’t remember anything at all described as a vaccination. (Upon asking Jaeger, he doesn’t remember me getting anything either.) She shrugged and gave me the shot and then asked where I had heard about their program. I replied I had seen it via twitter and she stared at me for a moment in what appeared to be shock and then delight. I wonder if they thought they were just tweeting into a black hole.

Calvin Moment

• Today as I was in the kitchen finishing supper Calvin found a kitchen dish rag on the floor and was playing with it. I looked down and suggested that he should wipe the floor with it. He looked at me for a moment and then did. I’m increasingly impressed with how much of what I say he understands. It’s exciting for us to finally be able to convey ideas to each other. However, I think he still understands me better than I understand him.
• We may be making some slight success with potty training. Today Calvin was on the porch in training pants and a plastic cover. He pointed to the plastic cover emphatically and I thought he just wanted it off as he was no longer in the highchair. I took it off him and seconds later, he went to the bathroom. I’m now wondering if he was trying to tell me he was going to go. That’s probably too optimistic but I’d like to believe it.

Simplification

• Threw a mini-spatula away that was warped beyond repair.

Food Diary

• Breakfast – Oatmeal with raisins and soy milk
• Lunch – Peanut butter and jam sandwich, a bowl of cherries, and 1 chocolate piece
• Snack – 2 chocolate pieces
• Supper – Tomato & Bean soup and 1/2 a Reuben sandwich (it was a very large sandwich)
• Evening treat – A bowl of peach sorbet

Downs

• I think Calvin is getting sick. When I went to pick him up from daycare he rushed over and clung to me immediately which is unusual. Once I got him home, he just wanted to cuddle instead of running around like normal. Usually, this means he’s getting sick. I really hope that he manages to fight it off. However, before I picked him up, I was feeling a sore throat starting. I’ll be really annoyed if I got sick just in time for Jaeger’s and my anniversary trip.

Ups

• I got up early enough to lift weights this morning. In addition, since Calvin was feeling so sluggish, I took him out for a long stroller walk. Normally, I don’t do this in the afternoon for fear he’ll fall asleep, which he did, but I figure a little extra sleep is good if he’s fighting off a cold.
• Today was my day off. I managed to finish baking both 9-grain and rye bread. Also, I got supper made before Calvin arrived home which ended up being really good since I think he would have been crying all afternoon if I couldn’t just sit on the couch and hold him.
• I’m looking forward to Jaeger and my anniversary trip. Jaeger’s mom is flying in Thursday evening to take care of Calvin and we’re taking off Friday afternoon and will be gone until Sunday evening. I’m looking forward to both of us being able to sleep in at the same time!

Calvin Moment

• Calvin really didn’t do much today other than cuddle. However, it was kind of nice to be able to cuddle with him. He’s usually so active I rarely get the chance to just hold him.

Simplification

• Didn’t do anything. However, Jaeger got registered for Freecycle yesterday in hopes that we’ll finally be able to get rid of some stuff like our microwave and old TV.

Food Diary

• Breakfast – Oatmeal with raisins and soy milk
• Lunch – Snacked on food for supper as I made it. I ended lunch with 1/2 cup of chocolate gorp.
• Supper – Garbanzo Pot Pie, Beets, and 9-grain Bread
• Evening drink – Tea steeped in orange juice

Downs

• Since Jaeger was gone last night, I tried to put Calvin to bed myself. It failed horribly. After I put him in his crib, he cried for more than 20 minutes before eventually falling asleep. I don’t know why but when Jaeger puts him in his crib he just talks to Dog or bats at the mirror and then calmly falls asleep.

Ups

• I did both Pilates and abs today. Both sections are about 15 min long so it’s only 30 total minutes of exercise but definitely better than nothing!
• We had leftovers for supper tonight so I didn’t have to worry about holding Calvin in one arm while chopping onions with the other. Yesterday was also pretty calm as I usually eat leftovers when Jaeger goes to hacking society or BLUG. I’m trying to come up with some sort of framework where I can do less cooking while Calvin is home. Not sure what the best solution is yet though.
• It was a pleasant day outside. Overall, it’s still a little warm for my tastes but the shade was nice and Calvin had fun running in circles on the deck.

Calvin Moment

• As I mentioned on my twitter feed, Calvin tried to play a DVD today. I heard quiet coming from the dining room (I know it sounds strange but you really can “hear” when your toddler is quiet). I went to investigate and found the Netflix case for one of the Midsomer Murders lying on the floor. Puzzled, I continued to the living room where I discovered Calvin standing in front of the media cabinet trying to shove the DVD into the closed player. He got almost everything correct except knowing that he had to first hit the button to open the player.
• Calvin occasionally tries to pickup after himself. Yesterday, I was fairly successful in prompting him to pick up his toys before bed. Today, we were out of the porch and he was trying to drink from a large Nalgene. He spilled some water which left a good size puddle. He looked at the puddle for a moment or two and then trotted off to find his burp cloth. Once he got back, he tried to mop up the puddle with his burp cloth.

Simplification

• Got rid of some old pens and pencils.

Food Diary

• Breakfast – Oatmeal with raisins and soy milk
• Lunch – Energy bar, Toasted cheese sandwich, and 2 chocolate pieces.
• Snack – 2 chocolate piece
• Supper – Veggie burrito, 1 chocolate piece and some pineapple coconut ice cream

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