And Then it Was Friday

And what a beautiful day it is! We let the baby wake us up early today (I say "let" because he usually wakes us up between 5 and 6 now and we almost always try to pretend he'll go back to sleep, which never happens, but today we agreed to get up and out when he woke up), around 6 am. I fed him, we ate a quick snack and made tea to go, and then headed out to the park. We walked two miles, chatted, watched the people and squirrels and birds and dogs, and headed back home. It was the perfect way to start the weekend--fresh air, exercise, time together as a family. 

I told Terry we need to make an effort to get ourselves out like that more often, because it just hasn't been happening in the evenings. We're all exhausted at the end of the day (more like by 3 pm for me), and since Marshall is ready to start the day super early, maybe we should just roll with it until he's past this phase (I hope?) of waking with the sun. Terry's work has been absolutely insane, too (how many times have I said that in the last several months?), so he works longer hours and often has to drive to San Diego and therefore almost never gets a chance to exercise. When he signed up for a football team with his coworkers, I was all excited about it because it would give him at least one day a week of exercise. Then he hurt his ankle. TPoor guy.

So anyway, we agreed to try to get up and out more often for family walks at the very least, and to complete more quick at-home workouts. Last night I did an "every-minute-on-the-minute" workout--5 push ups plus a 10-second plank every minute for 20 minutes. 100 push ups total, not too strenuous or sweaty, and perfect for a post-dinner workout, since the only chance I found was after Marshall was asleep. Little workouts like that do their job of keeping me strong without requiring a gym or tons of space or lots of time--none of which I have at the moment.

Meanwhile, we've been doing well with lots of home-cooked meals lately:

Ina Garten's tomato soup

Frittata loaded with spinach, mushrooms, chicken sausage, cheese, onion, and green bell pepper, plus roasted potatoes

Pumpkin muffins (I made a double batch last week and froze half, so they lasted a while)--made with maple syrup instead of honey

Marshall has been especially helpful on grocery trips lately.

Actually, funny story: The other day we went to HomeGoods, and Marshall likes to reach his hands out toward the merchandise, but of course I make sure to keep the cart in open areas so he can't actually touch stuff (except clothes and rugs, because those are just fun!). Well some well-meaning man walks by and says, "You need to keep him farther away from stuff! He'll grab things off shelves!" AS HIS WIFE WALKS INTO A DISPLAY AND KNOCKS DOWN AN EASTER BUNNY STATUE. Justice.

I just smiled and thanked him for his advice (as I thought, "Um, maybe you need to keep your wife farther away from stuff...").

Tomorrow our little family is taking a short trip down to San Diego. We're just spending one night, but I've noticed more and more that restaurants with a baby are more successful and calm if I bring food for Marshall instead of waiting for our food to arrive and then scrambling to give him bite-sized pieces of our meals. So I am packing the following:

• frozen peas (they'll thaw quickly, but I've learned there's no need to boil them ahead--Marshall gobbles them up either way!)
• a pumpkin muffin
• sliced olives (straight out of the can, but rinsed off)
• these quesadillas below:

I tried Ezekiel quesadillas this time around; they are made with all sorts of natural ingredients that result in a complete protein (and no honey, which is hard to find). So I layered cheese and cooked spinach and then cut them into rectangles, and now Marshall is able to bite off pieces of foods like this instead of needing them cut into tiny pieces for him. I'll grab two of these for a meal along with some other fruits or vegetables, and he's a happy camper!

Other than that, we'll grab fruits and vegetables there and of course share from our plates. And now Marshall loves to drink out of a straw, so we give him sips of water at the table to make his day.

So our weekend will be a delightful little trip to San Diego, along with celebrating Easter on our way back. I hope your weekend is filled with relaxing, friends, family, and fun! Happy Easter!