Day 311 - November 7

Jason made it home in time for us to have a family walk before dinner (can't go after anymore because it gets dark so darn early). It was a bit brisk out, and it took everything we could do to get Michaela to understand she had to wear a sweatshirt. 

She was sad because "fairies never wear black. Ever." So she started out the walk with slumped shoulders and a pout. But after a few minutes, she decided she was no longer a fairy. 

I can't remember what she told us she was, but eventually it ended with her telling us she was going to stop us with her evil powers. And this:

Day 310 - November 6

Wanna know what happens when your youngest, sweetest, loveliest toddler child decides she wants to be the crankiest, whiniest, clingiest toddler child in the world on the day you were planning to do your weekly grocery shopping?

And your husband isn't home for dinner because he has a meeting?

You eat $5 Little Caesar's pizza on the living room floor while watching "The Little Mermaid." For the second time in a week.

Enjoy, kids!

Day 309 - November 5

So let me tell you about my crazy ways.

Ok, I don't think they're crazy, but I know some people do. When we were in Kodiak, I was exposed to a more natural way of doing a lot of things and I've continued to go in that direction since we've been here in Mobile, too. (It was easier to do in Kodiak - not a whole lot of naturally-minded people down here!) I'm still pretty conventional to my "crunchy" friends, but I can be pretty "crunchy" to my more conventional friends.

One of the things that's been fairly easy for me to look into is non-pharmaceutical methods of fixing ailments (sorry, pharmacist family members!!). This was easy for me because I've never liked taking medicine anyway. But I also don't like hurting, so I've had to find some different options. Also, as a nursing mom, you have to look for different options because sometimes the medicines you might take can either diminish your milk supply, or they can be bad for the kid who gets the milk. So you learn to look for other things.

I have pretty significant sacroiliac joint pain. It got really bad when I was pregnant with Cate and it flares up pretty often. I did a two-week course of naproxen a while back (it was bad enough for me to go to the doctor AND take medicine), but it flares up all the time and I don't want to keep taking that.

Enter "golden milk." I'm going to be honest, it looks weird, tastes a little funky, and is generally one of the stranger things I've tried, but I'm hoping it'll work. Basically it's a paste made out of turmeric and water, which is cooked down and then mixed with milk, some kind of sweetener, and an oil to help coat the joints. Turmeric is a natural and powerful anti-inflammatory (among other benefits), so theoretically, it should work. Time will tell.

Day 308 - November 4

This kid's hair just cracks me up.

It's so fine that it just goes all over the place all the time, but it gets really stuck in funny places when she sleeps.

I call this "the Albert Einstein."

Day 307 - November 3

We seem to have a new Sunday night tradition - at least on the Sundays when I don't really feel like cooking whatever I've put on the menu plan that week.

Or on the Sundays when I don't even pretend to put anything other than pizza on the menu.

So we order delivery pizza from the place down the street (Marco's for my local friends), we set up a picnic on the living room floor, and we watch "The Little Mermaid" while we eat our dinner.

Michaela loves it. She is utterly mesmerized by this movie. So much so that she had no idea I even took this picture.

Day 306 - November 2

I'm seriously slacking in the getting-my-kid-to-the-playground department these days.

I think that, when we first moved here, I was so desperate to not suck at being a stay-at-home mom that I did everything I could to keep us busy. So Michaela and I spent a lot of time at the playground, we did story time, we spent a lot of money at Target, and whatever else I could come up with.

With kid #2, I'm a little more comfortable in my SAHM status and I don't feel like I'm going stir-crazy if I don't make it out of the house on any given day.

So Cate doesn't see Target that often since I figured out we don't have all that money to spend there anymore, I haven't even considered story time, and she really hasn't spent much time at the playground.

Thus, at 15.5 months old, Cate finally went down a slide by herself today.

Day 305 - November 1

Michaela has taken to giving Jason some kind of toy or trinket every morning before he goes to work. I'm not entirely sure what the reason is for that (I'm usually either still asleep or in the shower when he leaves), but every afternoon when he comes home, he gives whatever it is back to her.

He's taken Chip the teacup from her Beauty and the Beast tea set, a Madagascar airplane they put together as a part of the Lowe's (or Home Depot) kid's workshops, Mardi Gras beads, and various other items.

Today, she gave him stickers. And she put them on him herself.

I'm SO glad I was awake and out of the shower when he was leaving!!