Day 152 - May 31

I have two pictures today. They have nothing to do with each other, at all. But I took one this morning, fully intending to use it, and then Michaela struck again. I don't know what to think about this kid.

So, first up is a little look at why I wasn't in a huge hurry to go back to work at all, let alone going back to the Coast Guard after my sabbatical. I mean, why would I do that when I can spend my mornings sitting by the pool instead?

And the second... well, I don't even know what to say. This was not the first time she's put herself in this container. I'm sure it won't be the last. But... why???

Day 151 - May 30

Remember how I posted a picture of M inside her tent two days ago? The tent that's set up in her room and requires no extra work for Mommy?

Well, apparently, that is not good enough for her. Probably because it's all the way back in her room and she doesn't like to play alone back there. And also, she can't watch TV in there. I definitely have a serious TV addict on my hands.

Forget about the red, blue, and yellow tent that comes complete with the tunnel. What fun is all that when you can have Mommy build you a tent out of blankets, chairs, and an ottoman?! And you can peak out to watch The Fresh Beat Band.

She kills me.

Day 150 - May 29

I have to say, the toddler is nothing if not creative.

She is also ALLLL her father with how much she loves to sit on the floor. More often than not, she sits right in front of the couch, on the floor, to watch TV. But I think Fred may have had that spot this morning.

So what's a girl to do when she wants to sit on the floor, but wants something to lean against? Just flip an ottoman over and carry on!

(Pay no attention to the yellow headband that doesn't match her shirt... she grabbed it out of the drawer in the bathroom and put it on herself. So stylish!)

Day 149 - May 28

What I should've taken a picture of was the new configuration of Michaela's room. I thought about it about 4 minutes after I put her to bed. There was no going back at that point!

What new configuration? We spent the morning rearranging her furniture and reorganizing her toys and what-not in order to make room for her coming "big girl bed!" She's still sleeping in her crib (haven't even converted it to a toddler bed) since she's never tried to climb out, but she REALLY enjoyed sleeping in her toddler-sized air mattress while we were in Orlando, so we've decided to move her a little sooner than we'd planned. (Everyone cross your fingers that this doesn't backfire on me!!!)

Plus, I'm starting to get those nesting urges and without all kinds of little tiny clothes to wash and organize, I decided I wanted to at least get the room situated in advance of Yellow's arrival, even though Yellow won't sleep in it for a while. But I suppose I at least need the space to put Yellow's stuff.

After much agonizing over what kind of bed to get her (and how much to spend), I finally ordered the bed yesterday (after two very full days of exhaustive internet searching and furniture store shopping). It's supposed to be here on Thursday, so it was time to reorganize her room.

The first thing we did was move her dresser into the closet, which freed up an entire wall of space. After that, we took everything off the shelf in the closet, which included her tent/tunnel. I'm sure you can see where this is going.... it only took minutes before she asked to set her tent up in the new empty space (WHY did we not put the dresser in the closet sooner?!??!?) so she could play in there. And, of course, that's the only place she wanted to play for the rest of the night.

All that for a pretty bad picture of her playing with a puzzle in her tent, complete with bad iPhone flash. The picture is as bad as it is because I was right next to her... on the floor, in her tent. I don't recommend that as a place to hang out for someone who is less than 9 weeks away from having a baby and old. Just a heads up.

Day 148 - May 27

As per the usual in the summertime around here, yesterday afternoon found Jason and Michaela outside in the afternoon, mostly in the pool. With temperatures in the high-90s, the almost-90-degree pool still has some refreshing qualities to it... but not much!

Anyway, for whatever reason, Jason decided that it was well past time for Fred to get a bath. Since it had probably been about a year (YICK!!), I agreed.

And Fred definitely didn't seem to mind. He got up and tried to run away at one point when Jason was scrubbing him, but he settled down pretty quickly and didn't mind getting hosed-down at all. I'm guessing those temperatures in the high-90s had something to do with that.

Of course, Michaela had to be there to help. Until she wasn't that helpful. Then she went back to swimming.

Day 147 - May 26

Another food picture for today... this time at home.

When we got back from Florida last week, Jason was pretty excited to finally get to pick some tomatoes from two of his plants. The best part was that the giant green tomato had FINALLY turned red.

And that giant red tomato turned into dinner tonight. It was delicious paired with some fresh mozzarella cheese, a little salt and pepper, and some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The only thing missing was fresh basil - which I couldn't find at two different grocery stores (wish I'd planted more of that this year!).

Although we've been away from Kodiak for two years now, it's still a novelty to have produce that tastes like it's supposed to. This tomato definitely tasted like a tomato. It was a little bit of summer on our plates tonight!

Day 146 - May 25

It was date night tonight! We hired a babysitter and made reservations for dinner and everything! (Then we went furniture shopping after dinner...)

There are few things in this world that make me as happy as a good meal. Back in the day when we had two incomes and no child, fancy dinners were a pretty regular occurrence. They are not anymore. So when a special occasion rolls around (like our anniversary - that's what we were celebrating tonight), I will pretty much always choose fancy food over anything else.

Tonight we headed to True for a second time (there aren't many "fancy" options around here), and thoroughly enjoyed yummy food, white tablecloths, dim lighting, and quiet conversation. We also had fun watching the couple a few tables over who literally said nothing to each other the whole time they were there. Weird.

Anywho, the food not only tasted good, but it was pretty, too. So I took a picture of my rabbit, shrimp and succotash. YUM!