Can you hear me sighing?

For the past month I've been working on a big article for 417 Magazine. Most of you know that I worked at 417 for a while after Matt and I got married. When we moved back to Pontiac I continued to freelance for them, but each year I did a little less until about two years ago, after writing a travel piece for them on the British Virgin Islands, I didn't write anything else. I was pregnant with Lola at the time, and then of course she was born later that year, and I barely had time to do what I had to do here (at the dock and at home) to keep my head above water. I didn't have time to write. When we got back from Belize earlier this year I messaged the editor and asked if she'd like a travel story on Belize, and she said yes. Yay! A week later she messaged me and asked me to write the cover story for the June issue. WHAT?! I would have a month to work on it. I was nervous - I knew it would be a big project, but I really wanted it, so I took it and thought, "I'll get it done... somehow." And I did it! It's due at noon today, and I just sent it in one hour and 45 minutes ahead of schedule. That was huge for me. I am a master of procrastination, and the typical me would normally wait until 11:59:59 a.m. to send in an assignment that was due at noon. But when I took this on I told myself I had to start on it right away, work on it a little bit every day (mostly nights after Lola went to bed), and by the time the month was up, it would be done. It would be done, right? RIGHT?! And I wouldn't be frantically trying to finish it the morning it was due. While I did stay up late some nights working on it, it was never past midnight - again, this is good for me. I'm not bragging. I'm just sharing, because I am sooooooo happy it's done, and I'm really proud of how it turned out. I was telling someone the other day about it, and he said, "You talk about it like it's a term paper or something." It's deadlines. They give me the heebie jeebies. They sit there, looming in the future, just waiting to beat me. I always meet deadlines but not without a lot of sweat (and sometimes tears) leading up to them. I can't imagine how real writers handle deadlines that are set a year (or even two) in the future. I would have a nervous breakdown before the year was up. A month was long enough for me. Sigh. HAPPY Friday, everyone!

Lilacs!

Picked by Lola and Gigi while mama was at work :)

Frolicking

Let's all chase daddy!

Hide and seek

Picking dandelions

Watching the birdies fly by

(I think she gets the bird-watching from her great-grandma Alice)

More KETCHUP!

She definitely gets this obsession from her daddy.

Perfect rainy day recipe

This is what we had for dinner tonight:

It was delicious!

Matt was very suspicious about kale in soup...

...but he was pleasantly surprised.

He even had two bowls!

White Bean and Kale Soup

1/2 onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 bunch kale, torn into bite-size pieces

1/2 cup red lentils

1 can white beans, drained and rinsed

1 pound turkey sausage, diced and browned

4 cups vegetable broth (or chicken) + 2 cups water

Olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Saute onion, carrots and celery in olive oil. Brown sausage in separate pan. Add white beans and lentils to the onion mixture. Add broth, water, kale and sausage. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and let simmer about 30 minutes. Top with shaved parmesan. Serve with crusty bread. (We didn't have any crusty bread, but crusty bread would have been awesome with this.)

We're so happy spring is here!

Technically not until Tuesday, but we'd like to think it arrived early this year.

Happy Sunday!

18 months

Lola is 18 months and 10 days. She's closer to two years than to one, and some days I can definitely sense that the TTs (terrible twos) are creepin' in. She is incredibly vocal and repeats E.V.E.R.Y.thing we say. I was making oatmeal one morning, and it almost boiled over (on my new stove!), and I panicked and said a slightly colorful four-letter word, which she promptly repeated. Ooopsie. And she seems to really listen to everything we say, too, especially when we're talking about her. But when Matt and I try to have a conversation (that doesn't involve her), she gets really LOUD.

Her 18-month checkup was last week - she weighs 28 pounds (90th percentile) and is 35 inches tall (105th percentile). What can I say, the kid is gonna be tall. She eats pretty much everything we eat, including Jackie's pizza on Friday nights (which she loves). She also eats roasted broccoli, kale and brussels sprouts. Go figure! She still loves avocados - she calls them "tados." Sometimes we go long stretches without them, but I just bought several at the grocery store, and she has been asking for them (and eating them) every day for a week. She's also putting two and three words together. Instead of just saying "more" at mealtimes she says "more tado" or "more berries."

 

She can count to five. In fact, this morning as I was changing her diaper, out of the blue she said, "one, two, three, four, five." Totally random! She can almost count to 10. It usually goes something like this... "one, two, three, four, five, six, seven... nine." Speaking of diapers, she isn't potty-training yet, but she's curious about it. When we stayed with cousins Chaney and Keaton back in February Lola was very intrigued by Chaney's potty chair, so we got her one. She likes to sit on it for a few seconds, then stand up and say "done!" I don't think she's quite ready to lose the diapers, but she's getting close.

The time change wasn't too hard on us over the weekend. Lola adapted pretty well, and like the rest of us, she just doesn't want to get out of bed while it's still dark outside. She sleeps about 12 hours at night and takes an hour nap during the day. It usually takes her a while to wake up in the mornings. She is obsessed with Elmo, and she likes to watch country music videos. She usually requests the Honey Bee video by Blake Shelton - incidentally she thinks Blake is her dad. I can see the resemblance, can't you? There are plenty of times she wants her mama, but at the end of the day (see photo at left), she's a daddy's girl all the way.

A rainy day + a cardboard box = one happy kiddo

What to do on a rainy Sunday?

Crawl in a box with your dog.

Then break out the crayons and color all over said box.

Why didn't we think of this sooner?

Lola language

Boodaboot, noun
[boo-DA-boot]
The latest word in her growing vocabulary, the meaning is somewhat unknown. We have gathered that it is indeed a noun. Use boodaboot in a sentence? Okaaay... "Mommy is a boodaboot." "Daddy is a boodaboot." "Lola is a boodaboot." Makes perfect sense now... right?

A trip to the farm

Last Sunday we drove out to my grandpa's farm to show Lola the cows ("moo cows" as she calls them). This was her first time seeing them up close and in person. (A little history on the farm: My grandpa passed away two years ago this month. I was about three months pregnant with Lola, so she never got to meet him. But, the family kept the farm... and the farm dog, Blackie. Matt takes care of Blackie, and we lease the farm to another farmer, who has several mama cows and calves on it right now. I see many more trips out there in Lola's future. She loved it!)

Her first glimpse of the farm... she's intrigued.

That's Blackie out front. Even though Matt has been taking care of him for two years, he's still very skittish and keeps his distance, so we didn't get to pet him.

"Moooooooo" (yes, she spoke to the cows)

This one got really close!

Lola loves to ride in daddy's truck (and help drive - lord help us)

Refreshing

2 quarts water

1 lemon, thinly sliced

1/2 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced

1 orange peel

Let sit in refrigerator overnight (or for at least 8 hours if you can). You can refill the pitcher once after you down the first batch. It's so refreshing.

Thank you for the recipe, Lori! We've been chugging this stuff.

Happy Sunday

I've been told the blog has gotten stale (thank you, hubby). Needless to say we've been a bit busy around here, gearing up for spring and summer at the lake. The boat dock is open 7 days per week now. We're getting closer and closer to having Lake Harbour Resort up and running. We're in the process of leasing the campground from the Corps of Engineers. Yep. Lil bit busy. But, I don't like neglecting the blog. I have lots of new pictures to share, and an 18-month update coming your way. So, don't stray too far. Here's one to hold you over... hope you're enjoying this beautiful Sunday, too!