Around the House

Some things that are neither here nor there; an assortment of adventures in life this week around the house.

Culinary Expeditions~
Two of the many recipes suggested in this post were put to the test, and both to great success! This included my first ever attempt at a roast, complete with the embarrassing moment when I had to ask the meat man in the grocery store exactly what kind of meat is used in a pot roast. He led me to a section of meat ambiguously labeled with large stickers that said "pot roast," doing his best to act like this was a question he was asked routinely. His tact did not go unnoticed. That turned out to be the toughest part of my roast preparation, and the finished product was a winner. I also tried the taco soup recipe someone supplied, and I have been enjoying that one all week. The kitchen is definitely not the place I spend most of my time, but what I loved about these two selections was the payback with the leftovers! Cook one night and eat for three. That I can do.

Also related to new food adventures is Adrienne's introduction into the world of table food, so far, an introduction she has spurned. The doctor gave me the go ahead to begin giving her some soft table foods instead of baby food if she will tolerate it. Oh boy, I thought, now Adrienne will be able to sit in her seat and eat unassisted at her chair. What a nice change of pace this will be, I mused. And so I have begun with things from dinner, like a bean from the taco soup or a mushed carrot from the roast. Delicious things. Things her sister would have gobbled before they had hardly had a time to touch the plate. But these things we soon found out are quite repulsive to Adrienne. In fact, if forced into her mouth, she launches into a mellow dramatic rendition of someone dying from food poisoning. Maybe that's what she considers we are doing to her. In any case, it is still baby food for now.

Fitness Soirees~
Before Adrienne, I actually used to exercise. I ran several times a week, and for the most part I enjoyed doing it. But now, especially during these cold months, I've traded the actual "exercising" for my own brand of fitness fun. Here's the basic idea. Cleaning up the play room= Right lunge, pick up the book, left lunge, clean up the play groceries, double lunge, clean up Candy Land, double lunge, pick up the dolls. Heading to the tv to clean up the DVDs = Walk two steps, throw two punches, walk to two steps, kick to the right, walk to two steps, kick to the left. Deep knee bend, grab the first DVD, deep knee bend, grab the next. The list goes on, as would the entertainment if Nathan ever decided to install a Nanny Cam. Does this work? Probably not. I'm sure a treadmill would be the more conventional solution, but for now, I'll keep plugging away.

Soapy Encounters~
I recently switched the soap in the guest bathroom to instant foaming soap from Bath and Body works without thinking about what this would do to revolutionize Marianna's hand washing habits. It's been a full week now, and I believe she has spent at least thirty minutes each day, usually with the door locked, enamored with the magical soap. I didn't notice at first, but then I began to pick up on some significant absences every time she announced she needed to use the bathroom. I quickly caught on. This whole soap sud affair reached a climax last night when after an unusually long time locked away in the bathroom, I decided to check and see what was going on. I found Marianna, with not a stitch of clothing on, lathered up from head to toe. But it didn't end there. The floor, the door, and the bathroom walls were all generously soaped. The truth that later poured out was something to this affect. Marianna had not been able to get her play dress off in time to avoid a small accident in front of the potty. She then jumped to action cleaning the mess by soaping everything in sight. At least as far as messes go, it was a clean one =)

Singing Revelations~
I have found myself singing around the house with a little more than normal gusto and volume. It doesn't matter what it is, a hymn, a Disney sing-a-long, something from iTunes, each time I sing I find myself hoping that something amazing is going to come out of these vocal chords. Sometimes I even wonder, "hey, that wasn't bad, was it?" and then I'll sing later to Nathan and he brings me back down to size. It's hard to say why. I see there being a very great possibility that it is rooted in American Idol. But whatever the case, I feel positive that the thing I am most looking forward to about my heaven body is a new voice. I think the reason God didn't give me one here is because He knew I would be, how can I say this delicately, carried away. Yes, it would be a source of more than a little pride in my life, so He is reserving that belt-it-out voice I'm longing for now for some day later. One more thing to be looking forward to in Heaven.

My First Blood~
I'll end on this slightly gorey note. I have just today encountered my first blood as a parent. Marianna came up stair telling me that she had stepped on a shiny stick. She then plunked a bloodied foot onto my lap as further evidence. I've got to say that her calm helped keep me calm, because I don't think I would have done well if she had been in hysterics. We went downstairs, cleaned her up, and then found the culprit. A distressingly long shard of glass turned out to be the shiny stick she had been talking about.

As you can see, it's definitely not something you want turning up on your living room rug!


And here is the patient, posing with her Hello Kitty band-aid. I offered to carry her around, but she told me she could manage on her heel. Braver than her mom, no doubt about it.