Day 24

Monday

9.26.16

Day 1 of 5 of workouts for the week accomplished. I was feeling pretty exhausted by 2 o'clock this afternoon due to exhaustion, but I took a quick 10 minute nap while my mom was here and that helped rejuvenate me quite a bit!

People: Today we got to hang out with my mom for a bit. She joined us on our little afternoon excursion and even made dinner for us (which was super sweet). 

Everyone watches a movie at the Baltimore Museum of Industry

Places/Activities: This afternoon we went to a neighborhood event for The Baltimore Museum of Industry. It was quite enjoyable. I had never been to the museum before and was surprised by all of the neat things you could see and do there. Riley especially enjoyed the rocket craft. Slightly off topic, but the brand new National African American History Museum just opened this past weekend. I was reading an article about it just this morning and a woman (I can't remember her name) was discussing how being in the museum was like being in her story. That her family's story was there in that museum and how much it meant to her. I kinda felt that way about being in The Baltimore Museum of Industry tonight. My mother's entire family grew up in Baltimore. One of my great aunts worked in the umbrella factory, my grandmother at the switchboard of the telephone company, my grandfather at the ship yard, and one of my great uncles for a photographer. When I was looking at the image of the women making umbrellas I'd by lying if I said that I didn't squint to see if she wasn't among the women pictured there (she wasn't). There was an old switchboard like the ones my grandmother used to work on display. So many artifacts and so much history in one place. It was kind of amazing. I think anyone with ties to Baltimore or an interest in Baltimore should definitely check it out. 

Umbrella factory workers

Good Deeds: This is a little bit of a stretch for a good deed, but good deeds don't always have to be big things or cost a lot of money. They can be small things. Today as Squeak and I were working on one of those little plastic bead crafts (the kind you have to iron after making a design) she was commenting about how she was going to keep it. I had to comment that we don't need to keep everything we make. That sometimes you get more happiness over bringing someone else a little joy than holding on to something. So, after some thought she decided that she would be making it for her Granny to give to her at Thanksgiving. I hope that as she gets older she continues to think about the impact she can have on others through being thoughtful and doing small good deeds (as well as big good deeds too). 

Chores: Not too terribly much today. Just two loads of laundry and the standard dishes. 

Reading: I'm currently reading the book, The Day My Mother Left by James Prosek. I'm fairly certain I will finish it before I go to bed tonight. It's a book that I purchased on a whim while at Borders (yes, Borders - that alone tells you how long I've had it) and I have started it on a number of occasions but have completely failed at finishing it. Not because it isn't good, but because I get sidetracked with the five million other things I typically have on my plate. Then by the time I get around to picking it back up again I've forgotten what happened and have to read it all over again. Instead I typically choose to start reading a different book. Not this time! This time I am finishing it!

Random Thoughts: Something I can (but probably shouldn't) do as a stay at home mom… Wear pajamas during the day time. I mean, I technically don't have to work… I could just be comfortable all day. I mean, I see women out and about all the time wearing pajama pants to the store. But if I went out in public, I would still likely have to take off my shirt to put on a bra, and by that point I'd be half way there anyway, so what the heck. In just three weeks as a SAHM I've had these thoughts more than once I'm ashamed to admit. I think one of these days I will schedule a pj day though. Maybe in the winter when it's snowing and we can all snuggle up and play games, read books, and drink hot cocoa all day. :)

Recipes: Today I made a modified version of the Overnight Oatmeal on the Michele Olivier's Baby Foode website. I love this oatmeal and it freezes so well for the babies (or for older kids and adults for that matter. The crock pot makes so much you have to freeze it because you'll never use it all before it goes bad unless you are having an oatmeal party. Here's what I did to modify the recipe for what I call my "Apple Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal"… I didn't add vanilla and instead of the 4 cups of recommended fruit, I sliced up 3 apples and added an entire can of pumpkin. I also recommend doing what Michele suggests and using 4 cups of milk and 4 cups of water instead of all water. The flavor is so much better with the milk. Lastly, instead of nutmeg I used 1 teaspoon of Pumpkin Pie spice. Delicious! The best part is that I was able to use the apples from our Hungry Harvest box for the recipe!

Yum!

Chipmunk cheeks!