Date Night

Last night Man-Love and I went on our monthly date night. This time we went out for dinner here.
It was wonderful.
We sat here in the corner.


Having a cow's milk allergy it was amazing to be able to order dinner and dessert off the menu without having to ask for substitutions or changes to the recipe. I had the Free range Nova Scotia Lamb burger at the recommendation of our server- who was knowledgeable and very friendly. I also had a side Apple salad and roasties- which were delicious.
Man-Love had the Scallop and Sun-dried tomato pasta which wasn't as good as mine, but still fresh and yummy. The dessert was by far the highlight of the meal. For starters the coffee was divine- but the dessert really took the cake - hahaha
Let me preface this by saying that with my milk allergy I had given up on ever having cheese cake again- which is devastating as it is my favorite dessert. Yeah, I know that there are substitutions you can make but after living a life filled with substitutions for dairy products- I was not hopeful. But, Man-Love wanted to try the Chocolate-Tofu Pie and so, we asked the server about it. His explanation of how it is made and how people love it had me sold on at least trying it, so we ordered a piece to share. That was the only mistake because I really should have gotten my own piece ;) It was - and I can't believe I am saying this- better than any cheesecake I have ever had. Period. No chalky milk aftertaste, smooth, silky, chocolaty, heaven. This has made a Wooden Monkey customer out of me!


Oh- and the conversation was nice too :)

pictures

So, today I plan on finding and charging my camera so that I can post some pics. So sometime after baking bread- which I do every Tuesday and Friday, and doing my chores, I will find my camera and take some pics. There you have it so be patient!

Co-Sleeping

The oh-so-very artistic rendition of co-sleeping is the nightly norm in our house. When Man-Love works late the Cat known as "Duckie" is usually in his spot. The men of the house enjoy a plethora of room while I am a human teddy.

Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way :)

For us, co- sleeping started when Marble was a few months old- also known as the brief when the crib was not used as an expensive laundry receptacle era. The crib was an incredible time waster for me. I would spend endless hours rocking and singing Marble to sleep, only to put her in her crib and have her wake up screaming and then repeat the whole process multiple times. And for those readers who having anything to say suggesting CIO (crying it out) don't bother- it was and is against every fiber of my being. Even back then- before I had read any thing to back up what I was feeling- I knew that babies needed to be near their mothers and that leaving them alone in a room to cry was wrong. I was, however, naive enough to believe that I could trick my child into sleeping in a crib by putting her in when she was asleep and gingerly tip-toeing out of the room...and...that's how I discovered co-sleeping! :)
Fast- forward a few years later and, despite many family member's queries of "When is that child going to have her own bed" and "She still sleeps with you?", Marble is still in bed with us. Does anyone really want to sleep alone- in a room by themselves- especially a toddler? I know I didn't! The special moments I've shared with Marble- the groggy "I love you so much mommy- I just want to fall asleep holding your hand" at the age of 2 and all the times I can be there at night when she has a bad dream are worth it. I say "worth it" but I am having a hard time thinking about any negative things I've had to put up with. I can't... I never had to leave my warm bed at night to go comfort a crying baby or child, I always got a good nights sleep, even when the babo's were infants, and,here's the real kicker- my kids both sleep in- usually until 8.
Ok, so now that you want to co-sleep too ;) you really must invest in a king size bed! It was the best decision I've ever made. And Man-Love appreciates all of the space, I'm sure ;)

ambitious day

It's supposed to be nice here today- 4 degrees in fact! I am hoping that we will finally get around to our after lunch walk in Point Pleasant Park that we have been talking about making a daily ritual for the past 2 weeks!

It seems that my "to do" list has been on my mind a lot lately. So, I may as well get it off my chest and onto 'paper' because then it has a better chance at getting done. The biggest things are - clean the office and bedroom, write in the girls journals for the first time since before Christmas *eeek*, resume...ok,ok...start my exercise program, finish the socks I have been knitting for the past 4 months....I need to stop as I am feeling slightly stressed. So, off I go to do something productive until this feeling goes away!

epic waffle maker fail

So, This morning was technically one of my 2 mornings per week to sleep in. Instead I thought it would be a wonderful idea to get up and make waffles. I was wrong. It went something like this:
8:00 am get up to make waffles
8:30 am cursing waffle maker
8:31 am wishing I had stayed in bed.

Man-Love was pretty funny when he commented that if I was "one-of-THOSE-people" who always updates their status on facebook it would look something like the above time line.

I am attempting -to try- to begin -to think about-;) starting myself on a schedule for cleaning and practicing. I guess I think that since nothing else is really working and I am constantly feeling like an over-boiled kettle something has to change. Maybe intense scheduling is what I need--in my heart I know it isn't though- I already do too much so maybe less is actually what I need. Maybe I need to get rid of some 'stuff' that way I'd have a lot less to clean.....hmmmmm....