PSA - and admission of error......

Soooooooooooooo, I was taught a very long time ago that you type two spaces after a period. Since then, that is how I have always done it.  Chris has always done one.  It drives me crazy. He has me proofread his school papers all the time and I would always correct the spacing after the period. He is smart - like, very smart. He has also had great education and is a great writer, so it always perplexed me that he didn't know this.  Yesterday I saw this:

Why you should never, ever use two spaces after a period.

I am willing to admit when I was wrong - and I was. Well, since we don't use typerwritters anymore. I KNOW I'm not alone in this! 

Here is my public apology to Chris!!!  Sorry Love!!!

(He didn't ask for one, but I feel it is appropriate). 

While typing this I have tried to do ONE space after each period. I know I haven't done it with each one. I'm trying though.  Old habits die hard.

Are you a single spacer or a double?

Sun Tea

I have fond memories of G'ma setting out a glass jar full of water and tea bags and the yummy "Sun Tea" that was produced.  I've also come to the realization she must have put a LOT of sugar in there!  The other year I even looked online for a jar to buy, but only found plastic ones and, well, I prefer the tried and true (and non-leaching) glass method.  Our first trip to the Fred Meyer (think super grocery store with clothes and, well, everything else too) produced an impulse buy of a GLASS container for FIVE bucks!  I'll admit, the top doesn't seem to really screw on and you certainly can't lift it from the handle when there is any liquid in there, but I adapt and happily carry it cradled in my hands.  Ever since I got it I have been meaning to make some tea, but you know how that goes........

This morning when I was rinsing it out from the lemonade (powder) I had made in it I thought about the tea and no more procrastinating!  If you keep saying you'll get to it later that might be never!  So I made the maiden sun tea voyage!

Doesn't the sight of it just make you smile? :-)

I used eleven tea bags and the jar holds a gallon of water. 

The brew might have been a bit strong, but I also left it out for at least four hours while we ran errands.  It is still very enjoyable.  Even better and decadent if you add a little sugar and a little half and half. ;-)

I think this will be a perfect way to take advantage of the big - huge - beautiful - cloudless Idaho sky this summer!!!

Ziffy Whomper

Ever heard of a Ziffy Whomper?  Well, I hadn't.  Not before we went to a yard sale a couple weeks ago and Chris found one.  He saw it's potential.  He saw the fun.  I just saw a little red sled that seemed slightly overpriced.  Leave it to Chris to know how to give Little Lady the time of her life!

She loves the ride, he got a great workout, and it'll be even better in the winter!

Socializing and Getting Domestic

 I've been trying to get adjusted to my new found role as "homemaker".  Yes, I have been working from home for well over a year and a half, but there is a HUGE difference between running a home daycare and just being in charge of your own child.  Lots of bonuses - I can run errands during the day, do laundry during the day, do cleaning during the day, plan and prepare meals and so on.  However, there are some drawbacks too - I swear having other kids around really makes it easier to watch your own child.  They entertain each other so you can get little things done, like load the dishwasher without a child putting a strong hold on your leg.  Doing daycare also helps keep you and the kids on a schedule so you don't loose track of time and you typically have planned activities that help teach lessons or foster creativity and confidence.  It is also kind of fun (usually) having all those kids around and teaching them and doing fun things with them!

One big reason I did home daycare back in Maryland was because I wanted Little Lady to be socialized and spend time with other kids.  I've been getting involved in playgroups here to make sure she gets that interaction.  She really misses the daycare kids!  Meetup.com has been great for that and we've gone to a couple "events" through the Boise Babies and Tots group. 

Our first "event" was playing in the fountains Downtown.  It was perfect weather, sunny and hot!

Enjoying herself - dancing to her own tune!

Getting more comfortable, hanging out with the kids now.

There is a local gym that has a free "class" every Wednesday. It is really just kids dancing to songs together, doing stretches, doing some music and listening to stories - but hey, she loves it and it is FREE! Right up my alley.

She is a bit shy when we go, we've only been twice so far.  She is warming up to it!

Following along.

Apparently having a "Super Star" moment.  Sometimes she marches to the beat of her own drum. :)

We have also found, and joined, a local Catholic church.  They have a play group as well that meets every Friday.  This has been a GREAT find.  It is a smaller group so it is easier for her, and ME, to socialize and get to know people.  She also then gets to see the kids on Sundays when we go to mass.  They only have one mass on Sunday, so everyone is there at the same time.  I've been told they planned it that way because a large part of church is supposed to be the community - so when they built it they made sure the whole congregation could fit at once and made the schedule to encourage the whole community to be there at the same time.  Lots of kids and families at this parish.  Perfect setting.  The first playgroup we attended there happened to be their yearly "field trip" to the library. 

Little Lady already had her very own library card she picked out earlier.  Love this girl's taste!

We rode the public bus to the Downtown library.  Her first ride on a bus!  She loved it!

Playing with the kiddos outside the library.

I think this group will be great for all of us and look forward to a summer full of play with them all!

As we are getting settled in, I'm also getting back to some things we enjoy, like baking.  Little Lady LOVES to help with that and I think it is great hands on learning stuff for her.  We'll have to host a play date here for some kids to do some baking.  I think it is great for teaching measuring, patience and taking turns.  I love when Colette will stop stirring something and say "Mommy turn" - handing me the spoon so I can have a turn. :-)  I hope to have more regular activities like this planned to ensure we are doing meaningful activities together, instead of me just cleaning and unpacking while she plays.  Together time is such an important thing but can be so easily missed.  I already worry about splitting up my time when Bambino gets here, but - hey, parent's do it every day, right!?  I'll figure it out!

We made Creamy Whole Wheat Flax Seed Biscuits.  Another find from Delia Creates.  You can find the specific recipe here.  I just had regular flax seeds, so I sprinkled them in and it still came out nicely.  Honey is one of Colette's favorite things, so she especially liked that ingredient.  Funny story:  we were at the Coop the other week and I wanted to get some local honey.  She saw the containers and started shouting "Yay, please honey milk please?" - I had no idea what honey milk was.  I asked her if it was one of Papa's creations for her but she just kept repeating "Please, honey milk, please."  I later asked him about it and it was a honey variation on his "Pirates Milk" (milk, vanilla and sugar) where he just mixed honey in.  Apparently he hadn't made it for her in months, but it left an impression on her!

Using one of her cups to cut out the biscuit.

Lifting it up to put on the tray.  I'm a huge fan of white whole wheat flour now.  Didn't know it existed!  I always just mix whole wheat and white flour when making breads so it doesn't come out too dense.  Very easy recipe that is fun for both of us and minimal cleanup.  Extra bonus: they taste great - and she loved them even more because she helped make them!

So, we are having lots of fun and getting settled into our roles here.  Lots to see and do, but getting back to a "normal" home life and those every day things that we enjoy!

 

Awwwwww

Just had to share.  Who wouldn't love looking out the window while making dinner to see this.

Life is good.  :-)

A day at the Beach

Mother's Day and Chris' birthday happened to fall on the same day this year.  Chris wanted to explore and get outside and I would have been happy to just sit and do nothing.  So what did we do?  We went to the beach!  Yup, the beach.  Didn't think Idaho had those, did you?  Well, it is a version of a beach.  We went to Lucky Peak reservoir where they have a sort of beach and water area set up for recreation.  On the other side of the dam is boating, but down below is nice calm coooooooooooooooooooooooold mountain water with sprinklers and fountains.  There is also a great grassy area with picnic tables and grills.  We got there before most people, but by the time we left there were tons of people having cookouts and enjoying the beautiful scenery and weather.

We kept telling little lady we were going to go to a beach.  She wanted to play in the kiddie pool in the backyard, so it took a lot of convincing to get her in the car.  When she got out she started shouting "YAY!!!  Good Yob (job)!  You found it!" and clapping her hands. 

I'd say she was pleased. :-)

Great warm, sunny day!

I got to do some lounging.

Lots of kids to play with.

Nice views.

Ultimately a very enjoyable day.  We will certainly be doing LOTS of visits there this summer!  Looking forward to when the water warms up too!  Now I just need to find something to stuff my ever expanding body into for some water time.  *SIGH*  The joys of summer.......and pregnancy.

The Botanical Gardens

May 11th was National Public Gardens Day, so there was free admission to the Idaho Botanical Garden.  One neat thing I found out through the Boise Babies and Tots group that I joined on meetup.  The group is basically a Mom's and Dad's group for Boise area parents.  There are playgroups and events posted.  It has been a GREAT source for finding neat, FREE things to do in the area and getting Colette together with other kids for playtime!

Back to the garden! We decided to go for a visit after Chris got home from work. A very nice way to spend the evening and get out of the house. Certainly lifted my mood after spending all day inside unpacking - which can feel very isolating.

Ringing the bell!

Venus fly traps!  Very cool!

Chris introducing little lady to his love of bugs.

She's not sold....

Lovely evening!

We finished off the evening with dinner Downtown.  While there we saw an interesting site pedaling down the street.  First off, I forgot to mention that Boise is bike friendly - and when I say that, I mean it - the city almost seems to be built around biking, so bikes are EVERYWHERE!  The "bike" coming down the street had a bunch of cheering adults that were all pedaling - from barstools.  There was someone in the front steering and a bunch of "patrons" sitting at the bar pedaling away and whooping it up!  Fascinating.  I did a quick search online and it appears they are called the Boise Bike Bar.  It doesn't look like they serve booze - but I'm guessing the people on board were on one of their pub crawls.  They certainly seemed jubilant.  *correction* I looked at their site closer and apparently they will provide you with a cooler and a red solo cup to enjoy whatever beverages you bring on board to enjoy!  Just another interesting part of the Boise life!

Bountiful fun.

Some things in life just give you warm, sunny feelings.  Boise has lots of those.  One neat thing that we have here is Bountiful Baskets.  I learned about it from a blog I like to visit, one I actually got several ideas from for our homemade Christmas presents, Delia Creates.  I checked out the site and realized it is offered in Idaho and decided to give it a try and I am so happy we did!  You basically show up at a specified place at a specified time.  You pay ahead of time online so you just need to show your receipt when you get there and bring bags to carry your haul with. 

We got all of this for $15. 

Little lady enjoyed the pineapple!

Making an apple and blackberry cobbler to use up our bounty.

Perhaps one of the best parts was not knowing what we were going to get.  We ended up with stuff that I would never buy at the store, just because I wasn't sure what to do with it.  I was challenged to try new things (never bought blackberries before) and learn how to cut up new fruits (had never cut up a mango before).  We then had all this stuff we had to use, so we were basically forced to incorporate a variety of fresh fruits and veggies into our everyday cooking.  We will certainly be doing it again!

There was one hiccup with the basket pickup - the truck was running late.  Apparently it has never happened before, but of course it would happen our first time!  We ended up having to come back an hour later, but luckily we ran into some neat fun in a nearby parking lot while we waited!

What, you don't randomly see horses in parking lots where you live?  They happened to be in town for the rodeo championships (yes, for realz) and were doing rides to benefit a charity.

Little Lady and Papa got to go for a ride!  She kept yelling "Giddyap!"

Little Lady has also been having lots of fun in the yard with Mika. They both have lots of room to run around. Their fun is my fun!

She likes to "walk" her around the yard.

Helping plant flowers.

Cheese!  Love it!

Seriously, I can play in this?

She was even able to convince Mika to get in!

And this is some of the bountiful fun we've been having in Boise!  I'm trying to get caught up to date, hence so many posts.  I'm almost there!  Then I'll be able to post as we go!

So, are you ready to visit yet?!?

Some differences.....

We have noticed quite a few differences between Maryland and Idaho. Obviously, some of them we were expecting - and hoping for - but some were a bit of a surprise.

Just want to share some of them with you.

• People are taller here. Seriously. I'm 5'10" and stood much taller than most women in Maryland. Not so here. Not even close. Need proof? They sell size 11 tennis shoes for women at Costco. You could NEVER find a size 11 at Costco in Maryland. I've done some looking around to see if there have been any studies on the average height of Idahoans being greater than the national average but have yet to find anything. Odd considering I'm pretty sure I recently heard of a study being done to study federal studies. I mean - if you're going to spend money on that, wouldn't you want to know why people in Idaho seem to be taller first? Maybe it's just me....

THIS is a KID's size breakfast.  Eggs, sausage and pancakes.  For $3.99. 

• Lotion is an ESSENTIAL part of life here. I have been blessed with a more "Mediterranean" complexion that typically produces enough oil to moisturize itself quite nicely, sometimes enough to even cook a meal - at least it did in Maryland. We all now have to apply lotion all over every time we bathe. One bonus - my hair can go longer without washings. With all there is to do here and another bundle on the way - I am more than happy to be able to space that out without it being obvious! My little peaches and cream, sensitive skin little lady has not done as well with the dryness. She has had some issues, but intense moisture cetaphil seems to be helping.  Sunscreen is also an essential item to have on you at all times.  The sky here is amazing - huge, cloudless, endless.  However, it gives you a pretty intense exposure too.  After an hour and a half at the reservoir and several applications to Ms. Peaches and Cream it became clear we had to upgrade from a 50 spf to a 70 spf that is longer lasting and can be applied to wet skin.

Eczema is apparently a VERY common issue here. :-(

 

• One thing that is different here - but you don't notice it at all - is that everyone has guns.  You'll think about it for a minute when you're entering a hospital and they have a sign posted that it is a gun free zone and to please leave it in your car - but other than that it isn't obvious at all.  You realize that a large number of the people around you are carrying, but you wouldn't know it.  I honestly feel safer because of it and let's just say robbery rates are a COMPLETELY different beast here than in Maryland.  Chris very happily received his approval for a concealed carry permit this week.  He is now officially an Idahoan - drivers license and cc permit.  Safety classes and education will be an essential part of little lady's upbringing.

And THIS is how a reelection campaign is apparently run in Idaho!  Count the number of guns this lady is sporting!

• Brand names are different here.  I went to buy some mayo and picked up the old familiar brand but noticed the name on it was different.  It was the Hellman's logo - but it said "Best Foods."  I was discussing this with an Aunt of mine and she suggested that maybe they decided people here wouldn't buy something with the word "Hell" in the title.  I thought that sounded fun and was going to go with that, but she later emailed me a link with the actual reason.

Bring out the Best Foods, and bring out the Best.  Seems a little repetitive.

• Last, but not least, for now - people have more kids here.  We were noticing most families seemed to be carting around at least three kids.  It intrigued me so I looked it up and it looks like Idaho ranks second, behind Utah, for most kids per family, with over two being the average.  Could be one of the reasons it seems like such a great place to raise kids - there are so many!  Seems to have something to do with the high Mormon population.

Our growing family.

Early Explorations

We've done a bit of exploring since we've gotten here.  Chris had done quite a bit on his own during his trips the month before and was eager to share his findings with us.

One of our first stops was Lowes to buy a washer and dryer - so pay no mind to the pj shirt Colette is wearing in the pictures below.  I can also honestly say I've never been as excited to do laundry as when they got delivered.

When we were leaving Lowes, Chris somehow spotted - *gasp* - Cabella's!  What were the odds.....so of course he had to show us around.  I've got to say, Cabella's has that place set up to encourage a family to stay there as looooooooong as possible.  Between the fish tanks, mountain with animals in the middle and the heads mounted in the entire store, a kid can run around there for hours.....and that means a parent can run after them for hours as well.  That then means the other parent can shop for hours.  A man's paradise.  It would have been perfect if it had a food court of some sort.......or maybe that is the pregnancy talking.  Either way, little lady loved it and was very excited to see all the animals and we have visited several times since.  We also picked up a nice bright vest for Mika and a flashing led collar - to help protect her from being mistaken as a wolf if we are wandering about. 

She was very excited about the turkeys.  I don't think she realized they were decoys.  She kept petting them and whispering "Hi turkey" and trying to give them kisses.  She did seem a bit confused when one of their heads fell off.

After dropping off our finds at the house, Chris wanted to show us Lucky Peak reservoir, which is nearby.  As we approached we noticed some sign about a "rooster tail" and there were traffic cones and people from the Army Corps of Engineers keeping traffic moving along or directing it into parking lots.  What was going on?  What the heck was a rooster tail?

"Whoa!!!"  THAT is a rooster tail.  There has been lots of rain here lately and they had to release some - okay, maybe a lot of- water into the river, thus resulting in what is called the "rooster tail."

It is hard to get an idea of the true scale of this thing - but it was HUGE.  Apparently it is only an occassional thing so it is attracts lots of people when they do it. 

I just think this picture is so cute.

We are fortunate to be living pretty close to the Oregon Trail - yes, that one - and can enjoy walks along it very quickly and easily.  Mika loves it - and all the smells that it has.

The view.

Little lady prefers to walk - no stroller for her.

Of course she also likes to sit and look at rocks.

 Lots of our exploring has also consisted of driving around, enjoying the scenery and my getting snappy with Chris on all of the unpaved roads.  Hey - I'm pregnant and had placenta previa - I had a right to be antsy!  Here are some of the views near us.

Lots to see - lots of different landscapes - lots to look forward to!