Park fun!

We have a park and a zoo just 5 minutes down the road from our house. We got an annual family membership, because we're so far away from family and it gives us something to do. It's a lot of fun, with great playground equipment and cute animals. Except for the alligators. I think I'm developing an irrational fear of alligators. I mean, I know these ones are behind gates and all, but .... they're scary!

Daddy came with us to the park for the first time yesterday, and we had a great time on the swings!

Fun in Fall

October has always been one of my favorite months. I love the leaves changing colors and the cool crisp air. I have even recently learned to love squash in all of its forms (even zucchini!), which are abundant in the fall. So, I have been excited to see what the fall holds for me in Georgia.

1. Leaves changing color? Um, some of them. We have a lot of evergreen trees around, so the few trees that aren't are slowly deciding that it is fall and they can go ahead and change. It's getting prettier by the day - maybe November will see more leaves change.

2. Cool crisp air? Not so much. It's still getting into the 80s and it was recently in the 90s one day. Steve claims that it's getting into the 40s in the mornings, but I don't believe him (and neither does weather.com). It is slightly cooler in the mornings, but it warms up in a hurry. So, again, maybe November will be a little better.

3. Squash? Check! We have had a lot of squash recently, and it's on the menu again this week in the form of this wonderful-sounding squash and pomegranate salad our friends suggested. (Thanks, Beans!) I know, I know, we're turning into those "strange vegetarian people" you know. Hey, don't worry - I still eat chicken occasionally.

4. The lovely sound and sight of the cotton harvesters. Cotton fields are blooming everywhere! It's crazy - we're almost in November, people!

5. And finally, Halloween! We didn't take Lydia trick-or-treating, because she's not eating candy yet and we didn't feel we needed any more sugar in our lives. But, we did dress her up in a lady bug costume, and I think it turned out really cute!

6. One more thing, I guess. We took Lydia to the beach in Florida for her first time. She had a great time playing in the sand, until we took her into the water. She HATED it! I think it was probably because the water was just a little cold and took a little getting used to. Eventually she warmed up to it - a little bit. She tolerated it. We'll have to practice in big swimming pools until we can get back there.

The Reluctant Vegetarian

So we have been living in southwest Georgia now for about a month, and for just that long, I have become a sort-of, kind-of vegetarian. Not really my idea. But, Steve decided when we moved that he wanted to make some life changes to become a better person. So, we made some drastic changes.

1. We gave up TV. We still have one, and watch movies sometimes, but we no longer have cable or satellite. I didn't really think I could make it without one, but through the miracle of the Internet, I can get my TV fix through USA and TLC online, plus Hulu! It's actually great because I'm finding a lot more time to read and accomplish a lot of goals I've had for a long time. I don't think we'll be getting TV service anytime soon.

2. We only have one car. With Steve being the only breadwinner at the time, we decided we could save a lot of money by only having one car. Steve still has his motorcycle, so it's really not an inconvenience at all. Except when we first moved here and the car broke down and it took the car shop 3 weeks to figure out what was wrong ...... I should save that for another post :)

3. Steve decided that he wanted to lose some weight. In the past, he's tried many different diets: South Beach, Atkins, etc, but he decided the good, old-fashioned way of eating healthier and exercising more was probably going to be the best way. Great. I am all for eating healthier. But when he announced that he was going to become a vegetarian, I freaked out! I love chicken and ribs and bacon and ..... I'm salivating right now so I should stop. Anyway, his compromise is that he still sometimes eats fish, eggs, and dairy. I was very hesitant to help him with this goal because I love meat and I hate beans (where most vegetarians get their protein) and I just didn't know where to start. But, because I love my husband, I reluctantly gave some vegetarian recipes a try. And it's actually not all that bad. We've even had a couple of recipes that we LOVE and will keep on our menu for the rest of our lives, such as:

*Shrimp and Peanut Stir-Fry

*Potato and Kale Enchiladas

*Pinapple Cashew and Quinoa Stir-Fry

*Broccoli and Swiss Soup

*Homemade Pizza with Wheat Crust

*Spinach and Broccoli Lasagna

Now, I should mention that I still eat meat. When Steve's at work during the day, I will sometimes cook myself some chicken or beef for lunch. We went out to eat at Outback last month. Steve got salmon, and I got steak! But I'm seeing some good results happen from this diet. Steve has already lost 25 pounds! I have only lost 2, but I've been eating some candy, so that's something I'll have to change. We have found ourselves trying new veggies, and because of that, we're feeding them to our daughter. Lydia loves them! Maybe this new diet will help her be healthier, because we haven't even introduced any junk food at all to her (besides the 1 lick of ice cream Steve gave her a couple of months ago) and hopefully she will continue to like good, nutritious food. Luckily, with this new diet, we haven't totally cut out dessert. We just eat it less frequently. For example, I made homemade peach cobbler, and we both just loved it! Anyway, we'll see where this diet takes us, but I'm less reluctant than I was at first to eat like a vegetarian.

Lydia and moving

As many of you know, we are moving to southwest Georgia because Steve got a fantastic job teaching voice and choir at a 2-year college. We are excited for this move, because it is really his dream job, and I can start my dream job as a stay-at-home mom!

Unfortunately, Steve had to start working before we had time to move out of our apartment in Ohio, so he stayed in Georgia at a long-term stay hotel while I stayed home and packed. Everything. With a nearly 9-month-old daughter who thinks she should be the main focus of attention all of the time. I have had to be very creative with my packing and cleaning techniques. Luckily, several neighbors have been very generous and helped watch Lydia for a couple of hours here and there so I could get things done. But the majority of my time is spent arranging Lydia in creative playing positions so she is distracted for a few minutes: she has played in normal places like her crib and her exersaucer, but also creative places like the kitchen sink, a bedroom closet, and laundry baskets. Don't worry - I'm keeping a close eye on her, but this way frees me up so I have 2 hands with which to pack things.

I am happy to move this way, but I'm really hoping that when we ever move again, my husband will be here to help! I've never been so exhausted.

Anyway, more blogging to come about our final months in Ohio and the start of our lives in Georgia!

Party Time!

POOL PARTY!

Lydia was invited to her first party ever - her friend Graham hosted a pool party at his house. (OK, really it was his mom since he's 6 months old). The weather was cold and windy, so the pool was moved inside as we watched all of the babies splash around, or in Lydia's case, well....you'll see.

Here is a basic timeline of the events according to Lydia:

Shortly after 3 pm. Lydia arrives at the party and changes into her swimsuit. It's her first swimsuit ever! Isn't it cute!?!

3:15 pm. We take pictures of the kids who have arrived already (more come later) and Lydia tolerates it.

3:30 pm We get the babies in a shallow pool with warm water, some bath toys, and even a few bubbles. Most of the kids are having a great time. Lydia is not sure what to think. She kind of just sits there.

3:33 pm. After careful consideration of everything that has been going on for 3 minutes, Lydia has decided that she, in fact, does NOT want to go swimming today. She starts crying and looking at me with sad little eyes. So, I get her out of the pool, change her into some dry clothes, feed her a little bit, and then:

3:45 pm. Lydia is OUT for the next hour while Mommy eats the snacks, talks with friends, and eventually takes her home.

All in all, it was a fun experience. Lydia went to her first party and made it over 1/2 hour. Hey, it could have been worse!

Steve and Lydia - what fantastic accomplishments!

Steve and Lydia have both recently achieved fantastic goals.

Steve is in his last year of graduate school, and has recently been very busy with trying to wrap up his Master's projects, taking oral examinations, and basically doing WAY too much. Today, he has reached yet another benchmark towards graduating - conducting his graduate recital program. He has been working with a choir at OSU and they performed their concert. They did a wonderful job - and I have to say that Steve really looked at home on that stage. I think he's going to do well on the career path that he has chosen!

But, on to the most exciting news of all! Lydia has started to sleep through the night! (ish). She will sleep at least 7 hours at night, and one night this week she even slept for 9 hours! We are absolutely loving this latest development and hope that it continues! It has really helped with going to school and work - we are not quite the zombies that we used to be. I am still exhausted, but it is definitely getting better! Lydia is the cutest baby! She has started to smile and "talk" to us, and has so many people wrapped around her little finger! She is the darling of the OSU Choral Music Department, and has people falling in love with her wherever she goes.

6th Anniversary

We have now been married for 6 wonderful, wonderful years! We were able to celebrate our anniversary by going out to a nice dinner at Chili's, where we had our first date, while a friend watched our daughter. (Thanks, Katrina!) We are more in love now than we were 6 years ago, and hope the next 6 years are even better!