Wow

Jon has a little motorbike that he rides to and from work. It isn't a full-on motorcycle, in that it can't go over 45 mph and would never make it on the freeway, or even some of the faster roads (I'm looking at you, Santa Fe Dr.), but it is more than a scooter. It makes life much easier when he has to squeeze into the alley behind his shop, and it is saving him money in parking and ticket fees.

Anyway, he filled up the tank this morning and he got 119 miles to the gallon.

119 MPG

And that is why we bought it.

Fortune Cookie Tattoo (in pictures)

Cooking

I find myself in a place I promised I would never be: a three-dinner family. Since starting Atkins, I am eating different foods than Evelyn and Jon. Jon and I rarely eat dinner together because of work schedules, and Evelyn is very much a picky toddler. So I make myself something low-carb with a salad or whatever, Evelyn eats a banana or some Pirate Booty (dinner is her smallest meal of the day), and Jon eats something different when he comes home. Sometimes we all eat the same breakfast, since everyone likes cheesy scrambled eggs. Sometimes Jon eats the same dinner I had, just with some bread or rice on the side. But more often than I would like to admit, the three people in my house and eating three different dinners. Sigh.

I think everyone in my house should eat what I am eating! Why? Because I have had some excellent success with low-carb eating (down 15 pounds and feeling great) and I am finding more ways to make low-carb versions of everyday foods. Like...

• No-Noodle Lasagna. Replace the noodles with blanched strips of thinly-sliced zucchini or eggplant. I thought it tasted great. Jon said he missed the noodle, but if you go in with an open mind and don't expect it to taste exactly the same, I think you'll like it.
• Cheesy Biscuits. Using soy flour instead of white flour, and many eggs for stabilization, these biscuits were a pretty good substitute for a real biscuit. Not the same at all, but decent in their own right.
• Key Lime "Pie." By mixing sugar-free lime jello with cream cheese and unsweetened whipped cream, this was a real treat. I think I could make a crust using almond flour or ground pecans, but I haven't tried it yet.
• Cauliflour Pizza Crusts. I think I wrote about these before, but they warrant a second mention.
• Fritata. Not a low-carb re-do, but a low-carb staple. I love that I can throw whatever miscellaneous meats and vegetables I have leftover in the fridge and have a really good breakfast, lunch or dinner. Our CSA vegetables and eggs are starting this week so I know fritatas will be in high rotation.

So of course everyone in my house is not going to eat a low-carb diet, and Evelyn definitely should NOT eat a low-carb diet, but I hope that as I stick with Atkins for more time and try some experimentation with different recipes, I can find a few "family favorites" that get everyone eating the same meal at least a few times a week.

Also, it would be nice if Evelyn liked a single vegetable...

It's the little things

Another two reasons Evelyn is so awesome:

For her, the universal sign of "shh...someone/something is sleeping" is putting one finger up her nose. I will be truly sad when she figures out the finger doesn't actually have to be up her nose to say "shhh." It is my favorite thing ever.

Also, this morning when I was leaving for work, Evelyn was getting sad and looked at me and said, "Mama, kiss!" It is the first time she has ever said Kiss. So I crouched down and said, "Give mama kisses" and we air kissed (she doesn't like to get up close). Then she said "No!" and ran away. It was perfect.

Capybaras and Yo Gabba Gabba

I have a daughter, as you well know. This daughter is, if I do say so myself, the most awesome human being on the face of the planet. Maybe even the depths of the planet. Maybe the faces of all the planets combined. Let's just say she's super awesome.

Part of her awesomeness includes becoming obsessed with weird things for no discernible reason. For example, she now loves the TV show Yo Gabba Gabba! (If any grandparent-types or other relatives ever see any Yo Gabba Gabba toys out there, Evelyn would love them. I have never seen one!) I'm pretty sure she thinks DJ Lance is super cool, and he is. If this obsession continues into the fall, Jon and I are prepared to dress up as YGG characters for Halloween. He shall be DJ Lance, while I will don the attire of Super Martian Robot Girl. It will be legendary!

Evelyn also recently fell in love with the Capybara. Now what is a capybara, you might ask, as I did when Evelyn first said the word to me? Why, it is the world's largest rodent, native to South America! She saw this creature at the zoo one time--once, people!--and decided it was the greatest animal in the world. She wakes up every morning and asks Jon to find pictures and videos of capybaras on his computer. (No joke.) Every time we get in the car she asks if we are going to the zoo. The child loves the capybara.

I wish I had caught her enthusiasm for the capybara on video, but she gets so stinkin' camera shy. Before the I turned the camera on, though, she was screaming "Capybara!" at the top of her lungs and dancing in a circle. For reals.

All this adorableness would surely kill Jon and I if Evelyn didn't temper it with a whole lot of sassy and boundary pushing. Yes, we are at the stage of development where the answer to everything (save, do you want a cookie?) is NO and we are just idiot parents who don't know anything about anything. I feel this phase may last a while, possibly until she is 22. That is why we are considering legally changing her middle name from Mary to Wilful Runnin Around Baby.

It would suit her...

Miscellaneous updates

I have a handful of unrelated, miscellaneous updates.

First, Evelyn is now sleeping full-time in her Big Girl Bed. I put her new bed in her room last Friday, kept the crib jammed in there somehow for two days just in case, but we never needed it. She loves her big girl bed. Loves it. She likes to crawl around on it, likes to get in and out (but not during the night), likes the cupholder that holds her pacifies, likes the little nightlight on the bed rail. We have a twin mattress and a half-height box spring sitting directly on the floor and it is perfect. We haven't had a single problem. (KNOCK ON WOOD.) She is such a big girl. (I am hopeful that transitioning to a regular bed will help her to sleep better when we are away from the house. She always hated that pak-n-play crib substitute.)

Second, I found a decent substite for pizza on my low-carb diet. This won't be exciting news for most people, but anyone who is gluten-intolerant or eating low-carb foods would be wise to try this out. It sounds weird but it doens't taste weird, and that is all that matters. It is a pizza "crust" made with cooked/riced cauliflower, egg, mozzarella cheese and pizza spices. Done! Bake it up and it gets nice and crispy. Top it with sauce, more cheese and toppings and you have yourself a delicious pizza substitute! No kidding! I am amazed and totally loving this recipe (and if you want it, I'll send it to you). I might try to turn the "dough" into "bread" sticks with butter and garlic next time. Yum!

Third, this weekend is a BABY FREE weekend, as Evelyn is having a little sleepover at her Grandma Lew's house. Woah. I am excited. Jon and I have curling on Saturday morning, roller derby with friends on Saturday night, and Carol was nice enough to offer to take Evelyn so we don't have to pay for two babysitters in one day. If the Saturday night sleepover goes well, Evelyn will also stay there Sunday night. Jon will be working on Saturday, so I'm not sure what I'll do...get my bangs trimmed? Clean the house? Take a nap?! The options are endless.

Fourth, Atkins is going really well. I got a little derailed on my business trip, but I did the best I could and I'm not upset about that. I am down about 11 pounds with a lot of ups and downs around and after the trip, but if I look at a graph of the weight loss, it is generally heading down and I am happy about that. Most important, though, I feel better. I am rarely hungry. I rarely crave any food in particular. My digestion is more normal. I don't feel deprived. I don't feel angry at all the food I can't eat. I don't feel jealous of the people around me, even when they are eating fries. It is liberating--a diet plan that makes me feel better instead of worse.

I think that is all. Random miscellaneous post complete.

Memorial Day Weekend 2010

Memorial Day weekend was, for the Lew clan, a jam-packed, action-filled, non-stop, funtastic extravaganza. At least that is how it felt. We went to the park, we went to the amusement park, we went to the zoo. We played with the hose, we played with sidewalk chalk, we played with the neighbors. Jon was working every day this weekend (boo), so there was a lot of Just Us Girls time, which was fun. Jon did join us for the amusement park, which I am very happy about because I don't know if I would have been so brave without him.


First, on Saturday, Evelyn and I went to a park near our house. She loves the slide (even the "big kid" twisty tube slide), but she loves the swings even more. She is brave. She asks me to push her higher, but if I go too high or too fast she reaches out one arm and holds my hand until the swing is at a more comfortable level. I try to slow it down or stop it entirely, but she doesn't want that. She just wants a little reassurance.



My sister-in-law and nieces came over in the afternoon and we played outside before heading downtown to visit Jon. Three little girls (ages 21 months, 22 months, and 3.5 years) are quite a handful.



The big adventure of the weekend was Lakeside Amusement Park. It is about a million years old and I'm pretty sure I hadn't been there in at least 20 years, but it is great for kids! It has that sketchy carnival vibe, but the small rides for young children seemed alright. (They don't go that fast anyway!) It is $2.50 per person to get in/park, and then $0.50 per ticket to ride. Kids rides are one ticket, adult rides are like three tickets, but we didn't do any of those. Evelyn was so brave! She really liked the rides.


The rocket ships! They go up and down but Evelyn was having fun the whole time. (One funny aside about my girl, she sits in the ride with this super stoic face and you can't tell if she likes it or not, but then she wants to go again!)


Space ships.


The cars. One of only two rides she wanted to do more than once.

Oh my goodness, is that smile!

Big motorcycles. This was the one ride I wasn't so keen on. The strap was just decoration and the body was so wide she was barely sitting on it! But she liked the ride, so I let her go...

The "roller coaster." This ride went pretty fast. I was nervous the whole time, but Jon reassured me that Evelyn was fine.

And the horse chariot. Evelyn wanted to ride ON the horse, not behind it.

Lakeside was fun and it will definitely go into the summer activity rotation, but a holiday weekend wouldn't be complete without a trip to Evelyn's favorite place, the Zoo! It was just the two of us and I didn't take any pictures, but a zoo is a zoo and you get the idea. We rode the "Conservation Carousel" four times (my wild child even went on one of the up-and-down animals!) and I didn't vomit once. Yay for me.

On the way home, we stopped for an ice cream cone and diet coke to sooth our parched mouths. It was a warm weekend, but a nice one.

Like I said, Jon had to work all weekend, but such is the life of the small business owner. It's a good thing he did, though, because Monday was his best day yet! He and his employees did six tattoos, most of them walk-ins! Woo hoo!

I hope everyone had such a fun weekend.