March, 2009
Birthday Cook Off
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 | Family, Linda Curtis | 1 Comment
So, Bud had a surprise party for my 40th birthday. Still can’t believe I’m forty, but there it is. The party was at an indoor arena and there were tons of games, cake and friends. The last event was a cook off, and here are probably more pictures than anyone needs – but that’s just how it is going to be.
playground extravaganza
Friday, March 27th, 2009 | Linda Curtis, Quentin Curtis | 1 Comment
On Wednesday, Clara and Quentin went with me and Ani to the Twin Lakes playground. It was super snowy still, but there was still a lot of fun to be had. These days Quentin is all about walking by himself. So, he was very excited to run around the playground. He enjoyed walking in the deepest snow, and I realized I should have gotten him a pair of toddler snow shoes. Next year for sure. I can hardly wait for the snow to melt. I think Quentin will have a super time when it is easier to run, and not get so wet and cold. He did not want to leave the park, but he was basically soaked – so we had to go.
This kid does not mind the wet cold weather one bit. Today we took the bus into town. He walked all the way to the bus stop by himself. Then he sat like a big boy in the bus seat and we had quite a pleasant ride. He walked up to Sonia’s house by himself. Played like a fool for almost 2 hours – including two fake baths with Sydney. Then walked to Rainbow in the rain and wind, and wanted to stay outside and walk around more. He is a true Juneau child. At Rainbow he had some snacks, and proceeded to fall asleep in the back pack in about 2 minutes. Then slept for almost 3 hours. I was able to get a bunch of work done, some shopping, and loiter around the store waiting for him to wake up and for Bud to come pick us up.
This weekend is going to be so busy. Birthdays, work, dinners, gym, house cleaning…
Hopefully I will remember to have the camera handy.
Clara visits
Monday, March 23rd, 2009 | Linda Curtis, Quentin Curtis | 3 Comments
With only one week left until my 40th birthday, I was doing pretty good with my goal to exercise 40 days in a row. Saturday I ran three miles, which is the farthest I have run since Quentin was born. Saturday afternoon I turned my bad ankle, and by sunday am, I could hardly walk. Such a sad thing for me. I really want to run, ski, snow shoe, hike – basically do everything I can – but I have a bad ankle. So, every now and then it goes out. It is extremely frustrating as my doctor says there is nothing that can be done about it. Basically, there are 4 minor problems. None of which warrant fixing. That was the second opinion. The first said it was a bone spur – but the MRI showed that it wasn’t. Anyway, I spent sunday in pj’s – on the couch. A couple of advil got the swelling down – and basically thats all it took to get me up and walking around the house. Today is is just tender – and I should be able to swim by tuesday. I suspect my 40 day plan was a bit much for my 40 year old foot.
My day of whining was interrupted by a phone call from Ani. She was in town, and wanted to know if we wanted to go the pool with her and Clara. I wasn’t really up for it, but asked her to come over to the house. So, she and Clara came by for a visit. The kids have been having some sharing problems lately. But, they did ok yesterday. Quentin gets so excited when he sees Clara – but then he won’t let her touch any of his toys. Well – it’s not that bad, but there were a few headache inducing noises. They both did settle down for books from both the Mommy’s. These kids really like books. In fact, Quentin has been reading to himself while I type this very blog entry. He really likes W and D for some reason. He turns all M’s upside down. He runs around holding his D’s and W’s screaming “W” and “D”. D is pretty easy to pronounce but not so much W. It sounds kinda like “Duba-ooh”.
He is getting close to being able to identify most of the letters, and we are so proud of him.
Midweek Report
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 | Linda Curtis | No Comments
It is getting lighter later each evening, and that makes it hard to settle down at night. We are trying to stay with out 8 pm lights out for Quentin, but it is going to be hard to have lights out inside when it is still light outside. We really need to get on some better shades for his room.
We have been having a good week so far.
I made it to the pool for the early swim this morning. It is hard to get going, but totally worth it when I do. I set up bud with pancakes ready to cook, and hot coffee. He and Quentin are still asleep when I leave the house, and sometimes have just woken when I get back. I am looking forward to the spring when I can go on a little run in the morning before they get up. It is way to icy outside right now. Poor Quentin really wants to walk outside on his own, but he just can’t do it. He takes a couple of steps and slips, and a couple of steps and slips. Then when I pick him up he gets really mad and tries to get back down. It is going to be really nice when I can let him go for it.
Quentin has a great time in the morning at Sonia and Sidneys’ house. Today I watched the kids and we had a great time. Then off to work and Quentin took a long nap on my back. I was able to get some work done, and he woke up just in time to play with his work friends. Pema, Addy and Quentin ran around the store like wild animals and no one got hurt. It was quite a thing to behold.
After work, Addy and Shirin came over for a visit. Quentin and Addy had a good time playing with Quentin’s new train set, and his new alphabet puzzle. There was quite a bit of giggling. Shirin and I relaxed, gabbed and had tea.
For dinner I made a beet salad, roasted asparagus and sausage, and broccoli cheddar baked potatoes. It was really yummy. For the beet salad, I used some goat feta and fresh mint and parsley from our herb garden. I used fresh chives from the garden on the potatoes. Lately, I have been baking asparagus. It is so good that way. I just put a little salt and pepper on it, and cook it a cast iron pan with a little spray of grapeseed oil.
Lovely Dinner
Saturday, March 14th, 2009 | Family | 2 Comments
We are just home from a lovely dinner at Lisa, Dave, and Electra’s house. Lisa made some delicious orzo salad, seafood and roasted vegetables, and a super mid-east appetizer spread. Also there were Sonia, Aaron, Sidney and Stella, as well as Demian, Emily and Elias. Quentin didn’t really play with Sidney as I thought he would. They play together several times a week – but at Sonia’s. It is interesting to notice Quentin’s different social interactions. He was really interested in what the big kids were up to.
Quentin was in a pretty cranky mood all day. He would only take a 20 minute nap, so that really didn’t help matters. Poor guy. I think he is getting his two year molars already. Or at least they are starting to make their way out. I hear those are the worst. He is becoming quite particular about things lately. If I am not wearing socks or my slippers he will point at my feet and say sock over and over. If my socks or slippers are near by he will bring them over and cry until I put them on my feet. For his own feet he must always have his socks on. And he can not have any leg showing. I have had to get rid of all 18 month pants because they just aren’t long enough.
Last week was all about books. I don’t know how many times I read his busy bee book. He just couldn’t get enough. Then yesterday he didn’t want any books. We looked at some catalogs together, but probably only read two books all day. And definitely didn’t finish any. Than last night, he didn’t want to read at all to go to bed. This was very unusual, as we usually read for a half hour to 45 minutes in bed before lights out. I can hear Bud reading upstairs right now, so I think books must not have totally gone out of favor. It’s just really neat to see his personality emerge. Even when he is fussy and hard to deal with it is still amazing. Bud thinks he has been having a hard time lately because he is discovering he has free will. But yet can’t do everything he wants. I think there is a lot of truth to that theory. He gets very mad when I won’t let him do something, so I have to be totally sure when I tell him no, that I mean no. It is very easy to want to give in to my angry little guy.
My friend Trish just emailed me some pictures of my last walk with Scooter. It’s been almost two months since she died. We still miss her, but I have finally gotten used to not having to walk her. She was such a sweet and yet challenging friend for many years. She really used up all her energy on the last walk on sandy beach. It seemed like she knew what was coming, and really enjoyed one last outing to one of her favorite places. When I first got Scooter I picked her up at Sandy Beach. I went for a walk with her Mama Dog, the other puppies, and the friend who gave her to me. It was sad to take her away from her Mama, but she quickly became part of a new pack. Anyway, I’m going to post the pictures from her last day here – because I’ve been thinking about her and she was so darn beautiful.
day light savings
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009 | Linda Curtis | 5 Comments
All week I hear the griping about day light savings. I couldn’t love it more. It is almost 8 am and Quentin and Bud are still sound asleep! I have been up for a half hour and have breakfast and coffee ready to go for them as soon as they wake up. I know the sunrise is going to catch up with us again, and we will be back to the early rising, but maybe we will get some decent shades in Quentins room before that happens.
Things are going well here, I have been busy working and working on a child care swap with my friend Sonia. Quentin has started to love going to her house. He has a blast and usually doesn’t want to leave. It is big progress from the first times when he would cry and cry while I was gone. Today is my turn to watch the kids. It is going pretty well, although after a half hour Sidney starts to realize whats going on and doesn’t it like to much. Her Mom works in the house, so when Sonia hears Sidney she comes to the rescue. I am hoping she can go 45 minutes today.
I am counting down the days until my birthday with exercise. For the whole month of March I am working out everyday. Today would make 11 days in a row, and I must admit I am ready for a day off. But – I will persist. I have been getting up early twice a week to swim laps. It was very hard to get going yesterday. There was a smallish blizzard going on, and I really don’t like snow driving. But I made it to the pool and swam my mile.
Quentin is starting say more and more words. Sometimes he comes out with something and Bud and I look at each other with a ” did you know he knew that look?” Like the other day when he was saying choo choo while he rolled his trains up and down Bud’s legs. I think he picked that up at Sonia’s. He knows most the animal sounds, but doesn’t quite have it down. My friend came over with her dog the other day and he said “Cat! Meow!” Which is a little sad for me, since if Scooter were still around he would really know what a dog was. I have been looking at the humane societies web page each week waiting for the perfect cat to show up. I am not rushing into it, I want to get the right cat for us.
It has been so snowy this winter, I have had so much fun snow shoeing. I tried to cross country ski with quentin on my back yesterday, it didn’t go that well. I can’t wait till next winter when he can put on some skis and we can do it together. I really think he will like it. And he is quite coordinated, so I have a feeling he is going to be good. I am posting a bunch of random pictures, hope they make some sense.
Week in review
Sunday, March 1st, 2009 | Linda Curtis | No Comments
29 days left in my 30’s! It’s March 1st, and a beautiful day on Douglas Island. Yesterday was equally wonderful and I went for a great snow shoe adventure with my friend sarah and her dog tula. We have a usual 3 hour loop. Yesterday we took a couple of new turns and wound up in a winter wonderland. We hiked up a snow mobile track and made it into some gorgeous snowy meadows. The track was easy to follow and quick.
The curtis house has been fighting colds or sick for over a week now. Definitely on the mend now, though there was some unhappy moments. I’ve found myself at home a bit more and have had a good time making some fun dinners and lunches. I’ve added some pictures or a couple of dinners into the mix. If anyone wants to know how I made something – let me know. I’ll try to get back to posting more regularly and include more recipes soon.
Last night we had some friends over for dinner. Lisa, Dave, Rick and Teresa. It was fun to see everyone and catch up a bit. I made a miso marinated halibut with wasabi mayo, seaweed salad, ginger soba and bok choy, and ginger apples for dessert. I found a seaweed salad mix at Rainbow that is so good. It is just the sea veggies, which I rehydrate. Then I mixed some soy, sesame oil, rice vinegar, pickled ginger juice, and scallion and tossed it with the seaweed. Some sesame seeds on top and a little lemon on the side. I think it will be my new favorite thing to make and eat. So much tastier than the the stuff I usually find at sushi joints. Which while tasty, is usually so sweet it could be dessert.
After dinner, Bud put q to sleep and himself as it turns out! The rest of us played on our wii. I think everyone had a good time snow boarding and no one could really do the Dance Dance Revolution. That is a hard game. I am hoping to be able to advance past beginner by my 41st birthday!
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