Mid-Week Musings...

Feeling: Proud tonight.  Cruz has had a wicked cough the last few nights, usually showing up shortly after he falls asleep.  There are few sounds worse than listening to your baby cough while they try to sleep, so this morning I made an appointment with our pediatrician.  Now that Cruz is old enough to know the doctor's office, I braced myself for an hour of torture when he caught wind of where I was taking him.  Much to my surprise, however, I think the doctor's kit we got him for Christmas paid off.  He was such a big boy --- telling Nurse Lynette all about the Dora pictures on the wall, 'helping' her hold the stethoscope, and patiently standing still as a statue when the doctor looked in his ears.  Typically curled up in a ball on one of his parents' laps, he made himself at home today and would have been perfectly content if I'd left him there to play doctor's assistant.  I left the office with a smiling boy, a green sucker, and a report of nothing more than some nasal congestion in his throat.    

Eating: We're playing a game of what I like to call 'Project Pantry' around here.  Every now and then, I get an itch to weed out our pantry and get creative with the ingredients that tend to collect dust on the shelves.  Simple and inexpensive staples have been filling our meal plans this week as we're making up for an aggressive grocery budget oversight last month, and it's fun to see what we can scrounge up from what we have in the house.  Whole wheat spaghetti with a tomato meat sauce, french onion soup, tacos, and pancakes have made the list this week, and I'm currently a sucker for Trader Joe's coconut cookie crisps and their chocolate almond spread.  They taste exactly like the caramel delight Girl Scout cookies! 

Watching: Game of Thrones is back for a new season and we are big fans around here.  We used to watch a lot of TV, but now that we do our best to limit our little TV addicts' intake, we appreciate our one or two shows more than ever. 

Listening to: I wonder if I'll ever grow tired of Mumford.  With my new job, I clock more miles on my car than ever before and depend on my music for motivation, reflection, and sanity as I hit the fifth red light in a row on University.  Every song is like a prayer to me and at times, I'm convinced it impairs my driving!  Pull up next to me at a stoplight and you'll understand.  That crazy girl bawling her eyes out?  That's Timshel.  That crazy girl beating her steering wheel and banging her head against a makeshift windshield?  That's Babel.  Watch this video and you will see what I mean, people.    

Reading: In preparation for Baz Luhrman's (and more importantly, Leonardo DiCaprio's) adaptation of The Great Gatsby, I finally read the book.  This was probably my fourth attempt to read this book on my own and I finally made it through, likely having something to do with the fact that I could now picture Jay Gatsby as Leo and of course, myself as Daisy Buchanan.  The book starts a little slow, but the last half is amazing.  It has one of those endings that leaves you stumbling through previous pages to make sure you caught what's really going on.  I can't wait for the movie version and after Luhrman's, Romeo and Juliet (also starring Leo), my hopes are high.

Looking forward to: Summer break.  I cannot wait.  I feel blessed to have another easy summer at home, just me and my little sprite.  I've got another summer bucket list in the works and can't wait for afternoons at the pool, evenings on the deck, and bike rides and picnics through our favorite parks.  We've got some super fun plans in the works and I am convinced it's gonna be one of the best ones yet.   

Thinking about: "...eye has not seen and ear has not heard...all that God has prepared for those who love Him."  (1 Corinthians 2:9)