My Friend Far Away and Mommy Quiet Baths

Oh, how I miss the days of bathing a newborn! I never thought I'd say that, back when I had a newborn, 3 years ago! The reality is that it's increasingly difficult to manage a squirming toddler in the tub, especially when she needs to get washed up, but I just can't convince her to sit still!

Because I have a kiddo who is prone to respiratory problems, I have a routine that I do to keep her healthy, and one I do when she's sick to help nurse her back to health, too. (Don't all moms do that?!) I know when her coughing is more than just a typical cold, and when it's triggered by her asthma, and I also know when it's time to get her to the doctor before she comes down with a serious illness, like pneumonia.

Anyway, this late-winter cold season hasn't been kind to this household. Robert was sick, then Ellie Jo, and then me. We all had different colds, and different symptoms (go figure). Now, I'm not a "granola-y" mom, and I'm also not an "all about modern medicine" mom. I'm somewhere in the middle. (I'm not about to bore you with my personal opinions on antibiotics and/ or immunizations, don't worry!) But I'm all about trying anything possible to keep my sweet girl smiling when she's sick!

So, naturally, when my good friend, Keri, spent an entire evening brainstorming ways I could help care for my poor girlie who had a nasty cough (and was starting to come down with it myself), I was just soaking up everything she was offering as a solution. Keri and I are 3 states apart, since she's in California now. But the distance doesn't matter. I still consider her one of my very good friends, and we're always swapping crazy crafting ideas, swooning over Fixer Upper and Flip or Flop ideas on HGTV, or just having an insane texting session! This one night in particular, I had asked Keri what she thought I could do to help make bathtime productive to for Ellie's coughing. She suggested that I do a detox bath for Ellie. The recipe is super simple:

I love this stuff so much, I started
adding a couple drops to my stone
soap dish in my shower before I shower
and get ready in the mornings!

• 1/2 cup Epsom Salt (2 cups for adults)
• 1/4 cup baking soda (1 cup for adults)
• 1 1/2 tbsp oil; 3 drops essential oils (3 tbsp oil; 10 drops essential oils for adults)
• candle (for light)
• soothing music (recommendation below)

Keri uses DoTerra essential oils, and after she told me that Breathe is great for respiratory health, I dove into my medicine cabinet for the last few drops I had from the last "care package" she'd sent with samples of everything she loves. I put them in the bath with the salt and baking soda, and put Ellie in there. Keeping her calm and quiet was very difficult, but I was able to do it with some soft music on my phone. I didn't like the first several options I tried, but after about 6 of these detox baths, I finally settled on this YouTube video to help settle Ellie Jo down, and keep her calm. Also, I always light a big jar candle and turn off the lights to help maintain the quiet mood! I just use her regular shampoo/ body wash, and I don't allow toys. Instead, I let her lay down on her back over my arms, and I gently rock her back and forth with one hand on her neck and one on her legs, and I just sway her from one end of the tub to the other. It's almost mesmorizing to watch her beautiful blonde hair swish and curl around her while her little eyes close and her sweet little smile appears on her face! It totally reminds me of when she was a tiny baby!

Now that it's been several weeks, sometimes I do these baths for her just because! We started calling them, "Mommy Quiet Baths," because the soothing music and water sounds + essential oil and soak really do help to create peace and calm! One night, I ruined it for everyone, because Elizabeth was restless so I was frustrated, and resorted to watching a show while she was in the bath. Even though the light was off (as it always is), and the candle was going strong, the rapid movement from the screen had us both on edge, and I gave up and made Robert come in and take over. I walked away feeling defeated and discouraged, hearing Ellie whine and cry. I knew I'd ruined the whole experience, and it was just a bad night. 

Yes, this picture has a toy in the bath, but I
snapped it quickly before I got her in the bath!

It's something I look forward to now, and whenever I have time, I sneak in a Mommy Quiet Bath for myself! Ellie asks for them often now, and it's really a special and enjoyable time to relax!

To recap: baking soda + Epsom salt + Breathe Essential Oil by DoTerra + soothing music + candle = bliss. 

Dad's (Extended) Birthday and My Foodie Obessions

Each year for my dad's birthday, I give him the gift of a homemade meal of his choice, and some kind of fun family outing. It's an unofficial tradition. Part of it is because his birthday is December 23rd, and it was always super important to me to make his birthday and Christmas special for him. This year, we couldn't celebrate until New Year's Day, due to our schedules and when we had time off from work (You might think a banker and someone who works for a community college could find some common ground in time off, but when you throw a toddler and Grandpa into the mix, it becomes a bit more complicated!)

For my dad's birthday this year, he requested Chicken Parmesan for dinner. Here's me, prepping in  the kitchen:

Yes, that's the Pioneer Woman's cookbook! AKA,
my food bible!

The prep took longer than I anticipated, but it was definitely worth it! My dad loved it, and Ellie even ate it!

After dinner, we were headed out pretty quick to go on a very special trip down to Seattle! I scored 3 tickets to the Woodland Park Zoo's WildLights display with my corporate discount from work! It wasn't much, but any discount is okay with us!

We were planning to leave as early as possible, but we didn't end up getting out of the house until after 5:30. (WildLights is only 5:30-8:30pm).

The drive down was pretty quick and relatively uneventful. Robert got turned around in one of the first parking lots, but we eventually found where we needed to park.

 The walkway was completely lined with lights on trees!

This is from the walkway looking down

Here's the entrance, once you get through the
gate

Everywhere you looked, you could see lights and animal shapes, silhouettes, and even moving light displays!

The pathways were not all open, but we didn't
feel limited at all. There was plenty to see!

Our little sweetheart, bundled
up cozy in her stroller! 

Under the regular lights at the zoo, some of the LED lights made the pathways appear purple! It was really neat. 

Robert, Ellie and my dad in front of a big
butterfly display

Daddy & Ellie looking at an amphibian display

My favorite part was seeing how everything looked totally lit up in the dark! It was really neat how they had everything set up! 

My dad is on the right, going into the Komodo
Dragon exhibit 

Ellie Jo and Daddy looking at reptiles 

Some reptile thing

Some slithery thing

She was happy to have Grandpa and Daddy right
there with her!

Turtle!! I love the pattern on its back!

Rawr!

We were a little cramped in a tight space
in this exhibit, and Ellie was the only one of us
who could have expressed her frustrations - and had it be socially acceptable. 

Another turtle! It was so carefree! Like the ones
in Finding Nemo!

I took this pic on my iPhone! Amazing clarity!

A pathway of animals!

The largest animal we saw! And I can't even
remember what it was...

She liked the exhibits where she could
peer in from the ground :) 

Daddy explaining about frogs

Looks like this was out of a 1980s
National Geographic. But it's not.
It's my DSLR lens vs. dirty glass.
#vintagenoeffort

Real? Or display? You decide!

The Spectacled Owl, Kova! We got
to listen to a whole demonstration
about him...until Ellie Jo got cranky.

One of the last things we did was take Ellie Jo
on the carousel. She LOVED it!  

As we left the zoo, we decided that we needed to have some dessert. We debated about where to go and what to eat, and then I used Siri to find something for us. I looked up something like "dessert" and found the closest locations I could. Then I decided one place that had molten lava cake "Hot Cakes" in Ballard sounded interesting, so that's where we went!

Little did I know what was in store for us...

In Ballard!! For real! We NEVER
go to Seattle anymore, and since
we have a kiddo, it's hard to be
spontaneous. 

But we were spontaneous that night!
Ellie Jo was excited to get inside
and get warm! (Note we all have like
4-5 layers on under our winter
jackets!) 

This place did not disappoint! From the moment we walked in, I was wowed! Most of you know how much I adore Chip & Joanna Gaines on HGTV's Fixer Upper.  (I mean really, I just applied to be on the street team for their book coming out on October 18th!) I just love how they work together as a couple, how they involve their kiddos in their work, their personalities, and their taste! Well, Hot Cakes may as well have taken a page right out of their book, because it was a Fixer Upper fan's dream!

Waiting in line

Rustic, yet classy decor

I was being slightly tourist-y, trying to get the
right angles and shots to send to Keri... with my
iPhone... we both realized there aren't enough
texts in the world. 

Look at the gorgeous sign! 

Tasting table! The Whiskey Caramel
is to die for!

That's right; it says, "DRINK your dessert" !! 

Yes, a s'mores bar! 

That wall!!!!

Brick + lighting fixtures + sign graphics = goals

The whole place

When we walked in, my dad immediately said, "No way... no way." I said, "What? Don't you want some dessert, Daddy?" He whispered, "I'm like, the oldest person here!" Robert and I laughed so hard... because he was right. The average age couldn't have been higher than 22 before we walked in, with the median age around 20. (No wise cracks about my math nerdiness! And no, I did not attempt to calculate the mode!) 

So Elizabeth was thrilled to be in a "big kid" place for dessert, lol! 

The biggest chocolate cookie she could find. 

Do you see this decor? DO YOU?!

Yeah, I don't think any of you truly understand my obsession with Fixer Upper...

...or my kiddo's sheer joy and happiness from a simple
cookie. 

Can we just take a minute to appreciate the
bathroom decor?! YES - BATHROOM! 

Hold the phone!!

Liquor "cabinet" goals...

To make my dad feel young, I encouraged him
fiercely to take a selfie. Okay, okay; I forced it
upon him. I know, right? You should have heard me
trying to explain what we were doing. It was hilarious.

Daddy and his girl outside Hot Cakes! 

We didn't actually eat the food there, we took it back to my dad's house for a special treat. I got the apple bread pudding, and it brought me up to a whole new level of appreciation for baking. Seriously. They put cardamom in the bread pudding. Cardamom! My favorite spice! I studied that bread pudding. I shall duplicate it sometime in the near future. I could seriously dedicate several posts to Hot Cakes alone...but I digress...

Dad had a really great birthday, and I had the most fun I'd had in months. Seriously! Or as Elizabeth says, "Sersssoly." 

Anyway, my pictures are a bit disheveled and not quite in perfect order, but it's good enough for my first blog post in nearly 3 months!