Pizza and french fries

What a great day today. The weather was gorgeous - 70s, sunny and full of the promise that spring always holds. We'll save the gripe about pollen for later.

My daughter filled up all thirty squares on her potty training chart (finally) this week so she got her reward today. She had picked this out months ago. She wanted to go to a restaurant and eat pizza and french fries. Until today, she'd only had pizza once in her life when Doug made it for her when Joshua and I were out. She's had french fries when Doug made them at home or when I let her nibble some of mine at a restaurant. So, this was a big deal for her. A big pile of fries with ketchup and the biggest slice of pizza I have ever seen in my life - all for her.

I did my research since I wanted to eat at a restaurant that had other options more paleo-friendly for me and I found the Rustic Grille right here in our town. I ordered an "Aruba salad." That was a plate full of romaine and spinach leaves, grilled chicken breast, strawberries, grapes, walnuts and coconut flakes topped off with raspberry vinaigrette. I'm sure that the vinaigrette wasn't gluten-free and the walnuts and coconut were probably sweetened but I thought it was still a decent lunch all things considered. I haven't had dressing on a salad in months so I was giddy from this treat. Feel free to laugh at the insanity of that. Anyway, my daughter and I walked out of there quite pleased with ourselves and it truly was a nice mother, daughter moment. She behaved quite nicely and remembered her table manners at the restaurant so it was practically stress-free for me. When we got in the car I said "maybe for your next reward we could go to Jellybean Jungle (a local indoor play place) or go shopping for a new dress. Maybe something we could do with Joshua." "Mommy I don't want Joshua to go." "You just want it to be me and you?" I asked. "Yes," she replied. That made me feel really nice. Daughter gets extra points at all gift-giving holidays this year.

In other news, I've lost a couple more pounds this month and I'm now at a lower weight than I was on my wedding day. I have more bulk on my hips and thighs than I did seven years ago but carrying a couple of babies will do that to you. Right now I'm between a size 8 and a size 10. I'm feeling pretty freakin' ecstatic. Oh, and I'm doing this while still nibbling on chocolate most days. Yay!

One thing I am disappointed in regarding the goals I set at the beginning of the year is finding time in the evening for myself. I just haven't done any writing really except for this blog. I find myself sucked into Facebook and some of the applications and before I know it Doug is wanting to watch TV or it's time for bed. Obviously, mediation has been ignored as well. So, I would really like to put some more effort into that area. I believe it's important to nourish the body and the soul and although I'm doing good with the body my soul is getting neglected and that's going to lead to imbalance or the continuance of it.

Okay, time to gripe about the pollen. Ugh. Hate the stuff. I know it means the trees are going to be wearing their leaves and flowers soon and it will look beautiful. However, my son and I are suffering terribly right now. I have a frog in my throat most of the day and I'm feeling more wiped out than usual. Joshua is having an eczema flare on his face (pictures tomorrow should be interesting) and he has a runny nose all day long. With the nicer weather we've been playing outside more often and I haven't been doing what the allergist told me to do with him - have him take his clothes off and jump in the shower immediately when we get back in the house. I'm usually so tired after we've been playing outside and I have to fix dinner. On top of that, he's adamant that he doesn't want to take a shower. It's just not worth the energy to fight that battle. So, today, we didn't play outside at all. Both kids were bummed about this (as was I) but I hate to see him itchy and uncomfortable. I so want my kids to have a love of the outdoors and to play outside as much as they want but it looks like that's just not going to be possible during the allergy season. Frankly, the only time my son's not reacting to something outside is during the winter. So, instead they're developing a love of the Wii. Let me just say this - it's so unfair. Oh and Joshua really wants to play with the cats but he can't due to his allergies. My poor kid.