What I am into now (October edition)

I read a number of blogs that do a monthly round-up of things the blogger likes or has learned during a month. While I have never been too much into recurring features around here, I do like the idea of having one less post idea to brainstorm.

Anyway, a few things I am into right now.

Sleep. I really thought the toddler sleep battles would be over by now (he is almost 21 months old). The good news is that bedtime has reached detente. He gets rocked, and gets put in his crib (which has the foot side off, because otherwise he throws himself out). We say goodnight, walk out the door around 7:30/7:45, and then hear him shuffle over to the door (which has a babyproof handle on it). He then proceeds to yell for one of us (generally dependent on which adult put him down). This goes on for a bit, but usually no more than 10 minutes, at which point he passes out in front of the door. Someone goes in and moves him back to the crib, where he sleeps through the night…as long as one is OK with the night ending very, very early. 5:30 a.m. is doable, I suppose, if pretty wretched on weekend mornings. Two mornings this week it was 4 a.m. We tried letting him cry. We tried bottles, rocking, etc. He would not go back down. But one blessed morning it was 7 a.m.! I slept 9 hours that night. Another night this week when I was sick I crashed at 8:30 and my husband got me at 6:30 (he took the early shift). So those two epic nights make up for the 6.5 hour nights the rest of the time. Also, I have a hotel stay coming up this week.

Starbucks dark roast coffee. Made in the home coffee machine, then topped with heavy cream. This is kind of a substitute for sleep, above.

Dora the Explorer. I have had it with watching Thomas the Train (though I do love that the toddler is willing to play with his train set for 15+ minutes at a stretch, allowing whatever adult is on duty to flip through Us Weekly. At least we get some benefit from the capital invested in those overpriced magnetic engines). We started watching Daniel Tiger for a while, which is OK, if way, way too earnest. I kind of like Dora, and now the toddler does too.

Not cooking. New this fall, no longer on my duty list Monday-Thursday. I am quite enjoying this.

Not signing up for races. This is the first fall in a while when I haven’t signed up for any half marathons (and haven’t had pregnancy as an excuse). It turns out I still like to run for running’s sake itself. I am not running as long as I would while training (this morning I did about 5.5 miles) but I still fit something in most days. I ran during my 9-year-old’s swim practice Saturday morning, all around Bryn Mawr College, which reminded me a lot of Princeton with its gothic arches. Thursday night I jumped on the treadmill for 22 minutes after dinner, with no expectations, just to add a bit more activity for the day. It was still nice. I seldom regret a run.

The Haverford College nature trail. 2.2 mile loop, lovely for running, plenty of visitor parking.

Watching Texas A&M football. My husband is an Aggie, so we DVR all the games and spend many a Saturday afternoon/evening watching them. They are 5-0 so far this year, but the Tennessee and Alabama games are still coming up, so we shall see.

Purple Heart. I had cleaned out my closet a few weeks ago, and had a giant pile of stuff to give away. I was in the process of figuring out where to send it when Purple Heart, the military-focused charity, called and said they were doing a pick-up in my area and did I have anything to donate? Well, that made it easy. Out in bags on the front porch and they picked it up when they said they would.

Actually insightful daily email newsletters. I read Bright (by the Federalist staff – it is a center-right female-focused round-up), theSkimm (a snarky millennial centrist round-up) and Fortune’s The CEO Daily (business-focused take on news, shockingly enough). I welcome suggestions of others.

Selling the Turkish rights to What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast. Who knew?

Target. Most stuff I order online, but sometimes I am not 100% sure what I want, and need to see stuff in the aisles. Also, when I am not with my kids, shopping can be fun! I went today while my husband was doing a zoo trip with the kids, and got all the presents for my daughter’s birthday, plus paper towels, plus long sleeve shirts for my rapidly-growing 9-year-old, plus pacifiers of the only brand my toddler deems acceptable. All under one roof!

Reading on the back porch. Under a blanket. Very cozy for fall.

Justin’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups. I find the idea that that junk food is being marketed as organic just hilarious (if tasty!)