This is how we roll

Some people hear that we'll be spending (another) week in a hotel and comment about how great it must be to let someone else do the cooking and cleaning for a change. Well, yes, to a point. I'm not going to turn down fresh towels and someone else making the bed. I won't be begging to vacuum anytime soon. But I'm also not going to let a week or two away from home completely derail our habits.

This time around, we traveled a little "heavier" than we have in the past, simply because we drove here in a rented van rather than flying with limited suitcase space. This allowed me to bring more kitchen goodies than I usually do--such as my smallest slow cooker and our wonderfully amazing rice cooker. Not pictured is the mini bullet blender I usually pack, even when flying, to make my green smoothies.

Lined up here along the edge of the two-burner electric stove that is the bane of my two-week existence are some of the ingredients for lentil soup that the little guy and I are so excited to make.

He's traveled with us enough to know that eating out in restaurants isn't really all that great when you do it night after night. I try to cook dinner for us "on the road" at least twice a week. Last week we had the lemon chicken pasta pictured here, a meatless feast of taco-inspired quinoa and black beans, and a breakfast dinner of gluten-free pancakes and chicken sausage.

With a little planning ahead, the little guy and I are often able to enjoy breakfast and lunch in our hotel room, without being subjected to the insanely delicious-smelling Belgian waffles and heaps of sweet baked goods in the breakfast buffet area. This morning after my 3-mile run, I nuked some Trader Joe's steel-cut oats with fresh blueberries and walnuts, which did come from the buffet, and whipped up a green smoothie to accompany that. My willpower is somehow stronger when I've just broken a good sweat. :)

Lunch this afternoon will either be the lentil soup I mentioned, or PB&J on Udi's gluten-free millet bread, courtesy of the nearby Whole Foods. Oh, how I hate to love that store! But I do enjoy having a wealth of GOOD goodies at our disposal, so I can't get too down about it. Sure beats facing another day of rubbery eggs, fast-food lunch, and overportioned dinners.

This is not to say that we don't indulge when we travel. I did, of course, have to try a real Chicago-style hot dog (spicy peppers? genius!) and sample at least one slice of deep-dish pizza. Both were delicious and have been checked off my to-do list, leaving room for more new things. Like the chocolate-cake shake I've been hearing about, or some almond milk hot chocolate at XOCO... guess I'm going to have to run tomorrow, too. :)

Freeeeeedom!!!

This morning the little guy and I took The H to work, which meant we had the car all day! Oh how I love that glorious, sweet, wonderful (too small) car! It shuttled us ever so kindly to Target/Starbucks for my morning coffee--the hotel ran out of non-flavored creamer, do you believe it?--and some good ol' time wasting for me and my little buddy.

I don't care that we got there well before 9am, or that we left close to 11am. We had a darn good time cruising the aisles, playing with toys that make noise (yes, we put everything away), and even letting me try on some clothes. He came out of there with a Matchbox car and some bubbles, and I am three very simple, very-on-clearance wardrobe basics richer. Oh, plus we got some applesauce for lunch, and a carton of half-and-half... just in time to get back to our hotel and see the Sysco food delivery truck hauling in a fresh shipment. ::womp womp::

We spent the rest of the morning running barefoot in the grass, giggling like, well, a three-year-old, and chasing bubbles until the little guy sat down on the grass and said, "Is it not close to bedtime yet?" And away we went, into our room for a quick lunch, stories, and nap. Whew! Based solely on 7am to 1pm, so far I'd call this one of our most successful on-the-road "Mommy and Caleb Days."

Wednesday number one

I got to run outside! There is a paved multi-use trail just over a mile from here. Granted, it's pretty much all uphill for that first mile, but whatever. Next time I'll drive there and just enjoy a normal, non-prehistoric machine, non-knee-busting workout. I got just over 4 miles in at a 9:something average pace, which felt like at least 5mi and a minute faster. Ooof. It's rather flat where I'm used to running!

Here's the rest of the day:

Pre-run: half a piece of toast with honey and organic peanut butter
Exercise: 4.25 mile run and core work, followed by an hour and a half in the pool with the little guy
Breakfast: green monster with lowfat milk, banana, spinach, chocolate protein powder
Snack: farmers' market popcorn and two chocolate Joe Joe's cookies
Lunch 1: quinoa-rice cakes with hummus and turkey, half a pear, half an orange, sesame almonds
Lunch 2: leftover chicken enchilada with rice and salsa
Dinner: Sooooo not clean. And too salty. But along with that-which-shall-not-be-named, I had a small side salad (iceberg, blah...with tomato and olive oil vinaigrette) and a bowl of fruit salad (grapes, banana, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple)
Snack: The H and I had some peanut butter fudge ice cream when the little guy went to bed

I've noticed a lack of fresh vegetables in my diet this week, so while The H put the little guy to bed, I went to Target for some kid-free time and came back with these goodies:

The baby carrots are super-thin and sweet (I'm not a fan of the fat ones that taste like dirt) and will be great in hummus. I'm going to add them both to my meals tomorrow. I will also make sure my dinner is more veg-heavy than they have been. The Crystal Light--not usually my thing!--is sweetened with real sugar and claims to have electrolytes in it; I will add some to my bottle of water on my next run. The Larabars had a $1 off coupon on them, and I like 'em. :D

Hello from Hartford!

OK, we're not actually *in* Hartford, just a bit south, but "Hello from a tiny town in Connecticut you've probably never heard of!" didn't sound as snappy.

We got in yesterday afternoon so The H could start his assignment with the client this morning. After breakfast the little guy and I chilled in our room, watching junk TV and waiting for the pool to open. I also gave him a new puzzle to work on while I ate. That lasted about 30 seconds; this kid is a puzzle whiz. He LOVES them.

While our suitcases were mysteriously (much) lighter than they've been for past trips--even the one we took about a month ago--I've packed quite a number of breakfast/lunch/snack options for me and the LG so we don't have to eat out all the time.

This morning I started with whatever wheat-looking toast they had at the breakfast buffet, with a chocolate protein shake (using milk from breakfast) and coffee, which we brought from home. My toast was topped with an organic crunchy peanut butter The H got on his last trip and some honey my parents brought us from their trip to France.

Yes, it was a very brown breakfast. Tasty, though. Tomorrow I'll try to remember to include some fruit.

Once the pool opened, my highly excitable companion and I ventured down there. He did SO great this time, right away wanting to "go to the last step" and have me swim with him to the ladder in the deep(er) end (the pool goes from 3ft to 5ft) so he could get out, walk around, and do it again. Whew! Swimming works up a big appetite; we snacked on some farmers' market popcorn on the patio next to the pool while our suits dried and housekeeping straightened our room.

Lunch for me was creamy broccoli soup and crackers, courtesy of the soon-to-be-closing Subway we landed at for dinner last night. They'd made a fresh batch (or so they say... some things I'd almost rather not know) but funnily enough, soup was not a hot seller on a 90* day, so they were giving cups of it away. The little guy asked for peanut butter and jelly, which he polished off with uncharacteristic enthusiasm, along with an Activia yogurt, some gluten-free pretzels, and a glass of milk. Then we shared an orange from breakfast.

Once The H got back from work, we piled into the [very small] car and made the quarter-mile trek to the Target (which, incidentally, you cannot do on foot... such a tease) behind our hotel. We stocked up on some fresh items like spinach, grapes, and eggs, and grabbed a few things that forgot to come with us. Like, um, sunscreen. We ended up at Red Robin for dinner, where I once again thoroughly enjoyed a grilled chicken sandwich with melon.

I took advantage of The H being able to put the little guy to bed, and dashed out to the hotel "gym" for a treadmill run on one of the most ancient dinosaurs of machinery I've ever set foot upon. Broke a good sweat doing the "5K lake route" program, so I guess it worked just fine. I lifted a few weights for good measure. Then after some crunch twists and planks, I proceeded to eat my weight in chips and salsa. It was SO GOOD and exactly the snack I wanted after my workout. The end. :)

Old Town A - Homecooking!

So I know we've been home for a few days, but since I wasn't able to upload photos while we were on the road, I'm shuffling in some of them now.

One of the the things we got to do while in the DC/Alexandria area was have dinner with a friend of mine from high school, whom I literally haven't seen in 10 years.

It was so nice to have a break from restaurant food; granted, this trip was shorter than our most recent ones (Alexandria in April and Atlanta in June were both 2 weeks), and I cooked in-room one of those nights, but still. Home-cooked is home-cooked, even in someone else's home!

Our hostess was so gracious to all of us, especially the little guy. He made himself right at home checking out her Christmas tree and candy dish.



I think he had M&M drool on his chin before I sat down to sample the cheese and olives she set out for appetizers.



This is what the table looked like when we sat down:



Gorgeous, no? She was so kind to take The H's allergies into account, and the resulting meal--baked chicken, sauteed zucchini and summer squash, mashed potatoes, and fabulous gluten-free brownies--was simply delicious.

The little guy ate some, but I didn't push him to clean his plate by any means; he ends up being a better guest when he isn't forced to hold still and eat like a big boy. He had much more fun playing games to which only he knew the rules.



Overall, it was a lovely, lighthearted break in the middle of a week of restaurant food. And for the record, the little guy does indeed have highly pinchable cheeks! (Don't you wish you could rock a footie dinosaur sleeper?)

One for the record books

Yesterday will go down in personal history as one of my worst food-related days since I started eating clean. The whole day was out of whack, having been delayed--then canceled--on our flight home from DC. We ended up spending Friday night in another hotel in Alexandria, only to be back at the airport at 6am for a different flight out (on a different airline, no less) Saturday morning.

We began the day at 4:45am with Starbucks coffee in-room (thanks, Sheraton Suites!) and hard-boiled eggs that I'd brought from our *other* hotel. There were four, and three of us, so it wasn't very filling. I also pulled some organic cereal bars from my suitcase and put them into my carryon bag for later. We had to ditch the coffee since we didn't have enough hands to carry that, the little guy, our bags, and three suitcases. Sad.

Once at the airport, after checking in and enduring the luggage and security lines, we had very little time before our plane arrived. And I was starving. Around 6:45 The H went to get coffee and asked what I liked from McDonald's... and oh, yes, rather than saying "Nothing, thanks, I have a cereal bar" I fired off a quick "Sausage McMuffin with egg!" as he walked away. Ooops. So I gobbled that before we boarded, and finished my coffee in-flight. And then had some Biscoff cookies, which I love. Thanks, Delta! We are card-carrying Continental flyers, but I do love me some Delta Biscoff cookies.

Once we landed, shortly after 9am, The H got us *more* coffee (mmm...Caribou...) and we met my wonderful dad, who was kind enough to pick us up. Oh, and kind enough to pick up a new carseat for the little guy, since by taking a different flight/airline, we also ended up at a different airport, a full 2 hours from the one at which our car--and LG's seat--was waiting.

From there, since we happened to be in town, the little guy and I went with my mom and sister to my extended family's "Cookie Day," which is as you might guess: a day designated for baking eighty zillion Christmas cookies. Having no supplies or recipes with me, I was fully unprepared and basically useless to the operation. I did, however, manage to eat several cookies, drink MORE COFFEE if you can believe it, and eat two slices of pizza for lunch--one veggie, and one pepperoni/mushroom.

As luck would have it, another one of my sisters (who lives in the same city we do) was there. OK, it wasn't luck; we asked her to please please please come to Cookie Day and bring us home with her! So she did. :) The little guy and I slept most of the way home, a much-needed rest for both.

Dinner was a matter of convenience for the sleepy, out-of-sorts, amazingly resilient little guy, and he requested nuggets. It felt like an out-of-body experience as I sat down at Wendy's and unwrapped a spicy chicken sandwich, fries, and root beer. What was I thinking?! I know Wendy's has salads and potatoes, but I apparently chose to ignore that. Sigh.

Once LG was in bed, The H made us some... oh yeah, coffee. Decaf for this round. I could only handle half a cup before I felt like I'd pee brown the next day, and called it quits. A few glasses of water later, I went to bed. My own sweet, blessed, comfortable, non-bleachy-sheets bed.

It wasn't normal. It wasn't pretty. But it is what it is. Today I got back on track as much as possible without grocery shopping, had a great run, and enjoyed dinner with friends (steak, sweet potato, veggies, gluten-free brownies). Tomorrow is Monday--a 5 mile day. Perhaps then life will resume its regularly scheduled programming.

Taking control

Sometimes when we're on the road with The H I feel like I don't have much control over my meals. It's easy to fall into that mindset when breakfast is provided by the hotel, lunch is all too easy to grab while the little guy and I are out and about, and dinner is paid for by the company. However, I know that's not how it HAS to be. Even though I'm not cooking 100% of my meals, I can still choose to take control of what I'm eating most of the time. During weeks when eating out frequently is inevitable, sometimes I feel like rebelling (against myself? LOL) and choosing something fatty, fried, and utterly indulgent **just because I can**. And while that is my prerogative, I think the motive behind it is kind of sucky.

Yesterday after a good, solid run, I exercised good control by opting for a Greek yogurt (Fage 2% with blueberries) and glass of water before making taco salad for dinner. We bought meat, lettuce, cheese, chips, and salsa at Whole Foods earlier in the week, and I combined it all with taco seasoning I'd brought from home. It was good and filling (and spicy!), and aside from the tortilla chips (with the shortest ingredients list I could find), mostly clean. It was refreshing to have a run behind me and dinner on the table before 6:30 on a Tuesday night, when we usually don't get home from running group until almost 8pm. I think that alone, regardless of my dinner, made me feel accomplished and successful.

I carried over that feeling of empowerment to breakfast today, where I had oatmeal with walnuts, raisins, and a little brown sugar instead of the waffle with butter and artificially-flavored syrup I'd been dreaming about. With a side of fresh pineapple and some bites of scrambled egg, I was off to a good start that wouldn't result in a carb-hangover at 10am.

Tonight we're having dinner with a friend of mine from high school, whom I haven't seen in probably 10 years. While I know she's planning a good clean meal for us after learning of The H's allergies, I still might want to squeeze in a quick run before we go. The sun is out, and there's no snow on the ground!

And yes, I know these really long rambly posts without pictures are kinda boring, but I forgot to bring the camera cord with me this week! Maybe The H will be so kind as to offload the pics onto his laptop and email them to me. Well, maybe I should take pictures of something first, and then have him do that... ;)

Old Town A - Day 2

This morning was nice and leisurely, as mornings out of town should be. When the little guy started calling for me at 7am, I told him it wasn't time to be awake yet... so he went back to sleep 'til 8! Merry early Christmas to me. Since I showered after my run last night, I was fresh as a daisy already and just needed to flatten out my hair and throw on some makeup to look presentable for breakfast. Breakfast was nothing to write home about; much of the same from yesterday. Tomorrow I think I'll give in to my inner child and make a Belgian waffle with butter and syrup.

We didn't venture outside until well after 11am, since the little guy made friends with two other tiny boys at breakfast, and they had a good time running around together for the better part of an hour. Once we got moving, we braved the blustery weather--yep, again--so I could get a few things from the Gap and Walgreens. Super exciting, no?

Lunch was in-room: leftover pizza for us both (and a peach cup for the little guy) followed by some coffee with half-and-half for me as I sat down to work during naptime. The sunshine is streaming in the windows, making my legs itch for a run, so I hope The H gets back sooner than he did yesterday! I've got plans to reacquaint myself with the Mount Vernon Trail, and I'd love to do it during daylight hours.

Soup and salad

Tonight's dinner was light, after playing at the children's museum. It's nice to have local contacts like the one who told us the museum is free on the 2nd Tuesday of the month! She was kind enough to join us with her husband, little girl, and another local mom and her toddler. Thanks for meeting us, guys!

For dinner we got salads from a place at the food court in the CNN Center (Building?). I was in the mood for some more comfort-like food, and vegetable soup hit the spot. It was made without MSG, trans fats, or other weird ingredients. Aside from being quite salty, it was good.

My salad, while quite pretty, wasn't much to write home about. Maybe it was the dressing--too tart? Too cold?

The little guy ate some of my tomatoes. He also made up his own salad (cucumbers, cheese, turkey, kidney beans) and ate most of it.

A small miracle occurred when we got home: rather than making a beeline for the cheesecake or frozen espresso bar lurking in the fridge, I rounded out my evening with three whole-wheat graham crackers and a bowl of fruit (blackberries, bananas, strawberries) and cottage cheese. And decaf. (Did you really think I'd go a day without my decaf?)

Atlanta - Day 5

Ufff. That is what I have to say about the humidity today. The H and I both went for a run (separately) this morning "before it got too hot." Yeah... it was still hot. He did his 2mi around 8am, and I left for my 6mi at 8:30... which I quickly shortened to 5mi, and then out of desperation, I finally made a deal with myself that if I was over 4mi by the time I got back to the hotel, I'd do a few laps around the parking lot to make it 4.5 and call it good. And that is just what happened. Whew! I refueled with coffee and a green monster, just like the other day.

Then we went to the zoo! This was our second visit to Zoo Atlanta. Back in September 2008, we braved the 92* heat and humidity with our 10-week-old (duh). I'm drafting a "then and now" post with some pics from both trips--in the same exhibits--so you can see how we've all changed!

He was not a fan of the petting zoo, until The H showed him how he could brush a goat. He loves brushing things--his hair, my hair, the dog. Why should a goat be any different? :)

Of course the elephants were a big hit. He loves making his (very wet) elephant sound, which he is in the middle of in the photo above.

The lion was asleep, but we still said hi!

After the zoo and naptime, I went to Trader Joe's for some snacks while my boys hit the pool. I came back with a treasure trove of goodness--blackberries, strawberries, more spinach, eggs, half and half. gluten free pasta, chicken burgers, bell peppers, graham crackers, dark chocolate almonds, beets--and whipped up a quick dinner.

We had gluten-free rice pasta with marinara sauce, roasted garlic chicken sausage, and a vegetable medley, with a glass of red wine. This all came from our first TJ's run last Tuesday.

For my post-dinner munchies, I enjoyed a plate of juicy blackberries, cinnamon graham crackers (made with whole wheat and evaporated cane juice!), and of course some decaf.

These crackers are thick and crunchy, just sweet enough, and made with not-terrible ingredients. Sure beats the ones from the grocery store that I have been avoiding for the past year! Too bad they're not gluten free, or then they'd be perfection itself. (Sorry, H!)

Since I thought all day that today was Sunday, I was extra excited to remember that *tomorrow* is Sunday, so we have another full day of relaxing and exploring ahead of us before jumping into crazy busy-ness again on Monday. Happy mid-weekend to you all!

Atlanta - Day 4

Ah, Friday. The sigh of relief at the end of a busy week! And yes, despite being able to relax poolside with my fellas and a charming inflatable turtle, it *has* been busy! Being away from home--with or without a toddler--and still trying to maintain work and routine and sanity isn't always easy.

Today's breakfast was steel-cut oats with chopped pecans and maple syrup, and a chocolate protein shake. I would have liked raisins in my oats, but I forgot to ask The H to bring me some from the breakfast buffet.

The little guy and I munched some dried cherries for snack time, but that's it--we'd been shopping (is "Lost in Translation" worth the $4 I paid for it at TJMaxx? I took a chance...) and then I had to pick up The H and a coworker, who were very nearly caught in the rain. We shared a bowl of Trader Joe's microwaveable rice noodles for lunch, though they were extremely salty and he didn't care much for his portion. He chose instead to eat a hardboiled egg and a squeezable applesauce. I rounded out my afternoon nosh with a small blueberry-and-cream yogurt, also courtesy of Trader Joe's.

Given the piddly portion of my lunch, I was quite ravenous by the time the little guy woke up from his nap at 3pm and fairly devoured some organic cheese sandwich crackers, a piece of turkey, and a Trio granola fruit/nut bar with a cup of coffee.

For dinner, we headed towards Cumberland Mall for Ted's Montana Grill, one of our favorite stops if there's one in the area. The service and food are consistently good. Tonight the little guy and I shared roasted chicken, a baked sweet potato, and green beens. He also snagged some of The H's fries, ate a bowl full of half-sours, and a third of the tomato-onion salad we all shared. In addition, he polished off his cup of milk and some dinner roll. This kid can *eat.*

We spent the evening at a bookstore, browsing and playing. Whoever thought to put a Thomas the Tank Engine train table in the childrens' section should be given a raise. Brilliant! Tomorrow we're heading for the zoo. I hope it's not too hot!

Homeward bound

7:15am - Breakfast at hotel

Fage fat-free plain Greek yogurt with 1 cup cantaloupe and two tablespoons chopped walnuts, plus coffee. This was very filling. I would like to remember this as a breakfast alternative once I'm home and back in my steel-oats and/or peanut butter toast rut.

9:45am - Snack in airport

Dried apples, raw almonds, organic dark mint-chocolate square, water.

11am - Flight #1, 1 hour

11:15am - Snack in flight

Nature's Path choco-peanut granola bar, pretzels, water

1:00pm - Lunch in airport

Cheese ravioli in marinara sauce (2 of 4), baby shrimp, tomato-mozzarella salad, cucumber-onion salad, water. I was thrilled to find a place for lunch that offered *beautiful* salads--fruit, Greek, caprese, tomato-cucumber--at the airport! The little guy shared everything but the shrimp with me. He actually spit that right back onto the plate. It was his first experience with any kind of shellfish.

The H had Burger King--a Whopper and a hamburger, with fries, and without buns. I tried to convince him to order from the place where the little guy and I got our beautiful lunch, but he refused. I felt like a failure as a clean eating ambassador. He ate some of my caprese salad.

3:45pm - Flight #2, 1.5 hours

4:00pm - Snack in flight

Odwalla chocolate superfood bar, water with lime, Yummy Earth organic lollipop (thanks, Katie, for the recommendation!)

7:00 pm - Dinner at HOME sweet, wonderful HOME!

Chipotle barbacoa (spicy beef) fajita burrito with pico de gallo, grilled peppers and onions, very little cheese--no rice or beans--lots of water.

9:45pm - Snack at home

Decaf with organic half and half (yes, I did indeed dash out to the store for this an hour after arriving home), one serving (3 pieces) of Trader Joe's milk chocolate peanut butter cups, and a stick of low-fat string cheese.

I don't usually do low-fat cheese, even though it is more in keeping with a truly clean diet, but I chose this one because it was lower in saturated fat and higher in protein than the regular sticks. The texture was not as soft as the regular kind would be, of course, because of the lower fat content. The only additional ingredient is vitamin A palmitate, which I learned is used as an antioxidant and added to reduced-fat dairy products to "replace some of the vitamin content lost through the removal of milk fat" (from Wikipedia... not a scholarly source, but easy to understand). I think they will make a suitable protein component to my morning or afternoon snacks.

Home stretch

Today is our last full day in DC/Alexandria. For some reason, this 12-day trip has felt a lot longer than our two-week stretch in Austin, TX last summer. Maybe because the little guy is way more active (and talkative) and we've been in a studio room rather than a 2-bedroom suite? I was fortunate enough (::snort::) to be blessed with the bug the little guy had yesterday.

Breakfast was steel-cut oats with walnuts, raisins, and a little brown sugar, along with my lovely coffee. The little guy and I had a big-bed picnic while he munched a piece of toast (The H found bread at the breakfast buffet) and watched the Disney Channel. We each had a banana. Actually, I'm pretty sure he had two... one at 6:30 with The H, and another at 8:30 when I was getting ready.

Since we had to leave the room for housekeeping to do their thing, we wandered down the street and ended up at Whole Foods yet again, more to look around than actually buy anything. It's super-windy here today, and I dressed the little guy inappropriately, so he was cold on our walk. Oops. The grocery store was a good choice. We did end up with a package of organic whole wheat creamy/deluxe style mac 'n' cheese, at his request. We could've done worse. The ingredients list was pretty short compared to the other "natural" kinds on the shelf. After cruising the aisles for a while we headed over to the fountain by the Metro station for a snack--a plain roll and strawberry applesauce for me, and peaches with oyster crackers for him.

Lunch was the aforementioned mac 'n' cheese, which I ate from a mug and he from a leftover container since the dishwasher was running and we literally used EVERY last dish in our kitchenette yesterday. It was good that we chose the one with a creamy pre-made sauce, because my milk-and-butter (and hummus, lol) stash is severely lacking at this point in our trip, and there is NO way I'm shelling out more $ for them now. I forgot to take a picture.

Snack was... something carb-y. The little guy had a squeezable applesauce. Then it was off to the train station for a nice long ride to Silver Spring. There we met my cousin, his wife, and their three kids for pizza at ZPizza, which has gluten-free crust so The H was a happy camper. Well, that and he didn't see the total bill. Folks, bring your big guns if you go here. The "Provence" pie was delicious with added chicken sausage, but it sure wasn't cheap. Oh, it's organic, too, which no doubt added to the bottom line. I forgot that part.

And now I'm packing... well, procrastinating on the packing. Dreading it is more like it. :(

I have a picture or two from today, but the camera is charging... maybe I should've put that sentence at the top of the page, so you wouldn't have gotten all the way to the bottom of my whiny post without seeing any food or little guy's cuteness. Hrmmm. Talk to you all when I'm back in the mitten.

Survival mode

The tone of our trip changed this morning when the little guy woke up with an ooky tummy. Suffice it to say, he's on the "BRAT" diet today--bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. Except no toast, because I'm not buying a whole loaf of bread for the three slices he'd *maybe* eat before we leave on Wednesday morning. We did make yet another trip (sorry, wallet) to Whole Foods for some single-serve applesauce packets that we can eat this week (and then bring on the plane with us, in case he's not better by then), some probiotic yogurt, and brown rice. He will not be partaking of the black bean soup I have planned for me and The H tonight, that's for sure.

So today got off to a groggy start because of a crappy night's sleep, which ended with the little guy in bed with us. Those of you who know me should realize this means it was REALLY bad. That is one of my "never ever as a parent" things. But we all got a good 2.5hr stretch of sleep this way, so never-ever whatever. Breakfast was late and not that great. Canadian turkey bacon, egg-and-pancake sandwich, melon, coffee, oatmeal (regular, not steel-cut) with walnuts, raisins, and chocolate chips. Yep, I went there.

It's been a stick-close-to-home kind of day, especially given the rain. It held off yesterday, for which we are grateful, but let loose on us today. The little guy and I managed a walk up King Street for some window shopping (why isn't anything open before 11am?!) before the rain got the best of us and we ducked into Bittersweet for a midmorning coffee. He slurped an applesauce and some water while I ate a too-big carrot raisin muffin and hazelnut coffee. Between that and my clunker of a breakfast, I feel pretty bad about what I've eaten so far.

By this time the rain had gotten so bad, The H called the hotel shuttle van to pick us up. Good thing, too. I am not that great at steering a finicky umbrella stroller one-handed while holding an umbrella over the two of us on smooth pavement, never mind the rough, uneven brick pavers that are everywhere here in Old Town Alexandria!

Lunch for me and The H was a rotisserie chicken meal from Whole Foods--chicken, mashed potatoes, garlic broccoli, and sauteed squash with onions. The little guy picked at some rice, a banana, and a yogurt before his nap. I can tell I had either too many calories and/or not enough exercise today because even at 4:30 I wasn't hungry, and lunch had been almost 4 hours earlier.

Once the little guy was awake I sent him and The H outside for a yogurt picnic, then tried to get back on my eating track with an apple and almond butter snack-in-a-jar.

Yes indeed, we polished off an entire 12 ounce jar of almond butter this week. Yum! I also shook up some protein with one of the skim milks I got from breakfast.

Dinner was the black bean soup I'd been meaning to make since we got here. It turned out really well, and surprisingly spicy for the small amount of chipotle (half, plus some sauce) pepper I used! Served with baked blue-corn chips topped with grilled chicken and cheddar.

The little guy had a tummy-friendly meal of egg white, Saltine cracker, plain pretzels, and a yogurt-banana smoothie. He wasn't very hungry at all, but was super happy and chatty, so that's an improvement. Here's to a better tomorrow!

I hit the treadmill for my last run in DC (a 5 mile trudge--even my legs are tired of being here) after dinner. Tomorrow we're having dinner with some of my family, and we leave early Wednesday morning to catch our flight HOME!

My post-run fuel was an Odwalla Bar, "Berries GoMega" flavor, with some raw almonds and lots of fresh, cold water. And, goodnight.

***my laptop isn't recognizing the camera; I will edit to add pics when it's cooperating again!***

Ah, weekend

7:30 am - Breakfast

We were all up early (thanks, little guy) and had breakfast together at the buffet downstairs. I ate three wedges of the little guy's Belgian waffle topped with syrup and walnuts, as well as some fresh pineapple and coffee. No pics--the camera battery was charging.

After breakfast we gathered a few things--snacks, camera, diapers--and headed off to see the White House and the National Aquarium.

9:45 am - Snack

On the way I had a Kashi chewy granola bar, and The H and I shared some almonds and dried apricots while the little guy played with his beloved fruit snacks. We passed a bunch of carts like this

but did not give in to their greasy, fattening temptation... especially after Five Guys last night! :)

For something bearing the title National, the aquarium was pretty unimpressive (unless we missed a ton of it), but the little guy loved looking at the fish, alligators, and turtles, so it was a good choice for us... especially since it had started to rain outside.

11:30 am - Lunch

For lunch we stopped at the food court below the Reagan building. The little guy and I shared a chicken shwarma platter (chicken, rice, tabbouleh, and tomato-cucumber salad) while The H had a chicken kabob platter. That was probably some of the best "fast" food we've had on our trip.

3 pm - Snack

We all got to take a little snooze for a change, before second snack time. The little guy picked at some yogurt and cocoa bunnies, The H had a bowl of agave granola and bunnies, and I made a breakfast burrito (a whole egg + another white, salt, pepper, and cheese) with my pita from lunch.

The H and I also shared an apple and some coffee (leaded, this time!) with half and half. It was a pretty big snack, but we were starving. Part of me thinks that's because our lunch was not loaded with filler and preservatives.

Low-key was the theme of the afternoon. We trucked down to the guest lounge where I helped the little guy make a fort out of couch cushions while The H looked up a place for dinner.

5:30 pm - Dinner

Bertucci's, an Italian place on King Street, won the proverbial coin toss. They are one of the first restaurants to come up in a "gluten free Alexandria, VA" web search. It turned out to be a great choice.

The H and I split a beautiful Caprese Salad to start, while the little guy colored and snagged a tomato or two.

Then his "cheese pasta pillows" (ravioli) arrived, so we got him started eating while we waited for our food.

Some fancy awesome salad with chicken for The H...

Minestrone soup with a side of broccoli for me.

The menu said the broc was supposed to be roasted, drizzled with a lemon-wine sauce, and topped with Romano cheese, but it was most definitely steamed, had no wine flavor, and was sparsely sprinkled with what looked like grated Parm from a can. I still ate it (minus the few pieces The H stole) but asked for extra lemon. Incidentally, The H mentioned that this week is probably the healthiest he's ever eaten on a business trip. :D

8 pm - Dessert

We left dinner feeling satisfied but not overstuffed and, at my request, ventured off our beaten path to find the Trader Joe's not too far away. TJ was kind enough to provide dessert for us.

Mini creme brulee, with dark-chocolate-covered edamame (!) and a glass of deep, dark, delicccccious red wine. All come highly recommended by me for a nice treat. Check 'em out if you are fortunate enough to have TJ's nearby! Not the cleanest, but remember we don't claim perfection here.

Tomorrow we're off to Eastern Market in the morning, then I'm planning a nice long run while The H and the little guy do some father-son bonding. You know, like watch cartoons and take a nap. :)

Fabulous Friday

8am - Breakfast

Steel-cut oats with apple butter and chopped walnuts and raisins from the breakfast buffet--my favorite combination this week. I'll be sure to repeat this with my last serving of home-brought oats. I enjoyed this with some fresh pineapple and, of course, my one true love:

Hello, gorgeous.

11am - Snack time

After shopping with the little guy (I got two new tops to go with my two new Gap skirts from Monday) I had a Kashi honey almond flax chewy granola bar on the way to look for a more suitable midmorning munch, all the while hearing the little guy say "Go back to hotel! Take a nap!" Yeah... he wasn't kidding.

I scooted into Bruegger's and grabbed a protein smoothie (no added sugars, and 16g of protein per serving) that I swigged on the way back to the hotel.

The little guy was still asleep by the time we made it back to our 4th floor room, so I left him in the stroller and closed the curtains... and uploaded the pics I'd taken so far. :) He ended up snoozing for an hour, before lunch, which never happens anymore.

1pm - Lunch time

The H was done with work early so the three of us got Jimmy John's (turkey for me, no mayo, with hot peppers--no chips) and enjoyed a windy little picnic near the hotel. The little guy loved being able to run again! It was nice to be in green, open space. Hotels and strollers are rather confining for small fry.

4pm - Snack time

I smeared half of my last whole wheat wrap (the other half was moldy) with almond butter and apple butter. It gave me heartburn. After a failed attempt at a second nap, we piled into the Metro with the running stroller and set out to run around the National Mall--we ended up with 4 miles (plus some walking) and a very tired but well-behaved little boy!

I love running.

7 pm - Dinner and bedtime

The H went to hunt and gather for us (Five Guys--ever had it?) after feeding the little guy some mac 'n' cheese, fruit, and turkey.

I utterly devoured my burger--topped with lettuce, tomato, green peppers, mushrooms, and mustard--and most of my fries. I liked the ones with potato skin on them best.

Even after consuming these eighty trillion calories, I was craving something sweet. If there had been a Dairy Queen closer than 6 miles away, The H would've been off like a shot, and I would have inhaled a small Blizzard. Instead, I ate the rest of the fresh pineapple from this morning and made a (surprise! Ready for this?) pot of decaf. :)

I must have been hungrier than I thought (and I felt famished) because for all I ate at dinner, I don't feel that overloaded. At all. Of course, I don't usually run three days in a row (5mi, 4mi, 4mi) and walk multiple miles on top of that, either. We're still trying to decide what to do tomorrow. Probably a museum...

SAHM = Stay at Hotel Mom

Today was as typical as any we'd have at home. We ran some errands, did some laundry, gave the little guy a bath, let him watch part of a movie, colored pictures, played with blocks, and somewhere in between managed to eat three meals and a couple snacks. Not all our days "on the road" have to be "on the go" as well. The little guy needs some downtime, and some normal activities to keep him sane and cooperative.

Breakfast was coffee, a hardboiled egg with sea salt, a chocolate-cream-cheese muffin The H brought me from the breakfast buffet, and a banana-almond-butter wrap.

After breakfast, the little guy and I walked the half-block to Whole Foods for baby wipes, half and half, and a snack. We also spent some time smelling and testing lotions, which he adores. Our snack was simple and colorful: assorted fresh fruit, two hardboiled eggs (we only ate the whites), some edamame, and shredded cheese, at his request.

We enjoyed our little snack near the fountain by the Metro station, then wasted some time wandering around before getting back to put the creamer away. At this point we grabbed our bag of dirty laundry and headed to the laundry room, quarters in tow for buying soap. Once the washer was going, we came back to our room for lunch--black bean quesadillas.

The little guy only ate the beans out of his, plus a few apple slices, and some organic French vanilla yogurt. He also destroyed a peach Activia to the point that he required a midday bath... after we switched the laundry to the dryer. At this point he was getting pretty mellow, so we snuggled for a bit and watched Elmo in Grouchland until the dryer was done. One last trip to the laundry room, and I had fresh clothes to fold while he napped.

...and napped and napped! Little dude pulled 3 hours on me, which overlapped into my next planned snack/mini meal time. What to do? Ah yes, grab the tubs of raw almonds and dried apricots from the kitchen counter, and sneak back to the computer for a quiet little nosh. When he woke up, I had a bowl of Nature's Path agave granola with low-fat milk.

He enjoyed the rest of the plain hummus with some chips.

Dinner was provided by Cosi. The H had a lovely-looking Greek salad with added steak.

I opted for soup-and-sandwich, like I tend to do when given the option. My soup was tomato basil and the sandwich was roasted veggie on wheat, with a side of baby carrots.

The soup was creamier than I was imagining; I only ate about half. The little guy ate effectively nothing, except a few olives from The H's salad. He sipped some milk. So glad we paid $5 for a pizza he almost refused to even *look* at. :(

It was a wearying day for me, even though we didn't "DO" anything... I think the little guy was testing out the Terrible Twos water. Once he *finally* settled down to sleep (he was hungry, ya think?) I hit the treadmill for a fast 4 miles--even quicker pace than my 5 yesterday. Gotta love "frustration motivation."