Yoga and Cake

Tonight was a pretty boring night for food - I had to rush home and get changed for my first night of prenatal yoga! The boys had PB&J as a quick dinner because they were also on their way out for an adventure at the pool with Eric, Melissa and her daughter Jenna. Prenatal yoga was a blast. It was great meeting other women in the same boat as me - the majority of which are about my same age. We are all very close in due dates, I’m the earliest, at June 11th - but the latest is July 8th. So we are within a month of each other. There were five other women in the class, plus the teacher. I really enjoyed the sequence that she had put together. We did several new poses, including “windmill” which I will be incorporating into my daily stretching routine, and also a move where you stand with one foot on a block and swing the other leg in a straight line forward and backward, as high up as your hip will allow. Hip openers are my favorite! And since I can’t do pigeon pose right now, this is a great replacement. We also did shavasana in an altered pose, using two bolsters. This was the most comfortable I’ve been since entering my second trimester. All in all, it was a great relaxation sequence, but I also felt invigorated and energized afterwards. Perfection! After class, I had a few errands to run for the dessert dash which was the next day. I work with two different auction groups here in Everett, one for Cocoon House and one for Domestic Violence Services of Snohomish County (DVS). Friday’s auction was for DVS which provides shelter and temp housing for women who are fleeing violent homes/relationships. They are an advocacy based program which basically means that they offer a support system around the multi-faceted government programs available to these women such as DSHS, Everett Housing Authority, the Prosecuting Attorney’s office, and the school systems (Everett School District for their children, Everett Community College and other certification/degree programs for the women themselves). DVS works with the women to create a plan with them, not for them, to establish new lives for themselves - whether that means legal advocacy to file restraining orders, council for pulling a child from the school and transferring to another, help attaining the resources to get a GED or to get into a cert/degree program and learn a new job skill, etc. Most of these women have always been SAHMs and do not know how to be self-sustaining. The problem is a big one - the women that do eventually find the courage to stand up to a violent husband are then forced to go back because they have no way of supporting themselves or their children without the man’s income. Obviously, the issue can swing both ways and I don’t mean to be anti-male in this explanation - it’s just that this particular organization only serves women victims and as such, these are the issues they are dealing with. You can find out more about DVS by visiting their website. This is just one of the gorgeous cakes I was able to procure for the dash:

This cake was a chocolate/mocha cake with raspberry filling. I want this for my baby shower!

How the dessert dash works: Every table receives a “bid card” for dessert. The desserts are all located on a large table and they are available to “view” during the silent auction prior to dinner. During dinner, every one puts down what they want to contribute towards their dessert on the bid card. Each table then chooses a “runner” to be the one to go and choose a dessert when their table number is called. The bid cards are picked up and calculated while dinner finishes up. When it is time for dessert the auctioneer announces the table with the highest collective bid and their runner then gets to choose their dessert first. After calling the first few highest bidders, the auctioneer will then just start calling off the rest of the tables faster and faster. This way, there is an actual “dash” to get a dessert and people are racing all around. It’s very fun. This auction is my second one for DVS - but last year, one of the cakes I donated was the very first cake to go - it went for $700! And the dash as a whole raised $12,000. I can’t wait to see what we raise this year. After picking up several cakes, I decided to stop by the pool to see how everyone was doing. I was immediately greeted by a big smile from Mackenzie who was riding around on a yellow noodle. He quickly scooted his way over to the pool’s edge, said hi to me, explained that this was his yellow sail boat, then “see ya!” and off he went! This kid LOVES being in the pool. I really want to get him signed up for swim lessons. Several books and tv shows have made fun of moms frantically waiting in line to sign up for swimming lessons. I always thought this was an exaggeration and that they just used the scenario to highlight how ridiculous parents can sometimes be. That scene is for real. I’ve tried for the past three sessions to get Mack into the class (there are about 25 classes of 10 kids each session) and every time, without fail, the class is full only an hour after online registration opens. I feel like there is a secret to getting in before registration opens. Tricky moms! Mack wasn’t ready to leave the pool yet and I had cakes to get home, so I headed home on my own. After the pool, they all went for McDonald’s - Mack came home with a Happy Meal for him and a big hug for me. Gotta love the simple things in life. Arriverderci!