A Beautiful Day for a Break and a Walk

This morning I set out for a coffee shop to read and think. Ryan was so sweet to take care of Stephen for a few hours so I could get out of the house. It was refreshing. I also did some grocery shopping while I was out.

Stephen has been doing so well. Many of you know that a few months back I had to cut dairy out of my diet, and I had had to COMPLETELY get it out of my system, avoiding even margarines and breads with the slightest amount of whey or casein. Often babies outgrow their allergies, so I decided to see if 4 months old was old enough to handle it. I had some yogurt on Friday and he seemed to be able to handle it just fine. He wasn't fussy and in pain yesterday. Now on to cheese and milk to see how he does ... it would be very nice for the Germany trip to be able to eat more!

I've realized a few things about Des Moines that I didn't know were so great - until I don't have them any more! Don't get me wrong - this is a great place to live, but I'm compiling a list of the little things that were nice to have there ...
1. I-235; even though Champaign isn't very big, it takes just as long to get everywhere since there are a number of stoplights any direction you go.
2. Graziano Bros. Italian Sausage; I didn't even eat it very much but there doesn't seem to be an equivalent here. Just the mass-marketed national brands.
3. On-sale lunch meat; We usually ate whatever Hy-Vee had on sale that particular week. Here it seems I just pay full price all the time for all the lunch meats.
4. A gubernatorial candidate that I actually want to vote for!

I'll be back with a list of things that have been nice discoveries here that would also be nice in Des Moines ...

You can see a full selection of recent photos at stephenleatherman.snapfish.com. Password 062806.