Melt My Heart

Tonight before Zack went to bed we said prayers.  We asked Zack who should pray and he decided it was his turn. 

He prayed, "Dear God, thank you sooooooo much Jesus birthday party."

Oh how I hope and pray his love for Jesus grows and grows.

First Post-Baby Run

I went running for the first time since Alison was born yesterday (Merry Christmas to me!). Well, actually it was my first run since about May, when I came to the conclusion that running and being pregnant made for a really, really tired Karen.  So I quit running and took more naps.  It was much better for everyone involved. 

Yesterday my baby turned 6 weeks old (sniff, sniff, how did that go so fast?!?!), I was feeling somewhat rested, and I decided that I could wait no more, and was going to go for a quick little jog around the neighborhood.  I charged up the Garmin, wore running shorts for their actual purpose, laced up my shoes, and headed out the door. 

I decided to be reasonable, and just run one lap around the neighborhood, which is a little less than 1.5 miles.  It felt wonderful and awful all at the same time.  So great to finally be running again, and awful cause my muscles and lungs have not worked that hard in quite a while. 

When I got home I uploaded my run, and started to analyze all the stats.  My average moving pace was 11:47 per mile, and I only ran 1.4 miles.  I looked back at my last run pre-pregnancy, which was with the jogging stroller and my pace was 9:22 per mile.  Apparently pregnancy will set you back a few minutes. 

I remember my first run after Zack was born.  I felt like my pelvis was going to break in half, and I kept peeing my pants.  Yesterday my pelvis didn't feel great, but I surely didn't think it was going to break in half....and I only peed my pants a little bit.  Kegels anyone???

Later in the afternoon, my legs felt like jello....similar to how they feel after running 10+ miles.  Today I'm all kinds of sore.  My hips, quads, calves etc, all feel like I gave them quite the workout.  Even my abs are sore!  And I didn't even run 2 miles! 

And so, my comeback begins. 

Welcome to the Circus

My house seems to be a circus right now. 

We've got baby Alison in one ring, looking cute, pooping on her onesies, requesting food as she pleases, and requesting to be held as often as possible.

We've got big brother Zack in another ring.  He too is looking cute, requesting fishes and pancakes as he pleases, and requesting that we "put her down" from time to time.  In the times where little A is requesting food, and therefore mama is occupied, Zack entertains himself by watching PBS kids, scaling the toy shelf, and dumping out any cup, or dog bowl full of water that he can find.  When he's not doing any of the above, he's washing his hands.  And using half the soap dispenser in one trip to the bathroom to wash up.  Foaming hand soap up to his armpits...no need for a bath that day, I suppose! 

In yet another ring we've got Walter.  He too is requesting food as he pleases, and doing his best to sneak Zack's fish from him.  And snoring.

Then there's me, the ringmaster.  Juggling.  And then James comes home from work and we juggle together.  Having Zack surely did throw us off...and adding another one to the mix has been slightly chaotic.  Ok, absolutely chaotic.  But totally worth it.

It's a GIRL!!

After 40 weeks and 2 days, our sweet little GIRL finally made her debut.  Meet Alison. 

I was just about 100% convinced I was going to have to be induced, but 3 days before the tentative induction date, I went into labor.  I woke up around 2am having painful, painful contractions every 10 minutes or so.  I thought to myself "could this really be it?!?" and then began making a mental checklist of what we would need to do should I really be in labor, and did my best to sleep.  For the next 4 hours the contractions continued and got closer together and I got about 10 minutes of sleep. 

James and I had discussed the "ideal" labor situation.  The thing I wanted most was to go into labor during the day, more specifically in the morning.  I didn't want to have to wake Zack up in the middle of the night only to drop him off with Alexis in a parking lot. 

It appeared as though my "ideal" labor might be happening.  We met Alexis at the hospital around 8ish.  Sadly, the 15 minute drive to the hospital pretty much stopped my contractions.  I was bummed.  We still left Zack with Alexis and then headed to the mall to do some walking.  Our walking involved a walk to Starbucks where I got a blueberry scone.  The barista told me it must be my lucky day, since I got the last one.  If only he knew how badly I wanted it to be my "lucky" day.  After some walking at the mall, a nap at home, cleaning at home, bouncing on the exercise ball, and just hoping and praying that my contractions would get regular and stay that way, I decided that I needed to go to the hospital.  Not because the contractions were regular, but because they hurt so, so badly.  I was hoping they would see the strength of the contractions and keep me based on that. 

We got to the hospital around 2pm, and I was once again not having very regular contractions, but was definitely progressing.  The nurse sent me on a walk.  She said to try and go for 30 minutes, and that 45 would be even better.  I lasted 25 minutes.  I was dying.  That painful walk did it though.  I dialated another centimeter (in 25 minutes, no wonder I was in so much pain unable to breathe), my contractions were regular, and they were going to keep me. 

We got into our room around 4:30, and I finally got an epidural around 5pm.  Ahhhhhhh, sweet relief!!  At this point things were still moving along, so we just hung out and waited.  Around 6:30 I felt a weird contraction, and then I was all kinds of wet.  My water broke.  Things really started to pick up after that.  There was a nurse shift change at 7pm, and around then I started to feel more contractions, so I pushed my epidural button for more meds.  The new nurse asked me how I was doing cause she noticed that I was receiving more medicine.  She then gave me a list of symptoms to let her know about and would check me again, otherwise she would be back around 8 to check me. It was now 7:15.  I told her that maybe she should check me now.  She did and said it was time to have a baby.  She quickly began getting everything ready and called the doctor in. 

When everything was ready they had me push.  Apparently Alison was quite ready to be born.  I pushed through 2 contractions, and at 7:31 we had a baby girl.  Just like when Zack was born, the doctor let James announce to the room what it was.  He declared her to be a girl, and we marveled over her.  I had happy tears rolling down my cheeks and a huge smile plastered on my face. I could hardly believe we had a daughter.  I still can hardly believe I have a daughter.  So far we think she is perfect and wonderful and all things lovely. 

They let me hold her for a few minutes before taking her to get her cleaned up and get all her stats.  When the nurse called out that she was 7lbs 12oz I nearly fell off the bed.  She was over a full pound bigger than her brother.  I thought for sure if the baby was a girl she would be between 6 and 7 pounds, and that if it was a boy he would be over 7 pounds.  I was clearly wrong.  I have also decided that if we have another child it will most likely be close to 9 pounds....maybe 2 children will be enough. 

I am crazy tired.  Crazy, crazy tired. I'm so tired it hurts.  I think I could sleep for a week straight if I didn't have any other obligations. But, I have a baby who needs to eat, a 2.5 year old who wants his mama's attention, and a husband who is doing a great job keeping the house running. 

40 Weeks Pregnant

I'm now 40 weeks pregnant.  A milestone that most people didn't think I would achieve, based mostly off the fact that this is my second child and Zack was a week early.  Therefore baby number two HAS to come early, right?  I've done my best not to get caught up in this assumption, which is a good thing.  Otherwise we would have one very grumpy Karen.  We surely do have a tired, and uncomfortable Karen, but overall, I'm not too grumpy.  And I think James would agree.  And even if he doesn't agree, he would say I'm nothing but wonderful. 

I have, however, come up with a list of the 10 best things to say to a woman who is 40+ weeks pregnant. 

1.  You look lovely!!  (While ignoring the fact that the bottom of my belly is hanging out of my shirt.  And also ignoring the fact that this shirt has stains on the belly.)

2.  Would you like some chocolate??

3.  Let me do this dishes, you just go sit on the couch.  (James has this one mastered, FYI)

4. 

5.
6.

7.

8.

9.

10. 

Ok, so maybe there are only a few acceptable things to say to a woman who has been pregnant for forever. 

But really, I haven't had too many insensitive comments.  I have wonderful friends who are all quite empathetic and hope for my sake that this baby comes soon.  Thankfully no one has suggested to me how to help get this baby out.  I'm quite efficient at doing a google search, and trust me, I've researched the ways to naturally induce labor.  And none of them seem like good options, nor do they seem to be effective.  If sitting on the couch and eating ice cream was a suggested method, I would be all over that, but I have yet to see that recommended. 

James, however, is getting all kinds of off the wall comments.  My two favorites are:  "Does your wife cry every day??" and "Does she yell at you a lot??"  The answer to both questions is no.  For being 100 years pregnant, I'm quite sane and rational.  I've cried a few times this pregnancy, but only due to things like watching Soul Surfer (seriously, I almost completely LOST it watching that movie), watching the Olympics, and trying to get a teething, out completely out of his mind 2 year old dressed and into a car seat.  And the only one getting yelled at in this house is Walter.  He's a stinky dog (a good reason to yell, right?) and finds it necessary to start kicking his food bowl every afternoon around 4pm.  And the never ending food bowl kicking gets me every time.  And the yelling has no effect on the beagle.  He just keeps kicking.  And on occasion howls.  And I just keep yelling at him until I give up and just feed the beagle. 

A couple of weeks ago I thought for sure this baby was going to be born soon.  I was having all kinds of contractions and "aggressively nesting."  As I've gotten closer to, and now almost past, my due date, I'm having fewer and fewer contractions, and my intense need to clean the house is dissipating (maybe cause there's nothing left to clean....).  Every night before bed, I used to tell James "I'll wake you up when I'm in labor!"  Now I just tell him, "See ya in the morning, I'll still be pregnant!" or, "I'll wake you up if you are snoring."  I've even gone to bed a few nights in a row without having to have all of Zack's toys picked up.  I'm a rebel like that.   

I know that in God's perfect timing this baby will arrive.  And when he or she gets here, we will be over joyed.  Until then, James and I are doing our best to enjoy our last days as parents of just one child, and doing our best to spoil Zack and shower him with as much attention as we can before he becomes a big brother. 

I love YouTube

I never knew what a valuable resource YouTube could be until now.

Our sweet little boy has quite the fascination with trucks.  Fire trucks and garbage trucks are at the top of his list, followed by bulldozers and dump trucks.  I find myself driving through construction zones on purpose, just so Zack can see these big trucks. 

We've recently discovered the joys of garbage truck videos, as well as firetruck videos on YouTube.  I'm not all that surprised at the huge number of firetruck videos, there are firetruck parades after all.  But the sheer number of videos of garbage trucks picking up garbage amazes me.  These garbage truck videos also amaze Zack.  Seriously, endless entertainment for the 2 year old.  These videos are going to come in very, very handy once we've got ourselves a new baby in the house. 

Last night Zack and James were watching garbage truck videos together.  The differences in their reactions was hilarious.  Zack is excited about the different colors of garbage trucks, and he seems to really enjoy it when it's raining in the videos.  James, however, talks about how inefficient some of the garbage trucks are, and wonders how many garbage men fall off the back of garbage trucks every year. 

I love my boys.   

Come on Baby!

I've decided I would like to be done being pregnant.  While my child is close to 1 million times easier to take care of while it's still growing in my belly (in comparison to how "easy" newborns are...), I'm pretty uncomfortable, and I'm getting quite antsy to meet this little person.  Are you a boy?  A girl??  Will you look like your big brother??  What is your personality going to be like?  Do you have hair? And the list goes on, and on. 

At night I'm getting a solid hour to hour and a half of sleep in between bathroom breaks.  There are a few rare occasions when I sleep for 2, or maybe even 3 hours straight.  Those stretches are amazing, and absolutely a gift from God.

I've been cleaning everything in site.  I think I clean the shower every 3 days.  And we've never been this caught up on laundry.  Ever.  Today I took it upon myself to wash a soap dish as well as the container that holds James' mouth guard.  Things are beginning to get out of control.  The space under the stove is clean, as well as under the fridge.  The walls behind the toilets have been disinfected, as well as nearly every single surface in the house.  It's a good thing the dog moves, otherwise I'm sure I would be trying to disinfect him as well.  Thankfully I have some self control, and I have yet to vacuum the grass as this would surely break my back and make my belly feel as though it's going to fall off (but not get me any closer to having a baby, just make me very, very sore). 

My doctor keeps telling me "it could be any day now."  But, with each day that passes, my belly just grows bigger and my heartburn gets a little bit worse.  Only God knows exactly when this little bambino will arrive (along with whether is a boy or a girl, and exactly how many hairs it has, or doesn't have, on it's sweet little head).  So, for now, we will do our best to rest on God's promises, and know that He knows best, and has the most perfect plan for this wee one. 

And while we wait, I will continue to wear the same 5 shirts that mostly cover the expanding belly, and clean until I can clean no more. 

James is the BEST

My husband is the best ever. 

One night a couple of weeks ago, we heard some strange noises coming from the laundry room.  It sounded like an animal had been trapped in there.  I did what every good pregnant lady would do, retreated to the couch, with my legs pulled up (cause that would for sure protect me!) and told James not to let "it" get out of the laundry room. 

James armed himself with the swiffer and a rubber mallet, and headed into the laundry room.  He found nothing.  But he did hear some little scratching noises coming from the dryer vent.  We are rebels, and don't have a cover on the vent.  We assumed that a bird had flown into the vent and was stuck.  James ran the dryer for a bit, while I did all kinds of silly google searches on how to get birds out of dryer vents, etc.  We didn't hear any more noises, and assumed that the heat from the dryer encouraged the bird to fly up, up, and away. 

The next morning the dryer wouldn't start.  James banged on it a few times, and then it worked.  It's very important for our dryer to work since it's how we "iron" clothes these days.  It's also how we dry clothes.  That's maybe a little bit more important than our method of ironing. 

That night when James came home he took apart the dryer, to take a good look inside to see if somehow this bird had become lodged in the dryer.  (Thank you YouTube for the how-to video!)  He found nothing.  So we figured that this bird had made it's escape and the dryer not turning on that morning was just a random fluke. 

We were wrong.  On many accounts. 

The next day, I put a load of wet clothes in the dryer.  I was greeted by the smell of death.  I then did the logical thing, and texted James, informing him of the stank coming from the dryer. 

That night, James once again disassembled the dryer.  This time he also removed the drum (which really is a 2 person job....and more challenging than necessary when the second person is close to 100 months pregnant). 

And then he found it.  It, being a dead mouse (most likely a pack rat).  EWWWWW.  One pair of kitchen tongs (which were disposed of, EWWWWWWWWWWWWW!) and a whole lot of bleach later, the stank was gone as was the offending creature. 

James is my hero. 

After the clean up was complete and the dryer was back in one piece, we moved on to our next freak out session.  Hanta Virus.  Thankfully I'm a master at google searches.  Heat kills the virus, and dryers get plenty hot.  Bleach also kills it.  And that was used.  And, there haven't been any cases of hanta virus in Pima county that this google master could find.  And, if it was indeed a pack rat, I don't believe they are typically carriers of the virus. 

We believe this rat may have been a distant relative to one that Walter terrorized a few months back.  Over the summer there was a rat or mouse that had some sort of injury stuck in our backyard.  Walter did what every good beagle would do.  He howled at it.  He howled at it so much he could not howl properly without his poor tired voice cracking for days.  Our "hunting" dog lost his voice because he howled at a rat for hours on end.  Thankfully he's not much of a hunter, and therefore left this mouse alone (kinda....I suppose he did howl at it forever).  He's just a loudmouth.  Maybe as payback for the sheer terror that hours of howling caused (while we were gone....sorry neighbors!!) his rat friend decided to lodge himself in the dryer.  Unfortunately for him, it didn't turn out well.

Beds are Overrated

Back in August, we bought Zack a twin bed.  I even made him a quilt to go on this new bed.  He has yet to actually use this quilt as it's intended to be used.  He mostly freaks out if we try and cover him with it.  So, he sleeps on top of it.  But, as of late, he hasn't been using his bed for it's intended purposes either. 

Some nights, we will peek in at him and find him sprawled out in the middle of his rug, cuddling with a blanket.  Sometimes he will take all the stuffed animals off his bed and create himself a nest in the middle of the floor.

Then, there are times when he goes for the really uncomfortable position.  Such as halfway out of his room, with his head on the hard tile floor.  Though he did manage to take a 3 hour nap that way. 

Just a few days ago I found him sound asleep in his little armchair.  His legs were hanging off it, and his face was smashed into an airplane toy.  Ouch. 

I'm guessing (and hoping!) that someday he will realize that beds are more comfortable than the floor/chair/hallway.  Until then, I suppose it will just sit there and look nice, and get used on a few rare occasions. 

Genesis-According to Two Year Olds

We are studying Genesis in BSF this year. The past couple of weeks have been all about creation.  Creation is such a fun, and easy topic to discuss with a two year old. Zack makes it easy for us, as he's constantly pointing out flowers, the moon, the mountains etc.  Now, when we ask him who made the pretty purple flowers he answers us with a simple "God did," like it's the most obvious thing in the world.  However, when I ask him who made the baby in my belly he tells me the name of my doctor....hmmmm....maybe the "Who made [insert object of God's creation here]" game is getting old. 

He did, however, surprise me the other day.  Out of the blue he told me, "mommy, God turned lights on."  Completely unprompted by me.  I think he's getting it, at least as much as a 2 year old can comprehend creation. 

Zack also has a very thankful heart.  Just this past Monday we were driving home from the leader's meetings.  On Mondays, all of the leaders children get a special treat, a lollipop.  Zack was happily sucking on his lollipop, talking to me about all the dump trucks, mail trucks and other vehicles he was seeing.  Then, out of the blue he says, "Dear God.  Thank you, lollipops.  Amen." 

Planning My Comeback

I'm officially planning my comeback. 

It all started last week when James forwarded me an email about a price increase for the Oro Valley half marathon (well, really the Arizona Distance Classic, but I prefer to call it the OV half).  The price would be increasing on September 30th. 

James simply wrote "This is all you" which I take to mean as "I'll watch the kids, run wifey run!"  But really, my sweet wonderful husband knows how much I've missed being able to run, and how much I love to compete. 

So, I registered for the quarter marathon race yesterday.  It's at the end of March.  I'm hoping this will be enough time to get my body ready to run 6.5ish miles.  It will at least give me a reason to get out and run (other than for my own sanity).  I decided on the quarter marathon for a couple of reasons.  One being that it's a distance I've never ran before, therefore no matter what time I get it will be my best time ever for a quarter marathon.  Another being I know that a half marathon will be too far for me to run well at that point, and I don't want to be ticked off at myself for a week because I ran the slowest half marathon of my life.  A logical person might say, "but this will be less than 6 months after having a baby."  I'm too competitive with myself to be logical like that.

I'm thinking that I will be getting back into running in January, this should be after my 6 weeks of taking it easy post childbirth.  And let me tell you, I plan to take it easy.  At least as easy as a mom of a newborn and a 2 year old can take it. 

I think the month of January will be dedicated to being able to run a full mile without stopping.  Oh, it's going to be slow.  And it will hurt.  Then I'll use February and March to work on ramping up my mileage to a full 7 or maybe even 8 miles. 

And I'm sure every single step of the way I'll be thinking to myself, "why did I think this was a good idea????"

Woah!

I feel as though I'm growing rather rapidly these days.  In fact, I was afraid to go to my last doctors appointment, simply because I was sure the scale would record a 5 pound weight gain in 2 weeks, and that suddenly my belly would be measuring ahead of schedule.  I also skipped taking a picture of my belly at 32 weeks cause I just didn't want to see it.  Thankfully the scale was gracious to me, recording a 1 pound weight gain, and my belly somehow managed to still be measuring where it's supposed to be. 

But, when I look at the pictures of my "progress", all I can say is WOAH! No wonder I've been so tired...

Grow, baby, grow!

Getting Older, and More Practical

The older I get, the more practical I seem to become. 

When I turned 30, I bought myself a "sensible" wallet.  It just seemed like the right thing to do. 

Last week I turned 31 (which seemed so much older than 30!  But, now that I've been 31 for nearly a week, I'm realizing it's no different).  I spent my actual birthday cooking up a pancake extravaganza for my 2 year old pancake fanatic.  Then we went to open gym together, where he played and played and had so much fun. 

Then I decided to be practical and go to Costco and get a few things that we needed. Back in my 20s I would have never even considered being responsible on my birthday, that's what the other 364 days of the year were for.  But, we were out of decaf coffee.  And I wanted coffee.  So, to Costco Zack and I went.  While I was there, I treated myself to a birthday present (even though my wonderful James got me a Teavana tea maker thingy and some yummy, YUMMY tea the week before). 

I bought myself memory foam slippers. They were $10.  And they are amazing. Why have I never discovered such things before?!?! 

I'm already considering a 2nd pair. 

My birthday wasn't all about being practical, however. James and I did go out for dinner (to Tavalino, a new place for us.  It was delish!).  And after dinner we treated ourselves to dessert from AJ's.  YUM.  And all of this was sans child.  Except for the one in my belly.  That one goes with me everywhere. 

If 30 means a sensible wallet, and 31 means memory foam slippers, I can't even begin to imagine what 32 will bring! 

I Miss Running

I miss running.  I really do.  Last weekend James ran on the treadmill while I napped.  When he was finished (he busted off one mile in 7:20!) I told him that I was jealous that he has the energy to run.  I have the energy to nap.  And make lists of things for James to do around the house.  And cook.  And take care of a 2 year old. And keep the house somewhat clean.  And grow another human being. 

In 9ish weeks this baby will [hopefully] be in my arms, and no longer in my belly.  Then around 6 weeks after that I will start up [slowly, and painfully] running once again, and documenting my return.  I can hardly wait.  Until then I suppose I will document the hilarious/sweet/peculiar things my sweetie pie Zacky does, along with any progress we make towards getting ready for the arrival of the wee one. 

Here are some of the things Zack has done this past week:

On Tuesday, I had my first BSF leaders meeting for the 2012-2013 year.  I talked to Zack about it all Monday, and the whole drive over on Tuesday.  By the time we got there he was quite excited to play on the playground at bible study.  That day, before Zack's nap, we went to pray.  Apparently I was taking too long getting started with the prayer, so Zack himself started praying.  It went like this. 

Zack:  Dear God
[long pause]
Me:  What do you want to thank God for??
[more pausing, and thinking]
Zack:  Sank soou, bubble study (translation, thank you bible study).

He melted my heart right there. 

He has also decided that while we are trying to get him ready for bed it's great fun to go hide in his closet.  He will then poke his sweet little face out and say, "James, Karen!"  Seriously!?  I want to be called mommy for as long as possible, none of this "Karen!" business. 

Sure do love that boy! 

Moving On Up!

Our sweet little Zack is officially out of his crib and sleeping in a toddler bed.  Sniff, sniff...they grow up so fast!

We've been putting off putting him in a toddler bed for as long as possible.  If we didn't have another wee one on the way, who will need the crib, we would have kept him in there until he was clearly too big, or climbed out.  But, November is just getting closer and closer and we wanted him to be as adjusted to a new big boy bed as possible before turning his whole world upside down by bringing a sibling into this world.

The transition has gone surprisingly well!  There have been moments where I have missed the crib oh so very much (mostly at nap time, when Zack was screwing around in his room, not napping), but overall, I can't complain.  We got him a stop light alarm clock.  When the red light is on, it's means it's night time and you are supposed to stay in your room.  When the green light turns on, it means it's morning and you can come out of your room.  Sleeping in is not something that Zack does much of.  He's an early bird, which is fine, to a degree.  But, we didn't want him waking up at 5 and then wandering around the house because he can.  Beside the fact that when he wakes up that early, he's a bit grumpy for the rest of the day....nobody enjoys that.

The first morning was quite a shock to us...Zack sauntered out of his bedroom around 6:45, which is actually late for him.   We are guessing he was confused as to what to do.  The next morning he was clearly confused.  At 5am he was standing in the middle of the house saying "mama, mama, MAMA!"  I took him back to his room, where he didn't sleep, but he did stay until the green light came on.  Another morning around 5:30 we heard his door open, then we hear his sweet little voice saying "hi dog dog!!  Hi dog dog!!"  Technically he didn't come out of his room that time....just stood in the doorway.  But those have been our only extra early mornings.  Pretty much every other morning he comes out of his room a few minutes after 6:15 (when the green light turns on) exclaiming "green light, ON!" His cuteness makes my extra tired mornings a teensie bit easier.

Sure do love my sweet boy.  The next step is putting him in a twin bed and moving the crib back into the baby room.  And then getting ready for the baby...who will be here before we know it. 

Olympic Fever and Belly Envy

We've got a case of Olympic fever over here.  I love the Olympics.  James does too.  And Zack is well on his way to being a lover of the Olympics as well.  So far his favorite sports seem to be beach volleyball (or sand volleyball, as he calls it), swimming, and he really enjoyed watching the support cars during one of the bike road races (though I don't know if that really counts...).  Zack has even taken to "swimming" on the floor in his room.  It's quite hilarious. 

Somehow, I've managed to be pregnant for both the 2010 winter games, and now the 2012 summer games.  When I was pregnant with Zack, I mostly remember crying during the Olympics....sports made me emotional.  This time around, I'm not nearly as emotional, but I did find myself tearing up after Mo Farah won the 10,000 meters and celebrated by giving his daughter a big ole bear hug.  Sniff, sniff. 

While these Olympics might not be bringing out the most emotional side of me, I for sure have found myself with a case of belly envy.  So many of these athletes have such amazingly flat stomachs (and wildly muscular stomachs).  I used to have a mostly flat belly, never a wildly muscular one, but I don't think I really want that many muscles anyway.  Now, I'm 26 weeks pregnant, and my belly is far from flat.  It is however, rock solid.   

Thankfully the Olympics will only be on for about another week, after which I hope my case of belly envy will dissipate.  And, I'll be back to going to bed at 9pm every night.  If I just so happen to be pregnant during the 2014 winter games (we can't decide if we want 2 or 3 kids...) I think I will write to NBC and ask them to move their nightly broadcast up by a few hours in order to accommodate my pregnant lady sleeping schedule.  I'm sure they will do it if I ask nicely. 

My Little "Helper"

It is a long term goal of ours to have our children be productive member's of society when they are grown and out of the house.  Zack is perfectly capable of contributing around here....just with small, 2 year old sized tasks. 

He is becoming quite the accomplished cook, and requests the step stool whenever I am in the kitchen making a meal.  And he requests ingredients for his own little concoctions that he's cooking up.  Earlier this week he requested flour, sugar, baking power and salt for his pancake mix.  Apparently making pancakes at least once a week lends to a 2 year old memorizing the ingredient list....

He likes to put dirty spoons and forks in the kitchen sink and loves to feed Walter dog. 

Today, I asked him to take a dirty washcloth and put it in the dirty towels, a task he has done many, many times.  He runs off to his bathroom, then emerges with the washcloth, talking about dirty towels.  He then runs off to mine and James' room with this washcloth, where I assumed he was going to put it in the dirty laundry in our closet. 

I just came out of the bathroom where I found the washcloth.  It was not in the dirty laundry, it was in the garbage can.  Apparently Zack doesn't like that one anymore....

I love my little helper. 

San Diego!

Ocean Beach

We just got back from a week long trip to beautiful San Diego.  The main purpose of the trip was to celebrate the marriage of Paige and Tom.  Our second objective for the week was to have lots of fun!  We successfully accomplished both. 

We rented a little house in Ocean Beach, which we shared with Brandon, Alexis, and their two boys.  From the pictures online, it appeared as though it was going to be quite cozy.  But, it was within our budget and only a block away from the ocean.  I was actually surprised at how big the house was.  It was still only a 2 bedroom, but the common living area was much bigger than I thought it was going to be, and the back and front yards had enough space for 3 boys to play in.  And, it was a block away from the ocean...maybe a five minute walk to the beach.  Can't beat that!  James and I would for sure go back here. 

Since we were going to be super close to Sea World, we got week long passes to Sea World.  Zack is pretty much clueless about sea life (we do live in the desert, after all), so we decided that we would get some books from the library about dolphins and whales with the hope that he would be excited for these new animals at Sea World.  Zack also picked out a book about sea lions, which he referred to as the "bunny book."  He really enjoyed this bunny book, and we also memorized a book about Firefighter Frank, but learned nothing about sea life.  He still did enjoy seeing some of the fish at Sea World.  He was bored out of his mind watching the dolphin show (but so were most of the adults in the group), and clapped a lot during the Shamu show.  James got to touch a dolphin, and Brandon did not.  This made Brandon very, very sad.

Churro Eating

Watching Sea Lions

In addition to Sea World, we spent a lot of time at the beach, playing in the sand and in the ocean.  For the first couple of days Zack referred to the ocean as the "big pool."  It was pretty cute, and quite logical.  He liked running into and out of the water, but wasn't a huge fan of the sand on his feet (but really, who is???).  Kaden, however, loved the sand and ended up buried on more than one occasion.  This pregnant lady busted out her best shoveling skills and dug him a mighty fine hole to sit in.

I had wedding duties 3 of the days, so James hung out with the wee man and the friends while I helped Paige prep for her big day.  The wedding was so beautiful and we couldn't be happier for Paige and Tom!  And, I can officially say I've been a pregnant bridesmaid!  My dress was the perfect dress for a pregnant lady, and the lady who altered it says she can size it down to my non-pregnant size when I'm done growing this sweet little human. 

One of the few pics we took at the wedding

All in all, it was a great trip.  Zack was a champion little traveler.

The highlights of the trip for me were:

Paige and Tom getting married.
Playing on the beach with my sweet family.
Zack talking about Aunt Paige.
Zack loving his new Shamu.
The sugar high dance party the 3 little boys put on for us.
Going to Balboa Park.
Zack rubbing my belly and telling me "baby, belly."

My 2 favorite guys at Balboa Park

Ewwwwww, gross

Last night I was making us green beans to have with dinner.  As I was washing them and cutting the ends off, my little helper says to me, "Ewwwww, gross!"

He is hilarious.

Then I got to thinking, where in the world did he learn to say things like that?  Oh yes, from his mother.  I tell him ewwww gross to things like dog poop, boogers, dirty feet and other gross things.  

According to Zack, green beans go in the same category as dog poop and boogers.  He's the best. 

Belly, belly, belly

I am now 22 weeks pregnant and have finally taken a belly picture.  Hopefully I can manage to take a few more through out the pregnancy so this child can also see what it looked like while stretching out my belly. 

I've noticed a few obstacles to documenting my "progress" this time around. 

1.  I'm pretty lazy these days.  It's hot out, a lot of days I don't bother styling my hair.  A growing belly and a messy hair-do don't make a lady feel all that pretty, so I avoid cameras.

2.  Zack.  We think he is freakishly cute and love to take pictures of him.  He, however, does not enjoy this.  So, whenever we get the camera out he furrows his brow, says "no, no, no!" and shoves his hand in the camera lens to avoid being photographed at all costs.  Often times the camera puts him in a bad mood.  Since 2 year olds can be a tiny bit moody from time to time I try and avoid doing things that I know will set him off. 

3.  I'm a teensie bit afraid to see what the belly is looking like.  It's feeling a lot bigger than it did when I was this far along with Zack.  Denial is powerful! 

However, when I compare the belly pics side by side I'm not seeing too much of a difference, at least size wise.  I think I'm a bit "rounder" this time.  Somehow with Zack my belly was sticking out, but flat.  Awkward.  I must give my compliments to my photographer, his skills have greatly improved.  2 examples, the background and the fact that I'm looking at the camera this time.  Though, looking back at other pictures of me while I was pregnant with Zack, my skin was out of control.  Acne city, much like a teenager going through puberty.  Thankfully this time I'm not quite the pimply teenager I was last time.  I guess being 30 has its benefits! 

It's pretty hard to believe that I'm already half done with this pregnancy...only about 4 months left!  November will be here before we know it. 

Running, 100 degrees and Smoking....

What do running, 100 degrees, and smoking have to do with one another??? 

It's what we saw two people doing while we were driving home from church yesterday. 

We are just cruising home in the 100+ degree heat, at 12:30, when we see runners.  2 of them.  The guy is slightly a head of the lady.  He's doing a bit of a shuffle jog.  She's doing more of a speed walk.  And she's smoking.  A cigarette.  While out for a Sunday jog. 

I told Zack they were making a poor decision, just like people who ride their bike or motorcycles without helmets are making a poor decision. 

I can maybe almost a teensie bit understand running when it's 100 out (ok, no, I can't.  That's what treadmills and running outside at 5am in the summer are for).  But I absolutely cannot comprehend smoking while running.  Well, really, smoking at all.  But while exercising??  Poor decision.

Oh to be 2!

Two year olds are hilarious.  Sometimes completely irrational, and sometimes the most logical people on the planet.  I happen to wildly love my sweetie pie 2 year old Zacky boy.  He makes me smile on a regular basis.  For example, the other morning I was making him breakfast, which really is just re-heating pancakes in the microwave.  When he heard the microwave beep he came running into the kitchen yelling "Yay!  Yay!! Pancakes!!!!"  I smiled at his joy over microwaved pancakes. 

In addition to a deep love for microwaved pancakes, he has a deep love for his blocks (legos, technically, but we call them blocks).  His love for his blocks is so deep that we sometimes have a hard time prying him away from these blocks for a nap, a meal, and for bedtime.  There have been tears involved more than one time when we have had to put these blocks away so they could go night, night.  I think I may have gotten a glimpse of how he feels about this myself, just the other day.  I had built him a pretty sweet set of stairs with his blocks.  My building skills have greatly improved over the past couple of weeks, and I was proud of how structurally sound these stairs were.  Then Zack destroyed them.  I nearly cried.  I wanted to show James my stairs when he came home from work.  Just a little glimpse of what it might feel like to be a 2 year old....

Um, Ouch.

Yesterday I had a very domestic day.  I made 2 loaves of bread, did at least 2 loads of laundry, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, and successfully completed a sewing project that transformed one pair of jeans into one pair of maternity shorts.  Then came time for dinner.  I made a delicious frittata that involved putting the whole frying pan in the oven to set everything up.  I took the pan out of the oven and let it sit for a few minutes, just like the recipe told me to.  I came back to the pan a few minutes later, and grabbed the handle just like I would normally grab the handle of the frying pan.  Only this frying pan had just been in the oven, at 400 degrees, just a few minutes earlier. 

Ouch. 

I must have made some sort of funny noise because I sure did get James' attention. 

I hung out at the kitchen sink for a good 5 minutes after that, holding my hand under the running water.  The whole time I am, of course, holding my sweetie pie 2 year old who loves to tell his mama, "up, pease mama."  I decided that 5 minutes of running water was enough, but as soon as I removed my hand from this water I was greeted by intense burning.  Not fun.  James got me a bowl of water which I soaked my hand in during dinner.  It's quite challenging to eat left handed, mind you.

I continued to soak my hand in water all night.  It was the only thing that brought me relief.  When it came time for bed I was hopeful that I could just cover my hand in aloe and it would stop hurting.  Sadly, this was not the case.  I moved my already uncomfortable pregnant self out to the couch so that I could put a bowl of water on the coffee table and [somewhat] easily soak my hand while I attempted sleep (on my side, of course).  I think I did manage to actually sleep with my hand in the water (and no, I didn't pee my pants like you are supposed to do a slumber parties when your friends put your hand in water).  Around midnight or so I was able to wrap my hand in wet wash cloths and use an icepack rather than having to do the whole hand in the bowl method.  When I woke up this morning my hand was no longer in the wash cloth, or anywhere near the ice pack, and I didn't feel like it was on fire. 

I've got some crispy, blistery fingertips today, and the palm of my hand is quite red, but thankfully that's fading away, and it only hurts when it encounters a lot of pressure or heat.  I've decided to relinquish all of my domestic duties for the day, maybe even through the weekend.  We'll see how James feels about that. 

I'm also going to go ahead and claim pregnancy brain on this one.  If I was in my "normal" state of mind I don't think I would have grabbed the handle of a frying pan that had just come out of the oven.  At least I hope not....

Random Thoughts in my Head

Apparently I'm feeling much better, because I am beginning to think clearly (well, somewhat clearly) once again, and I also seem to have the energy to do strenuous things like blogging.  My brain is full of random thoughts.  I figured the best way to get them out is by blogging about them.

First off, my little boy (who is 2 now!!!  WOW!!) is the sweetest little guy EVER (no offense to anyone else and their little boys or the child in my womb if it just so happens to be a boy).  But seriously, Zack is sweet as can be.  Last week he was busy at work playing with cars or doing something else that is very important to a two year old.  Then he stopped what he was doing, sat down on the dog bed, and said "pray."  He then proceeded to fold his hands together, and bow his head.  About 2 seconds later, he looked up and said "Amen," and then went about his playing.

I just stared at him, and thought to myself "did he really just stop everything and pray??  And where oh where did he learn to bow his head and fold his hands??"  We do our best to pray with him every night before bed.  It generally involves a family hug, while either James or I prays, and while Zack lists off names of people he feels we should pray for.  At the end of the pray we all say "amen," and then James and Zack usually cheer, saying "yay, yay, yay!!" as loud as they can.  This is clearly not what Zack was doing.  I talked to his BSF children's leaders today, and sure enough, they are doing their best to teach the kids to bow their heads and fold their hands when they pray.  They were both excited that Zack did this on their own, and so am I!!!  Sweet boy!!!

Second, I would like to provide a brief recap of my morning.  I am trying to get ready, and Zack is asking to play with playdough, or "paayyoooough" as he calls it.  So I give him some playdough and sit him at the table.  About 2 minutes later, I hear crying and Zack comes running into the bathroom.  He says to me "mama, paayyoooough, dog-dog."  I say, "did Walter eat your playdough?"  Zack's response, "yeah."  He and I head out to the kitchen and sure enough, there's Walter, licking his lips and sniffing the table, hoping for another tasty morsel of playdough.  Rotten beagle.

And lastly, I can now be called "Karen the Pregnant Walk-Runner."  Since I spent most of the last 2.5 months in a nauseous fog, I didn't do much running.  I did do some walking, and have recently started a run/walk method.  I've done this a few times around the neighborhood, and more recently, I've been using the treadmill (seriously, it's waaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyy too hot already!!!  Pushing the jogging stroller, AND being pregnant, don't help.  I'd have to run super early in the morning, but I'm so crazy hungry when I get up, I can't even think about anything but eating.  So, the treadmill during nap time is where it's at!).  Pre-baby growing, I would try and bust off 3 miles as fast as I could, always seeing how close I could get to 25 minutes.  That's no longer the case.  Today I ran/walked 1.5 miles in 19 minutes, and I consider it a victory.  I'm so crazy competitive with myself.  I'm having to remind myself that now is no time to be setting new records for myself!  There will be plenty of time for that once I'm done growing a person.

And that's about all I've got for ya.

Annnndddddddd, I'm Pregnant.

And that, is VERY exciting news in our household!  Waaaaaaaaaaay more exciting than new neighbors! We are so incredibly blessed.

The past couple of months have been very long, just ask James!!!  He took over full duty of grocery shopping, housework, and pretty much everything else while I sat on the couch in a daze.  It's been amazing, how incredibly tired I've been.  I remember being tired when I was pregnant with Zack, but I would take 20 minute power naps and be good to go.  I was so crazy tired that I was taking hour to two hour long naps nearly every day, and sleeping 9 hours at night!  And, even with all that sleep, I barely had the energy to get up off the couch to get myself a glass of water.  Sending a text message fatigued me (both physically and mentally, I think I forgot how to think for a while there!), I'm not too sure how exactly I completed my BSF lessons during this time...I sure don't remember much!  Add to that fatigue everybody's favorite, nausea.  And then you've got yourself one very useless Karen.  Poor sweet Zack, I felt so guilty on so many occasions, cause I was such a boring mom!!  Up until a couple of months ago, he hadn't really watched TV.  He's now addicted to the movie Cars.  He loves Mater.  A lot.  And tells me "watch Cars" while pointing to the TV at least 5 times a day.  We've got to work on this addiction. 

Thankfully I'm getting my energy back, and I've only got a teensie bit of nausea left, which I'm very excited about!! 

We are looking forward to November, when we will get to meet this sweet little person. 

Finally!!

It's the exciting news you've all been waiting for!  We have neighbors!!!! 

The house next door has been empty since shortly after our sweet little Zack was born.  James and I have been able to live as if we were private investigators, spying on the [vacant] house next door.  It was empty with no signs of life for well over a year, and then finally last fall it was put up on the market. 

Well, after 160 thousand years (give or take a few) of being on the market, someone bought it, and moved in!! 

I'm not sure if the owners are the people who witness Walter in the backyard wearing James' underwear around his neck or not, but James did talk with the guy this past weekend, and found out that they think Walter (and his barking) is cute.

And, that's about all I've got on the exciting news home front.  If you must, sit on the edge of your seats for a while until I can come up with something else to report. 

And the Fastest Runner Is....

James. That's right folks, you read it here first. The fastest runner in the house is now James.

James ran the OV half on Sunday, March 25th. His official time was 1 hour, 56 minutes, and 19 seconds. This beats my previous year's finishing time of 1 hour, 56 minutes, and 59 seconds. The man is a full 40 seconds faster than I am.

Zack and I were at the end of the course to cheer James on as he passed by. Maybe we were the extra motivation that James needed to press on for that last .1 mile, and speed up to beat my time.
James for sure wins the award for the most handsome finisher. Gotta love that man!!!

He is My Son

Most of the time, I hear how much James and Zack look alike. Not only do they look alike, but Zack also has a rather laid back personality, just like his daddy. I'm ok with the fact that Zack seems to be a clone of James. After being pregnant for 9 months and that whole childbirth thing, I know that Zack is related to me, even if he looks and acts 100% like his father.

Today, however, I realized two ways in which it's very clear that he's my son.

1. He leaves lights on when he leaves the room. I do this all the time, and it makes James crazy.

2. He can't stand it when cabinets are left open in the kitchen. James often leaves cabinets open, which drives me crazy. Today, a cabinet was open, and Zack yelled door over and over and over again until I shut it.

Yup, he's my boy.

Run! Fast!!

That's what Zack tells me to do when he's in the jogging stroller. Just about every time I take a walk break (jogging strollers are heavy and I just need a break some times) he pipes up and tells me I need to run and I need to run fast!!

Someday he will make a great personal trainer. Or maybe he already is my personal trainer...

I love that kid.

Weekend Recap

What happens when your husband goes backpacking for the weekend, leaving you home with the little boy and the beagle? The kid eats paint, super glues himself to the kitchen floor, and tells his mama "NO!"

It was a great weekend, really, it was.

I decided to do some "extra" fun stuff with Zack, since we would be without James for a few days. We went and bought him a new truck (one of his loves), and got some supplies for an art project for daddy. For some reason I thought that a truck that came apart into 6 different pieces wouldn't frustrate Zack. I also thought that painting would be a good idea. I was slightly wrong on both accounts.

Every 2 minutes, Zack would have busted his truck into 6 different pieces, and unable to figure out how to get it back together again, he kept coming and asking me for help. So, to take his mind off the truck that keeps falling into pieces, I decide it's time to paint a picture frame for daddy.

We go from this:



To this:



Crayola paint does not taste good. While it's non-toxic, it still does unfortunate things to little boy's stomachs. Zack does not recommend licking it off the end of the paintbrush. It doesn't end well.

While Zack was napping I decided the best way to prevent his truck from breaking into 6 pieces causing great frustration was to superglue the pieces together. So I got out my gorilla glue, and glued away.

About 3 seconds after Zack woke up from his nap, he was asking to play with his new truck. So I give him this new truck that has been super glued back into one piece. Seven seconds later he has ripped it apart. Apparently the glue needed longer to dry. So, I quickly grab the truck pieces from him (which frustrated him even more) in the hopes that I could prevent him from getting his fingers stuck in the still wet glue. I get his hands washed, and my hands washed, and put him down to let him go get into trouble somewhere else. He heads back into the kitchen and on the way, inadvertently finds the super glue that was transferred from the truck to the tile floor. He tried to lift his foot, but his sock was stuck to the ground. Oops! So, I yank the sock of the super glue, and go to town with goo-gone to get the stick off.

I then decided it was best if we just left the house and avoided all things crafty for the remainder of the weekend.

The next morning I was doing my best to keep Zack happy while I got ready for church. I asked him if he wanted to play with his truck (that had been re-glued, and left to dry overnight, much more successful this way). He told me "NO!" This is new for Zack. Usually his form of no is any angry sounding grunt/whine, and shoving whatever it is away. Or shaking his head no. He hadn't actually said no to James or I. And so it begins......

Overall, we had very fun weekend, and we were quite glad to see James when he got back home. Zack proudly presented him with this picture frame.

Next time James wants to go on a backpacking trip I will remind him of the weekend Zack ate paint, super glued himself to the kitchen floor, and started saying no.

Doggie Rescue

Not only do I say hi to everyone I see while running, and wave at all the cars that pass by, but I've also started rescuing dogs on my runs. Apparently they are drawn to friendly runners like myself.

On Monday we rescued our second dog while running. This fuzzy little black friend ran right up to us. He would not have done well on his own out in the wild. James scooped him up, and did his best to hold the little wiggle worm still while I tried to read his tag to call his owner. We connected with his owner, and returned him to his very thankful mama. Walter was thrilled that we brought home dog smells.

In other running related news, I was going to go on a quick run last night while my boys played in the backyard and our dinner baked.

I told James there were only 24 minutes left on the timer, so I was just going to run 2 laps (booooooooring). His response, "you can't do that in 24 minutes." My response, "did you really have to challenge me to do that???" He just smiled.

So I set out to run my 2 laps under 24 minutes. I am happy to report that my 2 laps along with 1 quick calf stretch break, a short walk break, and a stand there and look at the javelina eating out of the trash can break in addition to a wait for them to get out of my way break, I returned home 22 minutes and 54 seconds later. I was huffing and puffing and wanted to barf, but I did it. Then we uploaded my run to the computer and compared it to the time he ran two laps in 21:17 and I really wanted to barf. And go out and run it again in less than 21:17.

I think it might be better for me to stick with rescuing dogs, James is getting too fast.

He Calls Me Mom

My sweetie pie Zacky boy, who is not yet two, is beginning to call me mom. I feel like I should still be mama! Or mommy, which he seems to be skipping right over!!! He's too little to be using such a grown up name for me! And, when he calls me mom, his voice seems much lower than it is when he's calling me mama. This has got to stop, he's growing to fast!

James, however, is still dada and Dadddddddieeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! Cutest thing ever. I just might have a crisis if this whole mom thing doesn't calm itself down. I would like to be mama for a little while longer. Thank you for your participation, Zackary.

Car Buying with a Toddler

We bought a new car. Well, a used car. But it's new to us.

James has been driving the same 1997 Nissan pickup truck that I started driving my senior year of high school, too and from work every day. It was a dandy little truck, and got the job done. It came in handy when we needed to buy a Christmas tree, and for hauling other miscellaneous stuff that doesn't fit in a trunk. But, after 15 years of loyal service, it was beginning to show it's old age.

Poor James was a victim of it's old age. One day, while whizzing down I-10 at 75mph, he overheated. Our trusty mechanic, Lenny, got the truck back working once again. For a day. And then James overheated again. James was actually able to get the truck working again. However, for fear of the truck breaking down and costing us more in repairs than it was actually worth, we decided it was time to bite the bullet, and buy another car.

We headed to the car dealership on a Friday, fully prepared to not buy a car that day. We were going to take all weekend to get the best deal possible. Since we didn't think we were going to buy a car that day, we took Zack with us.

Well, we ended up buying a car that day. This is how car buying happens when you have a one and half year old with you.

Zack runs in 832 circles around the dealership, yelling "car!!" "geen!!!!" and "truck!!!!!" every time he sees a car, a truck or anything that he interprets as being green.

Zack stands by the fountain out front of the dealership, getting the mist in his hair.

Zack runs in more circles, around the green car, exclaiming "car!!!!! GEENN!!!!"

Zack rearranges the furniture in the cube where James was negotiating.

Zack yells "car!!! Geennnn!!! TRUCK!!"

I tell James "I think we need to be done." The salesman doesn't want to lose a sale, and gets us a good deal.

We wait forever and a day to talk to the finance man.

Dinner break by the fountain.

Zack yells "CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!! GEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNN!!!! TRUCK!!!!!!!!!!" and runs 18 more miles around the dealership.

We talk to the finance man. Zack sits still for 8 seconds.

Finance man busts out money to buy fruit snacks for Zack.

Zack eats 3-4 servings of fruit snacks.

Zack says "wow! Truck!!"

Zack declares the evening to be done, and stinks up the finance mans office with a dirty diaper.

Finance man gives us an even better deal.

So, after around 5 hours of "car, geen, truck!!", 20 miles of running around the car dealership, 1 large pack of fruit snacks, and 1 dirty diaper, we drove home with a red car.

We now own 2 Toyota Corollas. We have matching cars. One silver, one red. I feel so old.

Exciting News!! (Cont.)

No, I'm not pregnant.

Remember the other exciting news I've blogged about before??? About how the house next door to us is finally on the market?? A quick re-cap if you're confused. The house next to us has been vacant since the summer of 2010. James and I don't really have all that exciting of a life, so I definately call him and tell him things like "James, there is someone doing yard work next door!!" or "there are painters next door!!!!" and we get pretty excited. One day, this empty house had a for sale sign put up out front. We went outside and looked at it as a family, that's how huge this is in our life.

Well, the house is still on the market, and has been since October (and is anyone really surprised by this?? Ummmmm, no). Plenty of people come and look at the house, and being the good wife that I am, I report these visitors to James. Generally it's Walter who announces that there are people next door. Lets say 100 people have toured the house next door. Out of those 100 people, Walter has probably howled at 97 of them. He was probably asleep or eating when then other 3 were in the backyard next door. He enjoys saying hi to new people, he's just a friendly beagle!!

Well, the people touring the house today got a real treat from Walter. You see, Walter really enjoys dirty laundry. James and I are pretty good at getting the dirty stuff into the hamper, but on the rare occasion that I'm a bit behind on laundry and the hamper is over flowing (this has probably only happened 1 or 2 times since we got married...ok, I confess, it's always happening), Walter can be found in our closet, happily rolling in the dirty clothes. He has 2 favorites: running clothes (they are extra stinky) and underwear. From time to time he manages to get a pair of underwear or some running shorts around his neck. We laugh every time this happens. Well, today, Walter happened to find an overflowing laundry hamper, and delighted himself by rolling in it. He emerged from the closet wearing a pair of boxers around his neck. I laughed at him, but at the moment I was doing something else, so I didn't take these boxers off the dog's neck. Sometime goes by, and I hear Walter in the backyard, doing his usual howl at the people next door.

Then he comes in and I see this.....

My dog sure did howl at the people looking at the house next door, while wearing James' underwear around his neck.

But, the reality of it is, if you are going to live next door to us, there will, from time to time, be a beagle in the backyard wearing running shorts or underwear around his neck. Eventually he will get used to the neighbors, and won't howl at them. However, he will continue to air our dirty laundry as long as we've got it.

Why Are We Having This Argument???

The other morning, while I was making breakfast, Zack was sitting at the table coloring. And by coloring, I mean he was dropping the same two crayons over and over again, victoriously claiming that they were both green (picture it, lifting the crayon up over his head, and declaring loudly "GEEEEN!!!"), and occasionally scribbling on a piece of paper.

This is how the conversation between the two of us went.

Zack: Geeeen!! (Holding green crayon up over head)

Me: You're right, that crayon is green!

Zack: Geeeen!!!! (Holding red crayon up over head)

Me: Green is a pretty color but that crayon is red.

Zack: Geeeen!!!!!!! (Still holding red crayon up over head)

Me: Zack, that crayon is red, it's pretty.

Zack: GEEEEN!!!!! (You guessed it, red crayon in hand, up over head)

Me: That one is red. It's not green. Red, can you say RED??



And this is when I asked myself....why are we having this argument?? He's not even 2, he has no idea of red vs. green. He just loves to say green. And, if something isn't green it's because he has decided it's blue. And, it's crazy cute when the kid is telling me (loudly) that something is GEEEEEN!!! or BEUUUUUUUU!!!! Someday he will know all his colors, and say green and blue, and I will miss the times when he was at the table declaring loudly that his red crayon was geeeen.

I think I need to go give him a ridiculously huge hug, and ask him what color my shirt is.

Or, I'll let him sleep. That's probably a better idea for all parties involved.

The Stinky 5.5

James, Zack and I went for a run today. We started out at the baseball fields, and ran along a portion of "The Loop," which is a path that eventually will create a loop all the way around Tucson. Anytime that I've ran on this portion of the loop with James, we've gone to the right. Today, we went left. James has done this portion of the loop a few times on his own during his marathon training and has never had anything wonderful to say about it. But, since he likes taking me on runs where I've never been before, we went left at the baseball field.

The run started out pretty ugly. We were in between 2 chain link fences. What they were fencing off I'm not sure (it looked like a huge, random assortment of junk/stuff). After running about a half a mile through these chain link fields of glory/whoknowswhat, the path lines up with I-10. There were approximately zero trees (give or take zero....), 18 different species of desert weeds, an assortment of random bicyclists and dirt. And man holes. Or, as they were labeled, "Sanitary Sewer." When we stopped to stretch we were greeted by a horrible stench. Then we noticed one of these lovely sewage stank traps nearby. We stretched for about 8 seconds before the stink caused us to forgo being loving to our leg muscles.

We continued along our run and continued be greeted by bursts of sewage stink every so often. James only complained about the smell making his eyes water once.

Then, we got to the halfway point, and turned around to be greeted by a breeze in our face. This breeze wasn't too noticeable when it was at our backs. But, when you are pushing a jogging stroller, breezes feel more like gusty winds that want to push you over backwards. These breezes also helped to transport the sewage stink to us far before we actually reached the man holes. Picture this for a moment. Me running, pushing the jogging stroller into the wind using only one hand, and using my other hand to pull my shirt up over my nose and hold it there in an attempt to keep some stink out. Did I mention we were going uphill, too? Barefoot! In the snow!!

Ok, so there was no snow, only a few hills, and I was surely wearing shoes. But this area of "The Loop" needs to be renamed "Sewage Row." I will avoid it in the future. Peeee-uuuuuuuuuuuu.

Uh-Oh

Uh-oh happens to be one of Zack's favorite expressions. He says it all the time. Right now, I'm having an "uh-oh" moment. BSF is starting up again next Tuesday after our Christmas and New Year's break. I was going to call all of my ladies today to remind them about this, but when I went to go find my folder with all of my information I couldn't find it....I'm fairly certain the smallest member of the family has something to do with this. But he's napping right now, so I can't ask him where it is. I fear he may have thrown it away. When he's not saying "uh-oh" he's saying "way" and taking something to the garbage can to throw it away. Every time that we've caught him throwing stuff away it has all been appropriate stuff. But, of course, the one time you don't catch him is the time he's throwing away something that's quite necessary. Once he wakes up I will ask him where my blue folder is. He will most likely shake his head no at me and ask for some milk. But I'm still going to try. Then I will look in his room. Who knows what will show up there. My search so far has only turned up one snack cup in the hall closet. That's not where we keep snack cups.

Thankfully, I have every one's phone number saved in my phone and I was still able to make my phone calls. I would still like to know where that folder is though....and we should probably get back into the habit of locking the pantry door to help prevent a certain, sweet boy from throwing too much stuff away.