A week and a half to run...

I had signed up for this 5K (in a week and a half) months ago!  Literally months ago (sounds like my 10K), with the intent to run and run and run my heart out before the race.  Not that i have any intention of actually racing anyone, but i did want to finish before the 85 year olds this time around.  well, it looks like ol' Netty and i will be pulling up the rear once again.  I have run about four time total since i signed up for the race.  This morning, i set my alarm an hour earlier to go run... i snoozed once, then physically sat up to change the wake up time so i could sleep a little longer.  i just have no motivation.  i want to do it, and i want to do well, but i am too busy, and the times that do work for me to go out and get a run in equal the times of the sun in the highest point of the sky.  And, well, most of you know how well the heat and i pair. 


So, tomorrow, i plan to get up at 6:00 and run as much as i can before i need to get home, shower, and get myself and M ready for "work."  At least B is staying home with her daddy all day tomorrow.  She's been a trooper this week, but she needs a rest, and honestly, so do i.  Watching all the other kids on top of the baby is just plain insane!  


Hopefully tomorrow night i will at least be able to say that i got up and out early in the morning.  Hopefully i will have even run a bit!  We shall see!  

Soon to be FOUR!

So, today, when i looked at the calendar (somewhat randomly at that), i realized that my daughter's birthday is one month and one day away!?!  How on EARTH did this sneak up on me???  I have SO MUCH to plan and do!  Birthday parties can equal small weddings in the realm of celebrations for us.  And this year, all she has asked for is that she have a "surprise" party.  this makes things a bit trickier than normal.  because now i have to do everything behind the scenes!  my husband and i just spent the last hour brainstorming.  we've come up with some good thoughts.  now i just need to get on the ball and make my invitations (and an invite-list would help, too!), get them into the mail, and start creating!  
okay, deep breath in, deep breath out.  we can do this; we can do this; we can do this!  


And so, the onslaught of birthday/holiday mayhem begins!  God help us all!

Two Hundredth Post!

Ahhh, it feels like just yesterday that i was up all night with my daughters, watching diego till dawn, and starting my blog (well, two out of those three could have been just yesterday!)  But here i am- 200 posts wiser and stronger.  I was going to do a recap post, fill you in on all the ups and downs and ins and outs of the last 200 +/- days.  But, i did not go back through my old posts to see what could have been updated.  i did not do much research at all (in act, i just went to hit NEW POST and saw that i had 199 behind me... so, there wasn't much room for planning tonight.)


Instead, i will say one brief thing about my day.  it was great.  i loved working with the kids- so much so that i may have to re-explore teaching as a career when my kids get a bit older.  maybe preschool, maybe older.  i always thought i'd want to teach in a high-school, but after hanging with some awesome almost two and two year olds today, i may have changed my mind.  we'll see.  i definitely have a lot more time to worry about that.  


but, with the awesomeness of my day has come sheer exhaustion.  so i am going to bed.  good night and cheers to 200 nights that we've spent together!

Working Girl.

I have not worked (as in being employed) in over four years.  I can absolutely say with vigor that i have not missed it very much, either.  But tomorrow, come 9:00 a.m., i am going back to work.  Well, it's for a week... at my daughter's preschool... and my children are coming with me... BUT, it's an out of the house, hard work, paying job!  I am so excited!  I am logging off now, so i can get ready to go to bed, so that my body doesn't go into shock when the alarm goes off at 7:00 tomorrow morning!  
I will hopefully have wonderful things to write about tomorrow night!  Wish me luck!

Goodnight Irene!

As is usual with my life, i have a love/hate relationship with Hurricane Irene.  I am sitting here enjoying my patio with my husband in a sweatshirt and long pants, a situation almost unheard of here in the summer.  I am loving that Irene has brought us cooler weather and less humidity, with no rain or damage.  My flipside to this is that my entire family and my husband's entire family lay in the wake of the storm to come. Sometime between tonight and tomorrow the winds and rains will hit, with God knows what damage, and God knows what else.  I pray and i hope that it's just a bunch of branches in the roads.  
I will go back to enjoying my time with my husband, and i will continue to pray for the safety of our family.  and i will continue my love/hate relationship with the hurricane and almost everything else in my life.

All about B...

My youngest daughter has never ceased to amaze me.  Whether its her beautiful bright blue eyes that twinkle when she smiles, or her giggle that is absolutely contagious, she is a dazzling little girl.  She is as sweet as sweet can be- when she wants to be.  She is also unnaturally stubborn and headstrong, possibly more so than all of those stubborn and headstrong genes that have come before her.  I have come to realize at her very early age that i will probably have nothing to worry about with that little one as she takes on the world, except for maybe the world.


Today, as i tried to put her to bed for her first nap, she got frustrated when i took something away from her (i believe it was either glass or electronic, and definitely not something that could go in the crib with her... otherwise this would not have been a battle i would ever wage.)  Imagine for a second the old 60's era movies where the tough greaser guy grabs the nerdy wimpy guy by the collar, twists once and then pulls the wimp's face up to his own to convey a point.  Imagine my ten-month-old and me sitting in her rocking chair.  She actually grabbed my collar and twisted and pulled me into her face... Replay that 60's movie inserting me for the wimp and her for the greaser.  Actually, she'd make any real greaser  seem like the wimp.


But then tonight, we ventured out to see a movie in the park, which didn't even start until almost 9:00.  I had no idea what we were in store for.  Well, let me just say she probably had the most fun that she has had yet in her tiny life.  She danced, she sang, she ate, she jumped, she played, she watched more of the movie than a lot of the other kids... it was amazing!  She stayed wide-eyed and attentive (even, dare i say, happy!) until we left the park at 10:35p.m.  She was asleep within minutes and transferred well.  We'll see how the night progresses.  


I love that little girl so much.  I love that she keeps us on our toes.  I love that we never know what we're going to encounter with her (remind me that i love this the next time i'm banging my head against the wall!)  i love her laugh and smile and now- her dance!  she is so much more than the baby she really should be.  I am so blessed to have two absolutely amazing daughters- so different and yet somehow so much the same!  I never take for granted the two precious gifts that God has given me, and i look forward to each and every day that i can know them more and more!

Never too late...

Between last night and tonight, i have decided that i am putting my foot down, and i am instilling a bit more stringent bedtime rules.  and by a "bit more stringent," i mean rules at all.  we have tried many different approaches in the past, each with its own merit, but not one has seemed to work for us.  But after having no bed "time" this summer (usually having M running around like it's noon at ten o'clock at night), this summer-of-fun must end.  And i want to end it now, with a week to go before school starts. 


So, last night and tonight began the new bedtime rituals.  I put the baby to bed at 7:00 last night (out of sheer need, since she screamed from 6:00-7:00, and threw food at me if i tried to feed her.)  i then began M's bedtime at 8:15.  She fought it all the way and didn't fall asleep until close to ten.  But after putting the baby to bed at 7:45 tonight, and warning M that we were going to start bedtime at 8:15, she complied, sort of.  She's actually still whimpering in her room and it's 9:10, but we're getting there.  and the part that i wanted/needed is that my husband and i are sitting here on the couch instead of one of us laying in her room bargaining with her, or waiting for her to fall asleep, or even worse, falling asleep ourselves.  Maybe, by the time this summer-of-fun truly does come to an end, he and i will even be able to watch a movie together before midnight!  maybe!!!

House Envy... again.

It is no surprise to anyone who knows me, or who has ever read my blog, that i have an extreme love/hate relationship with my house.  I love the location, but i hate the riff/raff.  I love the rooms, but hate the lack of closets.  i love the house, but hate the lot.  etc, etc, etc.  
This week, after rejoicing in the news that a dear friend is relocating back to my city, i have been online or driving the streets helping her look for a home.  Well, let me just tell you that even though my house envy had subsided for a while (and does every time i clean and organize!), it's back.  in full force.  i saw big houses on big lots, big houses on small lots, new homes, old homes, blah blah blah.  one that was not the right fit for her was as close to my dream home as i've come to in a while.  


i really am happy here, and it helps that i've had a bit more help to keep it clean and somewhat organized. but if that lottery ever hits in our direction, there are quite a few homes that i know i'd have a hard time choosing from!  and that's a problem i would be a-okay with!

I feel the Earth Move Under my Feet...

Today was one of those strange days in the cosmos of the world.  An actual earth quake hit the east coast today.  The epicenter was somewhere in VA, but the tremors were felt as far south as SC and north as MA.  I, either because i was chatting too much or driving, felt nothing.  I had not even heard about it until my dad (555 miles away from me) called to see if i had felt anything.  I honestly thought he was lying as he described what he (and his dogs) felt, and then as he relayed the news stories.  I instantly checked in with home, where my husband and eldest both felt it in the house, and it woke the baby!  My mother and grandmother both felt it, too!
When i got home and checked my e-mail, i had about 40 new messages (unheard of in a two hour time frame)- ALL from the neighborhood moms sending messages out to see if anyone else had felt, "IT"?   Everyone in my area described it similarly- as if a huge vehicle was driving by outside and rattling everything inside.  But there couldn't be a vehicle large enough to make that kind of rattling.  My daughter told me that she heard the dishes moving.  And, of course, this is something she has now become fascinated with.


Like i said, i missed it all.  But that's okay.  of all the things that appear on my list of "things to do before i die", experiencing an earthquake has never been one of them.  But thankfully, it all appears to have ended all right, and everyone seems to be okay.  


Now, hopefully the hurricane that's scheduled for this weekend doesn't turn into a tsunami...  we shall see!

at a loss for words.

i'm having a hard time coming up with topics these days.  i could complain about what little sleep i am (still) getting.  or i can delight in the joys of my ever growing babes (the baby now has two perfect teeth and the sweetest giggle i have ever heard.  M is beating adults at high scores on angry birds!)  but, on top of that, i am blank.  writer's block?  maybe.  exhaustion?  i'm sure.  but, because of this loss for words, i am posting yet another quickie.  
hopefully a few good night's of sleep and maybe one big wow moment, and i'll be back?!?  but, until then, we'll keep things short and sweet!

End of summer.

Tonight, in my mind, is the end of summer.  
We've been away, we've had company, and i've enjoyed yet another wonderful end-of-summer girls' weekend away at a serene and heavenly lake.  I have taken my daughters swimming and M has attended camp.  We have grilled and sipped many a cold beer.  We've spent wonderful amounts of time with family and friends.  All that summer can entail has been savored!  


And now i am ready to move on.  i am ready to start eating well and head back to the gym.  I am ready to buy back to school supplies, and a new lunch box.  i am ready to (hopefully sooner than later) begin to wear jeans and sweaters again!


So, my dear friend summer, while i have enjoyed every minute of your days, i am having to say good-bye. i need to move on.  so long; farewell, and thanks for all the memories!

different strokes for different folks.

there are so many different ways to raise a child.  i would guess that everyone's way is the way they best know how.  parents either learn or pick up from their own parents (both positively or negatively), and then they move forward.  they model their behaviors after the parents they admire (even if they are not their own.)  some parents feel that rules are meant to be followed at all cost.  some feel that the child rules. some (i would guess many, if not most) lay somewhere in between.  


these thoughts are all streaming from my nearly burnt out mind, but i couldn't stop thinking about tonight in my house.  the baby is sick, or something.  she screamed for most of the afternoon, evening, and several times after she fell asleep.  My almost four-year-old was "bored" since we were focusing mostly on the baby and dinner and laundry, etc.  when i came out from my third attempt at putting the baby to sleep (also after changing her sheets because she threw up everywhere from crying so much...),  i was irritated and tired.  i wanted to sit down and relax- with NO kids around.  but M wanted to play (mind you, it was now almost 9:30.)  it took every single fiber of my being to not just snip something to the effect of, "it is time to go to sleep."  instead, i sat down at a "desk" and joined the classroom, where she was "teaching" us all about crab's legs. we ate them "dumped" in butter.  she also told us "why did the skeleton cross the road" jokes.  it mostly featured a skeleton who had to cross the road because his haunted house was in the middle of the street and he had to jump over it, but then he had to hit the light button to come back to it... yadda yadda yadda.   each joke could easily have lasted five to six minutes, and was quickly followed by another, even more elaborate adventure of this skeleton crossing the road.  my husband and i were laughing genuinely.  it was great!


i am recounting these moments, somehow trying to tie in to the raising children controversy.  my husband and i don't do things the typical way.  we don't necessarily have set bedtimes, or hard-fast rules.  but what we do have is an extremely creative, wonderful thinker, who knows that her parents love her unconditionally.  is there really anything more important than that?  ever? 

sounds of silence.

i have relaxing music playing in the background.  M and P are playing jail (don't ask.)  the baby went to sleep at 7:00.  tonight is the first quiet evening we've had in about 11 days.  it's nice.  but it's sad.  i'll take the hustle and the bustle if it means we're being surrounded by loved ones.  this is always the bittersweet finale.


i'm going to finish folding the last loads of laundry and catch up on some tivo.  then i am going to bed... a wide open bed, since we no longer have to share mine with a twisty, turny three-year-old.  i am looking forward to that, and to hopefully sleeping through the night. we shall see.  that's all we can do.

all good things must come to an end.

tomorrow morning will mark the end of our family fun-time.  we've had so much fun and hate to say good-bye, but it's definitely time for everyone in my household to get back to normal (i know, what's that?)  we've got to get back to ballet and laundry and running and resting.  all of the things that we've forgotten about or pushed aside to have endless days of sight-seeing and touring this city we so love to show off.  


my kids are going to be devastated.  my dog might be even more so- he has had so much fun playing with my dad's dogs this week- he may have even dropped a pound or two...  i may have gained that many times ten with all of the good food we've been enjoying.  


but it's time.  as all good things must come to an end, this vacation (or "stay-cation" as it was for us) has neared its time.  it's been a great one, full of memories and laughs and some really great pictures.  what more could you ask for?  except maybe just one more day...

0ne thousand things...

My oldest's arm just flung across my chest in a sleepy motion and it feels like angel's wings descended upon my abdomin. At the same time, I am recounting how wonderful it was to spend the day in one of my favorite cities on earth. I was also blessed to have one-on-one time alone with my dad tonight. What was once a common occurrence (discussing life, philosophising, righting the wrongs of the world...) is now, unfortunately, only a once in a blue moon event.
The dog is restless, while he really should be sleeping.

These are but a very few of the things I thought to write about tonight. But here I am, exhausted and sunburned from a wonderful day, topped with a wonderful evening. So now I'm really done. And hopefully tomorrow I'll find a thousand more things to write about! And maybe I'll even stay up late enough to write about them!!! But for now, I'll say good night.

cough-y cough cough

the dreaded cough is back.  i am not a fan of hacking my lungs up, but i especially dislike it when i have long days full of plans this week.  i feel fine, but this cough sounds nasty and is putting pressure on my chest.  i should just crash; let my body heal.  but i am sitting here trying to catch up on very exciting shows that have been sitting in my tivo list for weeks... ugh.

my eyes...

my eyes are shutting as i type.  i can push myself only so much before my body, then mind, and ultimately emotions, push back.  so far, i'm just at body (like my eyelids closing without my consent.)  i am heading to bed early so i can enjoy the rest of my family's visit here.  otherwise, i may be like bernie in weekend at bernie's, and my family will be carrying me around to see the sights.  (see, i am delirious.)

A big day for all, especially B!

Our day, as told in the perspective of B:


We are packed into the car again.  We have me, my older sister and my two cousins.  My grandfather, nanny, aunties, aunt and uncle are driving in a car behind us.  We drive, and those girls (the 3 and 4 year olds) sing at the top of their lungs.  We get to a huge parking lot and have to walk and then go through a long line.  We are somewhere big with a lot of people and everyone wants to ride big rides that i can't explain, but that those girls are sometimes tall enough to ride, and sometimes not.  my aunties and cousin C are always big enough to ride them all!  
Finally, someone takes me out of the stroller and i ride on a horse that goes up and down, but only for a minute, then i freak out and cling to my dad's chest.
We eat french fries.
i drink root beer for the first time, because my dad thought there was water in the big cup.
i drove a car for the first time- at 7:55 p.m., with minutes until the park closes, my dad takes me on my very first real amusement park ride.  i shout with delight for the entire next hour and high-five everyone i see!
today was a great day and tonight i will sleep through the night!  


(hey, a girl can try, right?!?)

Another wave

As we near the end of our visit with my sister and her family, my dad and his family arrived to start the next wave of adventure.  We'll have both families overlapped for tomorrow, when we'll tackle a huge amusement park and water park!  The kids are over-the-edge-excited (as are the adults, too!)  
I will be excited as soon as i am in bed and about to get somewhat of a decent sleep for the big fun to come!

just when you think...

everyone is sound asleep, you hear a tiny voice from the back ask for the monkees song again. We're about an hour and a half from home after an awesome time plunging into cool and amazingly crisp mountain rivers! I have all four kids in our car (the one that just blew out BOTH headlights, so our apologies to the other drivers who have to be blinded by our brights...) the kids crashed in the appropriate, if not chronological order: baby b (just about 10 months old), big girl b (4 years old), my nephew C (10 years old), and hopefully my sweet, but never tired three year old M won't be far behind...

What a wonderfully full day!

From last night...  same sentiments today!


What could be better than watching four kids (ages 10, 4, 3, 9mos) bounce all day at Monkey Joes, then swim all afternoon at the pool, then come home to put on a concert for us parents, then rally for a going-out-to-dinner at almost 9:00 at night?!?!  All of which came with a baby who never napped (and never slept more than a few hours total last night).  But she barely cried, and she even laughed a lot.  She had to keep up with the big kids, for sure!
Those big kids had a ball, laughing and playing the day away.  There is something so magical about cousins, especially when there's the aura of suspense that comes with a 9 hour drive, and sleep-overs and non-stop interaction that comes with our visits to each others' homes.  And then, to top it all off, i get to have my sister- my best friend- my soul mate here to experience the joys of watching our children interact inside this bubble of love.  It's a wonder and a joy that i will cherish always, and it's these memories that my children are making that they will keep close to their hearts forever.

no internet = my better post tomorrow.

 I sat, I thought, and I wrote out a great post about the day. I then hit publish, and the "pinwheel of death" did its taunting little dance.
The internet is out, as is the cable.
Since there is no way I could begin to rewrite now, I will post what I previously wrote tonight tomorrow...

A sad-news day.

As ecstatic as i am about my sister and her family arriving today, i cannot lose the feeling of dread that has been with me since this morning.  Quickly after waking up, I checked my e-mail, and read a message full of horrible news.   A woman that i know, with a two and a half year old daughter that i know, with a baby very soon on the way, was killed in a car accident this past weekend.  The baby in her very pregnant belly did not survive, either.  I don't know the details; i'm not sure i want to.  all i can think of is her husband, left with their daughter- a sweet and beautiful little girl.  They lost their mother, wife, and sister all in one fell swoop.  Tonight, i would like to petition my readers to pray for this family.  Please keep this father and his sweet daughter in your thoughts. Please hug your children and kiss your spouses.  Remember how fleeting each and every moment can be.  Live this life that we are all given to the fullest,  and treat it as the wonderful gift it is.  


And with that, i am off to enjoy my family that i am so blessed to have visiting this week.

surprising songs...

tonight my husband came up with a great game called- well, i have no idea what the name of the game was, but it was something to the effect of, "guess what band you would never guess i would like..." it took many listenings, and many guesses, but kenney rodgers, angus young, and fiona apple later, we came up with some fun times!

and now, i am going to say good-night and good riddance.  and i will say that if i were in a band, i would never  go all space-rock-y as the steve miller band (which we both guessed anyway...)  and, if i were totally trying to fool the world, i would never pick a jennifer lopez/pitbull song...

SO CLOSE!!!

The countdown is on (less than 48 hours) until my sister gets here!!!  My oldest daughter has been counting the days since June, but now that the reality is looming, we are all anxiously awaiting!  Today we scrubbed floors, vacuumed, finished laundry, planned our grocery shopping trip!  M tells me every three seconds to call her cousins to remind them to bring one thing or another.  I have reserved most of those calls for important things, like what drinks do we need from the ABC store and what movies we should add to our netflix!!!


i cannot wait to have my sister ALL TO MYSELF for almost a whole week!!!!  it's about 43 hours until they arrive!  hopefully we'll be able to contain our excitement until sunday!  if not, we'll all be bouncing off the walls tomorrow!!!  


either way, come on, sunday!!!!

Day 2 of brain death

I am trying to be a reasonable thinking, rational acting woman.  but going off of less than five hours sleep, combined over the last two nights, i am done.  i cannot think, i cannot act.  i had a near melt-down over the dishes today.  


i am going to bed, and i am going to run in the morning.  these two tasks will hopefully prove to save my sanity.  only time can tell.

Big girls!

I have no idea what it was about seeing M sitting in her new big girl booster seat, but i completely teared up today as we drove off.  She just looked so old, so mature, so not my baby anymore.  And tomorrow, i'm moving the baby (who is close to ten months old now) into M's old car seat, so she won't be scrunched up in the baby carrier anymore.  
I had decided a long time ago that i wouldn't move M into a booster for a long time, but she is ready.  the baby is ready to move up, and i just couldn't justify buying a whole new car seat when M could make the move.  So, here we are, yet another milestone underway.  Another blink, another notch on the growth chart.
<sniff> <sniff>  my baby girls are growing up.

I just planned WHAT?!?

I have just committed to a 6:30 a.m. run tomorrow morning with a friend.  6:30 A.M... that's not a time that i am used to waking up, let alone being awake AND mobile... fast mobility.  but, i made a final decision tonight.  if i am not going to cut out food (which i am pretty sure i won't do), i need to seriously limit the amounts of horrible food that enter my mouth.  and i need to work my rear end off at trying to keep those horrible foods from ending up... well, on my rear end.  


and so, tonight, i ate much less of my delicious dinner than normal, went for a long walk after dinner (in extreme heat, i feel like it counts as two very long walks), and set up a running date for the very early dawn.  maybe, if this continues, i will be able to have my cake AND eat it, too- AND not end up being 300 pounds afterwards!