Beyond the Baby Steps

Funny Stuff

2010-04-04T20:30:00.001-04:00

So this morning driving J-Bird to school he's playing with his laptop and apparently it wasn't working like he thought it should. So I did some IT work at the stoplight and I thought I got it working but I guess not because the next thing I heard was "this laptop is driving me crazy". I almost drove off the rode I was laughing so hard. I was also thinking to myself I don't think I use that phrase very often. I kid you not before we had reach school I said another car was "driving me crazy" I guess I use it more than I thought.

Palmy is fully sitting up on his own and it's WONDERFUL!! He and J-Bird are having fun playing but I don't have worry about him moving yet. J-Bird is playing so nicely and even sharing his prized possession his Monster Trucks.

Thank you for your service!

2010-03-24T20:13:00.002-04:00

So I'm too lazy at the moment to take a picture and post but I borrowed Zach's backpack for the weekend and it garnered a lot of attention. It's a military backpack that he took to the Middle East and it holds a lot. I didn't want to check my bag on my flight this weekend so I thought this was a great solution. Well, it wasn't a big deal on the way to Philly but coming home was another story. It really started with me breaking out into a patriotic song every time I picked it over the weekend which was a lot. Then when my friend Jami dropped me off at the airport we were laughing about how it would be funny if someone stopped me and thanked me for my service. (Let me note at this point that we had A LOT of fun on Sat. night so the stuff coming out of our mouths on Sun. morning was hilarious. ) Ok so she drops me off and I go into the airport and it's crawling with military and we all have matching backpacks. All of them are nodding at me like we're brother and sisters in arms. Airport personnel kept asking if I needed to be in the military lines. It's was hilarious and mortifying at the same time, such a fraud.

Needless to say we had a great weekend and I think Jamie was surprised to see us. It's always good to together with my friends from college, we practically grew-up together so it's always interesting to see how far we've come and how much we're still the same. We laughed more then I thought possible and we can always pick up where we left off.

Zach seemed to have things under control on the home front and I loved coming home and seeing the boys. Although my hubby was flying across the country when I got home so I feel like I haven't seem him in weeks. The boys are great, Palmy is sitting up on his own for the most part and has his 2 bottom teeth and looking more like his brother every day. J-bird is hilarious and is very in touch with his feelings. This week he told me not to be grouchy when I apparently made a grouchy face. Then he was having a meltdown the other morning and I told him I had had enough of that behavior and he stomped his feet and told me not to be frustrated. It's interesting to have your every emotion up for discussion with your 3 year old. I was looking at pictures in Facebook the other day of him and it's amazing how much he's changed in the last couple of months. He's really a little boy now and my other baby is growing fast too. They melt my heart. I was trying to tell my girlfriends over the weekend, that it's hard to imagine before you have kids how much you can love somebody. Some days my heart just feels like it could explode I love them so much. This weekend just solidified that I really am truly blessed. I have a great husband, kids, and friends. How did I get so lucky??

Boogers Back!

2010-03-18T15:20:00.002-04:00

So I'm leaving for 2 nights this weekend and I have mixed feelings (my 1st time away from Palmy) and here's why; my boys make me laugh...hard. The episode this morning demonstrates why part of me is singing "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and part of me wants to fake an illness tomorrow. Here's how it went down:

Me: (wrestling J-Bird to get some boogies out before school) Come on Buddy, you don't want to go to school with boogies in your nose. You'll be the boogie boy.

J: Yes, I want to be boogie boy.

Me:(In a moment of parental immaturity) Fine then! Be boogie boy. Here are your boogers back!

J: EEEWWWW, no!

Me:(smiling to myself as I throw wipe away) Good, get your jacket on.

J:(realizing that mom got what she wanted, starting to cry and scream) I WANT MY BOOGERS BACK!!!!

Me:(losing smile) Are you serious? Really? You're serious?

J: (Now in full screaming mode, opening cabinet door to trashcan) I WANT THEM BACK! IN MY NOSE!!

At this point I just start laughing which happens to be a response I have a lot because really what are my other options? I laughed the hardest the other day when J. told me he really needed to go #2, I asked him several times if he already had because it smelt like it but he assured me that he didn't. So in a moment of terror because I wanted him to make it to the potty, I yank down his pants only to cause a big piece of poo to come flying out and land on my big toe. I howled I was laughing so hard because really sometimes life seems like a sitcom, a really funny one. (I just re-read that and almost deleted because it sounds more gross than funny but I'll remember it as funny so I'm keeping it :)

So back to the booger situation. My laughing usually has the opposite effect on those around me which held true this morning because it made J. scream louder and Zach shoot me a dirty look because he was the one trying to get out the door. Then Z. decided to play along and we both offered J. some of our boogers which he refused. Needless to say, I ended up wrestling a jacket on a very angry 3 year old and shooing them both out the door.

It's not to say that I'm always laughing at my kids most of the time it's with them but sometimes they are the funniest when they are trying to be serious. So that's why I'm torn about leaving this weekend, I can't imagine missing the booger episode because even though I'm trying to document it here it's was really something better experienced in person. Now that I think about it though my girlfriends are pretty funny (and rational)too maybe I will catch that flight!

2010-03-14T21:17:00.002-04:00

This was a red letter week. We had a#2 in the potty and a tooth. Now thinking of those two things together isn't all that exciting but both were high-pitched voice inducing. Only a mom could get that pumped about these things. J-Bird is getting there with the potty training and I couldn't be happier. Palmy got his 1st tooth and I felt like it was worth covering all his cute clothes with bibs for that toothy grin. Here's the rub, they are growing up and I love/hate it at the same time. I'm excited about all the things we get to do as they grow up but time is moving very fast these days.

Speaking of moving fast I did a 10 miler this weekend and felt great. I'm looking forward to the Cherry Blossom 10 miler and the very hilly C-ville 1/2 marathon.

My brain is fried but I'm happy!

2010-03-10T22:17:00.003-05:00

No really! When I get stressed/overwhelmed/ nervous even if it's good stuff my brain goes into overload and I get a horrible headache. Then I don't want to do anything but lay down. I know I'm a big baby. My last post was about all the things I want to do and I'm doing them or at least thinking about doing them which has sent my poor little brain into a tailspin. Honestly though, I'm really excited about all the things I'm trying to accomplish I think I may just need to relax a bit and enjoy the process.

I'll start with my kids, I adore them but raising adults is hard. I say adults because really that's what I'm trying to accomplish. I want them to first off make it into adulthood(this could be questionable in my house these days since I'm in the middle of potty training) and hopefully happy, productive, well-adjusted adults. I decided for week 2 of potty training to take the more laid-back approach because honestly I had no control anyway so why not acknowledge that and move on. We've had some successes and some failures but J-bird is becoming more his own person every day and I'm REALLY enjoying getting to know him. Palmy is my little snuggle bug, I love to cuddle him and he lets me and I appreciate that more than I'll ever be able to explain to him. With your second you know how fast it goes so being able to smush you face into those little fat rolls and smell that sweet baby smell just makes my heart swell. The hard part comes in because it's difficult to stay in the moment when you feel like you're always thinking ahead for them. My goal with my kids is to stay in the moment and enjoy them where there at now because there in no "easy" stage when it comes to raising these little adults.

My house, I go back and forth each day about how long I want to be here therefore my ideas about what I want to do with the house goes back and forth. Do I think I'm a decorator? No. But am I enjoying decorating my house? Yes. With that being said decorating blogs are taking over my life. I've gotten so many ideas it's overwhelming(i.e. the headache) but this is our 3rd home but it's the 1st I'm really made "ours" and I'm testing out my skills. Before I finish one project I see another blog and I get another idea for a different room. I just need to remember that making a house a home is a process and I just need to it one step at a time. Baby steps!

As for marking things off my "I wish I could" list, I'm enrolling in a sewing, I'm lined up with some friends for a photography class and the list is growing and shrinking at the same time. It's a good feeling!

I'm in a good spot now. I was trying to tell a friend that the other day and I don't know why it was so hard to say. It's almost feels like if I acknowledge that I'm happy (even on my bad days I'm really happy) that something bad is going to happen or that I'm bragging that my life is perfect. It's not perfect but it's good and I'm happy with that. No knocking on wood and following this up with a "but", I'll just leave it at that.

This post was all over the place, sorry it's that fried brain thing! :)

I'm Baaack!

2010-03-04T21:51:00.002-05:00

Ok, so I love that I started this blog by saying something along the lines of I have HORRIBLE follow through and here I am writing my first post after a year + hiatus. I have no excuse except for the fact that I got pregnant and tired, then when I got some energy I decided to NEST. You would think that my house would be completely done but it's not which in a backwards way is why I'm back writing this blog. I was looking at a designing blog to get some inspiration and stumbled onto this other blog and I spent a long weekend at the computer reading this blog about a family of 5 and I was completely inspired. Not to decorate but to start this blog up (again) not for myself but to document our life for my boys. Along with no follow through I have no memory. J-Bird is at this hilarious age and he says the funniest things. Last week he said the funniest thing at school and I was so sad because I knew a day would come that I would forget what he said and why it was so funny and it made me just want to cry. Then I spent the weekend reading this family's blog and among other things I was inspired to write this. I can't go back and rehash the last year and I can only hope that I'll remember all the wonderful things that happened. Hopefully this blog will help me remember things from here on out.

So I had a baby, a precious baby boy. He's wonderful and I'm in LOVE!. He's a sweet baby although he had similar issues as his brother with reflux and suspected milk allergies so sleep was non-existant for the first couple of months. We just hit the 6 month mark and although he's still not sleeping through the night, it's getting better. He's seems very laid-back and happy. His brother seems to enjoy his presence most of the time until he starts reaching for his toys. A crawling baby will be fun.

Other then having a baby I turned the big 3-0. So this very inspiring blog I read, yes I'm referencing it a lot because it made me think. It made me think about what kind of woman, wife, and mother I want to be. I think sometimes that I'm waiting for things to happen instead of taking it into my own hands. For example, I always wanted to learn how to sew, apparently I thought that just wanting it to happen was enough. Now I'm looking into taking a sewing class. It's just an example but I feeling like sometimes I'm letting time pass me by and I'm not taking an active role in my own life. Yes I do the things I need to do to keep my house and family running but if there are things I want to do, learn, be then I need to start making it happen. Don't get me wrong, I love my life but I want to be the best ME possible. It's not going to happen with me on auto-pilot. It wasn't just "the BLOG" that spurned this revelation, my mom and I are taking an class which is a lot of fun and it's good to create something (other then kids) with my hands.

I think I'm going to wrap this post up, don't want to burn myself out! ;) It feels good to be back!

My little Reindeer!

2008-12-09T15:59:00.004-05:00

So despite not feeling so well (list of illnesses so far this winter: cold, sinus infection, roseola, hacking cough) J. Bird decided to spread some Christmas cheer as we went to get some cough medicine (per Dr.'s orders) this morning. The parade must have had quite the effect on him as he waved to passing cars.

Then if that wasn't enough he decided to take it a bit further and spread the cheer around PetSmart.

He refused to take any of it off until I started worrying the nose was going to leave permanent marks on his face and it must have been bothering him too. He certainly spread some Christmas joy around Richmond this morning and definitely brought a smile to my face!

Do you think my son could be in KISS?

2008-12-09T15:55:00.002-05:00

Is that really long or is that just me? He gets it from his Dad, Z. can touch his nose with his tongue.

Busy time of year!!

2008-12-09T14:42:00.014-05:00

So I haven't posted in a while, here are my excuses:
1. I'm busy, the week after the race we went to NYC for 4 days.
2. The next week was Thanksgiving!
3. The next week we were slammed with illnesses and getting ready for Christmas.
4. Z. hasn't been traveling as much and we share a desk and a chair.

But the guilt has been getting to me and Z's traveling this week so I thought I would fill in what we've been up too.

New York was a lot of fun. We were celebrating our 5 year anniversary and we had actually gone there for our one year anniversary too. So it's been awhile since we've been there and I love it this time of year. It was ALOT colder this time though but still beautiful. I can't wait to take J. bird when he's older, it's just magical.
I did meet Katie Holmes, yes the Katie Holmes, TomKat. Z. and I went to see her Broadway show then afterward they come out and sign the playbill (is what that thing is called?). Anyway, we were face to face, literally I could have hugged her we were that close, and I said something like "I loved the show" and she said "thank you very much" or something along those lines. She looked me straight in the eye...we made eye contact people! No, I didn't mention that I beat her marathon time or that J. Bird and Suri would be really cute together.

I aslo discovered one of my new favorite things in the whole world. Frozen Hot Chocolate at this little place called Serendipity3. It was actually in the movie Serendipity with John Cusack. Anyway I loved it and can't wait to go back and get it again!!

On to Thanksgiving, we had a great time this year. Due to my own procrastination packing etc. it was a little hectic at times overall it was very relaxing. Thanksgiving morning we continued our family tradition of running the Turkey Trot 10k then having brunch together. Then we went over to my parents house for dinner with all the fixings. It was fantastic. My mom introduced a new dish Cheesy Apples which doesn't sound that appetizing but it was great. We decided to watch a movie together as a family while J. Bird was napping, little did we know renting it that it was basically soft porn which is always fun to watch not only on Thanksgiving but with your parents. So I was thankful that day I wasn't sitting next to my Dad.

Chatting it up with Uncle L., he had a late night the evening before, this was his position most of the day. Oh to be young!!

Then the Friday after Thanksgiving we headed to the 'burg to see Z.'s family. Which was a lot of fun and always good to see everybody. We started watching my new favorite show there (after J. Bird went to bed) True Blood on HBO. It was awesome but again with the soft porn and our parents. I think we had a theme going for the holiday ;)

This weekend was FULL of Christmas activities. I think I got excited that J. Bird can actually grasp what's going on this year so I wanted to do everything plus with Z. leaving for a week I wanted to get in some quality family time. It started Friday night with the James Center Grand Illumination.

J. Bird checking out that crazy reindeer with his friend Blondie.

The next morning we made it out in the freezing cold to the Richmond Christmas Parade. J. Bird was so cute, even though his hand was cold he would pull it to wave to anybody waving to him which was pretty much everybody but he loved it.

That evening we went with my parents to the Bethlehem Walk in Goochland. We ended up waiting a while but it was snowing and very peaceful. J. Bird did great. The Bethlehem Walk is a living reenactment of Jesus's birth and life and although I'm pretty sure J. didn't know what was going on he got that we were talking about a baby. I think it's important to start early telling him what Christmas is really about and this is a fun way to do that.

Sunday we decided to get our Christmas Tree. Our family tradition is to cut our own tree but I just really like to see my husband in his lumber jack get-up. Very sexy!

That evening J. Bird helped Z. and I decorate the tree. What a wonderful weekend with my family, I'm a very blessed woman!

One and not done yet!!

2008-11-17T14:36:00.004-05:00

*I originally had no title for this post because I was torn about how the race went but I'm at peace with it now and I disliked the ???? title.

I'm not sure how to title this post because I'm not sure how I feel about the marathon at this point. On one hand I'm proud of myself for completing it and on the other I'm disappointed because I know I could do better. Here's the back story, the week of the marathon I was a nervous wreck (see previous puking post) but by the middle/end of the week I felt like I had gotten most of my nerves under control. But I wake up Friday morning and I'm queasy, weak feeling, and not the least bit hungry-very unusual! I decide that I need to at least try to get something down at lunch but a few hours later it all comes right back up (TMI, I know). Needless to say I don't eat much the rest of the day for fear of losing more fluids but I think the damage was done. I'm not much of a scale girl but when I got on the scale marathon morning I weighed 6 lbs. less than I had earlier in the week, a week I might add of constant carb loading.
After a night of little sleep, marathon morning comes and I'm feeling better but certainly not 100%. R. comes and picks me up and thankfully it's not raining. It was predicted to rain, thunderstorm, and have high winds throughout the race although it was humid and windy at times it still wasn't as bad as expected.

At the starting line I was nervous but excited and ready to get going. R.'s husband was there to give us last minute advice and to distract us which was great. We got started and I think I honestly knew that this may not be my race from the get-go. R. and I had agreed to treat this like our regular training runs which usually involve celebrity gossip, kid stories, or anything we can think of to talk about to make the time go faster. But from the start I didn't do a lot of talking (again very unusual) and it's not because we're going so fast, although we were keeping up pretty well with our pace group. I just felt a little more winded than usual after I talked so I just stopped for the most part.

It was great to see our families at mile 7 and I was already getting emotional just seeing their faces. The next couple of miles were fairly uneventful except for the tree falling on Riverside Dr., for someone that's a big believer in signs this was just the start of some not so good ones. We were finally joined by Em and N. after a nasty little climb so by the time we got to them I was completely mute and feeling horribly guilty for not talking more with Rachel but I realized by this point I was going to need every bit of energy I had to make it through the rest of this race. I also realized that I needed to eat and drink as much as I could stand because I was already feeling dehydrated.

I'm going to stop now and say that I'm sorry this is the most depressing post ever. I think I'm just trying to process it all, so again I apologize.

Now back to my depressing story, we saw our families again at mile 13 but I could barely look over for fear that I would stop right there. Now let me reiterate this is mile 13, this a short run (in my mind now) during our training. There is no way that at mile 13 I should be feeling this bad, given the pace we were going. So mentally I'm feeling pretty crappy at this point to because this should be an easy run for me now and it normally is...arrggh. Sign 2 and 3 this was a bad run, a wrecked car in the middle of the race course, having to stop to let a fire truck back in the station, really!!! I think it was around this time that I asked my friend N. if she didn't mind walking with me for a minute. If you read my earlier post, this was my back-up plan that I never wanted to use but I had nothing left in the tank. I thought that if I took a break, gathered some energy, and caught my breath I would be able to run the rest of the way. Well, that's not exactly what happened. Here's the thing, when you feel that bad and you walk, all you want to do then is walk. When you start running again your body and mind just scream at you to walk, that it felt so much better. It took every ounce of energy I had to run again then I would stop and the cycle would start again. It was brutal because at that point I was already disappointed and in pain. My chest just ached and I never really felt like I could get a deep breath in and with my history it's just a scary feeling. My friends at this point were a God send and I'm honest when I say I couldn't have done it without them. R. got me through the first half, Em. and N. got me through the emotional stage when I wasn't sure I could go on. So thank you, thank you thank you!!!

Sign 4, 5, and 6, angry people yelling because police won't let them run over the racers, funeral procession, protest group holding huge pictures of fetuses.

I pretty much walk/ran until I got to the mile 19 where my family was waiting and Z. was going to run the last 7.2 miles was picking me up. I was very emotional by then and so so happy to see my husband. It was our 5th anniversary and I knew if anybody could get me through these last 7 miles it would be him. It's really funny though because R. and I had talked earlier in the day that the race was like giving birth and it was going to be a lot of pain but it would be worth it in the end. Well nothing demonstrated this more than a couple miles into my leg with Z., he decides to "coach" me through the pain by telling me that I should put my hands on top of my head to get more air in, then nags me to keep doing this although when I do I feel like I'm going to fall over, so I retort with "you put your hands over your head and when did you become a doctor?" and of course I started laughing because it really did sound like labor then.

Z. kept me going though, he was encouraging, supportive, and understanding which was exactly wanted I needed at that time. Not only did I feel like I let myself down but I felt like I had let everyone that had supported me down too but Z. trudging along beside me showed me that he didn't care how fast I did it or how I did it for that matter he just wanted me to finish and even if I hadn't I know that he would have been proud of me either way.

Earlier in the day I had said that I just wanted to beat Katie Holmes's time in the NYC marathon (this was my friend T's goal in her marathon so I stole it) little did I know how close I would come. We hit mile 25 at 5:15 and some change and I knew I had less than 14 minutes to run 1.2 miles, which on any other day would have been a cake walk, but I said what the hell I'd rather go out running so we ran and sure enough I came in at 5:26:03, 3 minutes faster than Katie!!! My overall pace was 12:34 and I ran the first half in 2:22 (gun time) which would have put us right on target with our pace group. At the end my parents, Em & N., and J. Bird were there and it was awesome to see them.

I know this seems like a downer post but as I've been writing I realize that the run was itself was bad(painful) but the experience was great. Not just on Saturday but training with my friends, all encouraging words from my friends and family, the sense of accomplishment that I hadn't felt until right now. I did it and would I do it again??? Probably because I still have something to prove to myself but not anytime soon!

Go with Daddy!

2008-11-12T21:53:00.003-05:00

So I realized the other day that it might be time to send J. Bird to the bathroom with Z. more often. How did I know this, you might be asking yourself. We're in the bathroom the other night brushing his teeth and he pulls off a piece of toilet paper. I'm getting ready to admonish him because he knows he's only suppose to do that when Mommy is going but he walks over to his potty, squats, mimics wiping himself (like a girl, I might add) and throws it in his potty. It was a perfect imitation and hilarious, so I call Z. up and have J. Bird do it again.
Really it was too funny but I also realized that maybe he should get a better idea of what boys do. So the next morning Z. has to go and J. Bird walks into the bathroom and this what I hear, "No J. we don't play in that, it's pee, no J. I'm going to pee on you if you do that", you get the idea. I almost peed myself laughing so hard! Hand me the toilet paper J.!!

Daylight Savings Stinks!!

2008-11-12T20:55:00.003-05:00

That's putting it nicely! I hate it and I don't use the word "hate" that often. It's really thrown off my whole day. J. Bird is waking up early, his naps are shorter, and apparently I have it in my head that when the sun goes down so does my son which isn't the case these days. Now I have to fill 2 hours of what used to be frolicking outside burning off energy, into 2 quality hours inside. Now if you don't have a 2 year old boy you might be saying "what the big deal?", if you do then you understand my pain. Plus, it seems like my energy level fades with the sun and that's when I need it to step it up a notch. Is it too early in the season to have S.A.D.?

Only a few more days until the race and I'm still feeling anxious not as bad as the other day when I considered faking an injury to get out of it. That's not my style but really the suspense is killing me, now I just want it over with so I can get back to obsessing over which moisturizer to buy next (did I mention I love beauty supplies, don't judge me!). I quit riding roller coasters for this very reason, I like them but the "waiting in line build-up of nerves" just wasn't worth it for the quick ride and short-term pleasure. All I have to say is this high better last awhile! (Oh, people are going to have a field day with that one)

Fall Days

2008-11-08T14:01:00.004-05:00

So I just finished my last long run before the big race and I'm feeling good. I'm having some ankle issues but I think I'm as ready as I can be at this point. I'm glad to end on a high note, last Saturday's run was a rough one so I'm happy that I got my groove back and hopefully it carries into the race.

J. Bird and I also hit up Ashland Train Day which is right up his alley. We got to ride a mini train and saw several Amtrak trains come through the town. We had lunch with some friends and their sons so all and all we've had a great Saturday. I love Fall Days like this!!

This is us trying to leave the house with all our trains!!

What a week!!

2008-11-03T13:40:00.005-05:00

So it took me awhile to recover from last week and actually write this post. Last week was a series of ups and downs we'll start with the downs.

My name is Courtney and I let my son fall down the stairs...waiting for some absolution. Nope, nothing. I think this is going to take more than just a confession to get rid of this guilt. Here's the story, so my friend comes over to check out J. Bird's new curtains and paint to get some ideas. While we're checking it out, J. Bird and Blondie were just running around. Now let me say at this point that we don't have a gate at the top of the stairs, if you hadn't already figure that out. We don't have a wall to screw one into and a pressure mounted gate scares me with the false sense of security. But the bottom line is that J. Bird knows how to go down the stairs and he knows to wait for Z. or I to go down. But this situation I hadn't anticipated, so he's playing I had just looked at him and he had run into the bathroom presumably to show off his bath toys to his friend. What he actually did was pull the toilet paper and start walking backwards, it's only a few feet but you can guess what happened, he stepped backwards off the stairs. The noise is what I heard and it was awful, it haunts me. He didn't get a bruise, no obvious broken bones, no lump on the head nothing just a crying child and a crying mother. Luckily my friend Em was there because I feel like I kept it a little more together as I asked her if I needed to call 911 or just take him straight to the ER. I did neither, I just held him until he stopped crying then called his Dr. I was told to just observe him to watch for signs of anything amiss but otherwise he sounded ok. I on the other hand was not ok. I felt (feel) awful and a full week later it's still bothering me. I know it was an accident but he's my baby and all I want to do is protect him. I'll ALWAYS feel that way so I guess it's a feeling I might have to get used too.

Now to the good part of the week, Halloween. We had already participated in a couple of Halloween activities this year mostly for the candy and J. Bird was just too cute so we kept dressing him up. He was a firefighter and he loved it. His costume actually doubles as he's rain jacket and we had tried other costumes but he loves to wear it and it's the only hat he'll keep on for more than 2 minutes so we went with it. Halloween night was a lot of fun, we ended up at my friend N.'s neighborhood for a parade and trick or treating. J. Bird had a great time and it was amazing that last year he wasn't walking or talking and this year I'm chasing him around trying to steal his chocolate. What a difference a year makes!

Why I run!

2008-10-30T15:03:00.003-04:00

So my friend T. officially named our unofficial running group. Not only did she name it but she started a blog for it, the it being team Run Like a Mother...(I think I'm the only one that adds the ..., but I think it's funny)So she asked us to write a little bio on why we ran, our background, and then to answer a few questions. So here's my running bio.

I run because I can...no really I can.

Ok, I'll explain. I had to have major surgery so I could run. Alright, that really didn't explain it either. I had Pectus Excavatum, it's where your breast bone grows inward. You know you've seen that, just picture a really skinny prepubescent boy who's chest looks concave, that was me with breast. So there wasn't a lot of room, so when I did exert myself physically I got winded very easily. So let's just say, endurance wasn't my thing. I went to a Dr. in college and he told me that to fix it would involve breaking, yes I said breaking that bone and pulling it out then bracing it. There was usually a lot of blood loss and it was a risky surgery. Needless to say, I peeled out of the parking lot on 2 wheels getting away from that Dr.

A few years later while living in VA Beach, I came across an article talking about a new procedure to fix "the Dent" (as my friends so lovingly referred to it as). The Dr. was located at The Children's Hospital in none other than VA Beach. So I booked an appointment, I went through a series of test which showed that although it's not the worst they had seen it was pretty bad. I discovered I had a heart murmur which happens fairly often with this condition and basically when I went to exert myself there was just no room. My heart, lungs, everything was just smooshed together and my heart was basically hitting my breastbone. So I decided to have the surgery, next to open heart surgery it's the most painful surgery they perform and it lived up to it's reputation. It involved putting 2 metal rods under my breastbone popping my breastbone up then leaving the rods in place to keep it up. It was excruciating. You keep the bars in for 2 or in my case 3 years then have them removed with the hope that the bone will stay in the new place. I had the initial surgery in Jan. '05 and had the bars removed Jan. '08.

I always wanted to be a runner, I didn't really know what that meant but I always admired runners. I mean think about when you go on vacation, who are the people out early in the morning, runners. That 's the kind of person I wanted to be. When I was recovering from surgery and I was really incapacitated I made a vow with myself that even if I didn't run I wouldn't let an opportunity go by not to move my body.

I started running after I had my son and while I still had the bars in, I trained for a 5k race. I cried when I crossed the finish line at that race because I never really thought it would happen and I was becoming that person I had always wanted to be.

I was nervous to get the bars removed but they surgery was easy and I kept running. I've completed numerous races since but the big kahuna is the marathon I'm training for in Nov. I always thought if I can run a marathon then it means I'm a "real" runner. I don't really think that's the case now but it's the goal I set for myself and I'm going to do it. I'm planning on sending my marathon picture (if it's not that embarrassing, I'm not known for the great race pics)to my Dr. I'm sure I'll be crying but it will be one of my greatest accomplishments. So that's why I run...because can.

Favorite Race: Turkey Trot 10K, I loved the T-shirt. Tough run though!!
Favorite Reason to Run: to feel proud of myself
Current Goal: one word...marathon

J. Bird's 1st

2008-10-27T14:11:00.010-04:00

Ok, big shocker to anybody that knows me well...I didn't keep a baby book. In my defense I tried, I really looked for a cute, hip baby book and when I couldn't find one that met my incredibly high "cool" factor I decided to buy this fun bright red scrapbook. I should have listened to the voice inside my head that said "you're not a crafty type person, you lack follow-through, and (if I could tell the future) your child will have reflux & won't sleep the first 6 months". Needless to say, the cool red scrapbook has been sitting untouched at the top of the closet with a pair of newborn footprints tucked inside because even on the way to the hospital I thought my inner scrapbooker would eventually come out.

I moved on to trying to keep a journal of daily occurrences. This is not the first time I've attempted this, I've been trying to keep a journal since puberty it usually started after some angst filled teenage drama and ended just as quickly. So I pulled out the journal I was keeping for my precious son to record his every new step. Yup, started it 7/07, last entry dated 11/25/07 and this was after a month long hiatus. The journal, although probably my longest journal, didn't even make it 6 months. Pathetic!

So needless to say, I have built up some Mommy guilt. My son's not even 2 years old and I'm already dreading the day when he asks me about his First_______. Anything, fill in the blank because I'm sure by that time I will remember nothing.

This blog and this entry are my attempt to redeem myself and assuage some of the guilt.

**This post will probably be a work in progress as I attempt to rack my brain about J. Bird's 1st. I'm also consulting the "journal" and my husband's memory to compile the list.

J. Bird's Baby Book

Breastfeed(he will cringe when he reads this in years to come) - 13 months

1st tooth- 4 1/2 months old.

First solid food- 6 months started with rice cereal

Favorite 1st food- I can't say that he had a favorite (consulting journal) by month 7 he was eating butternut squash, carrots, apples, bananas, and oatmeal. The only foods he didn't like at first were yams and the texture of apples.

*Bonus points for making all my own baby food. (the bonus points are for the Mommy guilt I'm working off)

1st time left with someone else other than family- 7/15/08 Church nursey, I cried.

Sitting up unassited- 7-8 months

1st Family vacation- Duck, NC 8/4/07

Weight check- 8/15/07 15lbs. Dr. not too concerned but said they will check again at his 9 month appointment (Ok, so it's sort of funny writing all this stuff after the fact. I can't believe we were ever worried about his weight. You could seriously injure yourself if you pick him up wrong now. I have a friend that's pregnant that peed herself when she picked him up the other day, that's how solid this child is now.)

4 teeth by 9 months

Started Crawling- 9 months

Sitting up from laying down position & started pulling himself up to a standing position- 9/12/07 so 9 months probably not all on this exact day.

Started throwing full-on tantrums while changing his diaper- 9 months (hey it's in the journal)

* Month 9 was a busy month for J. Bird apparently.

1st cold- 10/2/07

By 10/17/07- 7 teeth!!! Babbling, no words. He'll do high 5 with you.

11 months- He's clapping, waving, and signing "more" & "all done" when prompted. Pretty much on all table foods, prefers fruits and cards, just like his mama.

Started Walking- 13 months, took 1st steps while Gram McNelis was here watching him during my surgery.

22 months 10/30/08 Fell down the stairs for the 1st time. Good Mommy!!

To be continued...I promise!

The nicest compliment

2008-10-23T15:23:00.003-04:00

So if you couldn't tell from the title I got the nicest compliment today. One of my former teachers from high school occassionaly brings 2 of her grandchildren to J. Bird's music class. We've spoken a couple of times about school and her grandchildren.

So she was there again today and after class she comes up to me and says "you know what I remember about you from my class?". Now let me stop here and say all of a sudden I got really nervous. I flashed back to high school and I remembered having my desk moved several times for talking in class. I remember getting kicked out of my Spanish class for being a smart a**. I also think that JMU actualy reconsidered admitting me after I took a math placement test freshman year and was sent to the lowest level math class JMU had to offer, we're talking basics here. This teacher was my former Trig. teacher so now you can see why all of a sudden I wasn't so sure I wanted to hear what she was going to say. I took a quick look around at who was going to hear this revelation and only my friend N. was within earshot not too bad. With a shaky laugh I said ok. She said "I remember that you always had a smile on your face". At the time I was too relieved to actually take in the the compliment but now it brings a smile to my face and I hope it's one that's there as often now as it was in high school.

100+ Things

2008-10-19T20:57:00.006-04:00

So I first saw this on my friend T.'s blog and thought it was neat and as my blog lurking continued I saw on several more blogs. I always wondered how long it would take me to come up with 100 things about myself, so I thought I would give it a whirl. I'll let you know how long it takes.

1. I have a supportive, sweet, and loving husband.
2. I have a hilarious, active toddler son.
3. My favorite movie is Urban Cowboy. The first time I watched it, I was by myself and drank a 12 pack of Bud Light.
4. I'm a extremely fast reader and can read a book in a day.
5. I'm addicted to magazines and often wish I could retain everything I read.
6. I start my day reading my e-mail and MSN headlines on my phone.
7. I wish I knew more about politics and how Wall Street really works.
8. I always wanted to be a runner and I'm getting ready to run my first marathon.
9. My parents are still married.
10. I have one younger brother.
11. I always wanted a big family but I think we'll stop at 3.
12. I went to JMU and majored in Social Work.
13. If I could go back to school I would study nutrition.
14. I gave up beef and pork a couple of months ago.
15. My favorite ice cream is chocolate chip cookie dough.
16. I prefer out-of-the-box cakes to store bought.
17. I have to eat first thing in the morning, I usually wake-up hungry.
18. My husband got me addicted to burritos, now I crave them too.
19. My favorite color is yellow but I often wear black.
20. I wish I looked more pulled together but I don't take the time.
21. I'm love, love, love beauty products.
22. I will research a product online extensively before buying it.
23. I research EVERYTHING online.
24. My dream job would be writing beauty product reviews.
25. I have big ideas but I'm not good with follow-through.
26. This is the 3rd home we've owned in the 5 years I've been married.
27. We've moved more times than can count but we've lived in 4 cities and one of those cities we lived in twice.
28. My first car was a Toyota corolla.
29. I drive my dream car now, a Toyota Land Cruiser, my husband will love me for saying that.
30. I love T.V. and especially enjoy reality shows, thank goodness for TIVO.
31. I can't live without my cell phone but I can't stand the idea of being on an "electronic leash".
32. My favorite season is Fall
33. Christmas is my favorite holiday but I hate the day after.
34. I've been out of the country once to the Netherlands but I want to travel more.
35. I went to Asheville, NC for my honeymoon.
36. I was suppose to go the the Dominican Republic.
37. I love thunderstorms in the summer.
38. When I cross the bridge to the Outer Banks I always listen to James Taylor's Carolina in my Mind
39. I love the beach and I always pictured myself living there.
40. I'm not a huge fan of the sand.
41. I would love to have a alternative life living in NY city, I love the energy.
42. I also really like airports and hospitals because I love the coming and going.
43. I don't mind being by myself but I also like to be in the hub of things.
44. I don't like coffee but I love chocolate.
45. I'm naturally blond but I love really dark hair.
46. I have an unnaturally long torso.
47. I've had one major and one minor surgery, the major one hurt like hell.
48. I have one tattoo in a private place and I love it!
49. I'm not sure I would want my children to get tattoos.
50. Watching the Olympics this summer I was sincerely sad that I would never be in the Olympics.
51. I was never even close to being that good in any sport I played, but I think I would have been a good swimmer.
52. I always wanted to play the guitar, now I'm too scared to try.
53. I just started cooking recently and I actually enjoy it.
54. We have 2 cock-a-poos, Belle and Lucy. They are great dogs and love to give kisses.
55. My new favorite dessert is Skinny Cow ice cream cones.
56. I'm a huge history buff, particularly World War II but I love history and old things.
57. I love all kinds of music except heavy metal.
58. I am a Christian and was raised Southern baptist.
59. I prefer fruits over vegetables and have been know to eat a whole watermelon in one day.
60. My first "real" concert was Micheal Jackson and my last concert was O.A.R.
61. I was deathly afraid of someone breaking into my house so what happens, someone tries to break into my house. They arrested him and I had to testify in court against him twice. Now I'm not so worried.
62. My birthday is Jan. 17th, I wish it was during the summer.
63. I'm a Capricorn but I think I'm more like an Aquarius so I read that horoscope instead.
64. I'm now deathly afraid of not seeing my son grow-up, I'm not scared of dying itself just leaving in the middle of a very good story.
65. I collect pigs, not your average country kitchen pigs but unusual ones or cast iron ones that catch my eye. I'm a picky pig person.
66. My favorite chore is grocery shopping, I get a little rush going into a grocery store.
67. I detest cleaning the bathroom.
68. I think my greatest trait is empathy, I once felt so bad for a substitute teacher in high school that I started crying in class.
69. I can also be very stubborn and I don't hold much back good or bad but then it's out there and I'm done with it.
70. I would choose beer over liquor or wine and my favorite beer is a Corona w/ a lime.
71. I'm slightly obsessed with Costco and will make up reasons to go there. It's a happy place for me and I like sharing it with others.
72. My son is now as addicted to samples as I am.
73. When I met my husband he said he wouldn't get married until he was 30 years old, he was 24 when we got married.
74. I was once a probation officer. My co-workers said I was a tree-hugger, they weren't too far off.
75. I loved college, not a day goes by that I don't hear a song that reminds me of JMU and my girls and I don't smile. Today I heard Macy Gray and thought of my friend Ellen.
76. I really believe time flies when you're having fun.
77. I have never broken a bone but I have a lot of scars.
78. I put salt on everything, pizza, apples, you name it I put salt on it. So does my husband.
79. Neither of us have high blood pressure but I won't let my son do that.
80. I did a happy dance when I realized my son wasn't allergic to peanut butter because I eat it w/ a spoon out of the jar. Now we both have PB&J's for lunch now.
81. My husband is my best friend. He wants only the best for me and for me to be happy 100% of the time. I'm very lucky.
82. I'm dying to try p90x after watching the infomercial, I want to know if my abs could look like that.
83. I love watching sports in person but not so much on T.V.
84. I find watching my husband swing a golf club to be very sexy, he says he wants to look sexy every weekend for about 4 hours.
85. I love being a mom and I hope my son knows I light up every time I see him.
86. I live in the same city I grew up in, I still don't know where I'm going half the time.
87. Due to both being sentimental and thrifty I tend to hang onto things way, way too long. My life would be easier with less stuff.
88. I can throw others people's stuff away with no problem.
89. I think I'm a good mix of both my mom and dad. I wish I could tell a story like my mom.
90. I never liked cartoons but I've been watching a few w/ J. and they're not that bad. The only one I really liked back in the day was Jem.
91. I put a lot of stock in "signs". Ex: I was debating on a toy for J. for Christmas, I picked up the box and got the worst paper/cardboard cut of my life. I took it as a sign, I didn't buy the toy.
92. I sometimes wonder what my life would be like if I had gone to UGA, not in a wistful "don't love my current life" kind of way, I'm just curious.
93. I really don't like re-watching movies but I will watch For the Love of the Game with my husband anytime. It brings back cozy feelings.
94. It may seem cheesy but I can't wait to go with my family to Disney World. I actually daydream about it.
95. I talk to myself a lot.
96. I wish I kept in better touch with my friends, I think about them often but the days just slip by.
97. Nothing beats a good pair of jeans.
98. I cried when I crossed the finish line of my first race, I'm sure I'll cry when I finish the marathon on my 5th wedding anniversary.
99. I once rode an Elk in college, a statue in front of the Elk's lodge, I still have a scar on my chin.
100. I never imagined writing 100 things about myself would take 2 days and keep me up at night racking I'm brain but I'm done.

**So I decided to keep adding on things as I thought of them.
101. I'm a procrastinator.
102. Other than buying one of something, I have to buy things in even numbers. So I can't buy 3 cans of green beans, I have to buy 4.

20 miler

2008-10-19T10:43:00.007-04:00

So if I had written this post yesterday, I might have mentioned the exhaustion I felt or the fact that I was hobbling around like an old woman. I might have also thrown in about how I didn't exactly dress for the occasion and probably wasted a lot of energy trying warm up all the body parts that had turned blue. But in the 24 hours since my torture, I mean run, I have a little more perspective.

I always pictured running being a solitary sport but now I can't imagine not running with my friends. We support each other, inspire each other, and certainly make each other laugh. There's not any topic that's off-limits and it's amazing the things you share on a run or the questions you'll ask your friends when you don't have to look them in the eye. Not much stays a secret within the group but not much gets out. Without these very special women I don't think I would be where I am today as a runner, a mother, or a friend. Even though I wasn't loving every minute of my 20 mile run I certainly wasn't hating it because of them.

I do have a to give a special thanks to g. because without her humor and spirit I don't think I would have made it through the last 12 miles. Thanks G. !!

My 1st Post

2008-10-17T16:01:00.000-04:00

Wow, so I've been a little nervous to start this blog. I've been thinking about it for awhile but was slightly intimidated because I'm a professional lurker. I tend to read friend's blogs, friends of friends blogs, random blogs I happen upon during my Internet "research". I sometimes (often) come away feeling slightly voyeuristic, thinking I should be spending time documenting my own life then reading about the Brown's recent camping trip. Do I know the Browns? No, but I'm pretty caught up with their Fall activities. So I'm stepping out of the shadows and writing my own story.

Another reason I hesitated was a lack of confidence. I have a friend T. that happens to make me laugh every time I read her blog. I read several running blogs mostly for inspiration. Now, I know I'm not that funny unless you count saying "that's what she said" as funny. Nor do I find myself inspirational unless I inspire you to stop reading this blog and write a better one of your own.

The reason I'm really doing this though is for my son. He is the funniest, most inspirational person I know. So until he can type on his own, he's stuck with me trying to document our life, our baby steps.