21 Days

Goodbye!

2012-01-21T06:00:00.002-05:00

Prologue
I've been thinking about this post for awhile now and I've composed several mental rough drafts: Some aim to be light-hearted and humorous, others more introspective and philosophical; others were kinda on the gushy-sentimental side, and a few other drafts were too brief, and a little flippant. In short, it's been difficult. Probably because saying "goodbye" is a toughie.

But, here: I think this is my best version of saying farewell in a manner that's best in keeping with this blog.

The Long Goodbye
Some of you may remember about a year ago when I summarized a conversation I'd had with my mother wherein she said, "You know those bloggers. They're all so self-absorbed." At the time, I laughed it off, but as is true for most things mothers say, her words lingered with me, and like koan, I've been turning her phrase over in my mind and meditating on it for nearly a year now.

It's true that there's something narcissistic about blogging in order to believe that readers may be interested in what I have to write about myself and my life, but did that make my blogging a simple act of self-centered naval gazing without further meaning or significance? Was this an act of simple vanity?

After thinking on it for a long time, I came to the following conclusion: Yes, this blog is about the personal, but there's something universal about the personal.

That's why people write blogs, read blogs, and take the time to leave one another thoughtful comments (or even go one step further and connect with one another outside of blogging) because blogging helps us feel connected to one another by understanding that ours is not a singular experience. This has made my blogging meaningful and this is why I have appreciated having so many of you as readers for so many years, and why I am truly grateful to you for allowing me to read your blogs and gain insight into your experience as I search to discover significance in mine.

So, thank you.

Thank you for reading, thank for leaving kind and encouraging comments, and thank you for opening up your personal world to me as a reader. I've enjoyed this community immensely; it has meant a lot to me.

My best wishes to each of you as readers! Enjoy your running, enjoy your families, your friends, your work, and your lives!

So long, farewell, auf weidersehen, goodbye!
Toodles,
Jess

Epilogue
I fell down yesterday while I was running. Scraped the hell out of my left knee. It stung as the air bit it once I got up and resumed running. It's been YEARS since I fell down while running. YEARS.

My first thought after resuming the run was: "Yay, what a story for the blog!" Second thought: "Ah shit, I'm gonna miss blogging."

Foto Friday

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

Based on your comments and emails this past week, it seems that the #1 thing you'll miss about the blog are pics of the kids, so for your pleasure: Here's a gratuitious number of recent kid pics.

Norah and Caleb before an evening walk during Caleb's one hour of helmet-free time. Norah looks stoned; maybe that explains why she's never paying attention while she's walking:

Norah "reading" some of my books:

Caleb doing some fingerpainting. His helmet theme at the time was the following: You see the front font, and on the back, it said, "But you can change my diaper for free!"

The teachers at daycare were savvy enough to point out that we pay them about $1,000 a month for them to change his diapers, so we had that a bit backwards!

Here's Norah doing her fingerpainting, which is mostly just painting her belly:

Here's a little peek into Norah as a teen:

Caleb enjoying some Dad-kisses:

The two of the kiddos chillaxin' in Mom and Dad's bed. Norah is two knuckles deep in her nostril, no doubt.

Norah sportin' my shades. I guess they're just as rockin if they're upside down.

Moments like this one below are my favorite -- where they're playing together and giggling. It doesn't happen all the time (Norah has a tough time sharing and taking turns, and Caleb doesn't really get any of it yet -- he just sees shiny things that make music when he touches them), but I sure like it when it does!

Oh, and his current helmet theme is "Angry Bird." On the front, he's got the furrowed brow of an angry bird, and on the back, he's got a graphic of the full angry bird.

10 Things Thursday

2012-01-19T06:00:00.002-05:00

More than once, I've been asked how I come up with blog material and how I avoid repeating myself. To the first question, I can't say where posts come from: they just occur to me, often with little or no preconception. Most posts are written off the top of my head. To the second question, of course I repeat myself! I repeat myself a LOT! As I scroll through the thousands of posts (yes, I can say that! THOUSANDS!), here is a run-down of the most frequently discussed topics on "21 Days":

1. Running.
This was started as, first and foremost, a running blog, so it seems fitting that I write about running. Surprisingly, when I search my posts, only 49% of them have a match for the word "running." So, I guess you could say that I "mostly" write about running!

I write about MY running: I rarely dispense advice or talk technical. I leave that to more knowledgable, experienced runners. I've simply written about what works, and doesn't work, for me.

One sub-category of oft-talked about running topics here is pooping and running. Or, more specifically, the close calls I've had of nearly crapping myself while out running. It's scary how often it's happened.
Another sub-category of my running topics has been the usual business of race reports: Updating everyone about my Awesome Sauce racing, or sometimes not-so-Awesome Sauce racing. But, one memorable race report? An invented race report! No, not an invented race. Invented report! I nearly won a contest for this one. Nearly.
Lastly, important to any runner is gear. What piece of gear have I mentioned the most in the past 2000 posts? Garmins! Which is ironic since I was reluctant to use one at first, and even once I had one, I didn't start regularly using it until the summer of 2007 when I was training for the Chicago Marathon. I ran the Disney Marathon Garmin-less: Unthinkable to me now! But, for an additional dose of irony, my most frequent subject when it comes to Garmins? Complaining about their malfunctioning.

2. Preggo Running.
Since I've spent the past 3 years either being pregnant or running post-pregnancy, many of my posts about running in the last few years have had to do with running while preggo and post-partum. It's these posts that seem to have struck a particular chord with many readers (mostly women, also mothers or mothers-to-be). I complained a LOT about being a barfy-barferson during both pregnancies, but you guys seemed to be impressed that I kept running. I'm glad you're easily impressed; it helps make me seem even more SWAWESOME.

3. Poop.
Yeah, I poop everyday, and seemingly write about it approximately every 10 days or so (given the percentage of posts that feature the word "poop"). And you like it! (Maybe because you poop too and you also think it's amusing?) But, I haven't just written about my own poo: The posts that have struck the funny bone the most have been kid poop, baby poop, and dog-eating-poop stories.

4. The temperature.
I talk a lot, apparently, about the weather. For living in a place that basically only has one season, I find a lot to say about that one season. For the majority of my meterological blather, I bitch and moan about how hot it is here in FL. But, sometimes I also bitch and moan about the occassional cold spell. That seems to inspire not one bit of sympathy from you guys!

5. Bowling.
Well, at least, I used to talk about it a lot. Then I had kids and I don't bowl in a league anymore, nor do I drink myself silly all that often anymore (a travesty, I know!). And speaking of drinking, I used to post about that frequently too. Then, we had kids. See a pattern here, people?

6. Scooter.
Remember my dog? Yeah, he's still around. I guess he's still cute. But, his cuteness has diminished over the years. Once we had kids, Scooter began to take a back seat to our attention, and that has never sat well with him -- he still can't believe they're staying. He's a howly-howlerson who steals food from both kids, and has even been known to steal food from Jerry and I when our attention has been diverted (and it shows!), but we still love him. I suppose...But, I'll tell you this much of what I learned about getting a dog before having kids: It's a mistake to treat them like your fur-kid! It's cute at the time, but when real kids come along, fur kids have a tough time adjusting. I pretty much threaten to BBQ Scooter everyday; it's a testament to how much I still love him that I don't follow through.

7. Norah.
She's mentioned in 406 of my blog posts. Considering she's only been around 2 and 1/2 years, that's pretty significant. And she's been significant to you too: The post with the highest number of comments, ever, was the post when we announced her arrival.

8. Caleb.
He's only been around for 7 and 1/2 months, but the ratio of times I mention him actually put him -- mathematically -- on the same level of mention as Norah. Everyone seems particularly interested in his flat-headedness, which is rounding out quite nicely with the help of his super-baby helmet.

9. Jerry.
It's hard to measure, quantitatively, how frequently I've talked about Jerry on the blog since, for the first two years, I didn't refer to him by name. Yes, that's right, when I first began blogging I gave him anonymity (ha! imagine such a thing!). I initially referred to him as my finace (since we were engaged when the blog began), and then later, only as "my husband." I referred to him as "the Jer-Bear" for the first time on his birthday, nearly two years after beginning the blog, and after that, I just went ahead and talked about him quite freely -- and I have to give him props for putting up with my public persona and for drawing he and the kids into that arena. But, it's not as though he's a shrinking violet.

10. My hair.
This is a funny one for me since I don't feel as though I focus too much on my hairstyle, but apparently, in the course of 6 and 1/2 years, I've gotten my hair cut 20 times, and I told you about it every time that I did. An additional tidbit is that I have frequently gotten my hair cut on Veteran's Day, each year -- probably because I get the day off -- still I never realized there was a pattern!

Going through all these posts and reminscing has been fun for me; the blog has deifnitely been a wonderful, electronic scrapbook of my life for the past 6 and 1/2 years. But, is there a technical term for wanting to go back in time and drop kick yourself for not appreciating all that free time you had pre-kids?

Rhymes with Orange

2012-01-18T06:00:00.003-05:00

If there's one thing I get asked about, more than anything else (including questions about running while preggo and "are you really that bad at typing when you're drunk?"), it's about these orange shorts:

In fact, the orange shorts are so intriguing to some, that I even got interviewed by Sarah Bowen Shea, from Run Like a Mother, for an RW article about women's running apparel in which she and I had a very specific conversation about those shorts. Sadly, neither the shorts, nor I, made the final cut for the RW article. Orange shorts only get you so far in this world...

So, what's the legacy of the orange shorts?

For those who have read from the beginning, you may recall how I started running in cotton. Yes, cotton! My goodness, how young and naive I was! Anyway, clearly cotton is the WORST choice in running fabric, and it didn't take me long to figure that out. So, I started a search for some quality running clothes, and in the fall of 2006, I stumbled upon these shorts. I don't know where I bought them (they're Nike, but I know I didn't buy them from a direct Nike retailer), or even why I bought them. Nothing about their initial purchase stands out to me. What does stand out, however, is how they've performed.

For nearly 6 years now!

These shorts never bunch, never chafe, never ride up uncomfortably in the butt. I've worn them when I've been at my leanest, trimmest self, and I've worn them when I've been 40 weeks preggo; they fit nicely either way. I've worn them to countless races, and in the past week alone, I've worn them for 3 runs.

But the magic of the orange shorts goes beyond their practicality. The magic of them is that they are unique.

Wanna buy some like 'em? Too bad. There are no duplicate shorts out there. Trust me, I've searched. I own lots of other models of Nike shorts, and while I do like Nike's shorts, especially their "tempo" model, none of their other shorts are THESE shorts. I swear, they are an anomaly. No other shorts are as comfortable or as versatile. So, to me, these shorts automatically give me a mental boost when I don them.

I almost always reserve them to wear for the week's long run, or if there's a run I know I don't want to do -- early morning, for instance -- I set them aside for those runs because putting them on immediately helps motivate me to do the run. You can't deny the power of what clothing can do for a person's self-esteem on a daily basis; if you feel good in your clothes, you simply FEEL good. Same holds true for running clothes: if they feel good, you feel like you'll run good (yeah, I'm an English professor, but sometimes the rules of grammar must be bent for higher purposes of symmetry, right?).

I hesitate to label the orange shorts my "lucky" shorts because, honestly, they haven't ever brought any particular running luck. But I can say that, like the word "orange," nothing is quite like them and their rarity is what, in part, contributes to my favoring them.

Fabric can't last for an eternity, so someday, these shorts will lose their precious elasticity and even the sturdiness of their construction will eventually fail; I dread that day, but knowing it's out there makes me value them that much more. Like all the best things in life, I know they won't last forever.

21 Most Memorable Moments

2012-01-16T20:52:00.000-05:00

So, I begin my week of blog-stalgia (won't you miss my invented vocabulary the most? if you ask nicely, perhaps I'll over-use "swawesome" this week so that you're also ready to retire that come Saturday) with a simple list of the "21 Most Memorable Moments." These moments are a combination of my life's highs and lows, laughs, poops, drunkenness, and other brouha, in the past 2,370 days.

21. Inception: "21 Days" beginning.
20. Hurricane Wilma.
19. My first Turkey Trot.
18. The time I pooped myself.
17. The time I fell down.
16. One of the many times I blogged while drunk.
15. Completing the Disney Marathon.
14. DNF at the Chicago Marathon.
13. Completing the Miami HM -- my first HM.
12. The Princess HM -- my HM PR.
11. My first post-Norah race.
10. First post-Caleb race, also known as my 7th consecutive Turkey Trot.
9. When we got Scooter.
8. The day we finished remodeling our condo.
7. My 1st pregnancy announcement.
6. My post about "running while pregnant."
5. My 2nd pregnancy announcement.
4. Calling it quits on running during pregnancy while preggo with Norah.
3. Ditto with my pregnancy with Caleb.
2. Gettin' hitched to the Jer-Bear.
and tied for the #1 spot:
1. Norah's birth and Caleb's birth!

Phew! That was a fun retrospective, wasn't it? These are just MY most memorable personal, running, and blogging moments, but some of you have been reading for a loooooong time, so does anyone have a Jess moment that stood out? And if you're in the mood for hours of nuthin' but good times, scroll through the archive for your own 2,000 posts of Jess-tastic fun -- I'm hilarious!

Rumination

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

First of all, thank you for so many kind, thoughtful comments about my decision to retire the blog. The comments some of you made honestly made me tear up, and it's a great feeling to know that this blog has been so meaningful to readers and that it will be missed.

Your comments were so moving, that I'll be honest: You filled me with self-doubt about this carefully considered decision, and all weekend, I wrestled with the should-I-stay-or-should-I-go dilemma. Jerry was no help in figuring it out (in fact, when I'd discussed my decision to quit blogging a few weeks before I announced it on Friday, his only response was: "I've heard you say that before"), telling me only: "The blog is yours; this is YOUR decision."

Ah, shark farts, why couldn't I have a husband who just told me what to do?! It'd require a lot less thinking on my part...

...in the end, I decided to make myself an old-fashioned pro and con list. I'd made several mental lists before posting Friday's post about #2000, but I hadn't sat down with a concrete list to help me perhaps make a more rational decision. Here, I'll show you what that list looked like:

Pro Blogging:
1. I like it.
2. It gives me a near-daily writing outlet.
3. I like having a concrete sense of readers and commenters. That makes the writing feel satisfying.
4. I like the people who blog and who comment here.
5. Some bloggers have been my "friends" for years, and I'd hate to lose that part of our connection.
6. It gives me a way to provide a record of the kids' childhoods.
7. It gives my running accountability.
8. It challenges me: In my running and in my writing.

Con Blogging:
1. Sometimes, I don't like it: It can feel like an obligation.
2. I have wondered over the years if because I blog, and it helps fulfill some sense that I'm writing, that it keeps me from truly pursuing writing.
3. Readers and commenters have been dwindling in the last few years. According to analytic data, this blog peaked about 3 years ago in readership.
4. It sucks to know that the blog's popularity has declined in the past 3 years, but you know what else declined in the last 3 years? My spare time, and thus the time I used to take to read others' blogs and cultivate the blog-relationships it takes to maintain high readership.
5. Many of my blog friends are now also my friends on FB and DailyMile, so I know that leaving here won't mean that I'll lose those contacts (and if you're not my friend on either of those sites, you CAN be! email me: tygress422 at yahoo dot com and I'll totally friend you if you promise not to ax-murder me in my sleep).
6. The blog is in desperate need of a makeover. The whole appearance needs to be re-done, but re-vamping the site feels overwhelming. And, then there are all the questions of...should I even stay with Blogger? Or move to Wordpress or Google+?
7. I can keep other records of the kids' childhoods without them being a public record. I sometimes fret over the kids' lack of privacy.
8. Through other mediums (DailyMile, for instance), my running can still maintain its accountability, so I don't need the blog to do that anymore.

Ugh...the totals came out even! Don't you hate it when that happens?

So, what did I decide about the ultimate fate of the blog?

Well, I thought about sadistically keeping you in suspense. But that seemed mean, so I'll tell you now:

It's still BUH-bye.

For now. Perhaps I will be back after some time off, or perhaps I'll just periodically check in, I don't know, but for now, I definitely need the time away if, for no other reason, than to perhaps give myself enough time to miss it.

Goodbye won't be until this upcoming Saturday, the 21st -- as promised -- so stick around this week for the reminiscing.

#2000

2012-01-13T06:00:00.001-05:00

This post is my 2000th post.

You read that right: A "2" followed by THREE 0s. I'm like the Betty White of blogging...I've been around for forever!

Thinking back to what I posted 3 and 1/2 years ago when I posted about my 1000th post, I've been forced to wonder if reaching 2000 posts just means I've doubled my amount of wasted time. To be honest, contemplating my time, and its value, has been on my mind for weeks now, months even, and more often than not lately, maintaining my blog and keeping up with other blogs has become a chore.

Don't get me wrong, I love blogging and love all of the blogging peeps out there, but at the same time, I've grown weary of the medium. There are many reasons to keep blogging, but ultimately, I feel there is just one major reason to quit: Because I want to.

So, there it is my friends: I'm officially announcing bloggy retirement.

Not effective immediately. This is just notice: My final date will be January 21st.

I first posted on this blog on June 21, 2005, so it feels fitting to end it on a date that feels meaningful. So, in the next week, expect some emotionally-laden posts reminscing about blog posts of yore and join with me in recalling some of my favorite moments of the past 6 and 1/2 years.

There's no doubt I'll miss blogging, and my blogging friends, but I just feel that it's time to move on from here. Perhaps, at some later date, I'll re-emerge from retirement, a la Jay-Z style, but for the now, this is a permanent decision.

So, happy 2000 posts to my blog! And, in 8 days, I'll bid it sayonara!

Girly Girl

2012-01-12T12:42:00.000-05:00

One part of getting ready in the morning, is that Norah and I both have to get pretty. So, when I'm getting ready for work, she always pulls out her make up and accessories, and while I'm applying my own make up, she applies what she feels is necessary for her own beautification.

Moments like this, where she's "painting" her toenails (that's not real nail polish, although, you'd be suprised how adept she is with real nail polish!), make me feel as though I'm peering into a small window of the future. She may only be 2 and 1/2 now, but can't you somehow see her at 16 doing the same thing? I can.

This morning, she also (briefly) let me put her hair into a pony tail. It didn't last, but I enjoyed it while it did.

And, what outfit is complete without a purple tu-tu and a princess necklace? None that I know of!

My Day

2012-01-11T12:13:00.000-05:00

I slept great last night! According to Jerry, Caleb did wake up once in the night, but I guess I didn't even hear him. Usually, even when it's not "my" night I still wake up whenever one of the kiddos (99.9% of the time, that's Caleb) wakes, but I guess I snoozed right through it last night.

Anyway, I slept so soundly, that I woke at exactly 5:58 and felt ready to get up and go do my run. That never happens for me.

It was a cool, crisp morning, and even though it felt a little chilly to my Florida sensibilities when I first stepped outside, by the end of the first mile, it felt perfect. I did another 3 miles -- it's about all I have time for on a workday morning (I seriously need to get faster so I can squeeze more miles into the time, but patience, patience, that will one day happen...maybe when hovercrafts and jetpacks finally become popular, accessible modes of transportation) -- and it felt pretty nice once again to get it done first thing.

If only everyday could be Jerry's "day"!

Early A.M. Run

2012-01-09T12:39:00.000-05:00

I got spoiled over my break in many ways, but one way was that with cool temps, and kids in daycare, I got to head out, solo, for afternoon runs -- pretty much at my convenience. No early morning running, no late evening running, no squeezing it in between my classes. It was a luxury!

With winter break over, it means no more heading out for runs at my leisure. Time to start planning the timing again. And with the start of my new semester, it means the start of a slightly new schedule, so beginning today, I have night class on Mondays. That meant that in order to get my planned run in today, I had to get up early this morning and get it done at o'dark thirty.

Typically, getting up early is a problem for me -- we never get a full night's sleep in our house, so getting up early to run is tough -- but Norah crawled into our bed at 5:30 a.m. this morning, and tossed around in there with us for 30 minutes. So, at 6 a.m., I was ready to get up since I'd really been awake for 30 minutes anyway.

Surprisingly, Norah wanted to go with me on the run. She hasn't been on a run in the BOB in at least 6 months, so I said she could go, but there was no turning back and no getting out. If she was going, she was G-O-I-N-G. So, I snuggled her in with Bo-Bo and a blanket, and she looked so cozy in there (ah, to be the kid!). I kinda thought she'd fall back asleep, but that kid is a stubborn one and she stayed awake for 3 miles. Still, she was very good, and only asked to stop once because she wanted me to take the blanket off.

So, I got my planned 3 miler done, and even though I had to unexpectedly push a kid, it still felt good, and is a good start to the week!

First Week Tally

2012-01-07T13:41:00.000-05:00

Aside from being sick in the middle of the week, I still managed to abide by my 2012 running goals: Record my mileage, not allow more than 2 days to come between runs, and work to regain HM shape.

I have been recording my runs, and even though I was down for the count with the barfs mid-week, I really only missed one planned run, and my weekly mileage was 18 miles. I'd been originally shooting for 22 miles, but 18 is fine, considering.

This morning, I capped off the week with an 8 miler. I was slow as heck, but I'm trying not to let it bother me (still does, though). I know I'll get faster the more consistent I am; I've done it before, and I can do it again. But, what's most important is that I got it done, and in all honesty, it felt great. We're enjoying some really temperate weather right now, so it was a PERFECT morning for a run. And for many reasons, I really enjoy running mid-distance runs of 8-13 miles: It feels like a challenge, but not too much of one. I get done and feel like I accomplished something, even if nothing else of significance gets done throughout the day.

On a random note, my Garmin 310 has been inaccurately recording my mileage for awhile now. I know most of my routes by heart, so I know when it's off. At first I thought it just always needed a fully charged battery, but that didn't seem to help. So, this morning, I left the 310 at home and took my bulkier, but more reliable, 305. Gotta love the 305!

Really, the only advantage to the 310 has been its size; otherwise, I have been completely disappointed in that Garmin. Maybe I should just sell it on eBay and exclusively rely on the 305. Anyone interested in an inconsistent (but lightweight!) 310? ;)

Three Things Thursday

2012-01-05T20:24:00.001-05:00

1.On the mend.

Jerry and I are better today. No more barfs or mud butt, but we both have the residual headache and soreness that stomach bugs seem to leave you with -- an effect of dehydration, I'm sure. But, on the whole, we're not the miserable mopes we were yesterday.

2. Back to work.

Today was my first day back to class (don't get me started on how stupid it is to start classes on a Thursday, but whatevs), and as weird as it sounds, that was fun. I always enjoy the start of the semester, even the spring term where no one is nearly as energetic or enthusiastic as they are for the fall. Still, however fun I find the start of term, I was reminded today of how I've grown accustomed to a certain amount of leisure the past 3 weeks -- the kind of leisure I could grow to love -- so getting back to the work routine felt a bit hectic. Next week is my first "real" week of classes, and that will feel like an even bigger jolt to the lazy winter break system.

3. Caleb is 7 months now.

In fact, he was 7 months a few days ago -- I'm just about a week behind on recording his updates (although, I DID catch up on his baby book over my break, and even filled in a few gaps in Norah's book as well).

He's doing well. He had a dr. check up yesterday, and he's 28 and 1/4 inches (83%) and 17 lbs, 8 oz (29%). So, I guess he's continuing his trend of being tall and slim -- which is an anomoly for both our families. We'll see how his growth pans out in the long run. He also checked up fine in all other growth and developmental milestones, and got a slew of vaccines (and, thus, we had a night of the fussies last night).

Right now, he's sitting really well, and on his tummy, he's clearly getting ready to crawl. He kinda "creeps" around, and yesterday, I saw him experimenting by pushing up to all fours. It only last a second, but he's thinking about it. I'm excited for him to crawl, because it's always fun to see them reach new milestones, but at the same time, I dread having him crawl. Having 2 mobile kids seems like pure chaos. But, it will be fun because he and Norah "play" more and more now, and once he's crawling, I forsee a lot more sibling playing...and probably sibling squabbling.

Anyway, here are a few recent pics of the rugrat at 7 months:

Playing with the cash register:

At the park:

And, who doesn't love a sleeping baby pic? Especially when that baby's foot is hanging out the side of the crib.

Lastly, on a Caleb note, he had his most recent helmet adjustment earlier this week, and his head is doing great! It's a wonder how quickly the helmet is making a difference in his head shape. I have to say, based on the changes I've observed so far, the helmet is costly and time-consuming (cleaning it, going to extra appointments), but I think it's been a good investment in his overall transition from flat-headed-baby to regular-headed-baby!

Starting the New Year with the Flu

2012-01-04T14:12:00.000-05:00

Once again, I have a stomach bug that has had me barfing and squirting deuce juice for the past 24 hours.

Jerry has it too, and we spent most of last night alternating trips to the toilet. Today, we both feel like warm poo. Thankfully, after a too long wait at the pediatrician's office for Caleb's check up, we were able to drop the kiddos at daycare early and return home to try and rest and recoup. It's helpful being able to sleep so much, but I have a feeling this will take a day or two to wear off.

It stinks because I'm back at work tomorrow, and this wasn't how I wanted to end my winter vacay.

2012 Goals

2011-12-29T20:34:00.001-05:00

It's easy to see the new year as an opportunity to do a complete overhaul on myself, but I know me and I know I can only strive toward goals that are simple and attainable. So, again, I'm breaking it down into a few key facets of my life and have limited each facet to 3 principle goals.

Here we go 2012:

Personal

Marriage: Again, keep date nights as a focus for Jerry and I. I'd like to continue to aim for 1 date night a month.
Parenthood: Try to live in the moment and lighten up. I do my best to appreciate this time with the kids while they're young, but like any parent, I have plenty of moments of frustration, anxiety, and even anger. Sometimes, I feel I am too quick with these emotions, and I'd like to try and focus on fostering greater patience and learning what battles are worth fighting.
Friendship: Make time for friends. In the past few years, with kids, it's become easy to push friendships to the back burner, but in the last few months of 2011, I made the time to keep up with some lunches with girlfriends, and we enjoyed an evening out with our friends (without kids) and it reminded me of how valuable it is to keep up with friends -- both past and present.

Financial (I've never made a separate list for money, but in the past few years, I've been more conscientious and mindful of how we save, invest, and spend. So, this year, I have a few specific goals that are monetary.)

Save: The past few years have been devoted to paying off our debt; now, it's time to build the savings. Ideally, I'd like to create an emergency fund that would consist of 4 months worth of Jerry's salary (net).
Invest: Research, decide upon, and contribute to the kids' college savings plans. They each have savings accounts, but those earn, like, 1% interest. I want to invest in some accounts that would more realistically build adequate amounts for each child's college fund.
Save again: We need a new car, but if possible, I'd like to actually save up to buy one in full, not finance anything. This is a lofty goal, but after paying off our debt, I'm not eager to finance another vehicle.

Professional

Grading: Learn to create an electronic gradebook. I'm completely inept with Excel, but it's the 21st century. Time to learn.
Technology: I have the bare minimum knowledge with how to teach classes online, and while I don't want to teach online, I see that the future of teaching will at least demand a knowledge of blending online components with a tradition bricks-and-mortar approach. Time to take some of the tech classes. Blergh.
Spending: I have some money to burn that was part of my POY award last year and I've been waffling for months about what to do with it. Time to decide.

Running

Miles: Track my mileage. 2011 was a complete bust in terms of keeping track of my mileage, and I really feel more accountable when I do it. Time to return to record keeping.
Time: Never go more than 2 days between runs. My motto, since high school, has always been to not go more than 3 days between workouts, but in the past few months, I've lagged enough that I have -- at times -- allowed as much as 4 days to come between me and some sort of committed physical activity. When I do that, I feel like shark farts. So, new rule: 2 days is the maximum spacing between runs!
Training: Return to HM shape. I feel like I'm at my running best when I'm in HM shape (running about 20-30 miles a week). And with that middle distance training, speed usually returns hand in hand. I hope for that to be a nice side effect.

So, there ya go: Bring on the end of the world! Hello 2012!

2011 in Review

2011-12-27T20:22:00.000-05:00

'Tis the season to read a lot of "Year in Review" posts, and I must join in. So, time to review my 2011 goals and see how I did:

Personally

Enjoy the remainder of this pregnancy. With Norah, I was so excited and eager to have her born, I feel as though I willed that pregnancy to just be done with, and it wasn't until she was born, that I realized how special pregnancy is. This time around, I'm trying to appreciate it. I did appreciate it, but I still got impatient at the end. Guess I'm just an impatient preggo!
Make more time for dates with Jerry. As parents, it's easy to lose track of time, and at the end of the week, it's often just easiest to order Chinese, rent a movie On Demand, and call that a date. But as nice as nights like that are, I need to make the time and effort to get a babysitter and actually go sit across a table from Jerry and eat real food and have real conversations. Success! We've made an effort to get out for "date night" about once a month, and it's been worthwhile.
Read more books. I got a Nook for Christmas this year, and I'm eager to give e-reading a go! Plus, several friends got Nooks, so hopefully, we can take advantage of the lend option and save ourselves some book buying. Blended success here. I read quite a bit in the first half of the year, and then...Caleb was born and the reading really sharply dropped off. Right now, I read regularly, but it takes me about 1,000% longer to get through a book because my time spent reading is so greatly diminished.
Financially, I want to pay off our car loan. Success! Now the only debt we have is our mortgage.

Professionally

Serve on two committees, either departmental or college-wide. Success!
Put real effort into applying for either a Classroom Reasearch Award or the Endowed Teaching Chair. Both of these options offer professional recoginition and cash awards. I put real effort into the Endowed Teaching Chair award, but was denied the opportunity to advance in the process. This award is highly competition at my institution (there's a hefty monetary reward), so I'm not surprised I wasn't selected (again. this was my 3rd year in a row being nominated but not being selected to move forward to the interview portion). I did, however, win Professor of the Year, which was an unexpected award for 2011.
Publish another short story. Success! You can go here if you're interested.

Running

Run consistently for as long as I'm able during this pregnancy. Did my best here, but only ran until I was 27 weeks preggo, which fell short of my expectation to run until at least 32 weeks as I did with Norah. Still, I feel satisfied with my effort.
Run some preggo races. Fail! I ran ZERO preggo races.
Run a fall or early winter HM. Fail! The only race I ran in 2011 was the 5K Turkey Trot. All in all, running was a challenge for me this year.

As always a mixed bag of success and failure, and of course, unexpected deviations, challenges and joys. Now to start pondering some 2012 goals. Of those, I have NO clue. Need to put my thinking cap on!

Halleluja and Holy Sh*t!

2011-12-26T20:04:00.000-05:00

Where's the Tylenol?

Christmas was great fun this year: Caleb's 1st Christmas and Norah's first Christmas where she really had a grasp on what was going on. Of course, as wonderful as it was, it was also pure chaos -- a mayhem of presents, over-excitement, and a few meltdowns throw in for good measure. But for all the madness, having Norah bounce on our bed Christmas morning proclaiming "Santa Claus! Santa Claus!" pretty much MADE the holiday.

Here's the rundown in pics:

Caleb and his mountain of gifts on Christmas Eve. Typical baby, he was mainly interested in paper and packaging.

Caleb "reading" one of his books.

Caleb chewing on one of his new toys.

Christmas morning -- Santa Claus! -- and Norah was a flurry of unwrapping. She loved her gifts, but it was the unwrapping itself which was most pleasurable to her.

The aftermath of Christmas morning: Paper, boxes, and presents strewn EVERYwhere.

Norah prepping for a Christmas morning walk: New sunglasses and her new princess Belle in the stroller. Her lips are also super glossed with about 18 layers of new lipgloss.

An unexpected favorite was a purple tu-tu that was a stocking stuffer. She wore it all day on Christmas day (with jeans and tee shirt), and she insisted on wearing it with her PJs to bed as well.

And today, we went to Sugar Sand Park in Boca (carousel, awesome park, and science explorium), and she paired the tu-tu with a Halloween tee, shorts, and princess Crocs. The girl has S-T-Y-L-E.

All in all, it was a fantastic holiday, but our house feels like a disaster zone, and I'm kinda counting down the hours until noon tomorrow when I drop both kids off at daycare again!

Winter Wishing

2011-12-23T08:56:00.000-05:00

For most runners, this time of year means pulling out the running tights, jackets, hats and gloves and braving the wintry cold to get runs done outside. But for me? It still means running in heat.

3 days before Christmas, and yesterday I went for a 5 miler in the afternoon. It was 82 degrees out. Surprisingly, in the shade, it wasn't bad at all, but the last mile of my 5 mile route had zero shade, and the timing meant that the sun was right in my face the entire time. I slugged through it, but when I got home, I was BEET red!

After a cool shower, I laid down on the bed with the fan on for a few minutes so I could cool off.

Is it weird to have winter envy? Because I do, especially this time of year when it's ironic to see snowmen everywhere, but no snow. (Norah is very into "Frosty the Snowman" this year, which is funny since she's never even seen snow.) I know most would love a warm run at this point in the calendar year, so tell ya what, why don't we trade for a week or so?

I think a week of winter would be all I'd need to feel like I gotten my share of it.

Haven't Been Blogging, But

2011-12-21T19:48:00.000-05:00

I have been running!

In fact, it's been glorious lately. Since on break, I'm enjoying a lot of wonderful "me" time and that includes getting to some needed chores (organizing closets and cleaning kitchen cabinets, etc) as well as fun stuff (pedicure, afternoon naps, and reading), and of course, solo running time!

The weather has been temperate, but a little warm in the afternoons when I have my time off, so the runs have been short, but it's been nice to get out each day.

I have other stuff I could blog about, but I have been feeling very un-internet-y, so excuse this lame excuse for a post and move on to those who are still putting in some blog-effort this season.

iPod...Down?

2011-12-15T13:04:00.000-05:00

As I was getting ready for my run yesterday, I couldn't find my iPod. Last I had seen it, Norah had been walking around with it. Not good. I remember thinking when I saw her with it: "Grab that from her and stow it or you'll never find it again." Did I take my own mental advice? Nope. Must've gotten distracted by something else.

I searched a few places that popped into my mind as "Norah places," but when it didn't turn up in any of those spots, I gave up and went for the run without my tunes. I know there are some running purists out there who don't like to run with music and will (probably correctly) tell me that it's dangerous and will be the death of me, but I don't care. Running by myself is about the only time I listen to adult music, and I think it's Awesome Sauce to not have Elmo's ABC Song ringing through my eardrums.

So, I ran -- sans tunes -- and when I got back I figured I'd look in a few more spots that occurred to me while I was out running (since I was without music, I had the brain space to think of other hiding spots Norah might have stashed the iPod). Still no dice. I gave up and figured I'd find it in a year (like the DVD remote we lost for a year) in some familiar, yet unexpected place.

Then, I unloaded the dryer, and...viola! There it was! Whether she'd stuck it in one of her precious pockets, or just stuck it in a hamper, I don't know, but I do know it went through the wash and then the dryer. I didn't have high hopes that I could resurrect it, but I have resurrected past iPods, and as in "The Princess Bride," with iPods, there are a couple kinds of death.

So, I plugged it into my laptop and it actually came on and synced up to iTunes. Thus, I conclude it must've only been "Mostly Dead." According to its blinky orange light, it's currently charging; let's hope this will be the chocolate covered pill it needs and it will back to life by this afternoon's run!

Santa, Baby!

2011-12-14T12:46:00.000-05:00

This morning, I took Norah and Caleb to see Santa at the mall. I figured 10 am on a Wednesday would be a good, lowkey time, and it was. We were 2nd in line.

The kids did well with Santa. Norah didn't want to sit on his lap, but she sat on the available rocking horse, and Caleb took Santa's knee. Neither kid could be coaxed into smiling, but neither is crying, so that's a "win" in my book!

Norah did give Santa a high five, and when prompted to answer what she'd like for Christmas, she replied, matter of factly: "I want presents." There ya go, Santa should be able to do that!

7 Things About Norah

2011-12-13T20:49:00.000-05:00

Jamoosh tagged me to list "7 random things about Norah." Harder than it first seems since I already share so many random things about her, but here goes:

1. Norah's favorite t-shirt is her "Jessie" shirt. It features Jessie and Bullseye from "Toy Story." As soon as it's washed, she puts it on -- she doesn't even wait for it to cool from the dryer.

2. Norah prefers to be barefoot over any kind of shoe. She kicks off her shoes at any opportunity, and we often refer to her as a "barefoot hippie." Something tells me she has barefoot running in her future. But, if she has to wear shoes, she prefers her Crocs, which is just being a clogged-foot hippie ;)

3. Norah still uses a pacifier. She especially requires one for sleeping. We keep hoping she'll just naturally grow out of it, but so far, just wishing that she'll give it up hasn't worked.

4. Norah's favorite toys are baby dolls and stuffed animals. They all lead pretty active lives in our home, and some even get the pleasure of dining with her. Clifford, featured below, is also among the privledeged half dozen who sleep with her. It's crowded in her little bed.

5. Despite her affection for cuddly toys, the most surprising toy that Norah loves is Rex. What's even more comical is how Rex frequently gets very girly makeovers.

6. Norah is an early riser. 6:15 is sleeping in to her. And, she's awake and cheery at that hour. It's awful.

7. Norah is fun, outgoing, smart, and charming. I hope she never changes.

I think I'm supposed to tag 7 more bloggers, but I'm not gonna do that. And, thus, why chain letters always die with me.

Deck the Helmet

2011-12-12T19:59:00.000-05:00

I finished my grades for the term, so I am free! FREEDOM! I've counted, and I have 13 afternoons of 4 and 1/2 hours a piece -- all. to. myself! Mwahuahuaha! What will I do with all that time?

Plan to take over the world. Of course.

Anyway, with my first afternoon of freedom, I actually downloaded some pics off the camera, and I forgot to mention before that Caleb's helmet is now decorated. For December, he is sporting the fashionable, seasonable look: Mistletoe!

Because he needs lots of kisses!

On the side, it says "Merry Christmas" and on the back is a cute reindeer. I don't have any pics of the reindeer. Just take my word that it's cute. Below is a shot where you can partially see the side with the "Merry Christmas."

Yeah, Norah's a good big sister who insists on helping with nearly every Caleb task there is. If she had the dexterity, she'd change his diapers in a heartbeat. As it is, she settles for standing on her step stool and observing, and commenting, during changings.

But, back to the Helmet Baby, today he had his first "helmet check-up/adjustment" and he's already showing improvement, and they adjusted the helmet accordingly. While we were in the waiting room, there were 2 other helmet babies there, and each one had stickers on their helmets too. One had his name emblazoned on the front, and the other, a girl, had a pink helmet with flowers and butterflies and stuff. It seems most parents with helmet babies have fun with it and decorate the helmets. Might as well.

If it's pretty visually, it helps distract us from its awful stench -- yeah, despite cleaning it once a day, the helmet is one stinky piece of baby accessory. It reminds me of my shin guards from my years as a soccer player.

In other helmet tidbits, we've already become so accustomed to Caleb in his helmet that when we take it off for his one hour of head freedom every day, his head seems unbelievably tiny. In fact, you know what he reminds me of during that hour? You know the scene from "Return of the Jedi" when Luke takes off Darth Vader's mask and helmet, and Anakin's head seems small and pasty? Yeah, that's what Caleb's head seems like sans-helmet. I hope this resemblence doesn't indicate any future temptation to cross over to "the dark side"!

Anyway, Jerry made the stickers, and they peel off, so after Christmas, Caleb will don a new theme. What that is is a mystery even to me. We'll have to see what Jerry can come up with!

Nutrition

2011-12-10T08:25:00.000-05:00

I must confess: I eat like I'm a 16 year old boy.

This morning, it was Jerry's turn to rise with the kidlets, and he opted to take both of them to the grocery store in order to knock that chore out at 7 am (pure madness, in my opinion). Thus, I was left alone in the house with 2 delightful options: A.) Stay in bed and sleep, or B.) Get up and enjoy some coffee and uninterrupted interweb time. I kinda split the difference by sleeping 15 more minutes and then getting up.

Anyhoo, back to nutrition, let me share with you what I chose for my breakfast items: Oreos and coffee.

Yes, I am eating Oreos for breakfast. I said it, I don't regret it.

Many of you participate in the "What I Ate Wednesday" and whenever I look at your food for the day, I'm always struck by how healthy it all is. Granted, I try to eat a pretty healthy, and if nothing else, varied diet. But, I'll be honest: There are days when nary a fruit or vegetable touches my lips. I know that a better diet could help me shed a few unnecessary pounds, could help me run better, and could fill me with some sort of inner glow...you know, because eating healthy means you have good poops and people who poop good seem to be pretty happy, glowing people.

But, again I'll be honest: I'm not dissatisfied with my weight. Sure, I could be a leaner, trimmer, running machine, but I also would rather not give up Oreos for breakfast. And, I already poop pretty good. Coffee, people, coffee!

I figure the running helps balance out the calorie differential, and really, my central running purpose has never been for weight loss purposes. Yes, it's a nice side effect, but I need the stress relief and energy expression more than anything else. And speaking of running, now that I've finished my coffee and Oreos, I think I shall go for a run: This breakfast was good fuel...right?

3 Miler Redux

2011-12-08T16:27:00.000-05:00

Knowing that I'd have a similar schedule today as I did yesterday, I just left my stinky running clothes in my office, and this afternoon, I donned my smelly running attire for a repeat of yesterday's 3 mile running break. Today, I also had the added bonus of overcast skies and slightly cooler temps, so it was an even more pleasant experience!

I did feel a bit like a stink-machine having not taken home or washed my running clothes, but I figured I was just gonna re-sweatify them, so what's the point? Usually, I never double-wear running clothes because I typically soak them in sweat so the idea of re-using before washing is often times rather grotesque.

But what about you? Will you use them twice before washing? Is it conditional -- maybe contingent upon sweat-soakage and stinkage?

A Brief Break

2011-12-07T17:57:00.000-05:00

One of the benefits of final's week is that I don't have to hold regular office hours. Technically, I just have to be here to proctor my exams. But, I am typically here my regular hours so that I can spend my time at work grading (I get next to nothing accomplished at home, so it's best to do my work AT work).

Anyhoo, today I just have one final to give at 6:30 pm, but I was still here at noon in order to get in a solid 6+ hours of grading. It's paid off too -- I got two classes done, plus I finished my syllabi for next term, I got some other miscellaneous work done, and of course met with several students who had/were experiencing the typical finals-week-near-death-experiences (one guy apparently was rushed to the emergency room on Monday, which was his class's final exam date, because he was vommiting blood -- he had documentation so I don't doubt him, but still, blood barf? Good god, people! Why are you puking blood during finals week?).

But at about 4 pm, my brain was tired and I needed a break. So, I got on my running stuff (no office hours obligations!) and headed out for a 3 miler.

It felt good to get out, stretch my legs, breathe the fresh air, and rest my weary brain.

I was dripping sweat when I returned to find a student waiting for me (another dude who'd apparently had a hospital visit that occured during our exam time -- are their limbs soon going to be falling off?), but who cares? It's finals week! Which is like super-duper-casual-week in my opinion. If I'm here in something that's not my bathrobe, I think I deserve some props.

Two Things Tuesday: On Soreness and Stacks of Grading

2011-12-06T14:05:00.000-05:00

Sore
On Saturday night, Jerry, Norah, and I (Caleb stayed at home with my SIL who is here visiting) attended my department's holiday party. It was at my dean's home, and in his backyard, there was an old jungle gym/swing set that they'd had there when their kids were younger (their kids are in college now if that gives an indication of the age of this thing). Anyway, it had some rings, so I thought it'd be fun to show off and do some flips for Norah.

She thought I was the bomb-diggity for that, and she begged, "Again!" I obliged with several more flips. My arms were achin'. But, she HAD to tell Jerry about my accomplishment, and Jerry didn't believe that I could do this, so he had to see: One more flip. Then, Jerry assisted Norah in her "flips," so one last time, she had to see me repeat it. Good lord, my achin' arms!

Sunday, the day after, wasn't terrible. But yesterday? My arms were like flaccid lumps of arm meat. I had to swallow a fistful of Advil just to get through the day. Today they are a bit better, but still sore.

Does this prompt me to think that I need to do more strength training? Nah. I just clearly need to avoid my dean's backyard from here on to eternity.

Stacks of Grading
No marathon analogy here: This week is a sprint.

This is finals week, and I have approximately 125 essays to read by Monday. Actually, about 100 because I just finished one class's. My grades for the term are due on Tuesday, and even though I know I CAN do it, I'm at a point right now where I just don't wanna.

Plus, some of these essays are T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E. Notice I spelled that right? Well, in one essay I read this afternoon, the student didn't even manage to spell her own name right! This is what I'm dealing with.

Add to that the sudden finals-induced-drama that students are always stricken with (Grandmas start to die with alarming frequency), and I just want to fast-forward to a week from today when my semester will be done and I can focus on the less stressful activity of doing my ENTIRE Christmas shopping in one week.

More Running and 6 Months

2011-12-01T12:40:00.000-05:00

The good weather continued this morning, and I got to get in another 3 miler with Caleb in the stroller. Before we left, Jerry filled the air in the BOB's tires -- guess I have a tendency to neglect that! -- and it always amazes me at the difference that makes!

For the 1st 2 miles, I was pushing into the wind, so it was still tough going, despite the comfortable temp and the freshly filled tires. But, for the last mile, I had the wind at my back, and for the first time in a loooooooong time with the stroller, I ran a 9:52 min/mile. For me, that's like a stroller landspeed record!

In other baby news, Caleb is now 6 months!

It seemed that with Norah from 6 months to 1 year, all the milestones started to come like a whirlwind, and I can already see how that will probably be true with Caleb as well. He started solid food:

He doesn't LIKE it, but he did start it. His objection doesn't seem to be the food itself, just the fact that we want to shove it in their with a spoon. He clamps his mouth shut and sticks his tongue out, and is like, "Nope, thanks, I'm good." The only thing he remotely finds acceptable are sweet potatoes.

He's also a Rolley Rollerson who now rolls all over the place. We set him down in one spot, turn our backs, and he's across the room (or, wedged up against a piece of furniture). Norah is funny with him; this morning, she was in the living room with him and I heard her exclaim: "Caleb's rolling over! Good job, Buddy!" I wonder what she'll think in a few months when he's crawling after her.

He's also sitting, with support, really well. Of course, he's REAL tipsy right now, so he'll seem well-balanced, and then ker-plunk! He's face first in the floor! At least with the helmet now, he's got some crash protection.

Reflecting on any age for a child makes it feel as though the time is flying, but I'm honestly like, "Seriously, 6 months? Already? Where has it gone?" I don't even think I've finished his baby book past his delivery...oopsie! That's on my "to-do" over my winter break! :)

Perfect Running Weather

2011-11-30T12:20:00.002-05:00

After weeks of very un-holiday-inspiring 80+ degrees, the temps here in South Florida finally dipped below 75! Sweet and sour chicken, it is GLORIOUS! As Norah said this morning, "It's nice out here."

So, I took Caleb for a 3 miler, and it was cool enough that I felt justified that he ride suited up in his fleecy Christmas jammies. Jerry suggested he also be bundled in a blanket, but I knew that wasn't necessary -- we're spoiled here in FL into thinking that 65-70 degrees is "freezing." The run felt great, as it always does when the temps fall below the typical we-own-a-condo-in-the-inner-circle-of-hell temps. When it's like this, I feel like I could run all day.

The good weather, combined with the fact that Jerry took this week off work for a "week of Jerry time," has meant some extra run time for Jess! If only I could have a house-husband and cool weather all the time!

Helmet Baby

2011-11-28T19:34:00.000-05:00

Today, Caleb got his helmet!

The little dude's head wasn't improving on its own, so we had gone ahead with the decision to pursue helmet therapy, and his helmet arrived today and he got fitted for it this afternoon. So far, he seems to be adjusting to it, no problem (went to bed fine with it on, anyway).

And, since the dude is a little roller-rollyson lately, I don't have to worry about his cranium as he rolls off the carpet and across the wood floor (as he did tonight). Plus, it's just extra protection against Norah and Scooter -- who don't play so delicately around him!

Right now, it's just plain white, but to Jerry, that's just a blank canvas -- expect to see some decor on that thing in the upcoming weeks -- soon, I suspect, it will be totally "tricked out"!

Weekend Wrap Up: Turkey Style!

2011-11-27T20:25:00.002-05:00

Thursday morning, I kicked off my Thanksgiving in the same way I have for the past 7 consecutive years: At the Tukey Trot 5K. It was, as always, a fun race, and I finished in 29:17, for an average 9:27/mile pace. I was pretty happy with that -- one of my fastest Turkey Trots in the past few years, actually! Jerry didn't get any "race" pictures, but he did snap this pic of Norah and her pal Miller "hanging around" during the race:

On Friday, we set up our Christmas tree and decorated the house for Christmas. Norah is really digging the Christmas music this year. Here she and Caleb are "dancing" to the tunes:

Below is Norah helping Jerry string lights. She was very involved this year; no wonder it took us twice as long!

The ornaments have already taken a beating. Jerry is currently running an "ornament ICU" where broken ornaments await their supergluing. So far, as soon as a few are fixed and re-hung, a few more get the "Uh-oh! What happened?" treatment.

Friday was also our 6 year wedding anniversary and we had a nice night out: Went to dinner and then shopped some. Sounds kind of lame if you don't have kids, but if you do have kids, you know how awesome a meal out and shopping without kiddos is!

On Saturday, we had some chores to take care of around the house, but in the evening, we went to a friend's house for dinner and playing, and today, we spent the morning at the park. Here's Norah, Caleb and I on the slides:

And here's Norah hitching a piggy-back ride from me:

This afternoon, Norah and Jerry decorated their gingerbread houses. Scooter managed to knock one down and eat it before decorating time, and one other one fell and broke, so they only had 3 houses to decorate, but Norah didn't know the difference. Besides, she's really just about shoving as much candy in as she can; decorating is merely secondary.

To cap off the weekend, the kids got in their Christmas jammies and did a mini-photo shoot in front of the tree. We had our typical range of terrible pics -- Norah's finger in her nose, Caleb looking stoned -- and this one was the best of the bunch.

It's too bad that the only Christmas jammies in FL are fuzzy, fleece jammies since it's still 80 degrees outside. Guess I just have to crank up the A/C and pretend that it's winter so these kids don't roast in their sleep!

Hope everyone else had a tubular Turkey weekend!

Thanksgiving Eve!

2011-11-23T12:50:00.001-05:00

When I was a kid, Thanksgiving was never one of my favorite holidays -- no presents, no candy, no fireworks -- didn't seem to exciting to me. Plus, one year my brother barfed on his dinner plate it the middle of our Thanksgiving dinner, and that episode soured the holiday for me for awhile.

But now, as an adult, I think Thanksgiving, and the resulting 4 day weekend, is one of my favorite holidays! So, I'm stoked for it to get started already -- I, like my students, will be excited to be done with class this afternoon. What's up for the weekend? Well, a few fun, fabulous things:

Turkey Trot! Yay! Best 5K of the year. Won't be much of a "race" for me this year, but I love running it no matter what.
Turkey Dinner! Bring on the calories: I'm back to my pre-preggo weight (disclaimer: NOT pre-preggo shape) so I don't feel too guilty indulging in carbs covered in fat. Yummers.
Wedding Anniversary on Friday! Celebrating 6 years with the Jer-Bear. We have a babysitter and we're going out! And, we'll probably be home by 10 ;)
Christmas decorating! Jerry has been itching to put up the tree and Christmas decor for at least a week now, so I'm sure that 7 am, Friday morning, our house will be an ornament-strewn wonderland.
Other Christmas extravaganzas! I think we're planning to do our gingerbread houses, some cookie baking, and some light-seeing this weekend as well. Jerry and I are practically frantic to enjoy this Christmas season since I think this year Norah will really "get it." We're introducing the concept of Santa (and cross our fingers for the potential good-behavior Santa-bribery), and I think it's gonna be super-duper fun.

So, the only thing between me and that weekend of awesome is one class to teach...think I may let them go early!

Norah's 1st Trip to the ER

2011-11-20T19:35:00.000-05:00

Considering the fact that this morning, Jerry walked into the kitchen to find that Norah had pushed a chair up to the counter, used the chair to climb onto the counter and was found standing on the kitchen counter -- she wanted fruit snacks, which are in the cabinet -- it was only a matter of time before our little monkey took a tumble that required a trip to the ER. Today just happened to be that day.

I had taken her to the park, and she was climbing a piece of playground equipment -- for the record, her scaling this particular part of the playground has always made me nervous and I always "spot" her, but today I failed as a spotter -- she lost her footing and fell off. It was a fall of about 4 feet, and even though the playground is padded with this soft-ish, rubber-y material, she used her left hand to break her fall and she hurt her wrist.

There was a LOT of crying, and normally, she's a tough cookie and bounces right back, but she just wanted to go home, so I knew she was hurt pretty badly. We got home, and I gave her some kid Advil, and we applied ice and sat her down in front of a movie. But she was still very weepy and every time we tried to examine her wrist more closely, she'd cry and say it hurt.

It was a bit swollen, but I didn't think it was bad; Jerry, meanwhile, looked up info online and he'd not only worried her into an arm full of broken bones, but he'd also WebMD'd himself into cancer, so to be sure, I decided to take her to the ER and make she she hadn't broken anything. He stayed home to worry about the impending cancer.

Our experience at the ER was actually good. We got right in, no wait, and saw a dr. right away, and he ordered an x-ray, and again, we got that right away. A nurse gave Norah a stuffed dog, and everyone was really nice and Norah was very brave and very good. Turns out: It wasn't broken, but the doctor said it was a "severe sprain" with a lot of swelling around the joint (with kids' chubby little arms, it's hard to gage external swelling, so that's why it hadn't seemed too swollen to me).

Anyway, the dr. prescribed the same of what we'd been doing: Advil, ice, and...an Ace bandage:

In the end, we were home by naptime, so for a 1st ER experience, it was a good one -- in fact, I was surprised by how fast, efficient and friendly they were. But, poor Norah. It's not broken, but it's clearly VERY painful for her. She's been babying it all day, and the slightest bump to it sends her to tears. So, it's been tough trying to entertain her and keep her busy in ways that don't engage her arm, and it's pretty dang hard to keep an active 2 year old from being active. Even dressing, or undressing, is an "owie" and cause for additional crying.

But, the upside was that she got to eat plenty of ice cream and watch more than her usual amount of allowed TV, so she enjoyed those parts of her day.

Hopefully a good night's sleep helps, and in a few days, I'm sure it'll be good as new!

Trot Time!

2011-11-17T15:14:00.000-05:00

It's official: I've registered for my first, and probably only, race of 2011! The annual Tamarac Turkey Trot.

This will be my 7th year, in a row, running the 5K, and honestly, it's one of the things I love most about Thanksgiving. Plus, I can't beat this race location: It starts across the street and the course goes right by my house. I get to have a race atmosphere on the 3 mile loop I run 3-4 times a week, which is Awesome Sauce in my book.

On a side note, I actually got around to registering today because I came home early from work. I've gots the laryngitis, and it turns out, barely being able to speak above a whisper isn't all that effective for a teacher (although, it does force them to listen really, really hard). Anyhoo, my voice is just getting worse the more I talk, so I managed to get a colleague to cover 2 of my classes and then I had to cancel one (I know, my students shed a river of tears).

But, being home, unexpectedly, has opened up a window of time to get some shiz done, and race registration was numero uno on my list!

Wild Wednesday

2011-11-16T12:29:00.001-05:00

There are days when I get to work at noon, and work seems like a blessed relief from the chaos of a morning at home. Today is one of those days.

Norah can probably best be described as "active." Ever since she learned to crawl, she's always been into every. single. thing. As a baby, she pulled open every drawer, every cabinet, pulled every item off every shelf she could reach. Now, her quests are more focused -- less pulling EVERY thing out and more pulling KEY things out -- and, typically, when it's quiet I know to worry.

For instance, this morning:

I found her standing on the office chair with a pair of scissors. She had them poised next to her hair. Jerry recently trimmed her bangs, so she gets the gist: Scissors are for cutting hair. Apparently, she was going to style her own.

She asked me for some jelly beans, which were in a bowl on the kitchen counter. I told her "no." I'd already allowed her 4 jelly beans, which was her reward (ie, "bribe") for sitting good while I trimmed her fingernails. A few minutes later, I'm feeding Caleb a bottle, and I see her scurry by, carrying her stepstool. I interrupt Caleb's feeding, and go see what she's up to. Stepstool is up against the kitchen counter, and she's up there, helping herself to those jelly beans. Rascal!

There were a lot of tears shed and a very dramatic scene in which she threw herself to the floor when I jelly-bean-blocked her again.

Lastly, a few minutes before leaving the house, she proudly walked up to me, patted her jeans' pocket and exclaimed: "Norah has pockets!" Me: "Yes, you have pockets. Do you have anything IN your pockets?" Her: "Yes!" Me: "Well, what's in there? Let Mom see." She produces the following: A piece of trash, a quarter, and...a condom!

Eek gad! I thought it's be YEARS before we had to worry about finding condoms in her pockets!

Back...Kind Of

2011-11-14T12:33:00.000-05:00

Unless ill or out of town, I have rarely gone a week between blog posts, but this past week seemed to just get away from me. Several things coalesced, and I just didn't have the time/energy/motivation/right frame of mind to blog. But, as is the case, things always seem to right themselves with a little time, and I'm starting this week by feeling more grounded and a little less crazy.

However, while the Jess-life has resumed its version of normality, I still find I'm struggling to find blog material. I'm running, but nothing seems all that noteworthy about it. I always think it's lame when bloggers blog about having nothing to say, but that's what I'm sayin', yo.

I'm not sure if I'm just experiencing a temporary blogger-block, or if this trend speaks to my larger lethargy with blogging in general. Let's just say that I'm feeling ambivalent about the interweb as of late, and that my real life demands seem to outweigh my desire to invest in the blog demands.

My feelings about that could change overnight (this is not the first time I've felt such apathy toward blogging), so I'm not saying anything definitive about my spotty presence here. I'm just saying: My blog is like a boyfriend I'm kind of cooling toward. Maybe he'll surprise me, unexpectedly, with some sense of significance, but right now, I feel like creating a little distance.

Stress Relief

2011-11-07T20:06:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday was the last time I nursed Caleb. It was a slow transition from boob to bottle, and it took about 3 and 1/2 weeks to transition. There are a few principle factors that dictated the move from BFing to formula, but they're trivial and I needn't get into them here. Essentially, it was just time for our family. Anyhoo...as was the case when I made the same transition with Norah (albeit she was 8 months opposed to his 5 months...hope he doesn't miss out on Ivy League, world-saving opportunities because of the few month difference of boob-milk I denied him), I have been experiencing a post-weaning hormonal slump.

This coalesced with being sick over the weekend, and the combination was essentially the perfect storm. A shit storm of emotion, that is.

I was weepy as hell yesterday, and for those who know me, you know I'm not the sort to be weepy. But dammit, I was a crying sack of shit yesterday, and every little thing felt like the END of the world.

Thankfully, I went to bed last night at 7:30 pm (yes, you read that right: 7:30!) and slept until 5 am (as predicted, kiddos were up bright and early with the time change), and I felt worlds better today. Still, something was needed:

A run.

So, I didn't get a long one, but I managed to squeeze in an afternoon 2 miler and it made a world of difference for my brain. So many small stresses that felt like mountains on Sunday, suddenly diminished to their real height -- molehill sized -- and each thing that was weighing on my mind felt more manageable after I had run. I'm not saying that the short run "cured" me of these post-weaning blues, but it certainly helped.

If I remember correctly from my experience with Norah, post-weaning was like the mammoth of all PMS, so I'm sure this is not the conclusion of the emotional roller coaster, but if I make certain to keep running a priority, I think I can ride it out.

And, in the meantime, it sure is nice to be able to sleep on my stomach again!

The Barfs: Part Two

2011-11-06T19:09:00.000-05:00

I was on the mend yesterday. I felt pretty good for the b-day party we attended, and after a short afternoon nap, I felt I was fully restored for the wedding last night.

The wedding was great. The ceremony, on the beach, was beautiful; here's a pic of Jerry and I on the beach right after the ceremony:

And the reception, afterward, was a blast. It was the first time in a year that we got to get together with all of our friends without any kids. Antics ensued. There are pictures, but they are NOT flattering.

Still, it was much tamer than the "old days": We were home by 10:30, and I had 2 and 1/2 drinks. But maybe it was those drinks, or that T-Rex sized prime rib I ate, or some exuberent dancing, I don't know, but this morning, I was all barfy and poopy again. It lasted about half the morning, and slowly, throughout the day, I've been recovering. But today has felt like the. longest. day. ever. Feeling sick + the extra hour + 2 kids who don't understand the meaning of "fall back" + some gereral grumpiness = a foul feeling Jess.

Thankfully, the kids are in bed now (probably to awake very, very early tomorrow) and I think I may be headed in that direction very soon. Despite some fun yesterday, it has been a blechy weekend.

The Barfs

2011-11-05T06:43:00.000-05:00

Thursday night, I came home from class and didn't feel too good. I went to bed thinking I was just really tired.

But, Friday morning, at about 4 am, I woke up and puked. Then, a bit later, more puke. Then the mud butt began, and I think that was almost worse -- barfing sucks, but having liquid evil shoot out your ass every 15 minutes is no good.

I was sick all day yesterday, but by early evening, I seemed to be on the mend. Today, I feel better -- not 100% (dehydration has it's lingering affects) -- but, so far, I'm not spending the morning trying to guess which end to put on the toilet. Which is good because today's a busy day: We have a b-day party to attend and then a wedding.

This is the 3rd time, in 2 years, that I've had a bug like this. I swear, I've been sick more in the past few years since Norah was born than I ever was in the decade prior!

5 Months

2011-11-02T15:12:00.000-05:00

Caleb is 5 months old now.

And still rockin' his super-cuteness and sweet personality. Despite the fact that he rolled over (I swear!) a few weeks ago, he hasn't repeated it since, so I don't think anyone believes me that he did it. Now, he does the above where he rocks back and forth, holding his feet, and acts like he's gonna roll over, but then gets to a certain point on his side and goes, "Nah, I don't wanna."

Eh, it'll happen eventually. But, he is starting to sit really well, and in that regard he seems to be the same as Norah at this age: She too didn't seem eager to roll over and she actually sat pretty well before moving on to rolling over.

As for me, post-baby, I sometimes feel dispapointed that my running isn't where it was post-Norah. At this time after her birth, I was back to running HM distances, but right now, the longest run I've put in the books is a 6 miler. I am running on a regular basis, but I feel as though it's so much slower and shorter than it was post-Norah.

I know I can't be too hard on myself since adjusting to 2 kids has literally meant TWICE the work (who knew, right?!) as adjusting to having 1, and I often feel as though I'm just "scraping by" with my running. Which, as I thought about it during today's run, is fine. I'm staying in shape, keeping extra weight off, and getting enough exercise in that I don't feel like a caged border collie. And, for now, I think I have to be satisfied with that level of my running.

Yes, I wish I were running more, but I know my running will keep, whereas, babies don't -- in the blink of an eye that little dude is gonna be ignoring me one minute and sassing me the next. Best to not run too far from him right now. :)

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T19:15:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy few days -- a whole Halloween weekend! Here's Norah "carving" her pumpkin:

She really just helped scoop guts, but she highly enjoyed that part. Jerry did the actual carving -- he's the arteest in the family -- but here are Norah, Caleb and I posing in front of Jerry's finished products:

One is Elmo, and one is "The Princess and the Frog." I think they were pretty dang nice -- nicer than the jack-o-lantern I'm capable of carving.

On Saturday, we attended a Halloween party, and here we are at the start: Jerry and Caleb are "that guy" from "The Hangover," Norah is Jessie from Toy Story, and I'm, well, I'm just me.

The Halloween party was a lot of fun, and the funniest part, for me, was Norah stripping down naked to run out in the rain and fetch a ball that had rolled out into the driveway. She didn't want to get her costume wet, but she wanted to get that ball, dangit! So, at 2 years old, my daughter is already "that naked girl" at Halloween parties...oy!...the teenage years are gonna be a bear!

And, lastly, here are the munchkins this evening before Trick-or-Treating: Jessie and Shrek.

Before we went out, I asked Norah, "Now what do you say when people come to the door?" Norah: "Suckers!" Can 2 year olds make double entendres? :)

Norah enjoyed the trick or treating even though Jerry and I were a bit disappointed in our neighborhood's lack of Halloween cheer. When I was a kid, trick or treating was a HUGE deal, but we've never really seen many trick or treaters here. We must live in the wrong neighborhood. Still, like I said, Norah loved it, and at one point she declared: "More chocolate!"

We thought it was gonna be an awful night in terms of bedtime, but we limited the candy and only kept her up a wee bit past her normal bedtime, and she went to bed just as easily as any other night. Phew! I'm sure that in the years to come, it won't be this easy.

Anyway, I have been running as well (gotta even out my own candy-consumption), but reports on that later! For now, I have papers that I'm not gonna get to.

Happy Halloween!

Skip Day

2011-10-25T15:06:00.000-05:00

For the past two weeks, I've been fighting the urge to call in sick or use a personal day, and today I succumbed to the urge, and used a personal day. I cancelled my two classes, dropped the kids at daycare, and had the afternoon to myself. I really wanted/needed to do a few errands and chores that I keep meaning to get to, but never seem to have the time for, so it was nice to get those accomplished.

But, with the afternoon off, and still such lovely weather, I also couldn't help but take advantage of my skip day to get outside and get a run in -- all. by. myself. in the fresh outdoors! It was glorious. But, hotter than I originally thought. It was fine in the shade, but my 3 mile loop's final mile was under direct sun, and my energy withered, but I pressed through and even though I was hot when I was finished, I was happy to have the afternoon off to run.

Now, I only have about 30 minutes before Jerry and the kids get home, so I must make use of my time wisely. Which means I think I'll lay on the couch and read my book. Ahhh, taking the personal day was totally worth it!

Passengers

2011-10-24T11:25:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, we continued to enjoy the cooler Florida temps, and I went out for a 3 miler in the morning. It was cool enough that I ran at 9:30 am, and I was comfortable! Typically, by 9:30 am, it's about a bazillion degrees outside, and I wouldn't run at that time if you paid me. (No wait, that's not true, I'd definitely run then if I were being paid, but I'd be demanding a hefty salary to run at that time of day.)

Caleb joined me, and at one point, it rained on us a bit. It wasn't too much -- a steady drizzle at best -- but I still stopped and covered the stroller with the weathershield. Classic South Florida, the rain only lasted about 5 minutes, so half a mile after stopping to put the weathershield on, I stopped again to remove it. He didn't mind the brief stops; Caleb is a good passenger. Even if he doesn't fall asleep, he just sits quietly in there and gnaws on his fist.

If only Norah were also a good passenger. At this age, she hates being in a stroller -- any stroller. At the zoo on Saturday, we brought our regular double stroller thinking she'd get tired of walking and want to ride, but her tiny tush never so much as grazed the seat of that stroller. Instead, she was entirely happy to walk for 3 hours. If she still tolerated a stroller, I'd bite the bullet and buy the BOB Dualie, but as it is, I think it'd just be a $600 waste.

5 Miles + Boo at the Zoo

2011-10-22T18:48:00.000-05:00

I don't mean to brag, but we've had awesome weather here in South Florida the past few days. For us, it's cool and dry, with mornings and evenings in the low 60s and afternoons warming to a comfortable high in the 70s, low 80s. So, I got to take advantage of such perfect running weather this morning with my first 5 miler in a loooooooong time. The run was great. I was no faster in the cooler temps, but it felt so much easier!

After my morning run, we got packed up and headed to The Palm Beach Zoo for their "Boo at the Zoo" activities. Norah dressed (partially) in her Halloween costume:

She's Jessie, from Toy Story, but she didn't want to wear her boots or her hat today. On Halloween, I'll probably have to bribe her to get a pic of her in them, and that will be that. Caleb didn't wear his costume to the zoo, but he was in Halloween-themed clothes:

Norah showing me her first sucker of the day:

Caleb and I in front of the Brown Bear. That bear was gnawing on a pumpkin! All of the animals had pumpkins featured in their habitats. The otters were probably cutest with theirs -- playing with them like balls.

Thankfully, one treat station was handing out fruit, instead of candy, so Norah took a break from the candy and had an apple.

They also had a bounce house:

And face painting:

Good times! And for someone who neither bounced nor got his face painted, it all sure wore him out:

With the pleasant temps, it was the perfect day for the zoo. And with all of the extra halloween activities, it was an extra fun experience!

It's Alive!

2011-10-19T16:16:00.002-05:00

After freezing up last week during a run, today my Garmin rose from the dead and performed as if it had never had its little meltdown. Perhaps Garmins are like toddlers: Ignore their tantrums and they just resume their normal behavior.

Because we've been having gray, rainy days, the temp is not unbearable outside (the humidity is another story), so I decided to take my normal treadmill run and make it an outdoor run. Thus, the employed use of the Garmin.

I did my 3 miles in 31 minutes even, and that includes stopping for some lights, so perhaps I am getting a wee bit faster out in the real world, not just on the treadmill. I was super sweaty from the high humidity, but it was great to have the chance to run outdoors, solo. I'll take that anytime I can nab it!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-16T17:28:00.001-05:00

Today,we went to a pumpkin patch to select our Halloween pumpkins. Here's Norah contemplating all the pumpkins:

If Caleb were looking, or even if his expression wasn't one of consternation, and if Norah were smiling, or if I weren't squinting...this would probably be our best family pic so far:

Norah loved the pumpkins. We spent a long time, even after we'd selected our pumpkins, just playing with the pumpkins:

The farm we went to also had other "patch" features: hayrides, petting zoo, and a corn maze. Here's Norah navigating the maze:

It was an overcast day, and it was super crowded, but we didn't get rained on and we had lots of "fall fun"!

Going "Long"

2011-10-15T12:57:00.000-05:00

Since starting back to running in July, I have only stuck to 3 milers. But, this weekend, I wanted to start slowly venturing out of that 3 miler comfort zone, so I broke the mold this morning and did...4 miles! Adventuresome, aren't I?

My Garmin was still frozen (yes, I tried both soft and hard resets -- the 310 is not my first Garmin), but luckily, I'm the kind of girl who has a back-up Garmin: the 305! Spoiled much? Why yes, I am.

See, last year, for Christmas, my parents bought me the 305, not knowing that my 310 was only about 6 months old. Instead of returning the 305, I figured I'd just hold onto it. You know, in case of a Garmin-emergency. I'm glad I did because it was nice to have that back-up waiting in the wings after the 310 froze up on me.

The 305 is bulkier than the 310, but since I'd worn the 205 for years, it didn't take long to adjust to the difference in size. In fact, I think the 305's display is easier to read since it's a bit larger, so I really didn't mind the bulk. Plus, I like the 305's reading of "current" pace instead of the 310's "average" pace.

Anyhoo, the run itself was good, and I averaged 10:30/miles (see, I'm slower out on the road than I am on the treadmill) and finished the 4 miles in 42 minutes. It felt good to go just a smidgen past my comfort zone, and by simply doing so, I was encouraged about gradually increasing my mileage for that 10K in a month.

Garmin Down!

2011-10-13T11:20:00.001-05:00

My SIL is in town for a few days this week, so this morning, I planned to take advantage of her willingness to babysit one kid while I took the other on a morning run. Typically, Norah wants to stay and play with her auntie, but she was continuing with her contrary mood from yesterday and insisted she go with me on the run.

She hasn't been on a run with me in several months since she typically doesn't want to ride in a stroller. So, I told her she could go, but I had some ground rules:

No asking to get out and walk.
No asking to turn around and go home.
No throwing items out of the stroller.

Essentially: Sit in there and like it!

She agreed, so we were on our way. By the end of the first mile, she was already asking to go home, but I just ignored her, and a bit later, I peeked in at her and she'd fallen asleep. I think she needed the sleep since she'd again awoken extra early this morning, but I hope she still takes a regular nap at school this afternoon!

The run was tough going. Norah is a LOT heavier than Caleb; plus, I hadn't gotten out on the road until 8:30 am, and it was pretty sunny and warm by then. Heat + pushing a heavy jogging stroller = a slower run. But, I'll take it! Any chance at a run is a good opportunity, so I can't complain.

About the running.

But, I can complain about my Garmin: It froze up at mile 2! Just froze. I don't know what happened. I tried several things once I got home, but it is still stuck. This thing is barely more than a year old -- guess I'm gonna have to suck it up and call Garmin's customer service.

Wordy Wednesday

2011-10-12T12:50:00.000-05:00

As most of you know by now, I stay at home with the kids part-time and work full-time. So, I'm at home with the ankle-biters until midday, and by noon, I'm in my office at the college readying for my afternoon and evening classes.

Some days, by the time I get to work, I feel pretty spent, as if I have already worked a full day. Today was such a day. My morning with the kidlets shook down like so:

Both were up before 6 am. Norah crawled into our bed at 5:45, and even though I tried telling her it was "still night time," she was up UP. Either she woke Caleb up or he was just up on his own, but he too was up UP.
By 6:15, I was fetching Norah's milk and getting her set up with Sesame Street when Scooter made his morning debut by puking in the dining room. 3 times.
At 6:40, I sat down on the living room floor with Caleb and a cup of coffee and rolled him onto his tummy for some tummy time, and before my first sip of coffee, he rolled over! First time! I was so excited, so I flipped back onto his tummy again and he rolled over again!
I go and wake Jerry up (we are kinda-sorta back to trading off mornings with the kids) and have him hurry out to the living room to see this GRAND FEAT.
Caleb does not perform.
Then, Jerry gets in the shower, and...two more rolls! Milestone baby accomplishment! But dad hasn't been able to witness it.
At 8, I gave Caleb a bottle of formula* and 20 minutes later, the little bugger broke out in hives. This week is his first test-run with formula, and at DC on Monday and on Tuesday, he seemingly had allergic reactions, but I wanted to see for myself to confirm that it's the formula causing the reaction. Yuppers. It's the formula.
Most likely, he has an allergy, or sensitivity, to dairy (and probably has all along; it explains a lot, actually). So, I nursed him before sending him off to DC with some Soy formula. (At last report, they had given him the soy bottle -- he wasn't a fan -- and no reaction thus far.)
At 9, Caleb went down for his morning nap, and Norah and I showered and had our breakfast. She ate great! She ate 2 eggs, a shitload of cantaloupe, and...this is where it gets interesting...a cup full of feta cheese. It's what she requested. She loves feta. All by itself.
It was good she ate so well because it was one of the highlights of our morning; otherwise, she was very contrary (maybe getting up at 5:45 does that to a girl -- or to a mom!) and I felt a LOT of frustration in dealing with her.
Then, in the car, on our way to DC, she says to me: "I like it you." And I completely forgot the specifics of what she'd done throughout the morning that had frustrated me so much.

This afternoon, then, I'm talking with a book rep who asks me: "So, how are you handling it all?" Umm, does it say anything that one minute I am thinking about shipping them off to the Artic and the next minute I just want to stay home and snuggle them all day long?

*I'm still nursing him as well, but we're in the process of transitioning to formula. There's a lot that could be said on this subject, but I think I'll skip it today. I've been wordy enough as it is!

Treadmill 5K

2011-10-10T19:03:00.000-05:00

On the treadmill, I'm faster than I am in real life. So, now that I can almost always bang out 3 miles in less than 30 minutes when I'm on there, I figured I should set some new goals for myself. To start, I figured I'd see if I could do a 5K in sub-30. It's just .1 farther than a regular ol' 3 miler, but somehow it seems just slightly more challenging. And that's really all I'm after right now: Slight challenges. Not real big ones.

And, I did it! I clocked that 5K in 29:46. If only I could do that on the road now. Guess that's my next slight challenge!

Weekend Wrap Up

2011-10-09T18:51:00.000-05:00

Saturday

Saturday morning, Jerry always goes to the grocery store with Norah. It's their routine. Usually, I try to get my Saturday morning run done before they leave, but it was rainy, so I delayed the run until I got a break in the rain, and then I got ready and got Caleb ready since he was going with. Here we are before the run -- he's still jammied.

Here he is dressed and ready to run! He seems pleased that I at least dressed him in blue since I stick him in a pick stroller.

The run was good -- we dodged the rain -- and it had another desirable effect: A sleeping baby!

He continued to sleep once I was home, and I was able to shower and dress, and he woke up right when Jerry and Norah got home. Here's Norah helping her dad unload the groceries: She likes carrying things inside, and sometimes, it's impressive what she can handle.

Saturday Night
Jerry and I had a planned date night, and we'd initially planned to go to Miami to eat at the Miami Food Trucks. But, it was still raining then and we weren't sure how fun it would be to stand on a street in Miami and scarf our food down in the rain. So, we planned an alternative, and it worked out great! We went to a nearby Vietnamese restaurant that turned out to be an awesome find, and we went to the movie "50/50" which turned out to be a good pic. All in all, great date night!

Sunday
Caleb again joined me for a morning run, and we lucked out by again fitting it into a small window of the day where it wasn't raining (it rained all. weekend. long.). For a bit, it drizzled enough to warrent me stopping to put on the weathershield, but after half a mile, it subsided so I stopped again and removed it.

It was good thing I got that run in because the rest of the day was pretty lazy. I "watched" football:

And Norah and I made some Halloween cupcakes:

It was a fun weekend, as they always are, and just like they always do: It went TOO fast!

Feces Friday

2011-10-07T10:02:00.000-05:00

This morning, Norah was playing on the back porch when she called to me: "Mama! Norah poopy!"

I come out on the porch to discover that she'd pooped, then taken off her pull-up, and a loose turd had set itself free and was sitting on the tile. Argh!

So, I take her inside, leaving that renegade piece of poop, and clean her up (for the record, it was the 2nd time today that I got poop on my arm -- Caleb had a poo-plosion earlier that was so unwieldy, I seriously thought of just cutting his onesie off him). We go back out on the porch, armed with poop clean up materials, and find that there is no sign of the turd.

Just a small brown dog licking his lips...

...yeah, how's that image for your Friday?! My dog is a shit eater!

As Norah said, when I explained where the turd had disappeared to, "No eat poop, Scooter! Yucky!"

"Yucky" for sure!

Flat Headed Baby: Update

2011-10-06T11:52:00.000-05:00

This morning, Caleb had a follow-up appointment with the baby-head-specialist*.

They re-scanned his skull and examined his x-rays, along with the phsyical examination. In short, the good news is that there is nothing medically wrong with his head. Which was a relief. I knew it was unlikely (the condition where bones are fusing together incorrectly is pretty rare, so the chances were in his favor), but as a mom, it's my job to worry.

On the other hand, it looks inevitable that he's headed for Helmet Town. He's still young for helmet therapy (they wouldn't even start that until he's 6 months old), so they're going to continue to monitor it monthly, but it looks as though my attempts to re-shape his head with my good thoughts has been mostly fruitless -- and dangit, it's hard work trying to control things with my mind! There has been some improvement in the flat spot, but the dr.** said we should be "thoroughly considering" a helmet when it's time. Shoot. Apparently, crossing your fingers and hoping to avoid something doesn't work! Who knew?

The choice for a helmet is, ultimately, ours to make, but after speaking to the teachers at daycare***, it seems that, anecdotally, the helmet is dang effect in rounding out those unruly baby skulls. And what's a few months in a helmet compared to a lifetime of a flat head? I don't want to be blamed when he can't find a suitable hat or wear sunglasses; he'll have plenty to blame me for, I'm sure; may as well not be a slanty-head.

But, as of right now, he's young enough that it's still a wait-and-see issue. It just looks as though we're waiting to see when he'll get his helmet assignment...in the meantime, Jerry has already mentally sketched out several "designs" for Caleb's potential helmet. Let's just say that everything from flames to skulls/cross bones to mock-boxing-helmet designs have been tossed around. In the end, this thing could be a work of art!

*Let me just take a moment to note something about this specialist's office: Apparently, this dude's office is THE baby-head-specialist office in Ft. Lauderdale. Which is good because parents report a high rate of satisfaction from this doctor's approach and his results. But, it's also kind of pretentious because it's so damn prestigious. The office itself isn't that bad (it's location is, though: downtown), but the fellow patients' parents are a bit exhausting. Everybody is rolling into the parking lot in their Escalades and BMWs, and they are strollering their kids into the waiting room in Peg Perego and Uppa Baby strollers. Meanwhile, I'm just pleased that Norah let me comb her hair and that I don't have spit up (or shit up!) on me.

**We haven't actually gotten to meet with this big-wig doctor himself yet. So far, we've just seen the P.A. With the next visit, we have finally been granted access to the Emerald City to see Mr. Oz himself.

***I swear, the teachers at DC are just as knowledgable as pediatricians and specialists. Simply through their vast experience with kids, they seem to have seen everything, and consulting with them is often times more valuable than any time spent with doctors. Plus, they see our kids FAR more than the drs. ever do, so their assessment is one that I trust.

I Don't Like Sharing

2011-10-05T16:49:00.000-05:00

This afternoon, I headed over to the campus gym to hit the treadmill, as has become my habit on Mondays and Wednesdays the past few weeks, and today, I encountered a problem I just knew was inevitable:

No treadmill availability.

The gym is small -- c'mon this is a public community college, so it's not like this place is an L.A. Fitness or anything -- and there are only 8 treadmills. And, currently, 4 are out of order. Thems not good odds, yo.

So, when I got there today, all 4 treadmills were occupado. 2 people were actually running on their treadmills, but the other 2 were walking on theirs like they were just out for a leisurely stroll on the beach. Part of me wanted to be all, "Use it or lose it!" But that's frowned upon gym behavior, and just plain bad sharing (I'm always telling Norah that she has to learn to "take turns" so maybe I should learn that too), and I had to concede to jumping on an available elliptical (of which there are twice as many). I don't love the elliptical, but after my first "mile" on there, a treadmill opened up and I was on it like white on rice. With my time constraint, I couldn't start my run over, so I only ran 2 "legit" miles on the treadmill.

I felt a bit like I was cheated out of my full run, but such is life when you're "sharing" equipment with others.

Toddler Tuesday: Play Time!

2011-10-04T08:15:00.001-05:00

It's interesting to watch how kids' play develops as they develop; you can see how their world becomes more complex and imaginative as they do. I love this. I think it's so fun to see how Norah now interacts with her toys in a manner that requires her imagination. Here she is this morning hosting a lunch/tea party for her babies and Bo-Bo.

They eat an eclectic assortment of food, and apparently, they have to eat straight from the pots and pans she prepared the food in, but there were no complaints from her guests. They all seemed satisfied by her hospitality.

Now, if only SHE would eat as good as her babies do!

The Weekend Running

2011-10-03T12:02:00.000-05:00

This weekend, we had a "cold" front move through our area so temps dropped from the 90s to the 70s. It still got in to the 80s during the afternoon, but first thing in the morning was glorious, and I took advantage of it 3 days in a row: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I was still just sticking to my 3 mile route, but it felt good, and I think it's finally time to start challenging myself by increasing my mileage and adding some "long" runs into the future weekend running.

And it's a good time for it too since we're finally starting to get our own version of fall here in SoFlo. It's nothing like the pleasant temps most of you get to enjoy this time of year, but lows in the 70s is a nice change of temp around here!

Four Months

2011-09-30T18:22:00.002-05:00

Caleb is 4 months old now. And what can I say?

He's a Smiley McSmilerson:

Whose getting stronger everyday!

Ass Abs

2011-09-28T15:56:00.000-05:00

So, it's pretty easy to guess what part of the body most women are concerned about re-shaping post-partum. If you guessed "abs," you are correct! There is no prize.

Typically, I don't do a lot of strength work because:

A. I'm lazy. And,

B. I'd rather watch TV.

But, I figured yesterday that I could do a lazy version of yoga with a 10 minute yoga program that I stream through Netflix -- thus satisfying the ab work, albeit lazily and with the TV. I did the 10 minute warm-up (sun salutations, mostly) and then did the 10 minute ab workout. It was hard. I did my best to keep up, but I mostly just flailed about and hoped for the best.

Afterward, I ate a grilled cheese sandwich. Because 10 minutes of an ab workout = a cheesy reward!

I thought I'd be sore today, but I wasn't -- guess I didn't do enough flailing -- but when I started my run, I did feel a distinct bit of tightness in my gluteous maximus. That's right: I had a bit of ass-soreness from my ab workout! Which just confirms my fear that with age + kids, everything heads south.

Eh, it didn't slow me down for my run: Still got 3 miles done in 28:59 on the treadmill.

Toddler Tuesday: That's What She Said

2011-09-27T14:27:00.001-05:00

Norah is at a stage that I've looked forward to for 2 years now: She talks! And, on a daily basis, it amuses me to some extent. Here are some of my favorites as of late:

"How doing, Mama?" or "How doing, Daddy?" Polite and considerate!
...

"Mine!" Okay, Smiegal, settle down.
...

"MY Caleb!" Oh, how cute! That kind of posession is okay.
...

"I like this...Mama like this?" Yes, I like this very much!

...

In conversation with Jerry:

Jerry: "What's your brother's name?"

Norah: "Caleb."

Jerry: "What's your dog's name?"

Norah: "Scooter."

Jerry: "And what do you call me?"

Pause. Then, Norah: "Silly!"

...

One day when Jerry ushered Norah out of the bathroom so he could have some privacy (HA!):

Norah stood at the bathroom door and cried: "Daddy, Norah crying!" (Note: Must be read like so: "Now-ah cw-ying!")

Jerry from inside the bathroom: "Why are you crying?"

Norah: "Norah wanna see poopy!"

...

Finally, I continuously find her relationship with her stuffed bear, Bo-Bo, to be amusing. The best analogy I can give is that Bo-Bo is to Norah what Hobbes is to Calvin.

So, the other night when it was raining, Norah: "Look Bo-Bo! Raining! No scared. It's okay."

Manic Monday

2011-09-26T12:09:00.000-05:00

I keep thinking that life is going to settle down at some point, and that fitting the running in is gonna get easier, but that's probably delusional. I know that somewhere out there, some parent has half a dozen kids, a spouse who's deployed in Afghanistan or something, and they're working a crazy 80-hour a week job and they are still getting their miles in -- but me? I'm barely eeking out 12-15 miles a week.

Today, I had to fit it in at a weird time for me: Noon.

Normally, I don't run in the middle of the day, but that's when it worked best today.

Early morning didn't work for me because A.) I was woken up early this morning at 4, 5:30, 6, and then for good at 6:45, and then B.) We had an early morning PT appointment for Caleb's tilty neck.

Typically, I would postpone the run until after my class, but today, I have to rush home to meet the A/C people because our A/C is on the fritz.

So, a quick nooner it was! I only had 25 minutes before my office hours, so I had to do my best with the time available, but I got 2 miles done in 19:52 and then ran the remaining 5 minutes at a slower "cool down" pace. I think the total mileage was something like 2.4 miles.

Part of me knew that I could have squeezed a full 3 miles in (really, no student is going to be hanging out outside my office door AT 12:30 wondering where I am), but I try to be as diligent as possible in being present in my office as I have posted. So, it was a short Monday run. But it was something. And one of these days -- maybe when the kids are in college (?!) -- I won't be using that ("it was something") phrasing anymore.

Wordy Wednesday

2011-09-21T15:50:00.000-05:00

Today, I again hit the treadmill and I did my 3 miler today in 28:58! I am on FI-yah!

If nothing else, these days spent on the treadmill sure do help my running-self-esteem.

So, some random treadmill/gym tidbits:

The gym has a "no cell phone use" policy. And, the other day, I actually saw an employee enforce it. I'm kinda curious: Why no phones? Don't get me wrong, it actually pleases me (as an instructor who is frequently looking at a class full of students texting while I'm talking, I am ALL for restricting the use of cells in certain environments), but I really wonder what the reason is. Any guesses? I suppose I could ask.
Most of the gym-users are the college's students, and when I'm in there, I feel as though I'm transported back in time to my college years and using that college gym: There are a lot of people there who seem to simply be there to look pretty and socialize. Needless to say, I see a LOT of flirting. Which, hey, is probably better than picking up someone at a bar, right? (For the record, I totally met Jerry at a bar!)
Each time I use the treadmill at the gym, I find myself "racing" the treadmill users next to me. It makes me feel good to know that I'm clipping along at a faster pace and for a farther distance than people who are (most often) 10-15 years my junior. Like I said above, this is GREAT for my self-esteem!
Today, I got a prime treadmill spot -- near a fan! So, I had the advantage of not only running in the A/C, but I got a fan too! It was glorious. I wonder what the gym sets their A/C at. Again, I'm just curious about the temp advantage of running inside vs. outside this time of year in FL. Outside, this afternoon, it was 96 F; I'm guessing the gym HAS to be at least 76 degrees. Maybe even cooler. Again, maybe I should ask!

Treadin' on the Treadmill

2011-09-19T18:56:00.000-05:00

This afternoon, I again made a date with the treadmill at the campus gym, and again, I set myself a new post-Caleb PR. 3 miles in 29:15! At that pace, right now, I may as well be the Millennium Falcon set on Light Speed!

Still, I feel duplicitous about the treadmill:

On the one hand: Unbelievable boredom. It's so tough, mentally, to run but not go anywhere. Add to that the fact that I have nothing to look at but the monitor, and I find that 3 miles seems to go awfully slow when I'm watching those miles clip by .1 at a time.

On the other hand, physically, I find it so much easier to run on a treadmill. I spend most of the time fiddling with the speed, and the beauty (or agony, depending on how you look at it) of the treadmill is that you HAVE to go that speed. It's a run-or-fly-off-the-machine situation. So, it just makes me RUN. Plus, it helps that it's about 20 degrees cooler in the gym than it is outside, and that counts for a lot.

Tentatively, I'm planning to utilize the treadmill about twice a week, so perhaps I will just count those runs as "speed work" (I put that in quotes because true speed work seems planned -- using lots of numbers and an abacus, I assume; my version of speed work is just treadmill-style fartleks) since I'm no where close to those same digits in the outside world!

Looking Forward

2011-09-18T18:34:00.001-05:00

Given the discussion over at Jamoosh's this week pertaining to race medals and cutoff times, perhaps Norah needs to take these off, huh?

Trust me, she wouldn't give them up willingly. She told me yesterday, "Mine!"

As for MY running, I got a Saturday 3 miler in yesterday morning, and it got me thinking about future running/racing plans.

Back when I was preggo with Caleb, and dreaming of returning to racing, I thought I might be able to train for an HM by late fall. Specifically, I thought I could probably be ready by the time Ft. Lauderdale's 13.1 rolled around in early November (Caleb would be about 5 and 1/2 months then and I ran the Miami HM when Norah was that age). I had been keeping this tentatively in mind, but then I actually looked at a calendar, and...um, nope. That's not gonna happen. I haven't run anything longer than 3 miles. I can't put in the necessary training in the next 8 weeks in order to pull off an HM. And, I just have to accept that this time around, it's been a tougher road in the return to running.

Instead, I'm thinking of running a 10K that same weekend (The Key Biscayne Lighthouse Run on Nov 12). 8 weeks should be enough for me to build up to a 10k, right?

The 10K I have in mind, I've run before -- in fact, it was the first race I ran post-Norah's birth! I can't help but love that kind of symmetry.

Next step: Actually register for it.

Thank God for SILs

2011-09-15T11:21:00.001-05:00

My SIL, Care-Bear, is visiting us for a few days this week. Her trip is uber-short (don't you hate it when people use "uber"? it's so pretentious, isn't it? I uber-hate it!). She arrived yesterday and leaves tomorrow, but we're always pleased that she can fit a visit with us into her jet-set lifestyle -- earlier in the week she met Will Ferrell (and had the restraint to not ask him for "more cowbell"); so by my logic, that makes us comparable to movie stars.

Even though her trip is short, I still took advantage of her eager-beaver attitude about being with the kids, and I escaped for a run this morning. I took Caleb with me so that she was only harnessed with Norah (who L-O-V-E-S her auntie; she follows her around the whole time Care-Bear visits), and we had a nice 3 miler. He fell asleep; I plodded along. It was glorious.

Plus, when I got home she wanted both kids, and I got to shower in peace! I tell ya, she's worth her weight in gold!

Just the Facts

2011-09-14T15:30:00.000-05:00

Here are the facts:

I don't like running on treadmills.
Mentally, I find then to be nearly as mind-numbing as watching grass grow.
Also, they give me vertigo.

But here too are the facts:

In FL, it's hot outside for most of the year.
That means that for most of the year, running outside is best either first thing in the morning or late in the evening.
My schedule with work and kids does not always allow me to utilize those times of the day for running.
Also, I like to sleep.

Then there are these facts:

We don't have a treadmill at home -- they are big; we have a small condo.
But, I do have FREE access to the campus gym where there is a row of treadmills.
In air conditioned comfort.
Also, did I mention FREE?

So, today, after my afternoon class, I slipped into my running stuff and hit the gym, and thus the treadmill. And here are these facts:

I got my 3 miler done.
And, I got it done in 30:05. A 10:02 min/mile average!
That's the fastest 3 miler I've run post-Caleb!
Also, I hung at a 9:22 pace for about half a mile at the end. I felt like it might kill me, but I did it! Awesome Sauce.

Toddler Tuesday

2011-09-13T12:04:00.000-05:00

Today, I decided to take a rest day. I had run the past 3 days in a row, and for me, lately, that's a significant little streak, and I needed/wanted the rest day. So, without any running to regale you of, I figure I'd share a little glimpse into my life with Norah -- ie, I shall label this anecdote "Naked Narrative."

At 2 years old, Norah is a combination of hysterical cuteness and maddening frustration. This is an example of such a combo:

She likes to be naked, apparently.

She's gotten pretty good at stripping herself and then streaking through the house in the nude. This morning, for instance, I went in the kitchen long enough to rinse out my coffee cup and in that 1 minute or so, I came back into the living room to discover her completely undressed.

Now, on the one hand, I think that a giggling, naked 2 year old is probably one of THE reasons I wanted to have children in the first place. It's just dang amusing. I mean, c'mon, who doesn't find a 2 year old's chubby little butt cheeks adorable and humorous?!

On the other hand, it's funny until you're trying to get her dressed again. I actually would just let her chill out in the buff if she were fully potty trained -- what does a naked kid in the house matter? -- but because she's not fully potty trained, a naked little girl means that, inevitably, pee puddles are gonna be right around the corner for me to (literally) step and slip in. So, once she's naked, it's maybe a few minutes of enchantment and being caught up in her free-spirited charm, and then comes the ugly task of chasing her down and wrestling her into a diaper and clothes.

The best comparison I can give is that it's like trying to stuff a squirming, wet octopus into shorts and a t-shirt: It feels like she has twice as many limbs, and no matter how dry she is, she's a slippery little beast!

It doesn't help that the Laws of Parenthood dictate that such dressing will be accompanied by her LOUD protests, Caleb will chose that moment to start crying, and a FedEx truck will drive by so Scooter will start howling. Such a symphony of noise always makes me immediately lose my sh*t; I typically think of myself as being pretty patient, but when 2 kids are crying simultaneously and the dog is baying, I feel like my brains are gonna explode with frustration.

Then, finally, she's re-clothed and re-diapered; Caleb is soothed, and Scooter is reprimanded, and I'm sweaty and a little psychotic.

Then...a few minutes later, I find the whole exhausting business humorous again!

Another Early Run and 3 Month Check Up

2011-09-12T11:27:00.000-05:00

This morning, I again got to enjoy an early -- but not too early -- 3 miler.

Jerry was home this morning because we had a dr. appointment with Caleb, so I went out for my run at about 6:45, and it really does feel like perfect timing: Temps are manageable (aside from the incredible humidity), sun is rising but not risen and it's nice to not have the sun on me without having to run in the dark; plus, it still gets done early. It'd be great if Jerry didn't leave for work until 8 am because I could do this everyday, but alas, he leaves at 7.

And Scooter would make a poor babysitter.

Anyhoo, in other news, Caleb had his 3 month check up this morning. He grew an inch, 25 inches now (75th percentile), and gained a little more than a pound, 14 lbs, 6 oz (60th percentile). He's growing and developing just fine, but there's still concern over that dang flat spot. He had his skull x-rays on Saturday, and goes back to the specialist in a few weeks, and he's going to be starting PT soon. Aside from those measures, we just have to continue to minimize his time on his back.

I know we're doing all that we can to help his head even out, but I can't help but feel some anxiety over his head shape. And every time I have to put him in his bouncy chair, or lay him down on the floor or in his crib (we can't hold him ALL the time!), I feel guilty -- like I'm just flattening his head out further. It sucks too because he loves those places. When I put him in his bouncy chair, he's like, "Heck yeah! I love bouncing this thing and grabbing these swinging animals that are in my face!" In contrast, when we put him on his tummy or in his Bumbo chair, he's more like, "F you, Mom. F you!"

Oh well, I'm still crossing my fingers that it will even out as he grows, and in time, I can look back and think, "Eh, what was I worried about?"

Weekend Warrior

2011-09-11T12:27:00.000-05:00

The weekends are always busy, but because Jerry doesn't have to head out the door early for work, I'm able to fit runs into the morning a bit better. On Saturday, I got up at 6, fed Caleb and he went back to sleep. Norah got up shortly afterward, but she likes to start her days by watching Sesame Street and having some juice. So, she snuggled on the couch with Jerry, and I headed out for a 3 miler. It was cute; before I left, she told me: "No running, Mama. Sit down." She's kinda bossy lately.

Then, this morning, I did the same, except Caleb didn't want to go back to sleep. He wanted to stay up. So, I got him dressed and put him in the BOB, and he accompanied me for my 3 miler. He stayed awake at first, but when I peeked in at him at 1 mile, he was out. Here he is before we left:

Both runs were humid as hell, and when I got back, Norah declared: "All wet!" And then she asked, "Raining?" Nope, not rain my dear, Sweat! This picture doesn't do the river of sweat justice; it was literally just rolling off me! Yummy.

Now, it's time to chillax this afternoon with my one beer and watch some football!

The Vikings don't actually play until 4, and even then, I'm not sure if the game will air here, but still, I gotta wear my Vikings stuff!

Okay, I Admit It

2011-09-08T11:34:00.000-05:00

These are maternity pants.

And, no, I'm not pregnant again. I just don't fit into all my work pants. It's a sad place to be.

I'm within spitting distance of my pre-preggo weight, but I'm about 26.2 miles away from pre-preggo SHAPE. So, some of my "regular" clothes fit...alright...but I honestly shed them as soon as I get home in favor of comfy sweats. And while some pants and skirts technically button, etc, they do NOT flatter -- let's just say that Pudgy Belly is never "in."

So, this morning, I found myself in my closet trying to find a work outfit that I hadn't already cycled through a few times in the short weeks I've been back at work, and I was coming up with nada that was comfortable. Thus, I reached for these maternity pants.

They are indeed full panel maternity pants.

But I folded down the panel, selected a long tee and called it "good enough." And, honestly, I feel it's a small victory that I decided against a maternity shirt to pair it with -- it was on me and I was trying to convince myself that it didn't "look" like a maternity shirt, but I knew that if I had to talk myself into believing that it didn't look like a maternity shirt, then, well, it was probably VERY obviously a maternity shirt.

I know that pregnancy weight takes time to lose and that regaining that pre-preggo body (especially that pre-preggo mid-section) takes time, and I remember that it didn't fully happen for me after Norah until she was about 9 months old. Caleb is only 3 months old. Still, I looked at his cute little mug this morning and thought, "Dude, you've reduced me to this!"

On the plus side, DANG these pants are comfy!

Sleeping vs. Running

2011-09-07T11:54:00.000-05:00

Running has been sporadic as of late.

I often go to bed with these grand ambitions about getting up early and knocking it out at 5 am, but then that dark hour rolls around, and I decide: "Nah. I'm gonna sleep!"

Granted, Caleb is sleeping through the night now, so I'm getting more rest now than I did for 3 months, but I'm still tired (my ideal vacation right now would mean taking a weekend away and just sleeping that entire time: beaches? resorts? fancy restaurants? no thanks, I just want to sleep all day and all night). So when it comes to choosing whether I sleep or run, I usually choose sleep.

And who am I kidding? I've never been a morning person, and morning running has always been a struggle for me -- even pre-kids -- so I can't blame them (entirely) for my inability to get out of bed in the morning. It's just that now, with kids, that ungodly, inhuman hour is often my only choice. So, how to make it not my only choice?

I never thought I'd say it: But...I do wish we had a treadmill. I've diligently avoided treadmills for years, but now I am seeing how they may be a necessary evil -- it may be boring, but at least it provides a method for getting it done (especially when it's either too dark or too hot out). The problem for us is where to put a giant piece of machinery like that? We live in a 2 bedroom condo. And with 2 kids, a dog, and a bazillion toys, where does one find the space? I don't know, but I think a side-project may involve somehow finding that space.

That, or I actually have to get out of bed at 5 am. Ugh. Gotta find some space...We don't really need a dining room table, right?

Monday Miscellany

2011-09-05T19:08:00.001-05:00

On Friday, Caleb had his first appointment with the baby-head-specialist. Official diagnosis? Yup, that's a flat spot.

He has to have an x-ray to confirm that bones aren't fusing together incorrectly (they don't believe they are, but they want the confirmation), and he was prescribed some PT to work on correcting the torticollis (tilty neck business he's got going on), but other than that, the doctor's gist was essentially: He's young, and as he develops and spends more time off his back, this will probably even out. Still, they want to monitor it, so we go back in 6 weeks. In the meantime, the dr. said we should try to minimize the time he spends on his back; so, we've been trying to make sure he's in a variety of other positions. Like sitting in the Bumbo chair:

Holding the truck makes sitting in the purple chair, on a pink blanket more masculine, okay? And speaking of diminished masculinity...Norah's autie sent her a gift of assorted nail polishes and lip glosses, and barrettes and other girl accoutrement. She Loves -- yes, capital "L" -- them. But, a girl can only apply so much lip gloss to herself, so her dolls all got lip gloss, and Scooter got some lip gloss, and, you guessed it, Caleb got some lip gloss:

He was a sitting duck in that purple chair!

However, the recipient in the household for "Most Unlikely Subject of a Girlie Makeover" goes to...Rex!

Every dino needs some hair ties and bracelets on his tail, right?

So, what else has been new this weekend? Well, Caleb made his maiden voyage in the BOB for his first run! With Norah, I waited until the conservatively advised 6 month mark before putting her in the BOB and taking her running, but after reading/hearing of others who'd put their babies in the BOB as early as 8 weeks, I figured I'd go ahead and give Caleb's brains a jiggle and take him for a test run. It went great! He clearly is big enough/strong enough to sit in there just fine, and he fell asleep about 8.2 seconds into the run and slept for the entire 3 miles.

It was a nice change of pace, since the last few times I tried to take Norah all I heard was "No like it!" "Go home!" "Norah walk!" He gave me no grief and was a million pounds lighter. I think we will be doing this again on future weekend runs.

Lastly, we decided to spend Labor Day at a kickass park that has a water park, etc. We haven't been there since the beginning of summer, so today we packed a picnic and spent about 3 hours there. Norah was so spent from the fresh air and activity that she took an epic nap this afternoon: 2 and 1/2 hours! The time outside wore us all out, and for a bit, we all got the chance to nap this afternoon. I happened to snap this pic of Jerry and Scooter snuggling:

Or, really, I should say this pic of Jerry snuggling an unwilling Scooter. But, that's how Jerry snuggles...it's a fine line between snuggling and holding someone down.

Three Months

2011-08-31T08:15:00.000-05:00

Today, Caleb is 3 months old!

He's getting bigger and stronger all the time, and he definitely has increased his neck strength this month, and I think his tendancy to tilt to one side is now less dramatic. Still, he does have that flat spot on the back of his skull, so he has his first appointment with the baby head specialist on Friday.

In the meantime, he's nothing but a cutie-cake! In the past month, his fussiness has pretty much diminshed, and now he mostly just cries when necessary (hungry, dirty, tired), and he really has such a happy, smiley personality. His teachers at daycare said that "he is a pleasure to take care of -- so easy!"

And I agree. I sure lucked out with both kids in the baby department -- you can't beat TWO easy-going, personable kids!

Red Letter Day

2011-08-30T18:55:00.000-05:00

Last night, for the first time, Caleb slept through the night! Cue marching band, balloons, and the van full of celebratory confetti!

He went to bed at 7:30 pm and slept solidly until 6:30 am. Sweet and sour chicken, it was awesome!

At 5 am, I was awakened by my full boobs...I guess you could say that my knockers were a' knockin! Ha! (Jerry is SO gonna give me a condescending look and say, "You know that you're the only one who thinks you're funny, right?" for that joke.)

So, I got up to pump and figured: Hey, I'm up, may as well go run. So, run I did: A full, legitimate 3 miler! Complete with the requisite pre-dawn spiderwebs and everything. It felt pretty dang good.

I'm crossing my fingers that last night's 11 hour snooze-fest will repeat itself tonight and I can repeat this morning's success tomorrow morning. So far, so good: He was down again at 7:30 tonight, so...fingers crossed!

Monday Runday

2011-08-29T19:10:00.000-05:00

Once again, I had resoved to get up at the crack of dawn and run, and once again, I did not get up to do that. Instead, I took the advice I gave Norah at 5:15 when she appeared at our bedside: "Go back to sleep; it's still night time."

But, Mondays are an easy day for me in terms of work. I just have one afternoon class, and if I leave school right when my class gets done, I can hurry home and be there by 3:45. Which is what I did today. Jerry and the kids don't get home until 4:30, so I quick took Scooter out, then dressed in my running clothes and was back out the door at 4. Now, running at 4 pm in August in South Florida is not usually advisable, but I figured I could get 2 miles in and a quick shower before they got home, so...heat be damned!...I got out there and ran my little 2 miler.

Got home, got in the shower, and was rinsing the conditioner out of my hair when I heard them come home.

It was nice to fit it in despite skipping the morning option. Still, one of these days, I'd like to feel like I don't have to rush through a run, or squeeze it into some weird time of day. Sigh...I don't think a day like that is my near future.

Oh well, getting it done is good enough!

Pissed Off

2011-08-25T11:42:00.000-05:00

Last spring, I was awarded the Professor of the Year Award, and it felt pretty dang awesome to be recognized in such a way. And, part of the award is more than awesome: it's a reserved parking space -- my choice of space -- for the entire academic year for 2011-2012. So, it has felt SO good to pull onto campus everyday and know that I don't have to circle the lot 20 times to find a space; I can just pull in and park.

Until yesterday.

And then again today.

And that's because some other thoughtless faculty member was parked there. There's a SIGN! With MY name on it; it says: "Reserved for Professor of the Year: Jess, English Department"! (I'll take a picture some time; it's Awesome Sauce.) Yesterday when it happened, I actually encountered the "perp" as he was getting into his vehicle, and I confronted him. The shakedown went like so:

Me: "Um, hi! Are you Jessica H.?"

Him, looking guilty: "No."

Me: "Yes, I know that because I'm Jessica H!"

He was appropriately apologetic and I felt vindicated. But, then I pull in today, and...different vehicle there! It wouldn't piss me off so much if it were a student parking there, because, well, students disregard that kind of stuff all the time. But both days, it has been a fellow faculty member! (I know this because of the campus tag hanging in their vehicle.)

So, today I called security and asked for the vehicle to be ticketed. They told me they would "investigate it." Not very satisfactory to me: I want tanks and torpedoes. So, I composed a "stern note" (I didn't want to come across as angry or offensive, but I wanted to shame them -- this space is part of an AWARD and having a fellow faculty member disregard that actually feels incredibly disrespectful) and placed it under their windshield wiper. I hope they feel remorse for intruding on something that is special to me.

Maybe I need to booby-trap the space -- poison darts seem appropriate, right?!

Didn't Happen

2011-08-24T15:46:00.000-05:00

This morning, I got up at 5:20 am to run. I went through the brief rigamarole of pre-running prep, and at 5:40 was headed out the door.

Problem was,

once I got out the door, I discovered that it was POURING rain. Not a drizzle. Not a sprinkling. RAIN.

Sorry, if I don't have to, I'm not going out in that. So, I went back inside, got back into my PJs and got back into bed. Sucked to miss the run, but the extra hour of sleep was nice!

Morning Running

2011-08-23T17:00:00.001-05:00

This morning, I actually got up and made it outside for an early morning run. It was:

Sticky, icky humid.
I narrowly missed stepping on a frog. Or, maybe it was a toad. I don't know how to tell the difference.
I ran straight through a spider-web and picked its tendrils from my skin and hair the entire run.
And, a bug of considerable size and girth thwaped me in the mouth.

So, as always, I remain convinced that the only benefit of early morning running is getting it done first thing in the day.

The Bubble

2011-08-22T19:54:00.000-05:00

There are two certainties in this world when you have a new baby: One, you're not gonna sleep much. And two, you're gonna live in what I call "the baby bubble." Meaning, you have no clue what is going on outside your own little world. This has been true for us as it is true for most parents of new babies, and it has been exacerbated this summer by our choice to get rid of cable.

So, I have basically NO clue what has been going on this summer if it doesn't involve how much Caleb slept last night or whether or not we have fruit squeezees in the house for Norah. Therefore, I honestly had no idea that a HURRICANE was forming in the Atlantic and pretty much headed straight our way. Wah? I thought it felt extra humid...

Looks like it won't hit us directly (fingers crossed) and my guess is that it will steer pretty clear of South FL in general. Still, we'll probably get lots of heavy rain and wind this week as it nears the coast.

So, the current running conditions here in South FL? Holy humid, Batman! I ran a 3 miler tonight and I may as well have been breathing pea soup! I checked the weather when I got home and saw that the dew point was 76 -- I should've just continued to live in ignorance rather than know that. As my favorite dew point reference will tell you: A 76 dew point can be described as "extremely uncomfortable" -- which is like saying that Charlie Sheen is a "little bit crazy." C'mon! He's batshit crazy, and a dew point of 76 is F-ing* miserable!

Yet, I ran one of my "faster" times. Go figure. Maybe it was so uncomfortable, I just had to go faster to get back in the A/C!

It'll probably be a pretty wet, humid week in terms of getting running done, and let's hope that Hurricane Irene decides to stay well out there in the Atlantic -- because if it comes through here, high humidity will be the least of my concerns. And the good news is that typically after a hurricane blows through, we enjoy a few days of clear, beautiful weather. So...next week should be pleasant!

*Yeah, I used to drop f-bombs on here without thinking about it, but this is a family-friendly place now...dangit!

The Kiddos

2011-08-21T19:22:00.000-05:00

Fingers up her own nose:

Fingers up his nose:

He doesn't really seem to mind:

Some is Better than None

2011-08-18T12:42:00.000-05:00

That's been my rationale so far this week in regards to running.

With the return to work, and everyone getting settled into our change in daily routine, fitting running into the mix has been tough. So, I've been mainly running 2 milers because of time constraints. A 2 miler feels like it barely counts as a run, but at least it's something.

I'm hoping that Caleb soon starts sleeping through the night, or if nothing else, at least develops a predictable sleep schedule at night. He's had some nights that would count as a full night's sleep (9 pm-5 am) but those have been rare; mostly, he gets up once or twice, but the timing is never the same. That makes planning for an early morning run (the time of day when I probably have the most leeway in terms of fitting something in) tough. Plus, I'll be honest, when I'm up with him at 3 am, my brain most often goes, "Get up again at 5 to run?! Ha! No thanks."

To his credit, we often put him down for the night between 7:30 and 8, so to sleep from then until 2 or 3 am is pretty good for a baby who's not yet 3 months old, but on the other hand, I don't go to sleep at 8 pm! So, it'd be nice for ME to get 7 or 8 hours of solid sleep. I feel like once his sleep becomes more consistent, my running will become more consistent. But, maybe I shouldn't be waiting for that. Certainly, other sleep deprived moms manage those early morning runs...

...however, I'm convinced they are cyborgs.

First Day Back

2011-08-16T18:36:00.000-05:00

Caleb was all smiles when I left him at daycare.

And I still cried.

Norah cried when I left her.

And I cried some more.

But, I know Norah only cried for 30 seconds or so, and then she was fine. I knew she would be, so we (Jerry met me there to ease the transition, and he knew I'd probably need a hug after leaving them, so it was the two of us dropping them off) made our exit as quickly and painlessly as possible -- in my experience, leaving kids is like pulling off a band-aid, best to do it as fast as possible; lingering is harder on the both of you.

Both had a good afternoon and I got a lot of work done in my office in preparation for my classes. Plus, I got to enjoy some of the aforementioned perks of being back to work (ie, peeing by myself).

So, all in all, it went well. And man alive, the day went by so fast!

Back to School

2011-08-15T13:06:00.000-05:00

Today is my last day of summer, and thus, my last day of maternity leave as well. Tomorrow, I go back to work and the kids go back to daycare.

On the one hand, I'm totally sad that my break is over and that it's back to the grindstone:

It'll be tough leaving the kidlets -- Norah is returning to school in a new classroom with a new teacher and Caleb is just starting. It doesn't matter that I have 2 years' past experience with leaving Norah, it's still tough to part from her, and Caleb has never been left with anyone but family, so it'll be extra hard leaving him for the first time.
I will miss them both.
Back to work means back to WORK. Classes to teach, office hours to hold, meetings to attend, committees to sit on, papers to read. My god, the papers to read!
My daily schedule will be a bit busier, especially the two nights a week that I have night class, so fitting running in is gonna be even harder, and probably means o'dark thirty for most runs. Blech.
This may sound trivial, but it gets harder to breastfeed once you return to work -- I can still nurse Caleb the first half of the day, and in the evening. But, I'll have to pump at work. And even though I have an office where I can have privacy, it still feels weird to have my boobs out at work. That, and hauling that damn pump back and forth each day is a pain.
I'm gonna have to try and fit myself back into my pre-preggo work clothes. Haven't even tried on stuff to see what fits and what doesn't. I'm bracing myself for a demoralizing evening tonight with that task!

But despite that rather short list of negatives, I'm excited to be starting back to work:

I can go to the bathroom by myself, and eat my lunch in peace (while surfing the interweb uninterrupted!).
I also get to drive half the way there and the full way home...by myself! Ahhh, the silence! Or, all the NPR I can fill my nerdy little ears with! I don't have to sing along with Elmo and I don't have to answer a million "Why?s"
I get to return to doing "adult" work! And, I enjoy my job: I like the material I teach, I like my students, and I like my colleagues. I especially like the fall term; for some reason, "back to school" time is one of my favorite times of year.
I think it's good to miss the kidlets some. It would be really tough to be gone from them all day, but my schedule allows me to be home with them all morning, and we don't go to school until mid-day, so I get a nice balance of time at home and time at work. And, the time apart is nice -- it helps me appreciate the time with them more, I think. Plus, I know they're in good care. That helps.
Fridays! I don't teach on Fridays, but I still take the kids to daycare in the afternoon. I already have a mental list of all the things I'll be able to get done on Friday afternoons! Oh yeah, those 4 and 1/2 hours each week are awesome, and I can't wait for the return of Fridays!

So, yes, a mixture of emotions as I anticipate this transition: Some things are gonna be tougher, but on the whole, I think I'm looking forward to returning to work.

And come, next May, I'm sure I'll be looking forward to my summer at home with the kids!

Norah's 2nd Birthday Party

2011-08-14T09:55:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, we celebrated Norah's 2nd birthday by having a shindig at our place. We'd given her a choice for theme, and she chose Toy Story. So, while she napped yesterday afternoon, we decorated the house in all sorts of Woody, Buzz and Jessie party supplies. Here's Norah after getting up from her nap and discovering some of the party preparations:

This year, she really understood, and enjoyed, presents and present opening. And, she got a lot of great loot!

Here's her Toy Story cake with Woody and Buzz:

She liked having "Happy Birthday" sung to her and she liked blowing out her candle. So much so, that midway through eating her slice of cake, she put her candle back in and pretended to blow out the candle again. It was very cute. Here she is enjoying her cake; she's a frosting fan:

This morning she was up at 6 am, eager to play with all of her new toys; plus, she got a pretty cool Jessie get-up that she was anxious to put on. Here she is, below, posing in her Jessie shirt and cowgirl boots, with accompanying Jessie doll. Don't mind me, the "other Jessie," it was early and I hadn't showered yet.

So, today, she's been busy playing vet in her new princess tent, and Jerry and I are slowly easing into the post-party day. It wore us out throwing a b-day party for a 2 year old, and I've needed a little extra coffee to get me going this morning. I didn't drink a drop of alcohol, but for some reason, prepping for the party, having the party, and then cleaning up after the party seems to have given me a party-hangover! Thankfully, birthdays only come around once a year, and it was worth it: She had SO much fun, and so did we!

Three Things Thursday

2011-08-11T13:40:00.000-05:00

Last night, I had my fastest post-baby 3 miler to date: 32:44, for an average pace of 10:53/mile. And, I had to work HARD for that sub-11 min/mile pace! One forgets how tough it is to regain stamina and endurance when you've taken some time away from running, but thankfully, those things DO return. Slowly but surely!
Norah had her 2 year old dr. check up today. She grew an inch and half in the past 3 months, but didn't gain any weight, so she was 34 inches tall and 26 lbs -- average percentiles for both. She again acted as though the doctor was waterboarding her during the exam, but once she got her Nemo and Dory stickers, she'd already forgotten the torture of having him listen to her heart.
We also visited daycare today so we could drop off supplies and let the kids acquaint themselves with their rooms and teachers. It went well, and Norah wanted to stay so she could continue playing on the playground. Next Tuesday is the big day for all 3 of us: Back to school! I'm both dreading and looking forward to it (more on that next week).

Happy 2nd Birthday, Norah!

2011-08-10T00:00:00.001-05:00

Last year, for Norah's 1st birthday, I did a retrospective of her first year in pics. And, I figured I'd do the same thing this year.

Here she is last August, shortly after she turned 1:

13 months: This was on our camping trip to the Keys in September:

14 months: Gettin' in trouble:

15 months: Being silly. Chillin' in her Vikings jersey:

16 months: Christmas Day. Somehow, the tattoo, coupled with the frilly dress and cowgirl boots, seems to be quintessentially Norah:

17 months: At the South Florida Fair:

18 Months: At the Palm Beach Zoo:

19 Months: Taking the time to stop and smell the flowers:

20 Months: Playing at a water park:

21 Months: Post-nap cuteness:

22 Months: Finger-painting fool:

23 Months: 4th of July Mascot:

24 Months: 2 years old and such a big girl!

Happy 2nd birthday Norah! We're so lucky to have a little girl as funny, smart, and charming as you; we love you and think you're "cool beans"!

Monday Miscellany

2011-08-08T19:54:00.000-05:00

We decided to take the "wait and see" approach before calling the baby head specialist about Caleb's cranium. I really don't think the flat spot is that dramatic, and I kinda think that with a little time and some more neck strength, he'll eventually even out. I don't think his brain is getting dented, so we'll wait another month and see what the pediatrician thinks at his 3 month check up.
Ran a 3 miler tonight and the volume on my Shuffle wouldn't adjust. It was set at what is probably Apple's recommended volume, but I prefer a more damaging decibel, so it annoyed me that the gadget was on the volume-fritz.
This is my last week of summer. Next Tuesday, I return to work and Norah and Caleb go to "school." I can't believe my summer, and thus my maternity leave, are almost over! It's gone WAY too fast.
Norah went to see her first movie in a movie theater on Saturday. Jerry took her to see "Cars 2." The entire experience lasted about 50 minutes, and her most memorable part seems to have been the popcorn.

Flat Headed Baby

2011-08-05T13:15:00.000-05:00

Caleb had his 2 month check up today, and I over-estimated his weight by about 2 lbs -- he weighed in at 13 lbs, 4 oz -- but dangit, that kid feels heavier to me! And clearly "my" version of weighing him at home (ie, I step on the scale without him, then pick him up and see what the difference is) is a flawed procedure. Aside from gaining a few pounds, he also grew about an inch and is 24 inches long now. Both height and weight put him in the 80th percentile. Just above average.

Aside from those digits, he checks out healthy, but he's developing a distinct flat spot on the back right of his head. See, his head has always tilted naturally to the right, and he has some scrinched up neck muscles that make him favor a certain head position (the pediatrician had noted this before and said he was probably positioned this way in the womb), so he always lays the same way when he sleeps. The result? A flat spot.

So, the pediatrician referred us to a baby head specialist (the dr. actually has some fancier sounding specialist title but it's too long and technical for me to remember), and we have to try and rotate his head while he sleeps, as well as alternate how we put him down to bed. Hopefully, the specialist just gives us a special positioning pillow, and instructs us further on some PT for him. Otherwise, he could become "Helmet Baby." Which isn't a huge deal -- I see a lot of Helmet Babies these days (supposedly the whole back-to-sleep thing has saved lots of babies from SIDS but has caused a lot of flat headedness as a result) -- but it'd be nice to avoid one.

If he does have to get a baby helmet, Jerry says he'll "trick it out" with cool graphics and stuff. So, we'll make an appointment with the baby head dr. and hope there's no need for a helmet. But, if he does get one, I guess Jerry will ensure that he'll at least be a cool Helmet Baby!

On Parenting

2011-08-04T19:27:00.000-05:00

Jerry and I are always joking about the things we never thought we'd have to say (for instance: "Don't bite the dog!" "Lotion is not food!" and "Yes, Ryan poops in the potty."), but there is also a growing list of things we'd never thought we'd do. On that list this week?

Hmmmm, let's see. Well, I:

1. Used a pair of tweezers to pull a hunk of bread out of Norah's nose at the dinner table yesterday.

And

2. This afternoon, for the second time this week, I had to clean a turd up off the floor.

You envy me, don't you?

Need some elaboration? Okay.

So, the bread up the nose first: Norah's seems to have a propensity for nasal excavation and exploration. It seems that every time I glance at her, she's knuckle deep in one of her nostrils, and she's not the sort of explorer who's satisfied with just a poke and prod with the end of her index finger. No way. This girl has so far shoved everything from popcorn to Q-tips up there, and last night, at dinner, she got a significant amount of bread up there.*

Blowing and sucking weren't working to dislodge the bread, so I fetched a pair of tweezers to nab that bread, and when I pulled it out of her nose, Jerry nearly hurled at the sight of the mucus covered foccacia. Me? I am beginning to think that I would've made a fine medical doctor with my tweezer precision!

So, then, on to my turd stories for the week:

Norah has been doing super duper excellent at using the potty for potty. But she has yet to poop in there; therefore, we've been trying to make a big deal about how everyone poops in the potty (Yes, even Ryan!) and I think she's starting to catch on. Unfortunately, in her attempts to get to the potty in time to poop in there, she has had a few "poopcidents." She's pretty dang good at getting her pants and her diaper off, it's just hitting the potty in time that seems to be where her miscalculation lies, and on Monday, I cleaned poo off the bathroom floor, and this afternoon, I had to scoop it up off the bedroom floor.

Clearly, parenting is a dirty job. Thankfully, it's also pretty funny!

Oh, and for those not interested in either kid boogers or kid poop, I did manage another 3 miler last night. In 33:26, which is an average pace of 11:09/mile. Ka-chow!

*Yes, we were present at the dinner table when she managed to MacGyver that bread up her nose. We get an "F" in parenting for not paying attention. In our defense: Dinner time often feels like a three ring circus and Jerry and I often strive to actively ignore both kids so we can wedge in what little conversation between the two of us that we can. So, she gets some bread up her nose? At least it's organic, right?

Got a Run Done

2011-08-03T12:31:00.001-05:00

Usually, each night, Jerry and I each take a kid and handle each kid's bedtime routine (Caleb's "routine" is a bit of a joke since he hasn't yet figured out that it's a routine, and he most often doesn't go down for the night until about 9 or 9:30, but we are trying to convince him that bedtime should be a more reasonable 7 or 8). But, last night, Jerry took them both so I could go and run.

It was awesome.

I went out at about 7 pm, when the night is a bit more bearable -- temp-wise -- and did a 3 miler. It took me 34:04, and I think my average pace was about 11:25/mile. Still slow, but 15 seconds faster per mile than what I started with a few weeks ago!

It was so nice to be back and showered before 8 pm. Norah was asleep by then, so the only thing left to do in the evening was pace the house holding Caleb for an hour. And, actually, to give credit where it's due: After an hour, I had to hand him off (the boy is HEAVY) and Jerry's the one who eventually got him to fall asleep. (When Norah was a baby, I nicknamed Jerry "the baby whisperer" because he always had the magic touch -- or timing -- to get a cranky baby to sleep. With Caleb, he still holds his "whisperer" title.)

I'm hoping I can either convince Jerry, or get him drunk enough, to repeat the favor tonight because I really liked last night!

The Best Laid Plans

2011-08-02T12:45:00.001-05:00

Last night, I had planned to run. But then Norah once again took longer than expected to go to bed, and before I knew it, my evening -- and my chance to run -- were shot.

So, then, I thought, "Well, I'll do my best to get up early tomorrow and run in the morning." Ha! I was up at 12:00, 1:30, 3:00, and then 5:30 last night. Think I was up for an early run this morning? Nope. Didn't happen.

It's easy to feel frustrated with these "interruptions" to my planned running, but I'm doing my best to remain flexible and to simply acknowledge the blatantly obvious: I have two kids -- a 2 year old and a 2 month old -- it's gonna be tough to find time for any "planned" activity: If I get to eat a meal sitting down and take a shower at some point, my day is a success!

Still, a running Jess is a happier Jess, so Jerry promised that tonight he'd MAKE a run happen for me. I'm lucky that even when the kids don't understand that Mommy needs to run, Daddy does!

Two Months

2011-07-31T10:53:00.000-05:00

Caleb is two months old now, and while I don't know his official measurements (his dr. check up is this Friday), I do know that he's a BIG dude. I think he's roughly 15 lbs. And, somewhere around the height of Godzilla himself. All of which makes carting him around for most of the day quite the strength workout for me!

I think that, at 2 months, his neck strength isn't what it should be, but 9 times out of 10 when I put him on the floor for tummy time, he literally falls asleep. Like this:

Or this:

Maybe he just has a giant, heavy head and it's too hard to hold up. Or, he's a bit on the lazy side. Either way, I figure eventually he'll have to hold it up!

Early A.M. Run

2011-07-29T06:12:00.000-05:00

This morning, both Caleb and Norah were up at 5:45. Caleb I could feed and put back to bed, but Norah was determined to be awake, so I gave her a choice: Go back to bed and sleep some more or go for a run. She chose to run. Me? I would've have taken the sleep, but run we did.

It was humid, and running with the stroller is always a bit harder, but I got 3 miles done. And, that little bugger stubbornly stayed awake the whole time.

As much as I would've liked to have gone back to bed for another hour, I have to admit that it feels good to have the run done for the day, and it's 7 A.M. and not only have I already run, but I'm also showered and dressed! Pretty much a record.

Trike Tuesday

2011-07-26T20:29:00.000-05:00

I think I could get into riding bikes if I had a swet ride like this one:

So, one of Norah's grandparents jumped the gun on her b-day and sent the above trike a few weeks early -- there is no more eager gift giver than a grandparent! It arrived today and Jerry assembled it, and Norah thought it was pretty dang rad. She hasn't yet grasped how to pedal, but she likes ringing the bell!

Oh, and on her wrist is the remains of a balloon turtle, most of which she had popped on her way home after dinner. It's not a green growth.

With all the post-dinner trike excitement, bedtime got pushed back a bit, and it was 8:15 before I found a window of opportunity to go run. I thought about just doing the standard 2 miler in order to be back sooner, but then I figured, "It's already nearly dark, may as well just do the 3 miles and finish up in the dark." So, that's what I did. It's not that running at that time is such a bad deal, it's just that by the time I run and shower, it's pretty much time for me to be thinking about bed, so I feel as though I don't have any evening.

Maybe one of these mornings I'll have to suck it up and aim for an o'dark thirty run and get it done before the sun rises. It's just that since I haven't had a full night's sleep in 2 months, mornings are not my bright and shiny motivated time of day. Still, it might be worth it. We'll see if I can work myself up to that sometime.

I Need to get Faster so I can go Farther

2011-07-25T20:31:00.000-05:00

I'm trying to remain patient with my return to running and not compare or judge myself for how slow I'm going or how short a distance I'm covering. But, it sure would be an advantage to be faster so that in the time I have, I could cover more miles!

Tonight, it was 8 pm before I had the chance to get out for a run, and while that's not terrible, darkness falls at about 8:30 here in the summer, and I don't love being out after dark (and yet am not bother by pre-dawn darkness -- weird, right?); plus, a storm was/is rolling in and it was beginning to lightning off in the distance. With 30 minutes, I really can only go a little more than 2 miles.

So, that's what I got done: 2 miles + a smidgen (which is a highly technical term for measuring distance) and that took me almost 25 minutes.

It's hard to get past my sense that 3 miles should be a minimum distance, but I also know that some running is better than no running. Right now, I just need to be happy with what I can get done!

Week in Review

2011-07-23T13:05:00.000-05:00

My running week begins on Sunday and ends on Saturday. No reason for that except that the running log I use to track mileage begins and ends this way, so I've always correlated my week to fit the log. Anyhoo, my mileage for the week totaled 15. I know, for many that's a single day's run, not 6 days' worth of running (I took Wed as a rest day), but considering that the previous TWO weeks' worth of mileage came to 13 miles, this week has felt like the first true return to some running regularity.

It was mostly 2 milers for the week, but I had a few 3 milers as well. And for the most part, my runs were solo, but I did take Norah in the BOB for 2 runs. Including one, very humid run this morning, where she repeatedly asked to go home. I told her I was taking her home -- we were just taking the long way there.

Aside from running, Caleb has really turned into a Smiley McSmilerson this week:

Last night, as I was changing his diaper at 2 AM, he was just smiling away at me, as if to say, "Thanks Mom! I really like having my diaper changed!" I think the smiles are one of the most rewarding milestones with a baby -- it's so much fun to feel as though there are two sides to the interaction!

As for the other nugget, Norah has been making regular, middle-of-the-night bedside calls to our bedroom this week. She just can't seem to stay in her bed. If she loved her own bed half as much as she loves ours, I think she'd live in there. But, alas, she seems to prefer our bed, and not just for sleeping:

And, yes, Bo-Bo is wearing underwear. Norah is obsessed with the underwear we bought her. She has only been allowed to wear them a few times because they are rewards for consistent potty use, but Bo-Bo has been real good with the potty, so I said it was okay for Bo-Bo to wear a pair :)

Dusting off the Garmin

2011-07-19T20:40:00.000-05:00

Last fall, shortly after finding out I was preggo with Caleb, I ditched the Garmin while running -- I knew I was slow and I really didn't want it to distract me from simply keeping up with the running. Today, I plugged it into the charger for the first time in nearly 9 months, and for today's run, I decided to bite the bullet and see what kind of digits I'm working with here.

It'd been so long since I last wore the Garmin (when it first came on, it flashed the last date I'd worn it -- Oct 11th!), it felt a little funny on my wrist, and honestly, it took me a minute to remember some of the buttons. But, we quickly warmed up to each other, it located the necessary satellites, and we were off!

The long and short of it is that I ran 3 miles in 35:05, which is a 11:40/mile pace. That's about what I figured it would be. After Norah was born, I started back to running at about a 12 min/mile pace, so I figured it'd be similarly slow this time around. It's a little discouraging to feel like I'm starting over once again, but I know that, with diligence, I'll slowly regain some of my former pace. Not that I'm a Speedy McSpeedster or anything, but it'd be nice to slowly whittle that 3 miler time to sub 30 minutes.

A Case of the Mondays

2011-07-18T20:14:00.000-05:00

I knew that Monday could be a tough day in the workforce, but who knew it could apply to staying at home as well? Guess it can, and today was one of "those" days with the kiddos and I was all too happy after dinner to leave them -- bathed and jammied -- with Jerry while I got out for a run.

It was hot, humid, and buggy. But, oh-so-glorious. It took having two kids for me to appreciate how easy running in 90 degree heat can feel by comparison!

Been Busy

2011-07-17T13:22:00.000-05:00

It seems as though life this summer has kept me away from being a diligent blogger -- both in regards to posting and reading. (Although, something funky is going on that is keeping me from commenting on some of your blogs -- tech nerds, what's up with that?) But, rather than spend too much time apologizing for my absence, I figure I'll just move on to what has been keeping me busy this past week:

Norah and the big girl bed. That little muffin and her newfound freedom are hard to contain, and every night this week, bedtime has taken anywhere from 60-90 minutes. Every time we think she's in there, about to fall asleep, we turn around and she's cruisin' the hallway with Bo-Bo -- her stuffed bear partner in crime. It's cute and frustrating at the same time.
Speaking of Bo-Bo, I should mention a funny aside: Norah has been nursing Bo-Bo lately. It's pretty cute. And I guess it explains why Bo-Bo also has so many poopy diapers lately, which Norah declares are "Gross!"
My SIL was visiting. Which was awesome! It was like having an unpaid, good-spirited nanny 24/7. She made life around here so much easier for the week -- I think I was able to sit and have a HOT cup of cofee every morning. I'm gonna miss that. Oh, and her too.
Speaking of the SIL, she and I also got out for a movie -- in an actual movie theater! -- we saw "Bridesmaids" and I literally laughed so hard, I may have peed a little. Which maybe doesn't say that much since 7 weeks post-partum means I still have the occasional "sneeze pee," but really, the movie was hil.ar.i.ous!
I also planned and executed a baby shower for my friend Erin on Saturday. At the first baby shower I threw for Erin -- 3 and a half years ago now -- people had to be driven home because they'd gotten so drunk. At this shower, I ran out of non-alcoholic wine and had 3 full bottles of real wine left in the fridge. I guess times really are a changin'!
Speaking of the shower, Jerry took the dog and kids to a friend's house during the shower, and when they got home, I picked Caleb up and he promptly pushed out a poop so runny and so explosive that it shot out the back of his shorts and ran down the front of my dress and dripped onto the floor. That pretty much cleared the house and signaled the end of the party.
Lastly, I did do some running. Even completed that 3 miler I'd be working up to. So, in short? I'm pretty much a rock star.
Speaking of running...dangit, I don't have another running related bullet point. Guess, I'll have to run this evening so I have one for tomorrow!

Toodles!

What's Happenin'

2011-07-12T12:58:00.000-05:00

The Running

Since I last posted, I have logged 3 more runs, each 2 milers. The most recent was last night, and after I finished, I decided that it felt pretty good, so I think for my next run (either tonight or sometime tomorrow), I'll attempt a 3 miler. I know. Hold onto your pants!

The Non-Running

Norah has had a renewed interest in the potty lately. It's not like she's going all the time, but she's going pee a couple times a day on there. And last week, during her nap, she kept calling to me, but I ignored her (because sometimes she does this as a delay tactic and if I ignore her, she just goes to sleep). Mistake. She'd had to pee, and she'd taken off her diaper and peed on her pillow.

So...we decided that if we're doing the potty thing, perhaps we should make our lives even harder, and go ahead and convert her crib into a toddler bed so she can get out and pee if she needs to. You know, to avoid more Pee Pillows.

The first day and night, she did great staying in her bed during nap and bedtime, but then I think she fully figured out that she could get in and out, and since then, well...Let's just say that at 5:30 this morning (after I'd just gone back to bed after a 5:00 am Caleb feeding), I heard from the hallway: "Hi Mama!"

So, yeah, she's learning.

As for Caleb, he's doing his part to keep me on my toes by being a fussy-fusserson today. He has his days like this, and on the whole, I think he's definitely a much fussier baby than Norah was, but then some days he's perfectly content, so I can't discern a pattern. At least he has good taste in clothes.

Thankfully, my SIL is visiting this week, and it really is invaluable having another pair of hands around. Amazing how much help one more person is!

Sore

2011-07-07T12:17:00.000-05:00

Last night, I went for another 2 miler, and it was just as tough as the first one I did on Tuesday, maybe even more so since I was a bit sore to start. I hadn't originally intended to run back-to-back days, but Jerry has bowling tonight and I knew I wouldn't get a chance to run today, so it was either the back-to-back days or wait until Friday. I went with the former.

And today I am sore enough that you'd think I had run two 10 milers instead of two 2 milers!

But, in a strange way, it feels good to be a bit sore, and I know that in a week's time, my legs will adjust and the soreness will pass. My plan for July is to start off by running about 3-4 days a week and slowly re-build my former fitness before I start to think about going longer or faster. Starting over after having so long off is tough -- especially since I'm also carting around about 10 extra pounds -- but it also feels good to have the challenge. (I'm not too worried about losing the weight; I know it will gradually come off, and I know that after Norah was born, I didn't fully lose all my pregnancy weight until after I stopped breastfeeding. Still, it would be nice for my self-esteem if my pre-pregnancy jeans would fit!)

So, no running today. Just lots of water. And some Advil (how glorious is it to be able to take Advil again!). And I'll probably be just as sore tomorrow, maybe more so, but then I'll be back at it again!

Finally, Some Running to Report!

2011-07-05T19:19:00.000-05:00

First of all, Caleb had his 1 month check up this morning, and he checked in as a BEEFCAKE: 11 lbs, 6 oz, and he measured 23 and 1/4 inches in length. He gained close to 4 lbs and grew 2 and 1/4 inches -- that's a lot of growin' for one month! But, at this point in his development, that's his main job, so I guess he gets a gold star for that one.

I too had a dr. check up today: My post-partum exam, and everything is healing up just dandy so I got the green light to return to running. So, tonight after Norah was in bed, I dusted off my running clothes, charged up the iPod, and pulled out my shiny new kicks that I got for my birthday back in April:

I only ran 2 miles, and it was a tough two miler (my last run was about 5 months ago, so it was kinda like starting from scratch), but it was glorious! Here I am post-run: Sweaty and happy!