Weekend Warrior

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fingers up her own nose:

 Fingers up his nose:

 He doesn't really seem to mind:

Some is Better than None

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

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

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

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

• 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!

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

• 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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'

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

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!

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!

4th of July

We had an eventful holiday today.

We started by attending a parade in the morning.  It was a good parade, and Norah loved seeing the fire trucks and police cars, and getting candy and other trinkets.  And Caleb did what he does best: He slept through it.

The only downside to the parade was that it was about a bazillion degrees out, so we were all sweaty messes afterward.  Oh well.  It is July in South Florida, after all. 

Here's Jerry, Norah and Caleb along the parade route:

Then, in the afternoon, we went to a friend's house for a party: Grilling, pool, horse shoes, tons of food, and, of course, firecrackers.  Here's Norah and Miller doing some "day time" fireworks:

A neighbor of our friend's was also having a shindig and they had a bounce house and everything, so Norah went over there for a bit and rode the slide half a dozen times -- so combine that with plenty of pool time, firecrackers, and relentlessly chasing our friend's dog around the house, and she had a VERY full day. 

And, here's another attempt to capture a family photo of us: Norah's sticking her tongue out, Jerry's posing like he's on the red carpet, and part of the inside of my shirt is sticking out.  I think the search continues for a good family pic...

Here's Norah with her sparkler:

At the end of the day, I took the kids home before the "night time" fireworks: It was 8 o'clock, already past Norah's bedtime, and while she was fine, mood-wise, she was starting to stumble around like she'd been in the beer cooler, so I figured it was best to get home and get to bed before any meltdowns and before it was gonna get tough keeping her up late.  Neither she, nor Caleb, made it all the way home before falling asleep:

Jerry stayed to light the big fireworks -- to him, the 4th is like Christmas and his birthday combined, so I had to let him enjoy risking life and limb with his crate full of TNT -- and I'm at home right now with two sleeping kids and a neurotic dog, who is freaking out right now because of the sound of all the fireworks outside.  It kinda stinks that I'm missing all the pretty fireworks, but honestly, I'm beat and am about to turn in myself, and I'm sure there will be plenty of years ahead for us to all stay up late enough to enjoy the fireworks in the future.  For now, I'm hitting the hay!

Happy 4th everyone!

One Month

Hard to believe that Caleb is already a month old. 

In the past month, we've re-accustomed ourselves to 3 am wake-up calls and the explosive nature of baby poop.  We're also learned the differences between changing a boy's diaper versus a girl's -- essentially?  Duck and take cover!  Because he will pee on you, himself, the wall, and any other nearby objects or observers.

On the whole, he's a sweet baby, who's starting to give us a few genuine smiles.  He has his days where he's a demanding fussbucket, but let's face it: Who doesn't have days like that?

And like all kids -- no matter their age -- he's cutest when he's sleeping.