Two More Months

It literally makes my heart ache to know that in 2 months, Parker will turn ONE. That's right, he's 10 months old today. At 10 months he can:

take steps (he took his first steps on Saturday)

say mama, dada, dog, bubu, ball, uh-oh.

he makes noises for cars

he eats whatever you feed him

he loves Conner and thinks he put the moon in the sky

loves to ride in the jeep w/Conner

he climbs on everything

he opens drawers and cabinets

he climbs the stairs

he uses a sippy cup like it's no body's business

he's potty trained (just kidding, are you paying attention to my ramblings)

he claps and gives "five"

he gives the best kisses on the planet. big open mouth slobbery ones. best ever.

Happy 10 months, my blue eyed, blond haired, sweet, sweet baby. Mama loves you to pieces.

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Cruise Part 1

OK, I know I was supposed to do this like a month ago but...what can I say. Better late than never, right?

We drove down to Mobile on Friday and were departing on Saturday. It's just easier to do that with 2 kids. We stopped halfway and had lunch and then kept going. The kids did great in the car; they really did. Once we checked into the hotel, the kids were more than ready to be out of the car. They played and jumped on the bed in the room. We walked across the street to this cute little Mexican restaurant and had dinner. It was so good. Conner was entertained by the little fountains they had outside. I don't think the kids went to bed until midnight that night. They had way too much energy pent up that needed to be released.

Saturday, we woke up and had breakfast at the restaurant in the hotel. The kids enjoyed a ton of yogurt and some fruit. The shuttle was supposed to take us to the boat at 11 but we soon learned that there were delays. Evidently, there was a medical emergency on the ship as well as severe fog so they were behind. The good news was that we would be leaving around 1...or so we thought.

We took off to go visit the USS Alabama. It's a really cool Navy ship that was used in WWII. Conner really enjoyed running all over the place and I really enjoyed looking at the boat, the tour and being able to appreciate this part of our Nation and it's history.[gallery link="file" columns="5" orderby="rand"]

I need a Do-Over

Today, I ran my first 5k and I left the camera at home and the cell phone died. Go figure. whatever. I want a do-over anyway. It's really silly for me to be so bummed but whatever. I brought Parker with me and he was in the stroller. He typically does perfect in the stroller. He just lounges and chills or sleeps...until he had to WAIT for me to start running. The race was delayed buy about 35 minutes. They told everyone that they had to be at the race by 7:30 to check in and pick up chips by 7:45. Fine. Well, the course wasn't blocked off and someone got into an accident. Poor Parker was in the stroller for almost an HOUR before we even started the race. I did take him out but there really wasn't anywhere for him to play in the middle of the road. He did OK the first 2 miles (and I was pretty darn proud of my time considering I was pushing a baby in the stroller), I was pulling in 11.5 min miles. I know that isn't FAST but hey, I was pushing a stroller. Then all hell broke lose...Parker had gotten to his breaking point and the screaming did not stop...he won. I took him out and I walked, carried him and pushed the stroller. I hate my finishing time b/c I know what it could have been. Oh well. I'm getting a do-Over. for real. a 40:18 5k is awful...especially since I should have been around 34 min. ugh. It's not his fault and of course I'm not mad at my precious baby but dude. ugh. I'm going to find another race and run it sans baby. Maybe then I won't be so bummed.

Now that I have complained about the race, I want to talk about the atmosphere. Since this was my first race, I didn't really know what to expect. You bet your butt that the actress in me came out and I played the part of someone who knew what was going on. As someone who is a runner wanna be, I LOVED talking to other people who actually enjoy running and think that it is FUN. I saw someone I student taught with and that made my day. I loved her and wish we still kept in touch with. anyway, running with other people, especially strangers, and watching them is so motivating. I typically run very, very slow w/the stroller but today I was really feeling super good and I was keeping a decent pace, despite the hills and stroller. The sound of other runners is awesome. There were even mom/daughter and mom/son groups. It was SO adorable to see those kids running with their parents. I hope that my kids will want to run with me in 5 years or so.

I had so many people tell me that I did a great job, especially pushing the stroller. I SO wish I would have met my goal but I need to let that go. blah.


HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL YOU MAMA'S OUT THERE. YOU ARE AWESOME!

So What Wednesday

It's been a while.

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This week, I'm saying so what to...

I want to take a nap. Desperately

I find out about many current events from Facebook.

My header is getting old and it's ugly. I don't care.

I hit a building.

I "stole" a steam mop from my MIL and I love it.

I hate when my kids climb all over me.

It's been a wretched week already.

I really want a van.

What are you saying so what to?

Testing, Testing...

Yep, the blog is still active and works. Imagine that. It has been a long time since I've been here. Since my last post (I have to go look and see what it was actually about), we went on a cruise, I turned another year older, Parker turned 9 mos and Conner is officially 2.5 years old(today).

Let me start with our cruise. It was great! I'll do a whole post with all of my (200) pictures. The kids did great and the weather was awesome.

I turned 31 (OMG) on the 13. We were out to sea and it was a very nice birthday.

Parker is NINE months old. Can't  believe that. He can say "uh-oh" (uh uh oh), "bra bra" (brother), "ball", "mama" and "da da". So stinkin cute. He can pull up to standing and he is cruising all over the place. His favorite thing to do is climb the stairs and push toys all over this house while he walks behind them. He is getting way too big way too fast.  He is still such a happy little thing.

Oh and there was Easter too. The kids loved it, especially Conner. I'll post pics of that soon too.

Parker is crying for a nap so...more later

Sand

When Conner was Parker's age, he hated sand. We went to the beach and Conner was awesome because he just stayed on the blanket in the shade to avoid having to touch the sand. As he grew, he learned to love it. Conner's "sandbox" was all messed up and needed to be replaced. While we were at Target, we bought the replacement. It sat in the box for about 2 weeks. Josh decided to set it up on the deck and move sand from the sand pile into the new "box". Parker LOVES it. He eats it and rubs it in his hair. He squishes his little toes all in it. It's adorable.

***I've been working on this post for 2 weeks. I'll update why soon.***

The things he says and does

Conner is so hilarious! He says and does things that make me laugh and that blow my mind.

For instance...

We are in the process of potty training. He thinks Parker needs to pee on the potty too. What does he do? Um, pee on Parker. Truth city.

Today, he climbed out of his crib for the first time. I converted the crib to a toddler bed and when I was finished I was all teary eyed and was telling him that it makes mommy so sad at how big he's getting...he gives me a hug and says, "alright mommy". I die.


He wanted to call Josh today to tell him that "Parker poops a LOT". He calls Harley "disgusting" because he thinks Harley eats poop, which he doesn't. Maybe he's a little a little bit obsessed with poop.

When I take things away from him, he tells me he needs a "ladder" (it's really one of his tiny chairs) so he can "reachy" it.

He attaches his crane to his dump truck and is "going to work". It's a trailer. Inventive, I think so.



My baby is turning into such a little boy. Thank God we have Parker, I'd certainly want another baby!

So What Wednesday

This week, I'm saying SO WHAT to...

My house is trashed. Parker hasn't slept in 2 night and I'm tired. It takes all I have to keep up with Conner when I'm this tired. Forget about cleaning too.

We went shopping for stuff for the cruise (yay). So what. I got depressed over the size I had to buy and the fact that the ugly "mom" suits are what I have to wear this year. Running without losing weight sucks.

I get way too excited when print orders come in. I adore seeing my work on prints, especially ones larger than 8x10.

I LOVE my blond hair. LOVE it.

I am getting a sitter so that I can clean. I sort of feel bad about it...not really though.

Let's talk about me

I haven't really given any kind of update on me lately. In fact, my blog has been vacant of a new post for a week. I will say that I have a post saved as a draft and I do have plans on finishing it. First, I do want to talk about myself; I am the most important person. A few weeks ago, I started running again. I can not tell you how much this has helped me. I have not noticed any physical changes at all. BUT my mental state is much better. Aside from today (we won't go there right now), I don't remember when my last "bad" day was. I can't pinpoint it. I wake up happy, I play with my kids, I notice that I'm enjoying them and not yelling all the time. I have moments when I think to myself, "I'm living the life and I'm so happy". When I realize those things, I'm happy. Really, really happy. I didn't go to the psychiatrist's appt. I didn't have a babysitter and since I'm feeling so good, I decided that it wasn't worth the $150. I think part of my success...NO, I know part of my success is because of my new friend, Sara. She is a newer mommy, her sweet girl is 9 mos old and she runs with a stroller. Sara is such a great motivator! She is so much fun and a great running partner. She is sooo sweet, too. I know that if I didn't have her to say, "come on, let's go", I wouldn't be running as much. Running has been so good for me, it's such a huge stress reliever. I only have to go with one of my kids. Since the time has changed, Josh has been staying home with Conner and I've been taking Parker. Parker typically just sleeps in the stroller. I am still taking my medication but I am getting to the point where I don't feel like I will need them. It's really a great feeling.

Friday Five

TGIF, people!!

Top five make me pretty products

These are things I use daily
1. Mascara
2. Lipgloss
3. Joico split end mender. my hair is SO dry and this stuff is great and it smells awesome
4. bare esentual moisturizer
5. whitening toothpaste/toothbrush

what are you top five?