Sunrise

When L and I came downstairs this morning, we noticed that first light was purple this morning.  Purple!  It was incredibly beautiful.  Once I got L and E situated with their breakfasts, I took a couple pictures of the gorgeous sunrise this morning.  Here's hoping the day is just as wonderful as dawn!

Sunrise over the neighborhood and mountains (1-31-2012)

Photo out our front door (1-31-2012)

Kid sleeping issues = mommy stress

(written Sunday evening.  I know, I'm cheating!)

Let's start with E.  E is now 13 months old and has been taking two naps a day since she was about 9 months old (before that, she took four naps a day.  i know, that's a LOT but she took cat naps).  Her naps have varied in length from about 25 minutes to 2.5 hours, with her morning one usually being about 45 minutes and her afternoon one about 2 hours.  I know that she's been moving towards just one nap a day for awhile, as her morning nap is getting later and later (from 8:30am to now 10am), but this is ridiculous.  Today, she went down at 10am and woke up at 11:30am, and then refused to nap at all the rest of the day.  My husband even put her down at around 2:30pm for a nap and she just laid in her crib and played for 1.5 hours.  She was a bear at bedtime, but I'm not sure she's totally ready for one nap a day yet.  So, do I put her down at her normal 10am nap time tomorrow, or do I push it back until after her lunch (after 11am) so that she only takes one nap tomorrow?  Ugh, I just don't know what to do.

Then there's L.  We put her to bed around 7:15-7:30pm.  She usually wakes up from her afternoon nap around 3-3:30pm, so this gives her ample time to run around before she goes down for the night.  Tonight, we put her down at 7:15pm and she didn't go to sleep until 8:45pm.  She always seems to lay in bed for almost 45-60 minutes every night before she goes to bed.  Does this mean she needs a later bedtime?  Earlier nap?  Oh, I wish there was a manual for all this stuff so I'd know what to do instead of experimenting.  Something tells me it's going to be a long week in the sleep department...

I found a partner in running!

My family that I grew up with is in Ohio, while my family that I married into is in Arizona.  Of my family here in AZ, only my father-in-law runs on a regular basis; however, he doesn't run much anymore because of a foot injury.  On the other side of the country, my mom, brother, and sister-in-law all run and run a lot.  If I wanted, I could run with them all the time and it would make me so happy!  Alas, I am 2000 miles away from them.  Hrumph.

Today, I mentioned to my FIL that there was a couple's relay race coming up the weekend before Valentine's, and each person in a couple would have to run about two miles.  He immediately volunteered to be my partner for it.  I can't tell you how excited I am for this race!  First, it's only two miles, which will be a walk in the park compared to the 6.2 miles I did last weekend.  Second, I have someone running with me (kind of)!  Third, this means that not only will my husband and girls be at the event, so will my mother-in-law (whom I'm quite fond of).  Heck, I might even get carried away and run with the girls in the jogging stroller!  Excited.  Excited!  EXCITED!

So, here's hoping that FIL and I get a run or two in together before the race in two weeks, and here's to a fun day of running when the event comes along!!!!!

Fun for Lunch

Yesterday, we decided to screw "healthy" and went to Peter Piper Pizza for lunch.  E loved eating the breadsticks and pizza crusts (with and without tomato sauce), while L loved the cinnamon pie pizza pieces.  L also loved the carousel, riding various animals in the play area, and getting to choose prizes with the tickets we earned.  E wasn't inspired by the carousel ride (she climbed off her horse onto me), but she loved wandering around the place and stealing balls from the roller game area.  I think sometimes you have to let your concept of eating right all the time for your family out the window so that you can make some fun memories (with food other than what's normal).  We had a great time, and I'm sure L is now looking forward to the birthday party she gets to attend next Friday evening at another Peter Piper Pizza!

L riding the chicken with her daddy (1-27-12)

L "racing" with Daddy (she drove through fields and finished last) (1-27-12)

E stealing balls from the roller game area (1-27-12)

Faculty Recital? Oh crap...

I got a phone call yesterday afternoon from the head of the piano department at my community college.  She was the one that originally called last year, when E was 10 days old, to ask me if I wanted the job I currently have.  She's an excellent person and musician, and I love our working relationship.  She's also been at the college for 30+ years and knows all the ins and outs of the place.  That definitely makes my life easier to navigate some of the stuff there!  In any case, Head Lady calls yesterday afternoon to ask me if I'd be interested in playing on the piano faculty recital at the end of March that they are having.  I was really taken aback - I've known that this recital was happening since June, was hurt that it said "all piano faculty" when, in fact, it was not "all" of us, and was super hurt that I'd not even been asked to participate.  So, I asked her "why are you asking me now when the recital has been on the books for almost a year?"  Fair question, she said, and she was sincerely apologetic about it.  The other four faculty members are there during the day, so they always see each other, talk, and do things together.  They neglected to remember (at the time) that they also now have an evening faculty member who is stuck at home taking care of her children during the day.  When she realized yesterday that I wasn't on the program, and that I'd never been asked, she said she felt incredibly awful (I believe her).  She asked me if I'd be willing to take over her part in a 8-hand piano piece (4 performers) because she just had too many things on her plate this semester.  I said I'd take a look at it and then get back to her. 

So...potentially, I'll be performing at the end of March.  That means that I've got to get my @$$ practicing, arrange babysitting so that I can attend a few rehearsals at the college, and manage to somehow remain fresh with the music and playing while missing a week in the middle of March because I'll be out of the country.  Somehow, with that missing week, I've got to come back and perform a week later!  YIKES!  Well, we'll see.  Head Lady says this is an arrangement of Stars and Stripes Forever (Sousa), and I think I know the one - it's fairly straight forward.  Ugh, I can't believe I agreed to look at it with less than two months to go...

Anybody want comp tickets to watch me freak out?

A short entry...

Today is a short entry as I'm sick.  Yesterday, I decided to get a portion of egg salad at the grocery store because it looked really tasty.  It's the only thing I ate yesterday that no one else here at home ate.  I felt off all afternoon after I ate it, it got worse after lunch, and then I spent most of the night up in pain and being sick.  So, I'm tired, still feeling like crap, and needing to take care of two little girls with colds.  It's going to be a long day.  Food poisoning sucks.

PBS Cartoon Favorites

I figured I should post this now as a reference someday when I'm sitting here thinking "what did the girls enjoy watching when they were younger?"  We don't have cable, so L and E only ever watch PBS cartoons.  However, they definitely have their favorites (and so do I).

1.  Curious George - Monkey mischief?  For L, definitely!  For my husband and I, we just sit there and wonder why the man in the yellow hat hasn't euthanized that damn animal yet...

2.  The Cat in the Hat Knows A Lot About That - In the original book/story, the Cat in the Hat wreaks havoc on the kids' house and lives.  However, in the series, the cat helps the children discover the world around them and how to do various things (i.e. how to grow a tree, how to find someone during hide & seek, etc.).  E loves the music to this cartoon.  It's quite entertaining!

3.  Super Why - Superhero kids figuring out things about letters, rhyming, spelling, words, and (just added) definitions of big words.  L loves this show, and I've got to admit I'm a fan too.  They take stories that most everyone knows and adjust them to learn how to do something in their own life as well as solve the story's issue.

4.  Sesame Street - Everyone's perennial favorite, now in its 41st season.  L loves Elmo's World and Abby's Flying Fairy School, E loves any of the music (notice a theme?), and I love it all in general.  It's fun to see some of the "neighbors" there that are still the same from when I was a kid, just a bit older now!

Security is...

...having your towel with you no matter where you go.  L has gotten attached to towels as her security blanket lately.  Luckily, she isn't picky about which towel, just some sort of hand towel.  I find it amusing, but whatever makes her feel 100%!

L and her towel (1-24-2012)

Happy Chinese New Year

Today is Chinese New Year.  Gung hei fat choi!  This year is the Year of the Dragon.  I love watching the Chinese zodiac to see what babies will be for the coming year.  Husband and I are both monkeys, L is a rat, and E is a tiger.  I'm thinking that we'll have to do noodles to celebrate the new year today.  It'd be great to get dim sum or something today, but E is feeling a bit under the weather so I think we'll stay home.  I'll probably spend the day working on that damn newsletter for my volunteer organization (ugh).  However, you enjoy Chinese New Year to its fullest!!!

Gung hei fat choi!

10K Race - Wahoo!

I ran my first 10K race this morning (6.2 miles).  I laid awake last night nervous as can be because I've never run that far before in a race and, though I'd trained for it, I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it.  I had three goals for myself that I thought were reasonable:  run the whole thing (no walking or stopping), finish between 55-65 minutes after starting, and run every mile at around 9:30 per mile.  Husband and the girls came along to cheer me on, which was great, and there were tons of people.  I think I remember them saying something about 600 people total.  In any case, 600 runners and then all the other people that come with that?  It made for a rather busy staging area.  The course was a very flat, nice run around the Reid Park area here in Tucson.  I thought I'd break down my thoughts per mile just so non-runners can understand how you can spend close to a hour running and not get bored to tears.

Start to Mile 1 - Music?  Check.  Stopwatch?  Check.  Shoelaces tight?  Check.  Is my flab hanging out?  Adjust.  Hubby and kids?  Wave!  Aaaaand, we're off!  Get out of my way, lady.  That guy is yelling "GET TO THE RIGHT!" so I guess I better move to the right.  Why isn't anyone else?  Wait, now we're going left?  Wtf.  Wait, we're making a circle?!?  Now we're going past the start line again!  Hey, wait a minute, is that guy running barefoot????  Omg, he totally is.  Isn't that painful?!??  Ugh, this song sucks, skip!  Why are my feet going numb already?  Scrunch up my toes, scrunch up my toes...ah, that's better!
Mile 1-2 - Wow, there's a lot of traffic on the street.  Oh, thank goodness that cop is down there stopping traffic from crossing in front of us runners.  Why are these people honking at the cop?  Idiots.  I think I'll keep pace with this girl in pink shorts.  Hmm, she's going too quick.  Not her.  I think I'll keep pace with this old man in a red hat.  He's staying pretty close to what I'm doing.  Ooo, a turnoff - off I go with the 10K-ers.  Hmm, maybe I should have taken the 5K path...
Mile 2-3 - Now we're on the running path around the park, yay!  No cars!  Why is this woman totally taking up this entire lane?!??  Maybe if I get beside her she'll move over...nope, now she looks like she's going to clobber me for being super close to her.  Pass!  Pass!  Yikes, she runs like an ape.  Old Man in Red Hat is getting a little further from me, I think I'm slowing down.  Yes, I am, I'm getting a little tired.  Ugh, I'm not even halfway.  Keep going!  Keep going!  I'll change the music over to something super high energy.  Ah, Cash Cash and Breathe Carolina, how I love your music...
Mile 3-4 - Hello police station!  Hello sewage treatment area!  Eeewww, a hill.  Oh well, attack uphill, relax downhill.  Wow, those golfers look extremely overweight.  I'm tired.  That guy's back is all sweaty.  Oh, hello lady runner, where did you come from?  Oh shit, you're on your second go of this part of the course because you're almost done.  How the crap do you get so fast?!??  Oh, how I wish I could follow you, you are so, so fast and I am so, so tired.  Gotta keep going, where's Old Man?  Ugh, he's way up there.  Move move move...
Mile 4-5 - Where did this chick with the horse butt come from?  How did she get in front of me?  Maybe it was when I was ogling the leaders...  Oh, what a nice stretch of the park we're in now.  Sweaty Back Man is totally getting passed...ha!  I wonder if I'll see husband and girls here?  Looking, looking, looking...no dice.  I wonder where they are.  I am so tired.  Well, just another mile to go.  I wonder if that old woman ever ran, she looks so happy to see the runners.
Mile 5-6 - This guy was doing so well, now he's walking!  "HEY, KEEP RUNNING, I'M FOLLOWING YOU!"  Conversation ensues, man says he's reached his limit.  I tell him go go go, you've got 10 minutes more to run and you'll be done.  He doesn't.  Wuss.  Old Man is getting closer - woo hoo, I'm speeding up!  Now I'm running that same stretch of course that I saw the leaders on earlier.  Water, water...ugh, I choked!  Ugh, water!  Okay, turning to the final stretch toward the finish line.  Start turning it on here, we've got to beat that old man...
Mile 6-6.2 - GO GO GO!   BEAT THAT OLD MAN!  YAY, YOU PASSED HIM!  GO GO GO OMG IT HURTS AND I'M SO TIRED GO GO GO GO!!!!!!  I'm DONE!  YAY!  I ran the whole thing!  Omg I am SO tired!  Old Man just ran into me!  Watch it, dude, don't be frisky.  Hey, there's husband and girls!  Hello family!

I hadn't run a race before with my music, and I'm so glad I did this time.  Definitely motivated me in places and kept my mind from going totally bananas.  I met all my goals:  ran the whole thing, did each mile at around 9:30, and finished in 59:02.  :D  L and E both ran in kids' races and did poorly (lol), but they still got prizes for trying.  Afterwards, we celebrated with a Beyond Bread lunch (taken home, of course, because I smelled to holy hell) and NAP.

I don't know if I'll do a 10K again any time soon, but it's fun to be able to say I did it and did it well.  Bring on another 5K any day!

Me kicking Old Man in Red Hat's ass in the 10K (1-22-2012)

Babies...oy.

I had a dream last night that I was going to have another baby in July.  I'm sure this is because I have one friend who is due any day now with her baby boy, and another that just found out she's having a girl in 20 more weeks.  In any case, my dream made me wake up sad.  I know that our family is complete with the two girls, and my husband and I won't be having anymore children (we took care of that!), but it still makes me sad that I won't have a teeny tiny bundle of warm baby to care for ever again.  Having another child would be ludicrous, incredibly busy, hard on us in so many ways (we'd have to get a bigger car, house, budget more, etc.), but...I can't help but want that little bundle.  I guess I'll have to snuggle with any niece(s) or nephew(s) we get in the future to compensate.  Still, babies on the brain.  I can't believe my 13-month-old E and 3-year-old L are as old and big as they are, but I miss those newborn days for both of them just a bit!

Baby L (January 2009)

Baby E (January 2011)

Growing Up - Big Girl Storytime!

When L was 7 weeks old, I decided that we needed to get out around people and other babies just for the social aspect of it all.  That was the first time I took her to baby storytime at the library.  She fell asleep during storytime every week until she was about 5 months old, and then she became interested in the other babies around her, the activities we did, and, eventually, the stories being read.  When she was 18 months old, she graduated up to the toddler storytime.  I remember the first time she went to that storytime, I was blown away by what the older kids there could do compared to what she could do.  Eventually, L became one of those older kids and I was amazed at how much more she could do than the other children.  Now that she's 3, she qualifies for the preschool storytime.  We talked about this all week - now that she is a big girl, she gets to go to Big Girl Storytime!  E goes to baby storytime, but since L is a Big Girl, she gets to read stories with the big kids.  She was so excited!

We get to the library today and L was thrilled.  There were so many 3-5 year old kids in there that she could hardly figure out what to do.  There was a new storytime person (he does all the bigger-kid storytimes), there were new kids, and there were new activities to enjoy.  I discovered that L lacks a lot of social grace since she doesn't spend a lot of time around other kids.  Case in point - when she met a new girl today, the new girl introduced herself as Haley and said she was "3almost4!" (yes, it sounded like all one word).  L smiled at her, touched Haley's shirt, tried to pick Haley's nose, threw her arms around her, and tried to kiss her.  I realize that L is just very enthusiastic about making a new friend, but some people just don't like to be touched.  Haley was okay with the hugging, but she shoved L away when she tried to kiss her.  L is a force to be reckoned with and doesn't know when to stop (much like her daddy!), and so she just kept trying.  When she realized she wasn't going to get Haley, she moved on to other children.  It was hilarious to watch, and yet trying at the same time.  We had a chat once we got home about how to say hi to new people (say hi, shake their hand, and that's about it), so we'll see if it gets better.  However, socially awkward?  Yes please.  In any case, beyond the social side, she was so happy being there.  She danced (when she was supposed to sing), stood (when she was supposed to sit), clapped (when she was supposed to stomp), and had a grand old time (do you sense a theme here?  maybe "marches to the beat of her own drummer?"  this is her daddy's style through and through).  E had a good time trying to steal people's beverages, touch other babies, and generally just try to get away from Mommy.  I had a great time because the storytime man was excellent, the kids were all enjoying themselves, and it was just a fun 40 minutes of kids being kids.

It's so hard to believe L is big enough to be with the 3-5 year olds now.  I still remember her falling asleep in my arms and trying to wake her up so she could enjoy baby storytime!  Wow, it's hard to believe it was almost 3 years ago.  I know she's looking forward to storytime again next week, and to be honest, so am I!

L hugs Sammy the Seal after storytime (1/20/2012)

My swimming woes

My swimming class I'm taking this semester started yesterday.  I met the instructor, got the syllabus, signed waivers, and then hopped in the pool to do the 12 minute pre-test the instructor asked us all to do.  Essentially, she just wants to know how many laps we can do (any type of stroke) in 12 minutes.  One of the girls there is a former swim team person, and she did hers super fast.  I think I heard her say she did about 16 laps in 12 minutes.  16?!??  I did mine and got 3.5-4 laps in in 12 minutes, and that's with stops halfway each time because I couldn't catch my breath.  ~4 laps in 12 minutes.  Ugh.  The instructor was talking about all these different things we can do this semester, and all I could think was "could I please just concentrate on what I know now, improve on that, and go from there?"  And all the terminology - it was like listening to a foreign language.  Help!

I can't get this breathing thing down.  How do you catch your breath while swimming?  I know the technique (breathe during the stroke, exhale while under), but after about three times of this, I'm burning up inside and have to stop to catch my breath.  What the heck am I missing?!?  It's so frustrating.  There was a very large woman in the lane next to me last night who was swimming circles around me in terms of endurance (she looked like a flailing duck while freestyling, but that's another story).  So frustrated.  I can run 5-6 miles at the drop of a hat no problem, but I can't even swim half a lap without stopping?!??  I feel so idiotic.  I know I'm still working on it, improving, but it's just frustrating that I can't quite get it down.

At least this class will put me in the pool twice a week.  Here's hoping I can improve quickly.  Any suggestions from you would also be helpful!!!

Responsibility in Education

Last night was my first night teaching for the semester.  I love the start of a new semester:  the hope, excitement, and interest that the students (and faculty) show are fabulous.  However, it also highlights something I am seeing more and more that drives me crazy:  irresponsibility for one's education.

My class has 17 students registered (out of a possible 22 slots), which is pretty typical enrollment.  However, last night only 10 students showed up.  Out of those 10, 4 showed up late and only 3 total students had the required textbook for the class in their possession.  While I was able to everything I needed to do with them yesterday, it was slightly infuriating.  I realize that every teacher is going to think their class is important and people need to show up and be prepared, but really?  Is it like this all over campus?!??  I don't understand how a student can sign up for a class, pay for it, and then never show up for it.  What happened to taking responsibility for your education?  Just because you've signed up for something doesn't mean you're gaining anything from it - you need to show up!  Also, if you show up, you need to be prepared.  You can't come without your materials, unprepared, and/or full of excuses for why things are the way they are.  YOU are responsible for yourself, not anyone else.  It doesn't matter what your excuse is either, because you are still responsible for yourself.  Instead of saying "my car broke down, I had scheduling issues, my girlfriend needed to go to urgent care, etc.," how about saying something like "I'm sorry I didn't make it to class, I'll do better and make up the work?"  If a student came into class and said that to me, I think I'd faint from happiness.  What has happened to being responsible for your education?  It's not anyone's fault but your own if you don't learn something!

Here's hoping more show up on Thursday, but I'm not holding out high hopes.  Please, if you sign up for a class, either drop it if you're not going to attend, or take it, learn something, and have fun while doing everything you need to do for it.  You'll make your instructor(s) very happy!

My classroom

Stubborn

I'm beginning to realize just how stubborn I must be to my husband through my daughters.  My girls are stubborn beyond belief.  They wail to get their way for things when I wish they'd just do what Daddy and I want them to do.  This morning, it took E twenty minutes to take a sip of milk.  20 minutes!  For just a sip!  L is constantly saying she NEEDS something, or that she doesn't want to go somewhere, or that she won't do whatever it is I ask of her.  Drives me INSANE. 

If there's anything having children has taught me, it's how to pretend like I still have patience when it has totally run out and then some.  I wonder sometimes if I'm doing something wrong with them, but more than anything I think they are just. like. me.  Someone said to me when I was young that they hoped I'd be cursed with children just like myself.  At the time, I thought "hey, that'd be cool!"  Now, though I know exactly what my girls are thinking, it doesn't help a lick to get past their stubbornness because I know pretty much how long and how far they are willing to take it! 

Somebody invent a do-whatever-my-parents-say-willingly pill PLEASE.

Rainy Monday

It's raining outside this morning, and with the girls still not 100% with their health, I'm thinking it will be a day inside.  I like being able to stay home with the girls, take care of them during the day, and watch them grow and learn.  However, there are days when all I want to do is get in the car and drive very, very far away from them for just a few days.  Today, though, is shaping up to be an average day.  Not too great but not too horrible.  We'll have to figure out our schedule for the week (I have a race on Sunday to run) for working out, shopping, activities, and chores.  With work starting up again this week, I'm hoping the girls are easy on me so that I can take care of beginning-of-the-semester crap at school.

Right now, I'm thinking it's time to get some rubber boots on and go find some puddles to jump in!

Wet backyard this morning (1-16-2012)

A birthday to note

Today is my younger brother's 30th birthday.  I'm having a really hard time believing that he's 30 now.  Really?  Seriously?  I mean, I understand that time is constantly moving on, and if he's 15 months younger than I am, and I'm 31, he's obviously going to be 30 at some point.  Still, I see him as the boy that I grew up with, fought with, traveled with, and did oh-so-many things with that I couldn't even begin to remember properly.  I remember us sharing a room when we were really little and his terrified yelling that his "bed was shaking."  Turned out to be a minor earthquake, believe it or not.  I remember him feeding soy beans to the cat, smashing as much watermelon as he possibly could into his gullet, playing computer games way after his bedtime (unbeknownst to Mom and Dad), getting to jump on his bed Christmas morning to wake him up (if he didn't do it to me first!), flying to Japan and being with him there at my grandparents' house, and even the time he ran out of cash his first week in State Fair band (Mom and Dad bailed him out, no problem, but I think there was a lesson learned there!).  He's always been the more quiet, reserved one of the two of us, and he's incredibly brilliant, thoughtful, hilarious, and determined.  Now, he lives about a hour from where we grew up in his own condo, has a beautiful and amazing wife, is raising two slightly bizarre cats, works in the tech field on things I can't even begin to fathom, and still keeps in touch with his big pushy sister who lives 2000 miles away.

Happy 30th birthday, C.  I'm lucky to have a brother like you, and I'll always wish the absolute best for you in everything you do and have.  Have a wonderful 31st year, and make sure you let the cats have some birthday cake too!

Welcome home, little brother!  (January 1982)

Running on the brain

I went for a 7.2 mile run this morning.  Before you think "you're insane," just know that I wasn't sure I could do this either.  After I injured my foot right before Christmas, I took a week off to recoup and then started back on really short distances (2-3 miles at a time).  In any case, taking that time off killed my endurance.  So, I've been trying to work back up to the point where I could run 6.2 miles (a 10K) with one or no stops.  I did the 6.2 miles last weekend, so this weekend I wanted to prove to myself I could do longer.  7.2 miles went okay, with a couple stops to restretch and catch my breath (damn leg).  However, 7.2 miles takes a bit over a hour for me, so I've got a lot of time to think about things (I don't listen to music while I'm out running along the roads because I'm terrified a car will pummel me to smithereens sometime because I didn't notice it).

While I run, I tend to have a song stuck in my head and then a ton of random thoughts.  Today, I remember wondering what it would be like to be a circus performer that rides on horses (I run by a ton of horse ranches).  Then, there was a portion on yellow sidewalk, so I thought about which character I'd prefer to be from The Wizard of Oz (the lion, rawr).  My worst mile, where I was tired, going uphill, and had the wind in my face, resulted in me imagining myself in a music video for an Adam Lambert song.  Yeah, I know, bizarre.  However, the two things I think about most when I'm out running is 1) how easy it is to get out and just do something to get your body moving and in shape, and 2) how bizarre some people driving are and how some folks keep their homes/yards. 

First, how hard is it to get out and just do something for your body?  It really does feel good to do physical activity, even if it's just 20 minutes.  Sex lasts about 20 minutes, right?  You know how good you feel after that, right?  Think about that good feeling but without the naked part and you've got exercise (I suppose you could exercise naked but I'm not sure most people at an aerobics class or along the street would appreciate it).  20 minutes a couple times a week of even just walking the dog could help so much.  I honestly wonder why people that just sit at home and do nothing, day in day out, can live with themselves.  You're killing yourself through inactivity!  Get out there and do something!!!! 

Second, people are terrible drivers, do terrible things while driving, decorate their homes bizarrely, and have some of the strangest yards I've ever seen.  I ran by a house (mansion, really) today that had a gorgeous, probably 5000+ sq ft floor plan with immaculate bushes, trees, and landscaping.  Truly a gem.  Then I saw the 10-15 junk cars all parked along the side, in various states of disrepair and missing parts.  It made me wonder what the heck kind of people lived inside.  That goes for houses that have 568265 wind chimes on the front, a mailbox with a skull and cross bones painted on it, and homes that have mounds of dog poop in the backyards (the scent is oh-so fantastic).  Drivers, I've noticed, tend to either be so distracted by various things that they don't see me, or they notice me, wave, and then I notice how odd they are.  I've seen people smoking, drinking, putting on make up, eating, talking on the phone, with a Labrador in their lap, leaning over the passenger side, looking out the rear windshield, doing their hair, using their feet to drive, with a large rifle-like gun in their lap, wearing giant sombreros, and even dressed like a bishop driving around (though the bishop might actually be a bishop, as it was near a giant Catholic church).  People that wave at me tend to be old, missing teeth, wearing mismatched clothing, and/or all of the above.  Also, for all those people out there that don't get over when a runner is about six inches from the side of your car?  Screw you. 

So, running on my brain.  That's all.  Tomorrow will be a swimming day to help save my joints, so here's hoping my next run on Monday (with the girls) will yield something even more fun to blog about.

Things that need a word

Have you ever noticed that there are certain things that happen to and around you that there just isn't a word for?  I'm thinking that the following things need to have a word for them:

- that feeling you get when you pick up an ecstatic, smiling, giggling child in your arms, only to smell the horrible mess they just made in their diaper that you didn't know was there
- when you go to finish using the bathroom and realize that there is no toilet paper in there anymore
- when your favorite team gets blown out of the water by a nobody team
- the tip of your toe that always gets stubbed
- the many different colors of vomit
- the silence that follows a major announcement to your parents while they find a way to disapprove of whatever it is

The lunch battle

For many weeks now, I have been fighting The Lunch Battle.  It is epic.  It has drama, laughter, tears, an explosive soundtrack, and even has 3D effects with food flying.   It stars myself as The Bad Guy, apparently, and my daughters L and E as The Eaters.  Rather, I guess it usually stars them as The Non-Eaters.

It starts out rather calmly.  I get up to make lunch and ask L what she wants.  She promptly says "peanut butter sandwich and juice!"  I have a good idea what I'm going to feed E, so I start getting that out too.  What am I going to have?  I start looking around for that as well.  While I begin preparing lunches for everyone, E decides I'm not moving fast enough and starts wailing while trying to cling to my legs to possibly procure food.  I ask her for two ounces of patience, which never happens, and she continues to wail and escalate to tears.  Meanwhile, L is running around trying to squeeze every last moment of play out of her time before lunch starts.  That usually involves a lot of running, loud noises, and getting in my way.  This?  Is all before lunch.

Then, lunch begins.  I set up everyone's food in the appropriate places at the table and we sit down to eat.  E fights getting into her high chair and then starts grunting and pointing at other things on the table that she wants.  L sits down, demands to be pushed up to the table, and then begins to play with her place mat.  I begin my first of 572,195 times of saying "eat your lunch" to both of them, and usually they start picking at their food.  E turns into a little vacuum, sucking down everything in sight for about two minutes.  The more food I can get in her in those precious 120 seconds, the better.  After that time, E will suck in food, chew it for good measure, and then spit it all out in order to fling onto the floor.  She'll eat bits and pieces of everything available to her, as well as drink a bit, but she'll mostly grunt for other things, burp loudly, and drop things on the floor while hysterically giggling.  On the other side, L will stop eating for no apparent reason.  She'll drink her juice.  Then she'll drink some more.  And more.  And more.  And more...until I say "eat your lunch" for the 578th time.  All of a sudden, she'll start playing with her food, as if they have personalities and can talk to one another. 

Hello goldfish #1, how are you? 
I'm pretty good, goldfish #2. 
Are you going to get eaten, #2? 
Probably not, #1, as this chick never eats her food. 

After awhile, I have to start feeding L her lunch in order for her to eat it.  She makes horrible faces, says "I can't eat it!," moans, groans, laughs as E throws things on the floor, cries, screams, and makes it seem like I'm torturing her with poisonous horrible foods that no human should ever have to consume.  I mean, come ON, what parent would feed their child a PB sandwich, goldfish crackers, dried cranberries and juice?!?  Oh, the horrors!  We eventually get through eating most of the lunch, then she asks to be excused and I plunk her down on her potty.  I turn back to E to wipe up her hands and face (and whatever else got hit in her flinging spree), and she proceeds to try to smack my face while screaming at the top of her lungs.  I call the dog over to clean up the disaster area that has been created (dog is very excited, mind you), clean up both girls some more, and then clean up the table.  The dining room is rather grisly-looking at the end of this trouncing, and Mommy is definitely in need of the very-soon-to-come nap time for everyone. 

Total time for this battle = 40 minutes.  Battle score = Girls 2, Mommy -391.

Every now and then, like today, L will be a gem and eat everything in front of her.  I reward her on those days for such fantastic behavior.  Today, it was chocolate ice cream.  Every now and then I get to have a normal, civil, calm lunch time that makes me think that I did, indeed, give birth to human children and not rabid apes.  Lunches like today make me think that someday I'll be able to have lunch without having to go deaf, vacuum, or find a way to get crushed food out of the cracks in the high chair.  I can't wait for that day to come!  It probably won't be until I'm an old-and-gray widow or something (the husband can fling food with the best of them), but I look forward to that shining day without a battle very, very longingly.

The odd musician/faculty member...

Yesterday afternoon, I sat through several boring faculty meetings prior to the start of the semester.  To summarize them:  we have to cover our butts in case of litigation and tell you these things you already know, contact us if you need anything else.  However, the reason I decided to make this post was based off of many conversations I heard around me before and after those meetings.  Many of the people there were discussing their classes, research, scholarly articles, performances they had attended or were participating in, the quirks of George Crumb versus Philip Glass (to name one conversation I heard), and even the merits of attending one conference this summer on Topic A versus another one on Topic B.  Really, I just wanted to pull my hair out, get in my car, and crank up whatever top 40 music was on to drown it all out.

Am I normal in terms of the typical "music faculty?"  The above conversations, to me, are pretty typical of what most music faculty want to talk about with me, or I hear them discussing with each other.  To be honest, I could give a rat's ass about any of those topics.  I spent six years in college and graduate school learning everything under the sun about classical music (theory, aural skills, history, performance, special topics, etc.) and piano (performance, teaching, repertoire, etc.).  Do I care about any of it?  Well, sure, it has its uses.  Do I talk about it all the time?  Um, no.  I don't think about it all the time either, and *gasp and horror* I don't live it 24/7.  When I was in school, I used to sit and listen to other people live it 24/7 and thought to myself "when I'm out of school, I'm going to make sure I have outside interests that don't involve music so that I can have an intelligent conversation with someone that doesn't know anything about music."  That's just what I did.  Now, I'll admit that my biggest interest in graduate school was Lord of the Rings, but that was something outside of music, right?  (well, Howard Shore did an AWESOME job with the music in LOTR, but I digress...)  I also decided that, should I ever marry someone, I'd make sure that person was not a musician.  Then, my husband came along.  Here was a guy that had taken piano lessons as a child, so he understood basic music ideas, but had a degree in mathematics.  Yay, a different field!  I'd rather be doing things not related to music in my non-professional life more than anything else, like spending time with family, reading a good mystery book (or trashy romance novel, your pick), running, catching up with friends online, or even laundry.  Does this sound like the typical music faculty person to you?!?

My typical day does not even involve touching my instrument (whoa, that sounded kinky, but it's not meant to be).  If I play piano once a week, that's outstanding.  When I do play, it tends to be with E in my lap and L standing next to me pounding on the keys.  Very 20th-Century of us, no?  ;)  That being said, I don't understand how other musicians can let music be their living and breathing drive in life when there are so many other things out there for them to experience.  Case in point:  there is a person in the local music teachers association that I'll call P.  P is unmarried and about 60, and P blames the fact that P is still single on caller ID.  P constantly talks about P's music teaching, performances attended, P's college days, strategies for teaching students (even when it's isn't asked for), and just generally being the world's most socially incompetent person.  I never want to end up like P.  I'm not saying that all musicians are like this, but many are like P to a varying degree.  How is this living?  I can't figure it out.

I'd rather spend my days focused on non-music-related things then become so wrapped up in that world again that it's like walking around with blinders on to the rest of the world.  I love being married into a family of engineers because they talk about scientific things all the time that make zero sense to me (and then?  when they experiment on this stuff?  that leads to hilarity), but it's not music 24/7!  I like listening to my husband's punk rock music while I work out, and to the children's CDs we have at home when E and L are around.  In all honest truth, I love sharing music with my college students and teaching them to play the piano, but that's about as far as I think I'd ever want to go.  Does that make me a little odd when it comes to musicians?  Probably, but I'm okay with that.  Isn't everyone just a little bit odd?

Happiness is...

...having a child that is getting better!  E went to the doctor yesterday and they diagnosed croup.  After an oral steroid dose, a great night of sleep, and lots of love and affection all day from yours truly, she's doing so much better.  Still coughing, still not 100%, but SO much better.  I'm sure every parent reading this can relate - there's nothing like the happy feeling of knowing your child isn't going to be sick much longer!!!!

Being sick as a parent

It's inevitable - when your little one(s) get sick, you're probably going to get it.  What makes matters worse, though, is that you still have to take care of those little ones when you're sick.  You, as a parent, don't get a break to recoup and recover (like your kids).  You still have to work, clean the house, take care of the kids, pay the bills, etc. while hacking up a lung, running snot everywhere, and generally feeling like you've been hit by a bus three or four times.  There should REALLY be a nanny brigade that automatically shows up at your door to do all your duties when you're sick.  Nanny, please go to work for me and then vacuum the house, feed my daughters, and make my husband feel warm and fuzzy.  THANK YOU!  I'd pay $$$$$ for that kind of service!  Instead, I'm dealing with a baby that is trying to hack up a lung, cries whenever she coughs, runs snot everywhere, and is trying to wipe all her germiness on her big sister.  I deal with all this while having a sore throat, stuffed-up nose, and general achiness about me.  I'm really hoping it's just allergies (hubby seems to be having the same issues), but...we'll see.

Where's that nanny?!??

Remembering 1/8/2011

As I went out on my run this morning, I passed by St. Elizabeth's Catholic Church, like I always do.  It usually doesn't even cross my mind to pay attention to it (since I pass it all the time), but this morning felt almost poignant around the facility.  One year ago, in the coming week, the church held several of the massive funerals for victims of the Tucson shootings that happened today in 2011.  There were people parked on our street, and cars lining the main roads for a mile around the church for the funerals of the 9-year-old girl and the federal judge.  It was just tragic to watch, and even more tragic what happened.

I remember that morning really well - it was my first piano lesson back with my students at their house, which happens to be about 2.5 miles north of where the shootings occurred.  We started at 10am, and I had both of my daughters and my husband in tow to help out.  I remember my students' cat deciding that E in her car seat (at ~2 weeks old) was a great toy and leaving little claw marks on her head.  I remember they had the doors and windows open because it was such a nice morning.  I remember hearing lots and lots of emergency sirens after about 10:30am that morning and wondering if maybe there had been a big car accident down at that intersection (it's a HUGE intersection for traffic).  I also remember my husband and I talking about going to get lunch at Beyond Bread, a restaurant in that same plaza, that very weekend.  It was strange - you could almost feel something wasn't quite right in the air.  Well, no matter, I taught my lessons, we packed up the girls (later than usual, as it took awhile), and headed home.  At that point, we went to the computer to see if any of the local stations had information on what was going on in that area.  My MSNBC homepage came up and splayed across the front was "MASS SHOOTING IN TUCSON SHOPPING CENTER."  I still feel chills thinking about it.  My heart dropped from my chest when I read what had happened and tried to wrap my mind around it.  Why would anyone do something like this?  Why there?  Why so close to home????  It was insane.

I drove by that same plaza this morning on accident.  I had meant to take a different direction to come home from the mall, but I ended up going that way because of traffic flow.  I glanced over and saw the plaza was packed with cars, people, news crews, and more.  It was kind of strange to see.  I saw a young boy with his mother holding flowers and going towards the Safeway store where it all occurred, and that was very touching.  I know that most of the country will probably pause and reflect on what happened here today because the news will bring it up, but I remember them in many different ways all the time.  Whenever I run a race around Tucson, I'm always reminded that one of those who was killed was an avid runner and participated in the same races.  Whenever I go to the YMCA or to the library with my girls, we drive by the park named in memory of the little girl that was killed.  And, whenever I drive by that plaza, I always remember what happened there and hope that those that are left behind are doing well.

Ugh, downer post.  I promise tomorrow will be lighter.  Just for today, though, I needed to get that off my chest. 

A birthday in the family

Today is L's third birthday.  Third!  How did she get to be 3?!??  I have a little girl now, not a baby anymore.  It's so strange to think that way.

Three years ago today, I remembering sitting in a labor room waiting for our C-section to happen.  I was completely terrified by the thought of A) having surgery, B) having a baby, and C) being a parent.  I mean, who in their right mind would entrust me with a baby?  But then we were walking to the OR (super cold, by the way), getting my spinal, laying on the table, watching the nurses and doctors prep, and then waiting.  Waiting.  Waiting.  My husband sat by my head behind the blue sheet with me while I lay wrapped in blankets for confirmation that our baby was, indeed, a little girl, and that she was okay.  I remember hearing her even before she was born:  she started crying while they were trying to pull her out, and she was stuck behind my ab muscles.  She finally came out and gave this raspy cry for a few seconds, and I can't even describe the feeling of that moment.  It was...incredible.  They took her across the room to the little baby warming area (I couldn't see it because the blue sheet was blocking my view), and then they asked my husband to come over to hold her.  Keep in mind that my husband had, until that point, never held a baby in his life.  He was suddenly being handed his brand-new infant daughter and being asked to carry her across the room to me so I could see her.  I don't know how he did it (I probably would have tripped or dropped her!), but he did.  I remember the anaesthesiologist saying "here she is, look over here!," turning my head, and suddenly there was her little face peeking out at me from the blankets she was wrapped in.  I couldn't believe it:  she was mine.  All too soon they had to take her to the nursery, and I remember thinking I couldn't get any happier than I was at that moment.  I could not WAIT to hold her.

Now, she loves hugs and kisses.  She gives them freely.  She tells me "love you" at night, insists on having me when she gets a boo-boo, and sometimes even cries when I have to go to work or leave somewhere.  She's an amazing little person, and I'm so glad to have her in my life.  I can't imagine my life without her anymore, and I hope I never have to live without her.

Happy 3rd Birthday L!  Mommy loves you dearly.  <3 <3 <3

L at birth - 1/7/2009

L on her 3rd birthday, 1/7/2012

Endurance

I injured my foot running right before Christmas, so I decided to take about a week off before slowly getting back into it.  I figured a week wouldn't kill me, and I was also swimming, so I'd be good.  Right?  Wrong.  I didn't think about the fact that my endurance wouldn't stay up and I'd have to work on that again.  Last weekend, I did a few runs in new shoes and could feel that my stamina wasn't there.  However, today I did a long run (6.2 miles, or 10 kilometers) and it was...not great.  I ended up having to stop after every mile to walk a little and stretch, and then my damn shoe kept coming untied.  At least I didn't injure myself again, but it was so frustrating to have to stop so often (even if it was just for 30 seconds) when I'm used to just going until I'm done.  I suppose it will get better, but still...frustrated.

I also wish I had more endurance in my life.  Some days I just don't have any for the girls, and all I can do is sit on the couch and watch them play.  It'd be nice to have a little more endurance so that I could do more things in the evenings after they go to sleep too.  Endurance with certain people would be good too, because I hate feeling like I need to kill them after only about 10 seconds of contact.  It's something to work on, I suppose, but I wish I could just go to the store and buy some!

Let's hope I can endure the day and get everything done for Lily's birthday party that needs to be done. 

Rant - Door-to-door Salesmen

I was really hoping to put off a rant until later in the month, but I guess day 5 is pretty good for me!

Last night, I had just sat down at the table with the girls for dinner when the doorbell rang.  Since it was so nice out, I had the windows and doors open, so I could clearly see the man standing on the other side of the screen door (and he could see me and the girls).  I went to the door and he started in on his whole sales pitch for new doors and windows.  [In all honesty, it's great that people are still willing to come to homes like this and promote their services.  Some of these companies I'd never even check out on my own, so they're definitely getting their name out.  They tend to offer good deals and are smaller local companies, which I like, and the people that come by are easy on the eyes too!]  I thanked him after about 30 seconds and said something like "thank you for coming by, is there any information you can leave with me?  I'm in the middle of feeding my daughters dinner."  He totally ignored me and continued with the kinds of discounts his company is currently offering.  Again, "thanks, but I really need to get back to my daughters."  At this point, I can hear E starting to whine because I'm not sitting beside her.  Once again, he completely ignored me and continued with all the awards and recognition the company has in the city and surrounding area.  Finally, I said "look, I need to get back to my daughters.  If you don't have anything you can leave with me, I'm just going to close the door and you can go on to visit one of our neighbors."  I think the guy finally understood (or so I thought), until he pulled out his clipboard with a questionnaire on it and said "let me get your information so we can set up an appointment to discuss this further."

Normally, I'm a fairly patient person.  Okay, I lied - I don't have any patience.  My daughters are lucky to make it through each day without me screaming all the time and ripping things to shreds (I jest, it's not that bad...yet).  I wish I could say that I told the guy off, or that I said something snappy, but I didn't.  I just went from zero to pissed in about 0.1 seconds and said "give me the flyer and I'LL call YOU.  have a nice evening."  Close the screen door (but not the front door so he can still see me, ha!), step over the baby gate, and back to the table with the girls.  L asks me "who that, Mommy?"  My answer was "that man was telling Mommy about windows."  I really wanted to say "that man was a jerk and Mama wanted to kick his ass."  However, I thought it best to hold my tongue.

Door-to-door salesmen, and people that call to sell things as well, just don't get it sometimes.  While everyone is trying to be polite and telling them "go the f* away," they just ignore everything we say until they feel like they've backed us into the appropriate corner.  I guess that's how they make their sales, but is common decency these days?  When I'm trying to feed my two small children and I'm asking you to basically go away, what don't you get?!???  Next time, I think I'll just yell "not interested!" and let them go from there.  Especially the religious people.  I may have to post about my argument over Jesus with a Jehovah's Witness sometime...

Vaccines

E had four vaccines yesterday at her 1-year doctor's appointment, and she's been pretty much down for the count since then.  My normally precocious, getting-into-everything child just clings to me, has a fever, and is completely out of it.  I feel so bad for her.  She cries when I put her down, and she had a really poor night sleeping.

This actually brings up a subject that I never put much thought into, but now that I've experienced it twice, I want to know:  why are vaccines bunched up like they are?  I realize that doctors' offices usually have schedules of when children need certain shots in order to keep them as healthy as possible at all times.  HOWEVER, why does my child need four shots at once when I know she'll only get one next time?  Why not spread it out?  With L, she was out of it for about a day as well after these shots.  Is it really worth having a child feeling pitiful because they had too many shots?  The nurse even said that E's arms were too skinny for shots so she was going to do the thighs, and that she "might not feel like walking around afterwards."  Well, to avoid putting a needle into her arm bone, I said do her legs (bone + needle = can't be pleasant).  I just didn't expect E to not want to move at all!  I suppose if I had one more child, I'd probably ask for a more spread-out vaccine schedule so that this wouldn't happen again.  Still, it's so hard to watch your own child suffering because you did what you thought best for them.  Argh.

"MAAAAAMAAAA!  HOOOOOOLD MEEEEEEEE!"

L is actually trying to imitate E so that she can get some of the attention that I'm giving E.  It's frustrating, as I'm not getting anything done for L's party this weekend, and I wish she'd stop.

In other news, I'm done with my swim lessons!  I started out thinking they would be just another thing to do, but they ended up being quite fun and something I looked forward to.  It's also convinced me to sign up for the swimming course the community college offers (I get a free class every semester since I teach there) just to get me in the pool more often.  My inner thighs are killing me right now from learning the proper kicking for breaststroke.  I wonder if frogs have this same pain whenever they hop/swim?  It's the same motion, lol.  I've also learned that I tend to belly flop whenever I try to dive.  Guess I'll have to work on that one.

Time to attempt some cleaning again...

Day 3 of 2012 - Cleaning and Caring for Kids

Well, it's back to the regular grind today.  Hubby went back to work, so it's just me and the girls home together again.  I already felt like yelling at them at 7am (they got up at 6:15am), so I think it's going to be a long day.  E still seems to have some sort of indigestion from yesterday and requires extra snuggling, diaper changes, and food.  Ugh.  At least L is able to play well on her own (aside from bringing me her boogers she picks to show me.  "look Mama!"  ugh, mama would rather not...).

It's also cleaning in overdrive this week.  L's birthday party is on Saturday and we're expecting around 25 people, so I've got to get this place looking semi-presentable.  Right now I'm in the middle of putting up new blinds in one window (horizontal faux wood blinds to replace the crappy falling-apart vertical blinds that came with the house), doing laundry, and vacuuming as I go.  Fun stuff.

I'll leave you with a picture of the girls from when we went grocery shopping.  They loved being together in the car!

Beep beep!

Move Music Mom

When faced with what URL I would give this blog, I decided on "movemusicmom" instead of some of the more insulting things I'd considered (like "bloggingbitch," "blogsblow," or even "barfforblogs).  I decided on that URL because it defines three things that are super important to me.

Move - Get up and move!  I love being able to do something that gets me moving.  My current favorite is running, but I gladly include dancing (which I do badly), swimming, hiking, walking, workout DVDs, and playing with my daughters.  It's good for you too, so not only am I doing something enjoyable, I'm doing something good for me too!  I don't understand people that live inside all day and never get out - how boring!  Especially since I live in Arizona, the weather is gorgeous in the winter, so right now is the perfect time to get outdoors and MOVE.

Buckelew Farms 5K (October 16, 2011)

Music - Music is kind of the trade I'm trained in and love.  I started playing piano at 4 and was never allowed to quit (thanks, Mom).  Somewhere along the way, I also picked up clarinet, singing (badly), recorder, and even xylophone (I think that was elementary school, lol!).  I have two degrees in piano, so technically I'm able to teach at the any level.  My current job allows me to teach class piano to community college students.  I love sharing music with them, and I love being a private teacher as well (though my students can drive me batty).  I teach and play classical piano music, but I listen to everything under the sun.

Teaching my nephew to play (October 2010)

Mom - One of the most important jobs I have is being a mom (the other would be being a wife).  Not just any mom, but a good mom.  My two daughters are 1 and almost 3, and boy do they take a lot of patience, love, and dedication.  Normally, I'd probably give up on such a frustrating task, but these little girls make it worth it.  I never pictured my life with kids until I met my husband, and then I always thought we'd have boys.  Now I have two girls and love being a mom to them.  [On a side note - I also love being an auntie to my precious, adorable nephew S.  If I had had a boy, I'd want him to be just like S!!!]

E and L on E's first birthday (December 2011)

I'm sure there are other M words that would describe me (good and bad!), but that's what I've got for now.  What describes you and why?  I'd love to read your comments.

New Year, new pictures

The hubby got some great pictures of the girls around the house today:

E trying to eat part of a banana

E looking at Daddy while he snaps her picture

L being silly with the self-timer on Daddy's camera

L being...well, herself!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2012!  My goal this year is to be able to post something everyday, whether it be about what's happening in life or just a random topic of interest to me.  I also hope to be able to put up a picture every now and then.

I got new running shoes yesterday (Brooks Cascadia 6) and was thrilled to take them out for a spin this morning.  They were great!  Not only did I get through my four-mile run in no time, they gave my poor injured left foot great support and comfort during my run.  However, I will say that running on New Year's morning is not for the faint of heart - there were some people that drove past me that were very much on their way home from a night of drinking.  Nothing like seeing swervy cars going 65mph down the road towards you.  Yikes.

The husband seems to find it amusing that I'm going to do this this year.  I bet it will be even more fun for him when I start posting about him.  The baby is up, so off I go!