Picture Day #4 - Places

Photos today from various places.

Saguaro cactus at the park

Sign (and bridge) over the Santa Cruz River (don't let the word "river" fool you - it's just a giant bed of sand)

Our cul-de-sac

Mountain near Picacho Peak

My grandfather's rice paddy in Japan

Picture Day #3 - Husband

In honor of today being my husband's birthday, I thought I'd post pictures of him.  Happy birthday, Husband, and we are very happy to celebrate it with you!

Husband (left) and his brother (right).  L really looks like him at this age.

Superhero pose (spring 2005)

Me pregnant with L, him pregnant with...um...?

Him with his two girls (December 2009)

Him with his three girls (November 2011)

Being himself, my favorite thing (May 2012)

Picture Day #2 - First CA Trip

 I think this is from July 2006, our first trip to California to visit my husband's brother.  Great fun!

At the beach

Look what we found trying to bury itself in the sand!  It's HUGE!

Mmmm, Chinatown!

Picture Day #1 - Pets

I'm posting pictures all this week (5 days).  Today's theme:  pets.  Enjoy!

Cookie, our 10 year old cat.  This is from when we still lived in our condo.

Belle, our 8 year old dog.  Shepherd mix of some sort.  Also from our condo.

Belle (so tiny!) and Cookie, in our condo.

Happy Anniversary, Husband!

Seven years ago today, I married my wonderful husband.  He drives me crazy and pisses me off unbelievably much sometimes, but my life is a million times better with him in it.  He's helpful, loving, thoughtful (at times), is a fabulous father to our girls, makes me laugh, and can't dance to save his life.  I still remember our wedding:  I was about to bust out laughing the entire time while he looked like he was going to burst into tears at any point.  The best part of the day was being able to say I Do to him and the minister saying we had "love at first byte."  (we met online)  Happy anniversary, Husband, and may we have many, many more!!!!!

Me:  *trying not to laugh*
Him:  *trying not to cry*

Just married!

One of my favorite pictures, taken right after we walked back down the aisle together.

Workout DVD

I did the Jillian Michaels Banish Fat Boost Metabolism DVD this morning instead of going for a 5-mile run.  In retrospect, it probably would have been easier to have gone for a 5-mile run based on how much she kicked my ass.  I will have to try again to see if I can do more of it.  I'd say I probably did 90% of what the people on the DVD did, but definitely not with the giant smile and non-sweatiness that they did.  I was dripping at the end of the workout, and the girls joined me in stretching for my cool down.  HA!  Now I'm curious how much her 6-week ab DVD will kill me.  Time to experiment!

More for my retrospect

I thought, just for my own memories someday, I'd post the cartoons that L likes to watch (not all in a row though, mind you).  It'd be fun to look at this later and say "oh hey, I remember that!"  Bold for her absolute favorites.

Curious George
The Cat in the Hat
Super Why
Dinosaur Train
Sesame Street
Sid the Science Kid
Barney & Friends
Caillou
Martha Speaks
Dora the Explorer
anything Disney (i.e. Princess and the Frog, Beauty and the Beast, etc.)

Cookies

We made cookies today.  They're called "Buried Cherry Cookies" and boy are they good.  They're supposed to be chocolate covered (like the batch on the right), but I had extra cookie dough so we made un-buried cherry cookies too.  :p

Mmm, cookies.

No for Daddy?!??

My girls have always preferred me over my husband.  L has shown that preference since day 1, and E has shown that preference (not as strongly) since she was quite little.  This bleeds over into a lot of things:  preference for whose hand to hold, who will bathe her, who will put her to bed, who will read a book/play with her, who will hold her, etc.  It wasn't too terrible when it was just L, but now with two girls vying for one spot?  It's awful.  It's awful in the fact that I can't handle both of them at the same time sometimes, and awful because I can just see my husband's hurt and heartbreak when they won't have anything to do with him.  Even if we force one or the other to do something with him (for whatever reason), she will cry, scream, wail, and do everything in her power to try to free herself of Daddy so that she can get to me.  I hate it, and I don't know what to do to make it stop or get better.  Last night, L wouldn't even hug my husband because she wanted me.  I asked her if she was scared?  She said no.  I asked her if she was angry?  No.  Sad?  No.  Why won't you give Daddy a hug then?  I don't know.  So, I ask her repeatedly to go hug him.  NO NO NO NO NO, complete with screaming and tears.  I could just see my husband's hurt written all over him.  Poor guy.  He doesn't deserve that from his own daughter!  E does the same thing, and it's just gut-wrenching for me to watch.

Any suggestions?  I've tried making the girls have one-on-one time with just Daddy around (like when I was working), and that seems to be fine as long as I'm not there.  The minute they know I'm in the house, they want nothing to do with him.  I'm dying to find a way for them to willingly go to him!

Eclipse (5-20-2012)

After the harrowing ordeal (for me) with Poison Control yesterday, it totally slipped my mind that I had meant to post some pictures from the partial eclipse on Sunday evening.  We weren't in the area that had more totality, but we definitely got to see some of it.  Boy was it bright!  I remember watching an eclipse similar to this during my 8th grade graduation back in 1994, but this was even better.  We told L that the sun and moon were dancing (the best way we could think of to explain it), and she thought it was awesome that they got married (LOL!).  My husband took the pictures, and you can see the sun/moon, and then the reflection to see how much the moon was covering at the time (mirror reflection).

Poison Control, call #2

The first time I had to call Poison Control was earlier this year:  E had decided to eat part of my deodorant and I had no idea whether I should take her to the ER or not.  Luckily, the Poison Control person said she just needed water and might have a tummy ache/diarrhea later.  She was right.

This morning, I was getting dressed while E and L climbed up on my bed.  I turned around at one point and found E happily guzzling my contact solution straight from the bottle.  WHAT?!??  I gave her a bunch of water to drink and called Poison Control, again.  Apparently, multi-purpose solution is 95% water and won't hurt a child, even if they drink the entire bottle.  At most, they'll probably have a tummy ache and not want to drink it again.  Oh thank goodness, I really didn't want to spend the morning in the ER.

WHY IS THIS CHILD SO DARING?!??  I never had to call Poison Control on L at this age.  She never ate anything that would constitute an issue!  I wonder if it's because I'm not great at keeping my eye on both girls at the same time.  All the "hard" poisons (laundry detergent, bleach, toilet cleaner, etc.) are kept behind doors with child locks, but still - why does she need to try everything?!??  Crazy child.  I'm just hoping that the first time we have to take her to the ER isn't until she's at least 5, because I know it will happen someday with the way she is.  *sigh*  Anyone else have a daring child?!??

Playground morning

We decided to go to the playground this morning to have fun with the girls.  I'm sure anyone that would have seen us would have thought we were insane to have them out there at 7:30am but hey, it's before it gets super hot!  It was a great time, and the girls loved it.  L discovered that she loves swinging, and E discovered that she could go down the big slide all by herself.

L running around on the equipment

E having a blast on the swing!

L close up

E close up

L having a great time on the swing

Daddy playing with his girls

Me trying to hold the girls in place for a picture

Busy busy May

LOL as I was typing the title, I actually put "Busty" first.  AHAHAHAHA.  I amuse myself.

Anyway, May is a busy month for our family in terms of birthdays and anniversaries.  The 17th is both my in-laws wedding anniversary and my brother/sister-in-law's wedding anniversary.  The 27th is my husband and I's wedding anniversary, the 29th is my nephew's birthday, and the 30th is my husband's birthday.  So much going on!  My poor credit card is probably hyperventilating from over use for gifts lately, lol.  That being said, I don't feel like I've got everything taken care of for each of these events.  The 17th is behind me now, and I wished all of them a happy day, but the rest?  Hmm.

Our anniversary - we're going to go out to dinner at our first-date restaurant.  However, what the heck do I get my husband for it?  Usually I end up getting him books or video games (he likes), but I'd like to do something different this year.  He suggested headphones - does he not want to listen to me anymore?  (LOL!)

My nephew's birthday - I've got gifts for him from my husband and I, and then some from his cousins (my girls).  I've got a card for him from them and a card from us.  I've got to wrap all his stuff and ship it off next week so he gets it in time.  Any other suggestions for the world's cutest little boy who is turning 2?

My husband's birthday - Ah, the conundrum.  Do I give him all the gifts the girls and I have been getting lately for his birthday, or do I save a few for Father's Day?  We've got gifts and cards, though I've got one more thing to try to find for him at Target.  I'll have to order a cake (we won't be home that day) at the store when the time gets closer, and we're going to have lunch at our favorite pizza place near our old place.  What am I forgetting for him?

I'll be glad when it's June and I don't have as many things to remember (aside from my husband's grandparents' anniversary and my brother-in-law's birthday)!

Running at 5am

I have several observations I've accrued over the past few weeks from starting my runs at 5am:

1.  It is damn early.
2.  First light is before 5am now.  Wtf?  Do I have to get up even earlier in coming weeks to beat the sun?!??  Egad...
3.  There are very few cars out at 5am.
4.  There are a surprising number of people out at 5am walking, walking their dogs, playing with their dogs, biking, and even running.  Hi, fellow early birds!
5.  Coyotes howling at me as I run by in very desolate places scare the crap out of me.
6.  Quail that decide to play chicken with me as I run at them are funny.
7.  Why are construction crews out by 6am?!?  Crazy people.
8.  People leave the oddest things in their yards.  I saw a caulking gun and a banana in one person's yard this morning. I don't even want to imagine what he's going to do with those together!
9.  It's 80F at 5am now - what's it going to be in a few more months when the daily high is around 110F????
10.  After I return, shower, and eat breakfast, I'm ready for a nap.  At 7am.  Yikes.

Childrens Museum

We got an annual pass to the Children's Museum of Tucson last month, so I decided to take advantage of it today.  The girls and I made a quick stop at the post office, and then it was off to downtown to visit and play.  We played in the grocery room forEVER, went to storytime, played some more in the "air" room, and then gorged on bananas on the ride home (lol).

E playing with toys with L in the background

E tries to eat a fake banana while L blends in the background

L is ready to check out, but E has totally stolen her shopping cart!

L showing off her shopping cart she filled (notice the empty garden plot behind her?)

HUGE pet peeve

Why do we pay for pest control services when they AREN'T DOING WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING?!??  The guy came and sprayed in early March and is due back here in a few weeks.  However, we've had gnats, teeny ants, and now scorpions in the house since.  WTF????  I had to kill one this morning under the dining room table that E was trying to play with.  NO NO NO NO NO!!!!  I'm calling the place today and getting the guy to come ASAP and do a thorough job.  None of this half-assed stuff he keeps doing.

Don't run me over!

I love running.  I actually love running with my girls too, though they create 80 pounds of extra weight I have to push in front of me.  This morning was no different - we went for our morning jog (it was windy), stopped to see the horses, and turned down some of the dirt roads north of us to avoid traffic on our way home.  It's especially interesting avoiding traffic right now because of all the construction going on around us.  There are lanes narrowed, 25 mph zones everywhere in places that used to be 45 mph, and quite a few road closures.  The newest road closure started yesterday:  the north-south road next to our neighborhood is now closed down to the main road, resulting in a bypass on the street that runs directly beside our house.  A lot of drivers don't know that the street right beside us actually starts out east-west but turns north-south and connects with the main road, which means there are a lot of people pulling U-turns in our neighborhood and just generally looking lost. 

So, back to our run - we're on a dirt road.  I hear a car/truck coming up behind us, glance behind me to verify (yup, there's one there), and get over as far as I can to the left.  The truck pulls up next to me and a woman leans out.  Our conversation follows (keep in mind I'm jogging the entire time and she's driving very very close along my side):

Her:  WOW, good for you out exercising with your kids!
Me:  Thanks!
Her:  Are they twins?  ...Oh wait, no they're not.
Me:  Nope.
Her:  Does this street connect with [north-south road to the west]?
Me:  No, you'll have to go south to [this street], turn right, and then you'll be on [main road].
Her:  So it connects?
Me:  No!  You have to turn!
Her:  Which way do I go to the post office?

At this point I finally just stopped.  It was irritating feeling like she was going to run me over, and all the dirt her truck was kicking up (with the help of the wind) was choking me.

Me:  Go down to that road RIGHT.  THERE.  Turn left.  Turn right on H Avenue.  Go to the stop sign, turn right on C Drive.  That connects to C Road.  Then you'll know which way to go to the post office.
Her:  Turn right?
Me:  TURN LEFT, like that truck up there!
Her:  And that will take me to S Road? 
Me:  NO.
Her:  Okay, thanks.  *drives off*

I really wonder if maybe she was just hard of hearing.  Still, here's hoping she made it to the post office.

Hot dog!

I got E a cute shirt on Saturday that she's wearing today.  I LOVE IT lol I'm lame.

Mother's Day 2012

It's Mother's Day!  Woke up at 5:15am this morning to get to my 5K on time.  My goal was to run the whole thing in 25-26 minutes, but I ended up having to walk for about 30 seconds near the 3-mile point, so I finished in 27:00 (26:59.8 was the official time).  Not too shabby!  That makes my mile pace about 8:40, which is awesome!  I needed around 8:00/mile in order to do 25 minutes, so when I saw that my first mile was 8:28, I knew I wasn't going to make it.  At that point, I shifted my mindset to keep-this-pace-and-run-the-whole-damn-thing thinking, which was pretty good.  I just couldn't catch my breath at the point I needed to stop and walk, so I did the 30 seconds, then continued on my merry way.  I ended up 207th out of 400 (dead middle!), and 9th out of 22 in my age category.  Wahoo!

I like how my shirt literally glows compared to everything else...

0.1 mile to go!  RUN!  (might I add that I'm rocking orange and navy blue?  Yeeeeahh...)

After that, it was drive back home, shower, pack up Mother's Day stuff, and go to my in-laws' house to get the girls.  So happy to see them!  E actually saw me, got a huge smile on her face, and ran into my arms.  SO SWEET!!!!  L was happy to see us too, and I got a big wet kiss.  They apparently had a great time with Grandpa and Ng-Ng, and they were in wonderfully good moods (until we got home).

L is ready for her close-up.

Self portrait with L

The husband and I

Daddy and oldest daughter

Mommy and youngest daughter (wow my legs look massive)

We brought the girls home and MAN were they in MOODS.  L was demanding and ordering my husband and I around, to the point that it was getting very mean and very rude.  I'm learning to pick my battles - I knew that she just needed a nap, so we ignored her behavior as long as it wasn't going to cause huge problems or injuries to someone else (i.e. E).  E was just cranky and didn't want to eat, and ended up flinging most of her lunch around.  Joy.  Thank goodness nap time came soon after that and they were out for 2.5 hours!

Mother's Day gifts were great.  L told me awhile back "I get you chocolate for Mama's Day!," which I thought was hilarious (it's supposed to be a secret, right?!?), and she was right:  she got me dark chocolate-covered almonds and cherries.  MAN are they good, but MAN are they rich!  The girls also got me donut mix for my donut maker I got at Christmas, a book on the origins of Thor (thanks, L, for thinking of ME and not yourself, lol!), a beautiful fancy pen (thanks husband, I love it!!!!!), and a fancy-schmancy trashy romance novel (Fifty Shades of Grey, by E L James).  My family is awesome!  The only things I really wanted today were to spend time with my girls and get a picture of them with me.  That went...interestingly.  It was never perfect, but I have a 3- and 1-year-old, right?  Here's a smattering of the pictures we ended up with.  Love my girls!

First picture.  Actually, I think it was the best overall.  LOL.

What the f* is L doing?  E, stay here.

E, come back here!  L, sit up!

That's Daddy!  Wave at Daddy!  (WTF ARE YOU DOING, L?!??)

Being bowled over by L, trying not to squish E.

Bowled over by L, E is escaping (why is my husband not helping?!??).

Ah, lovely, L tooted.  Now it stinks.

Let's try this again a bit later...aaaaand you're all still fighting about this.

Ah, well, c'est la vie, I guess.  Where's the alcohol again?

Looking at all the pictures Daddy took on the TV.