Another epic fail at consistency

Another epic fail on my part to write in here daily.  Seriously, every evening, I think "I should update my blog!" and then don't.  Nice.  I'll update here in pictures.

On Saturday, I did a 10 mile hill run.  Here was one of my views.  Lovely, no?

On Monday, E and I mailed this to my mother.  She's going to give it to my brother and SIL at their baby shower (8/31).  The card is from me, the kitty from E. 

On Tuesday, we went to play with B and T at their house.  Here, E plays on T's playmat with him.

End-of-play-date picture:  L, B, and E.

Also on Tuesday, I saw this on my evening run.  I love watching the desert bloom!

After a crap day on Wednesday of car problems and cat problems, I found out my students' family had a sick kitty.  The girls and I made this kitty head/card and left it on their front door.  I wonder what they thought of coming home to a cat head on their door?

On Thursday and Friday, I worked on a new jumper-style dress for L.  Here's the completed top (those are little green apples).

Completed dress and a very happy L.

A shot of the dress while L is standing and being silly.

E was jealous I took pictures of L modeling her new dress, so I HAD to take pictures of her modeling one of her favorite dresses (Old Navy made this dress).

Hands up if you're down to get down tonight!

Ho hum...

Prance time!

L during the monsoon storm Wednesday afternoon.

E during the monsoon storm on Wednesday afternoon.

Saturday - 10 mile run
Sunday - Playground in the morning, girls destroyed my sewing pattern for E's Halloween costume in evening.  Punishment ensued.
Monday - L preschool, me teaching, monsoon storm kept the husband from getting home for 1.5 hours (flooding).
Tuesday - Breeder's puppies born!  Will we get one?  We'll see.  3 mile run in the evening.
Wednesday - Car had a flat tire.  FIL took L to preschool, then came back to help E and I get the car to the tire store, run errands with him, and then back to the tire place.  Got L from preschool, got lunch (since it had been a crap morning), and napped.  Epic monsoon storm in evening.
Thursday - Spent most of the day on the pattern and sewing of L's new dress.  Late night (11:30 bed time!) so that I could get most of it finished.
Friday - L preschool, E and I ran errands, finished L's dress, and a 4.4 mile hill run.
Saturday - Breakfast at Golden Corral with the in-laws, a free day with the husband (girls with in-laws), dinner at the in-laws house (note to self: pumpkin pie that has been in their freezer for 4 years tastes TERRIBLE), and more damn kitty problems.  Why can't the cat just poop in her litter box that is literally four feet away from where she's pooping?!???

W, Th, F, Sa

Wednesday, August 21st - L was well enough to go to preschool today (after being sick on Monday), so I was able to [thankfully] ship her off for the morning.  E and I then spent a bunch of time running errands all day.  So many errands were run today that I really didn't feel like we had much downtime.  Yuck.  I hate days like this.

New cat bed or new kid bed?

Thursday, August 22nd - My FIL came to babysit in the afternoon so that I could get a hair cut, go to a doctor's appointment, and get some clothes for the girls (without them saying I WANT THIS all the time).  It's so nice to get out with my girls sometimes, whether it's shopping, doing a few errands, or running.  The me time I get saves my sanity!

Organized my bookshelf - ALRIGHT!

Friday, August 23rd - I really wish my husband would take more advantage of the time he gets with the girls.  When he's home, he always seems preoccupied with whatever electronic device is in front of him.  I have to ask him to do things with the girls, and even then it's only for a few minutes at a time.  Argh!  Today, he was home while L was at school, so it was the perfect opportunity for them to do some one-on-one stuff.  He?  Would not have taken advantage of it.  So, I said I was going running, why don't you bake cookies?  Instilling the idea in E's head gets the ball rolling, and sure enough, when I came back from my run they were baking.  Yay!  He says he's "socially retarded," but seriously?  It's not that hard to put down whatever you're doing and play with your own kids!

E watching TV upside down...

Saturday, August 24th - I did 10 miles of running on hills this morning.  Incredibly, I feel better now after this run than I did last week at this time after 9 miles on hills.  Maybe I'm getting better at it and/or used to it?  Either way, I like that I can actually move!  Now if only I could increase my speed...

What a view!  :)

Out of sorts

I found out over the weekend that my college class has been cancelled.  There were only 1-2 people registered for it all summer, so it wasn't a huge surprise, but it feels like it's knocked me off balance.  I should be going crazy getting ready for the academic year, but here I am feeling almost bored without the college work to do.  Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of things I could be doing with my time, but I just...feel out of sorts.  I'm sad that the class isn't going to happen, and I hope it happens again in the spring, but what if it doesn't?  I was betting on that income coming in so that I could use it for XYZ.  Now I don't have it so I'll have to plan other ways to get to XYZ.  The husband keeps saying it's not a big deal, I'll survive without the class and money, but I still feel like a total slacker and unemployed dolt.  I have my private studio, and taking care of the girls is important, but...well, I just feel useless and slightly worthless.

Sigh.  Time to figure out what projects to take care of with my extra time.

Why does everyone but me always get sick?

It seems to be the norm in this household:  L goes to preschool and gets sick.  She gets over it quickly but passes it along to E.  E gets it bad and suffers for quite awhile.  E then gives her sickness back to L and then to Daddy.  Daddy gets sickest of all, but Mommy never gets sick.  I have a few theories:

1.  L gets sick first from all the other kids at preschool.  Therefore, to prevent sicknesses, I should prevent my children from interacting with other children.  HA.
2.  L's immune system is like mine - quick, fast, dirty, over.
3.  E's immune system is like my brother's - weak, slow, unmotivated, lingering.
4.  E coughs, hacks, and touches everything, making sure that our house is a ticking time bomb of whatever sickness she has.  You can't touch anything without getting sick too!
5.  Daddy gets sickest of all because he doesn't spend 80% of his time alone with kids.  Heck, part of his sickness might also be cooties.
6.   Mommy never gets sick because she's always around kids, has to clean up sickness stuff/kid messes all the time, and because she kicks @$$ working out and staying healthier than others.

My mentality can't take having three sick people in one house for very long, so here's hoping someone is better tomorrow so I don't kill all of them.

Catching up on a few days of blogging

Friday, August 9th - School day for L, but it was kind of fun to have the husband home (his off Friday) along with E.  E got pretty upset that I left her at home when I went to pick up L because she hadn't finished her lunch, but c'est la vie - I came home and she was watching cartoons with Daddy.  :p

Saturday, August 10th - Packed up early and drove to Phoenix to visit the husband's grandparents.  Aside from being stalled on the I-10 due to a car accident for 20 minutes, it was pretty uneventful driving.  Played at the house, had lunch with them, attempted to get the girls to nap (failed), and then drove out to Tolleson to meet a Doberman breeder.  I'm getting tired of waiting for a puppy, but we're still moving ahead with it.  The breeders are nice but very...well, I kind of expect them to play D&D at night with all their online friends, if you know what I mean.  Their dogs are beautiful and well behaved.  The mom dog, K, was so snuggly, playful, affectionate, and sweet.  The breeders were almost complaining that "this is what happens when you have an oversocialized dog."  If this is a problem, it's a problem I want!  Loved that mama dog!!!  She kept bumping into E, and we figured out that E's high squeaky voice made her think she was a toy, so she kept bumping her to make her squeak again.  HA!  Then we had dinner at Olive Garden, where L ate too much and then threw up in the bathroom.  At least she didn't feel bad about it, but felt the need to announce it to everyone.  Ha!  Definitely an early night for us.

Sunday, August 11th - Packed up and drove home early so that we could go to a birthday party in the afternoon.  L's preschool friend N had his party at Pump It Up Tucson, and it was a blast for all four of us.  Who knew giant inflatables would be so fun???

Weeeeee!

Monday, August 12th - My first day back to private teaching for the school year.  I had my two new students today and things went well.  AS was just where I thought she'd be, but AG was waaaay beyond where she was when she interviewed with me in early June.  Time for me to practice, I guess!

Tuesday, August 13th - Wow, I got to practice piano today!  Excellent!  45 minutes with interruptions, but it still felt great.  I ordered a whole ton of music today too, so it'll be fun to play through all that stuff in the coming weeks.  :)

Wednesday, August 14th - I wish that my daughters wouldn't blow their noses into tissues and then show me the results.  Yuck.

Thursday, August 15th - Today is Cookie's 9th anniversary of living with me, and 11th birthday.  How did we celebrate?  By not keeping her locked up in the bathroom as long as she usually is.  Damn cat.  L also seems to be coming down with something.  No!  Go away, cold!

Friday, August 16th - L was better so I took her to preschool, but now E is awful.  Poor kids, I hate it when they're sick.  It was definitely a low-key day all around to make sure everyone could get better.  In the evening, I ran A Mountain again, this time with my friend C.  It was so much easier this time, though it was still challenging.  Woo hoo!

Saturday, August 17th - L's first trip to a movie theater!  After a fiasco with our car battery dying, getting it replaced, and then dropping E off at the in-laws' house, we went to the theater to see Planes.  She loved the theater, the previews, and told me the movie was "okay."  Well, it's a start!  I'm glad she liked it.

 

Planes poster andL

Sunday, August 18th - I finally got a long run in on a weekend this month.  Today, it was 9 miles with hills.  I'm sore now, but it wasn't painful when I was actually running - it was more just draining.  Took a nap and now I'm okay.  I'm so glad that the running is happening without pain now, since my 8-mile race is on Labor Day!

Printer ink sucks

The past few years, whenever we've needed ink refills for our computer printer, we've just taken the cartridges to Costco and gotten refills.  Each refill was about $8 and, spread out over time, it wasn't too bad.  However, this new printer we've gotten in the last year didn't take too kindly to Costco's last refill and has been hugely problematic since May.  It's given me so many problems that I don't think I've printed much of anything since the summer began. 

In any case, we decided to get new printer cartridges.  I went to Target, so that we got our 5% discount, picked up the cartridges, and went to pay for them.  Five cartridges cost $85.  I KID YOU NOT.  My jaw almost fell on the floor.  Seriously?!?  And there's really no other way to get them cheaper!  I asked the husband about this after he came home and he said this is why places can almost give printers away, because they recoup the price in ink sales.  Exorbitant!  Highway robbery! 

In the future, I think we'll try Costco again.  For now, I'm just going to keep my printing super limited to save ink.  GAH!  $85!  I'm still trying to comprehend that.

Piano tuning

As a child, one of my favorite times of year was in the fall.  Mom would always have the piano tuner come in September to tune our upright piano, and I'd always sit in the room and watch him do his work, listen to the tuning, and then listen to all the wonderful pieces he'd play to test the tuning.  I loved it.  I still love it!

So, I was definitely looking forward to today when the piano tuner was coming to our house.  L was at school, so it was just E and I enjoying the piano tuning.  Our tuner, G, has so few tools compared to what I remember the tuner I grew up with had.  I suppose it's advancing technology, but still - quite a bit less.  Loved watching/listening again, and E seemed to be super curious (though too afraid to ask G questions).  Next time, I'll have to make sure L is home to watch so she can ambush G with eleventy billion questions!

G tuning the piano

Another day, another...what?

It's the end of the day and I have no clue what I actually accomplished today.  Children are still alive, so I must have taken care of them.  I have new teaching supplies, so I supposed we ran errands.  I got sweaty this morning, so I assume I worked out.  My brain is turning to mush.

L's First Day of Preschool (2nd time)

I was so nervous last year for L starting preschool.  Would she be okay away from me?  Would she get along with the other kids?  Would she get along with the teacher?  Would she remember to potty?  Would I be able to survive two mornings a week without her???  Luckily, it turned out fine; in fact, she did so well in preschool last year, we thought that she'd like to go three mornings a week this year to prep her for going to kindergarten next year (still debating half day vs. full day).

This morning was the same and quite different from last year.  It was very overcast and almost raining when we got up and drove to school, so the dark made the girls sleep in until almost 6:30am.  Then, up, dressed, potty, brush teeth, and then breakfast.  They took forever.  It seems to be a broken record in our household - meals take 690275 years to finish.  I may have to go back to timing them, but they were doing so well for awhile!  Anyway, after finally getting them to finish, E pooped her pants.  What?  Seriously?????  She hasn't pooped herself in almost four months, and this is the morning she decides to forget how to potty?!??  Frustrating.  We got that cleaned up, got everything together for L's school, and off we went.

Of course, we're always the first to arrive.  I don't quite get it - preschool starts at 8:00am, and we're always there at about 7:55-8:00am.  Always first.  No one else seems to roll in until after 8:10am.  I even checked the schedule - there it is in print, 8:00.  *sigh* Whatever, it just means L gets more one-on-one time with the teacher, right?  L's teacher this year is Ms. G, an average-height brown-haired lady that looks to be around 50-60 (hard to tell since her skin is kind of leathery, but I think that's from running, as evidenced by all her 13.1 stuff around the room).  She just exudes happiness and love for the kids.  I couldn't have been more comfortable!  L walked in, she found her cubby, Ms. G showed her where the bathroom was as well as where to put her water bottle, and she was off.  E and I waved goodbye (I learned from last year not to try and pull her away from a toy!), went off to the grocery store, and that was that.

Upon pick up, L was super happy to see us.  I'll never tire of her yelling "Mommy!" with a huge smile whenever she sees me coming.  I asked her how her day was, and instead of the usual "good," "fine," or even "okay," she says (very dramatically) "MAMA, THERE'S A POISON CATERPILLAR OUTSIDE ON THE PLAYGROUND AND NOW I FEEL POISONED!"  Wow.  What do you say to that?  Ms. G was laughing and said yes, there was a caterpillar out there, and L just kept yammering on about the caterpillar.  She made a great piece of art (fill in the color) on the computer, and was super proud of that.  I'm glad she had an awesome day, and I'm excited for her upcoming year.  I really hope she learns a ton more at preschool and gains quite a few new friends!

L, dressed and ready to go

E and her baby are ready to go too!

Sitting on the front step with the husband's dead plants.

Smiling L with drinking E

L by the front door

E had to have a picture in front of the door too

Sisters together on L's first day of preschool (x2)

Silly picture!

L's backpack (Skylanders)

 

 

 

 

Can't sleep. Long run coming.

The way my current running/workout schedule works is this:

3-4 mile run 3 times during the week
1 yoga and/or aerobics workout during the week
1 long run on the weekend

It's been a great regimen for me, especially when I was training for my half marathon this past March.  However, I've run into a huge problem lately that I just can't shake - when I know I have a long run in the morning that I have to get up for, I can't sleep.  Literally, I cannot shut down and drift off. 

Last night, I went to bed around 10pm, knowing that my alarm was going to go off at 4:50am so I could get my butt out the door for a 8-mile run.  I had actually contemplated doing 6 1.5-mile laps of my neighborhood last night so that I could sleep in this morning.  I didn't, because I was lazy and because the husband was worried for my safety, and thought I'd just do it in the morning.  10pm, no sleep.  11pm, no sleep.  12am, no sleep.  1am, this is starting to get ridiculous, why can't I sleep.  I'm exhausted, all I want is a few hours before my run, and it's just not happening.  I think I finally drifted off around 2am only to be awoken by my bladder at 4am.  At that point, I just gave up on the whole notion of running in the morning, had the husband take the girls at 6am when they woke up, and slept until just after 8am.  Ridiculous.

Why can't I sleep????  I don't get it.  Every time I know a long run is coming in the morning, I can't sleep.  It's getting horrible.  Should I just run some evening then?  Should I knock myself out with drugs?!??  This has got to stop!

Bowling 2

We went bowling again today.  The last time we were there, my in-laws came.  This time, they were both busy, so it was just us four.  We had a great time, though I think the girls were more enthralled with watching everyone else and eating pizza than actually bowling.  I won both games (118 & 125, yay!), but we convinced L that low scores were really good, so she "won" both games.  ;)  I love going there as a family for the cheap price we get (thanks, Groupon!), and I can't wait to go again in the future!

Fingerpainting, puddles, and a mountain

The girls were bored this morning, and I was feeling a bit adventurous, so we set up the kitchen for them to do finger painting.  L had done it before at preschool, but this was E's first time.  They loved it, especially once they figured out they could use their hands instead of just fingers.  It smelled a little funny, but they were really good about keeping it on the paper, not making a huge mess, and just generally being good listeners while we were doing the activity.  I actually would consider doing it again!

Finger paints!

L and E before they got super messy on the paper

In the afternoon, it rained.  It had actually stopped raining (but still overcast) when the girls got up from their naps, so I suggested they go outside and play in the puddles.  They were more than happy to skip their snack for a few minutes to go put on their galoshes!  Much fun ensued.

L jumping

E cavorting

In the evening, I was supposed to meet my friend C for a run at Tumamoc Hill and Sentinel Peak (better known as A Mountain to those in the city).  For some reason, we never met up, but I still went and ran up Sentinel Peak.  It killed me.  I cannot run up that mountain, and I have to for a half marathon in October!  I walked a bit, ran a bit, enjoyed the views, and got mocked by a teenager for not having an Eegee while he did (I fixed that on the way home, LOL).  Being overcast and in the mid 80s made it a doable run!  I'll definitely have to come back a few times prior to the October run.

View toward the east (Catalinas)

Hey, I came up from where those houses are!  Hi houses!  You can also just barely make out Picacho Peak in the distance.

Another preschool open house

What a change from L's preschool open house last year.  This year, I was in no hurry to get there, completely calm about being there, and I knew that L would be fine meeting the teacher (she knew her already).  We got there and found 80% of her class from last year in there!  That's comforting.  The teacher, Ms. G., has been at the school for a long while and seems to be an affectionate, nurturing, and detailed person and teacher.  I met a few of the new kids, talked to a couple parents, and had a great time just watching the kids have fun.  I know L will have a great time going three mornings a week this year, and I can't wait to see what she'll learn with Ms. G and the nine other kids in her class!

All the kids playing in the classroom (L is in the very back in dark purple by the dollhouse)