Today I had one of those nightmarish mom experiences where both of my kids were screaming at once in a public place. I was actually buying noodle bowls from the sweet noodle bowl man who asked me when the baby was due after Emily had been born. See here for a refresher.
First Lucas started wailing...I don't know what happened, I think that the noodle bowl man scared him. Then I put Emily down so that I could pay and she started bellowing. My purse contents dumped out onto the floor amid all of the chaos and I noticed a forgotten pack of Sweet Tarts. Quickly tearing off the wrapper, I popped one in each child's howling mouth and enjoyed the immediate silence.
Man, that's some powerful stuff. I don't even like Sweet Tarts yet I had to have one then, too.
Hmmmm, Sweet Tarts are a good metaphor for being a parent. Mostly sweet with a little sour.
11/23/2007
11/01/2007
Freakish Foot
Ouch!I thought that I broke my toe yesterday after accidentally kicking Lucas' Learning Tower which was left in the middle of the kitchen so that he could help me cook.
The doc was 99% sure that my bone is intact though. It's just badly bruised, looks really messed up and hurts like heck if I wiggle it or if one of the kids steps on it (which surprisingly happened quite a few times yesterday).
No running or even wearing shoes for me for awhile.
Sorry for such a grotesque photo of my unpainted, unkempt toenails, but I thought that I might give you an after Halloween scare.
10/29/2007
10/25/2007
Guts
Do I have what it takes to do or say what is right? Sometimes, I am not so sure. I often wonder if I would be like Peter and deny Christ if threatened. Or would I have the courage of the teenage girl(Cassie Bernall) shot and killed at Columbine for saying that she believed in God (perhaps an urban legend, but it still makes me think).
I was confronted with this question again when reading The Kite Runner. Young Amir finds his friend being tortured and abused by 3 bullies and hides, watching in the shadows while biting his hand to keep himself from screaming. If he had confronted the bullies what would have happened? He was just a weak little boy and they were bigger, stronger and out-numbered him. Sadly, I may have done the same thing, hidden in fear. But I hope that my reaction to my friend afterwards would have been better than his. He just dropped his friend because of his own shame. Pathetic.
What would you do? Sometimes we need a guts check.
I was confronted with this question again when reading The Kite Runner. Young Amir finds his friend being tortured and abused by 3 bullies and hides, watching in the shadows while biting his hand to keep himself from screaming. If he had confronted the bullies what would have happened? He was just a weak little boy and they were bigger, stronger and out-numbered him. Sadly, I may have done the same thing, hidden in fear. But I hope that my reaction to my friend afterwards would have been better than his. He just dropped his friend because of his own shame. Pathetic.
What would you do? Sometimes we need a guts check.
10/22/2007
A Good Read
Lately, I have been taking the kids to the library every few weeks to pick out new books and videos for them.
I love to read, but with so little spare time, I rarely allow myself the opportunity to do so. Plus when I am in the middle of a good book, my life becomes all consumed with finishing it. Finding out what happens. I spend all of my breaks/nap times reading and stay up way too late in the evenings with my nose glued to the quickly turning pages. For example, I finished the new Harry Potter this summer in less than a week, I think.
Well, it's been a some months since I reached the end of Harry (no pun intended), so a couple weeks ago, I actually picked up some much craved for fictional material for myself for a change.
One was a total junk read, but just what I wanted at the time. A book that I could blow through in a day. A Janet Evonovich, Stephanie Plum Novel called Twelve Sharp. It was ok. Just the same as all of the other ones, though. Funny, dim-witted, and frustrating. Stephanie is this moron of a bounty hunter in Jersey who is afraid of her own shadow and keeps going back and forth between the two men in her life. I just want her to settle down with the cute Italian cop already!
The other, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, was just as my sister Katie had described it....Aaaaamazing!! It was a beautiful story set in war-torn Afghanistan about two boyhood playmates, one with an undying loyalty, the other full of cowardice, a betrayal, and finally a hope for redemption. I loved the line that was spoken to Amir, the main character near the end of the book:There is a way to be good again. These words really resonated with me and I was so grateful that the character had a newfound hope instilled in him. A way to make things right.
It is a must read in my book (HA) !! In fact, I saw it on display for sale at Starbucks where it said that it is coming out as a movie. I am sure that the film will be awesome, too, but they are rarely able to capture the entire essence of the novel.
I love to read, but with so little spare time, I rarely allow myself the opportunity to do so. Plus when I am in the middle of a good book, my life becomes all consumed with finishing it. Finding out what happens. I spend all of my breaks/nap times reading and stay up way too late in the evenings with my nose glued to the quickly turning pages. For example, I finished the new Harry Potter this summer in less than a week, I think.
Well, it's been a some months since I reached the end of Harry (no pun intended), so a couple weeks ago, I actually picked up some much craved for fictional material for myself for a change.
One was a total junk read, but just what I wanted at the time. A book that I could blow through in a day. A Janet Evonovich, Stephanie Plum Novel called Twelve Sharp. It was ok. Just the same as all of the other ones, though. Funny, dim-witted, and frustrating. Stephanie is this moron of a bounty hunter in Jersey who is afraid of her own shadow and keeps going back and forth between the two men in her life. I just want her to settle down with the cute Italian cop already!
The other, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, was just as my sister Katie had described it....Aaaaamazing!! It was a beautiful story set in war-torn Afghanistan about two boyhood playmates, one with an undying loyalty, the other full of cowardice, a betrayal, and finally a hope for redemption. I loved the line that was spoken to Amir, the main character near the end of the book:There is a way to be good again. These words really resonated with me and I was so grateful that the character had a newfound hope instilled in him. A way to make things right.
It is a must read in my book (HA) !! In fact, I saw it on display for sale at Starbucks where it said that it is coming out as a movie. I am sure that the film will be awesome, too, but they are rarely able to capture the entire essence of the novel.
10/12/2007
Seasonal Squares
Fall has got to be one of my favorite times of year. I had no idea what fall was like in Florida as the leaves didn't really change and we had maybe a week of cooler, nicer weather until the heat and humidity kicked it into full gear again.
Out here it is gorgeous. Leaves started turning reds, browns, yellows and oranges at the end of September. Doesn't that seem early? The weather has been cool and crisp and today is cloudy. I love overcast days for a change as we see sunshine and only sunshine for the whole summer. No afternoon thundershowers out here.
Anyway, to celebrate the arrival of this awesome season, I made pumpkin squares yesterday afternoon. They turned out delicious so I decided to share the recipe with you.
PUMPKIN SQUARES
Yield 16 squares
1 3/4 C all purpose flour
1/3 C granulated sugar
1/3 C packed brown sugar
1 C cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 15 oz can of pumpkin
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/3 C chopped pecans (optional)-1/3 C seemed scant. I will add more next time!!
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 1 cup of crumb mixture.
2. Press remaining crumb mixture onto the bottom and halfway up sides of ungreased 2-quart rectangular baking dish.
3. In another large bowl, stir together pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, cinnamon, salt and allspice. Pour into crust-lined baking dish.
4. Stir pecans into reserved crumb mixture. Sprinkle the pecan mixture over the pumpkin mixture.
5. Bake 50-55 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Chill in refrigerator within 2 hours. Cover for longer storage in refrigerator.
ENJOY!!
Out here it is gorgeous. Leaves started turning reds, browns, yellows and oranges at the end of September. Doesn't that seem early? The weather has been cool and crisp and today is cloudy. I love overcast days for a change as we see sunshine and only sunshine for the whole summer. No afternoon thundershowers out here.
Anyway, to celebrate the arrival of this awesome season, I made pumpkin squares yesterday afternoon. They turned out delicious so I decided to share the recipe with you.
PUMPKIN SQUARES
Yield 16 squares
1 3/4 C all purpose flour
1/3 C granulated sugar
1/3 C packed brown sugar
1 C cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 15 oz can of pumpkin
1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/3 C chopped pecans (optional)-1/3 C seemed scant. I will add more next time!!
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 1 cup of crumb mixture.
2. Press remaining crumb mixture onto the bottom and halfway up sides of ungreased 2-quart rectangular baking dish.
3. In another large bowl, stir together pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, cinnamon, salt and allspice. Pour into crust-lined baking dish.
4. Stir pecans into reserved crumb mixture. Sprinkle the pecan mixture over the pumpkin mixture.
5. Bake 50-55 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Chill in refrigerator within 2 hours. Cover for longer storage in refrigerator.
ENJOY!!
10/11/2007
Washed Up
This week I decided to throw in the towel for now with my marathon training. I need to see a doctor before I can continue about my messed up left knee. It has never been the same since I injured it in the marathon three years ago.
I never did anything about it back then, just stopped running for a year or so due to recovery time and then pregnancy.
I did a 10 mile long run a couple weeks ago and that same dadgum knee was in immense pain that evening whenever I stepped on the leg. It hurt me for days. I scaled back with my long run the following week and didn't really notice any pain after 6 miles.
But then I bumped the knee early this week, merely brushed it on a bookcase when crawling around with the kids and saw red. Since my injury, my knee has turned into something worse than a funny bone. I gimped around again for days and I have this huge purple bruise. All because I bumped my knee.
I never did anything about it back then, just stopped running for a year or so due to recovery time and then pregnancy.
I did a 10 mile long run a couple weeks ago and that same dadgum knee was in immense pain that evening whenever I stepped on the leg. It hurt me for days. I scaled back with my long run the following week and didn't really notice any pain after 6 miles.
But then I bumped the knee early this week, merely brushed it on a bookcase when crawling around with the kids and saw red. Since my injury, my knee has turned into something worse than a funny bone. I gimped around again for days and I have this huge purple bruise. All because I bumped my knee.
Actually She's A Girl
I've found myself needing to tell people this lately. I could just let it go when they say what a cute little son I have (when referring to Emily), but dang it...I don't want to.
But, I have actually done the same thing before, guessed a baby's gender wrong based on what they were wearing (c'mon moms, don't dress your infant girls in all blue). Ok, so I have done that, too. In fact, Emily was in blue pajamas on her first night in the hospital. I was saving the pink girly ones for the "coming home outfit." Numerous hospital staff complimented me on my handsome new son.
Being that I am not much of a girly girl myself, I typically go for comfort rather than fashion in how I dress her. Dresses are only worn to church and parties or special occasions. Most of the time now that the weather is colder, (sorry to all of you still sweaty Floridians) she is in pants and a long sleeved onsie. And I try to shy away from pink, though she still wears it quite a bit.
Anyway, after having her called a boy 3 times in one weekend (and she was in lavender two of those times), I went out and bought her a collection of hair clips.
Now if someone dares to make that same mistake again, I am going to tell them to look at her frickin' hair clip. Now I better understand why some people/cultures pierce their baby girl's ears. Not that I would do that but...
I realized today why her gender identity is so important to me. Why it is not ok for people to think that she is a boy. Funny, this is something that I had almost forgotten about until now. I had short hair from age 5-10. Not a cute sassy bob, mind you, but really short, boy hair. Hideous. I remember being called "sonny boy" by an old man in the grocery store. And I did not like that one little bit. I may have been a tomboy with short hair, but I was NOT A BOY.
Neither is my little Emily. She's a girl and she is beautiful.
But, I have actually done the same thing before, guessed a baby's gender wrong based on what they were wearing (c'mon moms, don't dress your infant girls in all blue). Ok, so I have done that, too. In fact, Emily was in blue pajamas on her first night in the hospital. I was saving the pink girly ones for the "coming home outfit." Numerous hospital staff complimented me on my handsome new son.
Being that I am not much of a girly girl myself, I typically go for comfort rather than fashion in how I dress her. Dresses are only worn to church and parties or special occasions. Most of the time now that the weather is colder, (sorry to all of you still sweaty Floridians) she is in pants and a long sleeved onsie. And I try to shy away from pink, though she still wears it quite a bit.
Anyway, after having her called a boy 3 times in one weekend (and she was in lavender two of those times), I went out and bought her a collection of hair clips.
Now if someone dares to make that same mistake again, I am going to tell them to look at her frickin' hair clip. Now I better understand why some people/cultures pierce their baby girl's ears. Not that I would do that but...
I realized today why her gender identity is so important to me. Why it is not ok for people to think that she is a boy. Funny, this is something that I had almost forgotten about until now. I had short hair from age 5-10. Not a cute sassy bob, mind you, but really short, boy hair. Hideous. I remember being called "sonny boy" by an old man in the grocery store. And I did not like that one little bit. I may have been a tomboy with short hair, but I was NOT A BOY.
Neither is my little Emily. She's a girl and she is beautiful.
10/04/2007
Blackmail Material
I got an incriminating photo of my son last night. One that I will show to future girlfriends or at least his future wife.
I bought him some cowboy boots to complete his cute cowboy Halloween costume. He is super into them. As soon as he got out of the tub and I toweled him off, he ran straight into his room, pulled them on and started dancing around, singing and clapping his hands.
Naked in his cowboy boots. Quite a funny sight for sure.
And on a similar note, the word that we taught our kids for their bottom is "dupa." It's Polish and meant behind as far as we knew. Well, it turns out that it is the more obscene form of behind, a Polish curse word. Come to think of it, I think that Mike learned it from his mother. She used to call him a "pain in the dupa." Hmmmm. So if you are Polish or know Polish and hear our kids talking about their asses, please know that we didn't mean to teach them to cuss. Whoops!
9/27/2007
One Year Later
Our little miss turned one today.We had a fun day celebrating her.
First we had a special breakfast with Daddy (he went into work a little late this morning).
Then we had our morning walk and I remembered to wish her a happy birthday right at 9:22 am when she was born a year ago.
After her nap, we took a fun trip to Toys R Us to get a her soft dolly.
In the late afternoon, we met our friends and old neighbors for a park date. We haven't been to the park in awhile and Emily loved it. She took the most steps that she has yet (5 or 6).And later in the evening we had a super dinner at the same friend's house which was followed by a special birthday cake with strawberries and chocolate (see it all over her face;-) and she got to open a gift...a big stuffed horse, which she loved.
It was a good day.
I love my girl and can't believe that she has been with us for a year and that she has only been with us for a year all at once. Does that make any sense?
We are so happy and blessed to know and love Emily!
9/19/2007
Painful Public Potty 'Pissode
Yesterday while at Target shopping, Lucas said that he needed to go potty. I hightailed it to the front of the store, dumped my merchandise at a checkout isle to pick up afterwards, and got both kids out of the cart and into a potty stall. Now came the fun part.
I had to put a paper cover the seat for Lucas, pull down his pants and remove his diaper, have him hold on to the germy seat with both hands so that he wouldn't fall in, help him aim the stream that shot the back of his pants and was mostly missing the potty, all the while holding a squirming Emily.
Once that part was done, I had to figure out how to get his non-pull up diaper back on and wash his contaminated hands without putting Emily down on the filthy floor.
My solution was to bring the cart in...the big "A" kind that you can put 2-3 kids in. Well if you have ever driven one of those, you know that steering it is no easy task. It is especially challenging when holding a baby in one arm and trying to keep a half naked toddler from streaking out the door. After several failed attempts to get the thing inside the restroom (I kept crashing into the door) and Lucas showing his business to anyone walking by the restroom area, a nice lady heard my grumbling and came to help me.
Holy cow! One of my friends had said how she was dreading potty training because of public restrooms, but I had no idea how impossibly hard it would be.
It was like a scene from a comedy, yet I wasn't laughing in the moment. Luckily, I can now.
I had to put a paper cover the seat for Lucas, pull down his pants and remove his diaper, have him hold on to the germy seat with both hands so that he wouldn't fall in, help him aim the stream that shot the back of his pants and was mostly missing the potty, all the while holding a squirming Emily.
Once that part was done, I had to figure out how to get his non-pull up diaper back on and wash his contaminated hands without putting Emily down on the filthy floor.
My solution was to bring the cart in...the big "A" kind that you can put 2-3 kids in. Well if you have ever driven one of those, you know that steering it is no easy task. It is especially challenging when holding a baby in one arm and trying to keep a half naked toddler from streaking out the door. After several failed attempts to get the thing inside the restroom (I kept crashing into the door) and Lucas showing his business to anyone walking by the restroom area, a nice lady heard my grumbling and came to help me.
Holy cow! One of my friends had said how she was dreading potty training because of public restrooms, but I had no idea how impossibly hard it would be.
It was like a scene from a comedy, yet I wasn't laughing in the moment. Luckily, I can now.
9/18/2007
Ernie's New Do
I laundered a garage sale bargain Ernie doll yesterday and his black, fuzzy hair tuft didn't fare too well in the dryer. It's not a bad look for him per say, just a whole new style for Bert's annoying, but lovable buddy. Now our Ernie has a fro. Maybe this is how he looked back in the 70's. Anyone remember?
And as a fun side note, Lucas used the potty 11 times yesterday!! I tried a new tactic for the first time-rewarding him each time he goes on the potty. Disco-tech Ernie is one of the potty prizes but hasn't been picked yet for some strange reason. Ahhhhh freak out!
9/08/2007
You Happy, Katrina;-)
I was reminded that I hadn't blogged in awhile, so I went a little crazy with the updates tonight. Sorry. It's either feast or famine with my writing. I'll try to be more consistent.
Quick recap of the past month:
Quick recap of the past month:
- Lucas was offered a scholarship and started preschool.
- Emily turned 11 months, started waving and saying Hi, and now kisses on command.
- She is considered healthy by the specialist that we had to see regarding her "failure to thrive." He thinks that our pediatrician is a "nutter." He didn't say that, I could just tell.
- I had my own Pampered Chef show and got lots of free stuff and will get paid for it, too. WooHOO!
- I'm starting to get into a running groove again.
- We had an awesome long weekend last weekend with a family movie night, trek to the state fair to watch a monster truck show and see the animals, and day trip to Bodega Bay to take in the lovely beach. We did not get eaten or even threatened by the birds.
- Mike started a new project at work and is still working on his old one, too. His job is pretty secure again. Praise God.
Running Report
I ran three times this week!! That is a really good record for me lately. Two times were on the treadmill for about 3 miles and this morning I ran a glorious 8.5 outside (half of these were with my family--Mike pushed the kids in our new double jogger and half were by my lonesome). And then this afternoon, I took an hour and a half walk with a friend. That's a lot of sunshine and cardio in one day, almost 4 hours worth. Maybe I can do this marathon, Jen!
Playmates
My kids are playing together more now and it is sooooo stinkin' cute. When I bring Emily down in the morning, Lucas says "Play with me, Em-ly." One of his favorite things to do is to have his sister push him in this hippo ride on/walker toy. He says "Push me, Em-ly" and she totters along pushing her big bro. Then he reluctantly takes a turn pushing her. I just want to eat them up sometimes. Here's a cute picture of them with Lucas doing the pushing this time. We took a video, too, which I will try to include...
School Daze
Wow, what a hectic and busy week we had!! Lucas started preschool on Tuesday and really loved it. No tears when I left him either day or the whole time there. So glad for that as I wasn't sure how he, a shy boy, would do in an unfamiliar setting. In fact on Thursday as I was putting him down for his nap, he asked to go back. He wanted to go back right then. Probably just stalling his sleep, but still...
He told me that he likes his teacher, Mrs. Spiers (pronounced like Britany's last name). Before school started, I was teaching her name to Lucas pronouncing it wrong saying Spy-ers and he thought that I was talking about bugs. He started referring to her as "that spider lady." Great. I couldn't help but laugh when he said it though and he kept saying it to be funny. I was happy to hear the correct pronunciation.
Anyway, he is now in school two mornings a week for three hours. It is going to be wonderful for all of us. He is having fun, meeting new kids, getting more exercise and outside time, and learning. And I am getting free time to run on the treadmill and take care of myself more for a change while Emily naps. The almost one year old is getting to snooze in a quieter house and some special girl time with her mommy when she wakes up. It is nice.
8/18/2007
Adding Insult to Injury
This morning my kids slept in for the first time all week. They slept until the blissful hour of 6:30. This was huge because Lucas is back to his old evil tricks of getting up at around 5:30 most days much to our delight. But wouldn't you know that today would be an early running morning for me. I had to be out the door at 6:30 (luckily not as early as I go on weekdays). It was tough to get up when I finally could have been getting a little more snooze on for a change.
Erin and I ran 8 miles again today. We did the same run last Saturday. I felt great last week...could have kept going and going like the Energizer bunny. Today, not so much. I felt my knee joints starting to ache, my toe was burning with each step as the run progressed (I discovered a nice blister when I got home), I got a friction burn in my armpit because I forgot to apply my body glide, and I felt like vomiting for some reason in the last mile or so.
And to make matters worse, after I got all cleaned up I went outside and a neighbor asked me if I was pregnant again. I felt embarrassed for her and for me that 11 months later, almost a year has gone by since having Emily, and I still look slightly pregnant apparently. Damn it, I hate what having kids did to my body. Shot to hell, I tell you.
Erin and I ran 8 miles again today. We did the same run last Saturday. I felt great last week...could have kept going and going like the Energizer bunny. Today, not so much. I felt my knee joints starting to ache, my toe was burning with each step as the run progressed (I discovered a nice blister when I got home), I got a friction burn in my armpit because I forgot to apply my body glide, and I felt like vomiting for some reason in the last mile or so.
And to make matters worse, after I got all cleaned up I went outside and a neighbor asked me if I was pregnant again. I felt embarrassed for her and for me that 11 months later, almost a year has gone by since having Emily, and I still look slightly pregnant apparently. Damn it, I hate what having kids did to my body. Shot to hell, I tell you.
8/16/2007
I'm Alive
There was an old pep phrase that I had taped to my computer monitor back in my Sprint telemarketing days.
It went something like this: I'm alive and awake and I feel great!
So that is where I am at today. Definitely better than I was a month or so ago or even last week for that matter.
I had a realization today. An epiphany of sorts. I was trying to take a much needed nap while the kids were doing the same when I heard the phrase "Bloom where you are planted." in my head.
This message really resonated with me. I spend much of my time more or less hating my life, feeling this crushing burden on my shoulders, drowning in my many responsibilities (kids, housework, cooking, Pampered Chef, marathon training, trying to be a decent wife) that I can only do halfway, and fighting daily just to keep my head above the water. I've prayed before that I wouldn't just survive (that's how my life feels, like survival mode), but thrive.
Well, I was reminded of that prayer and desire again today in a fresh new way. So tonight, instead of being ticked off if Emily wakes up in the middle of the night and screams for 2 hours like she did last night, I will try to bloom. Even though I am in a hard place, flowers grow best in manure. I want to be beautiful and flourishing in this season. I am sick of being a bitter stink weed.
It went something like this: I'm alive and awake and I feel great!
So that is where I am at today. Definitely better than I was a month or so ago or even last week for that matter.
I had a realization today. An epiphany of sorts. I was trying to take a much needed nap while the kids were doing the same when I heard the phrase "Bloom where you are planted." in my head.
This message really resonated with me. I spend much of my time more or less hating my life, feeling this crushing burden on my shoulders, drowning in my many responsibilities (kids, housework, cooking, Pampered Chef, marathon training, trying to be a decent wife) that I can only do halfway, and fighting daily just to keep my head above the water. I've prayed before that I wouldn't just survive (that's how my life feels, like survival mode), but thrive.
Well, I was reminded of that prayer and desire again today in a fresh new way. So tonight, instead of being ticked off if Emily wakes up in the middle of the night and screams for 2 hours like she did last night, I will try to bloom. Even though I am in a hard place, flowers grow best in manure. I want to be beautiful and flourishing in this season. I am sick of being a bitter stink weed.
School Days
I am so very excited for Lucas!! My big boy will be starting preschool two mornings a week in September. Ever since we visited the class a month or so ago, he has been asking to go to preschool. He loved it and who wouldn't...Thomas the Train, cars and trucks, puzzles, a playground, and snack time! What is not to love?
I found out this week that he was accepted for a scholarship to the school which makes it possible for us to afford. So stay tuned for tales of his first day of school...
I found out this week that he was accepted for a scholarship to the school which makes it possible for us to afford. So stay tuned for tales of his first day of school...
7/26/2007
Discouraged
I have been feeling a little down this week. Mainly with Pampered Chef and my supposed to be happening running training program.
Pampered Chef has me down because I've come to a road block, I've exhausted my contacts (this is not really true, but it feels like it)and my August calendar is completely open with NO business coming in as of yet. It seems like the bulk of my friends here, though I haven't really asked many people outright, are not really interested in hosting parties. I want to do well with this (well as in bring in a 3-4 shows per month), but I don't want to do what it takes to do well. Like asking people to host a show for me. Being a pushy sales person sucks, but so does not making money. It's also hard because I don't know that many people here (we've been in town for just shy of 3 years now) and I have been mostly introverted being overwhelmed with the kids. It seems so wrong to start calling people up out of the blue to ask for their business. Sigh.
I have the running blues because my partner finally quit on me this week. At least she can't train for the marathon with me which translates into she can't run more than 2 times per week or do any long runs. That is really when I need a partner for...the long runs. I called up another friend to see if she will do weekly long runs with me. Her name is Erin. It rhymes with Sharon, my current partner and Karin, my beloved Orlando partner (who quit on me too, what do I do wrong with my partners?!). No word back from Erin. If your name is Darrin or Taryn or something else that sounds similar, and you want to train for a marathon, give me a call.
Blogging has been pretty hard to do lately. I've been so exhausted and overwhelmed. I even thought that I might be pregnant earlier in the week and joyfully found out that this was not the case. NOT ANOTHER BABY!!! NOT YET! I AM NOT READY OR ABLE TO HANDLE ANY MORE KIDS NOW. I am already on the brink of insanity.
As I type, Emily is howling and starting to sound hoarse in her bed. Her new thing is not wanting to take her naps. She used to do just fine, falling asleep soon after putting her down after sometimes fussing for a few minutes. That former blissful few minutes of fussing is turning into almost an hour of outright screaming. She is a stubborn little girl, she is standing up, her face all runny and her heels are dug in. She is determined to win. And so am I. Who will be victorious?
On a positive note, I used the treadmill for the first time yesterday. I christened it with a 3.25 mile run during their naps. It felt great to be able to exercise and do something for ME for a change during the day. And I got a shower in afterwards as an added bonus.
I think that Emily will win today. Again. After going in to comfort her 4-5 times, she is not letting up. No nap for her this afternoon.
Damn, and I really needed one today.
Pampered Chef has me down because I've come to a road block, I've exhausted my contacts (this is not really true, but it feels like it)and my August calendar is completely open with NO business coming in as of yet. It seems like the bulk of my friends here, though I haven't really asked many people outright, are not really interested in hosting parties. I want to do well with this (well as in bring in a 3-4 shows per month), but I don't want to do what it takes to do well. Like asking people to host a show for me. Being a pushy sales person sucks, but so does not making money. It's also hard because I don't know that many people here (we've been in town for just shy of 3 years now) and I have been mostly introverted being overwhelmed with the kids. It seems so wrong to start calling people up out of the blue to ask for their business. Sigh.
I have the running blues because my partner finally quit on me this week. At least she can't train for the marathon with me which translates into she can't run more than 2 times per week or do any long runs. That is really when I need a partner for...the long runs. I called up another friend to see if she will do weekly long runs with me. Her name is Erin. It rhymes with Sharon, my current partner and Karin, my beloved Orlando partner (who quit on me too, what do I do wrong with my partners?!). No word back from Erin. If your name is Darrin or Taryn or something else that sounds similar, and you want to train for a marathon, give me a call.
Blogging has been pretty hard to do lately. I've been so exhausted and overwhelmed. I even thought that I might be pregnant earlier in the week and joyfully found out that this was not the case. NOT ANOTHER BABY!!! NOT YET! I AM NOT READY OR ABLE TO HANDLE ANY MORE KIDS NOW. I am already on the brink of insanity.
As I type, Emily is howling and starting to sound hoarse in her bed. Her new thing is not wanting to take her naps. She used to do just fine, falling asleep soon after putting her down after sometimes fussing for a few minutes. That former blissful few minutes of fussing is turning into almost an hour of outright screaming. She is a stubborn little girl, she is standing up, her face all runny and her heels are dug in. She is determined to win. And so am I. Who will be victorious?
On a positive note, I used the treadmill for the first time yesterday. I christened it with a 3.25 mile run during their naps. It felt great to be able to exercise and do something for ME for a change during the day. And I got a shower in afterwards as an added bonus.
I think that Emily will win today. Again. After going in to comfort her 4-5 times, she is not letting up. No nap for her this afternoon.
Damn, and I really needed one today.
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