London's Run 2011

Whenever I run a race (or bike and swim for that matter) I can't help but get emotional. It usually comes towards the finish line. Not because I'm almost done, but because I see my family cheering me on. I love it! Seeing Wyatt and Jason standing there, taking odd pictures of me running past, makes me happy yet somewhat emotional. But then I fight the tears to bring on a smile for the picture and finish strong! Of course, only me!

For this past race, London's Run half marathon, the emotions started early. Let's just go back a few miles. I ran the entire race up to mile 10. I usually give myself some "walking" time during the water stations but I didn't do that this time because I knew I could keep running. I felt like a pro just running and drinking at the same time. At mile 10 I let myself walk for a little bit. Mile 11 was the most difficult mile. But I started picking up my pace to finish the race. I had a goal to beat!

All of a sudden I see this face at mile 12 with a sign that said "The Reason."

I seriously got weird emotional and couldn't breathe. No tears were forming but I just got choked up....literally. I had to walk and get myself together. I'm so glad it was just me and the farm right then. After I composed myself, I was able to run strong for the last mile.

If she can do hard things, I can too.

Results: I beat my record. I did it in 2:19:19! And I didn't think the course was as bad as last year so I will probably be doing it again. :)

Background: All throughout the race they have signs that have pictures of cancer patients with motivational words cheering you on. It makes me think, "If they can do that, I can do this race." Every year the proceeds go to different kids struggling to fight cancer....London is a girl who lost the battle and who the race is named after. Go here to read about London's story and about the race. You will have to scroll down to read about London.

Stickers and Pooh

My sister has a three year old that sometimes gives her trouble. She decided to implement a sticker chart for him to earn a prize for making good choices. I thought it was a great idea but I was racking my brain and wondering if Wyatt could do this.....make good choices.

In the meantime, I was having difficulty with Wyatt going to bed. It was mostly for naps but he basically was trying to manipulate me into not putting him in his crib. He would lie on the floor and say, "I go night night here." Mind you, this was all while throwing a tantrum. Or he would kick and scream as I "gently" put him in his crib. I would walk out and let him cry then when I came back in he would say, "Mommy do it," and let me lay him down. Oh, it was gruesome! Our five minute routine turned into 15-20 minutes. The tantrums seemed incessant. Then on top of all this he would talk to himself for two hours or so and then fall asleep. Although I got a long break to get things done, I had to wake him up because I didn't want him sleeping too far into the afternoon (4:30 pm) and then he was cranky because I woke him up. Oh, the joys!

Enter idea of sticker chart+trouble with naps/bedtime=Just do it! What do you have to lose?

So, I made a sticker chart and we were off. I wasn't sure if Wyatt would grasp the concept but he picked it up oh so fast. And once a tear was about to be shed I would just remind him of the stickers. He wiped that tear so fast and went to sleep. Part of the plan too was that he was to close his eyes and go to sleep (aka NO TALKING!).

He knew that once he got to Pooh he was going to get a prize. He kept saying, "Get Poot, prize!" So, the prize was going to be a Pooh coloring book that I happened to pick up at the dollar section at Target. But on this site Queen Creek Friends that I am apart of, it is kind of like an information/Craigslist/recommendations for things, etc., someone was giving away a train tracks set. Wyatt is obessed with trains. He lines cars and trains up to make long ones. He loves seeing and hearing trains. So, I thought this would be perfect.

And it is. He earned the prize yesterday and hasn't stopped playing with it. We barely have gotten him to eat, sleep, and drink after giving him the "prize." He is happy so I'm happy. I'll save the Pooh coloring book for next time. :) Oh, and I must say that there is no problem to put him to bed anymore. Yipee!!

Now, what do we work for now? And don't even say potty training because we are both not ready for that one.

Polly, want a cracker?

I have a little parrot who resides in my home. He eats and sleeps pretty well but wants to do and say everything I do. Gosh, I better be careful.

I have learned this lesson the hard way.

While playing a matching game with the parrot, I didn't get my match that I thought was in the bag. So, I said, "Shoot!" A few matches (or unmatches later) I said, "Dang it!" Well, to the surprise of my virgin ears, later that day while playing the matching game again, my little parrot piped up and said, "Shoot!" Later on in the day he said, "Dang it!"

Oopsie.

I'll have to admit that it is pretty cute when he says it. Plus, it beats him crying about it. Now, he just says, "Shoot!" and moves on with what he was doing. I have to hand it to him because he does say it at appropriate times. But I'm so glad that it's not worse. Now I know I need to be careful what I say and do.

Monkey see. Monkey do.

Parenthood Survival

Wyatt and I were at "mommy's doctor" aka the lab to get some blood drawn when I saw a book to read to keep him entertained. It was this book.

Every page was hilarious! I was laughing as I was reading. Obviously, it is not a kids book but Wyatt loved it because I was laughing so it made him laugh. I had to refrain myself from my "real laughter" because the waiting room was packed! It was kind of like FarSide cartoons. My favorite was one that said that a video would self destruct after 20 viewings in order to keep the parents sane. So true! Every page I could relate to.

Well, the reason this page was my favorite is because I only wish certain things would self-destruct after 20 times. Lately, (I mean always), Wyatt gets on these kicks with songs that include me pushing the repeat button more than a thousand times. He loves songs! He loves to dance to them and clap. We all know that the "Bus Song" was his favorite but he has since moved on to bigger and better things. After Disneyland, his new kick is the Pirate song. You know, "A Pirate's Life for Me." We listen to it over and over and he just kicks back and relaxes. Kind of nice that the song is a long one. :)

I love this stage that he is in. Instead of just listening to the songs now, he is starting to sing them. For the Pirate's song he sings, "Yoho, pirate's me." It is so stinkin' cute! He also is in love with the Sunbeam song from church and sings it a lot when there is a balloon that he can punch in the air. He says, "Sunbeam! Shine him day."

Love it!

Tales of a Gardener

Don't let the title of this post mislead you in any way. We don't claim to be gardeners but this year we planted our first garden. You know....Emergency Preparedness stuff. I was so gung ho about it, even though Jason killed my dreams of having a boxed garden. My excitement wore off after days and days of watering and forgetting to water. Our little garden just slipped out of our routine.

We planted onions, carrots, lettuce, cilantro, spinach, and peas. Every day Wyatt and I would go out and water our plants and see the progress. Wyatt knows exactly what plants our in our garden. The months got busy and passed away. Little by little the garden became an afterthought. Several mini floods later, we are starting to actually eat the fruits of our labors. Let's just say we need to set a timer for our watering system because sometimes we get busy doing other things and forget that we started watering the garden.

So, I have no clue when I can get the vegetables to eat. The lettuce looked done but how was I supposed to know. Finally, Jason said that it was probably done. Wouldn't you know! So, yesterday I cut some lettuce off and made a salad. I should have been doing this all along. It was so yummy! The rest of the garden is questionable, but the lettuce. You should taste the lettuce.

As I was eating and raving about it, Jason said, "Enjoying your $60 lettuce?" Indeed I was.

They do say that your first garden is the most expensive because you are still learning.

Carefree and Carousels

Surprising to most, I have very little to say or blog about today. But there was a sweet moment today that made my fingers want to rush to the computer to tell the world wide web (okay those who are invited). It was one of those days...so far....where the tantrums were few and far between, even though they still made their presence. Smiles accompanied with laughter were everywhere and seeing your child happy filled my heart with joy.

Pure joy.

After over a month off from Kids' Club at the mall, it started up again. You better believe we had it on our calendar because we are regulars. Is it a bad or good sign when they say, "Welcome back?" Well, we first ventured to the Scout Shop to fulfill my calling and Wyatt was a gem. He was holding his little basket and putting patches in it like he was going to buy them. Of course, he put them all back. In the right places. I watched him so you have to believe me. Genius I tell ya. We were there for awhile due to high volume of awards this month but Wyatt still was great. The only tantrum he threw was when his crackers spilled in the parking lot on the way out. I really think my child has OCD. Any tips on parenting this type of child?

Back to the wonderful day, then we went to the mall for our Chick-fil-A and carousel ride. He hugged the cow about a bajillion times and even danced with him. He would look back at me and run over and tell me that he hugged the cow with a grin ear to ear.

But the thing that inspired me to write this post was the carousel ride. Now, we had just gone to Disneyland where he loved riding the rides and even rode both carousels there. But seriously, he just was in pure heaven back at the mall with HIS carousel. He acted so carefree and kept saying, "Wee, wee, wee" as he went up and down on his zebra-the animal of choice this week. His smile was so big I'm surprised his face didn't freeze into that position. He kept laughing at me and waving to the lady. It was darling! This went on the entire ride.

My heart filled with joy.

See ya next week, Kids' Club.

Start the year with a bang...

By going to Disneyland!

Indeed we started the year off right with a trip to Disneyland. This may have been Wyatt's fourth trip to see Mickey but we can't help ourselves. If someone says, "Disneyland," we are there in a heartbeat. Plus, Jason wanted this trip for his Christmas present so that made my life easier. We had so much fun with our little family and some of Jason's sisters. Wyatt loved spending time with his cousins, even though Tacey sure beat everyone out for the favorite cousin this time around despite Mikane's efforts to come out on top.

This was by far our best time at Disneyland with Wyatt. Probably because he is older or the fact he watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse twice a day and is obsessed with all the characters. He kept wanting to go on all the rides but his favorite was Winnie the Pooh. Oh, how I miss Bear Country but when you see this little guy's eyes light up when he is on "Poot" you just have to keep going on it again. And again. And again. Oh, we might have gone on it 5 times in a row each day.

Characters were hugged, swords were played with, Lightning and Mater were seen with pictures being taken several times, rides were ridden-even the hour we were stuck on Pirates was great only because Wyatt fell asleep, and everyone was happy.

Well, who wouldn't be happy with a sucker like that. (Sorry for the sideways picture. It was taken on my phone and for some reason it won't change directions).

Good food,

great company,

and fabulous entertainment.

Disneyland just can't be beat!

The Great PHX Snowstorm of 2010 and NYE

With frigid temps usually comes crazy weather that involves snow, blizzards, rain, and wind of some sort. Living here in Phoenix we usually don't get too much of the above "crazy" weather. But this week we have experienced below freezing weather conditions that could make Canadians shiver a bit or at least wear a light jacket. I have had to bust out my five sweaters that I keep in my closet for occasions like this (oh and just in case I go to Utah or up north).

Well, on Thursday there was a snowstorm in PHX! What? As I was perusing facebook during my lunch break, everyone was commenting on this so called storm. I guess it snowed in some parts of Mesa/Gilbert and we weren't around to see it. I didn't believe it because when I looked out my window it was nice and sunny. Obviously there was not enough snow to stick but there was snow. So it actually does get cold enough for crazy weather. But I've seen pictures and it was in the paper so apparently it happened. Where were you doing during the Great PHX Snowstorm of 2010?

Due to the Great Snowstorm of 2010, our NYE plans were altered a bit. We had planned a nice trip with friends up north to the "Basha" cabin but the snow seemed to wash out those plans. So, we decided to still celebrate the New Year and Holly's birthday with food, folks, and fun. We had a delicious dinner and dessert, fireworks, sparkler in the birthday cake, "hourly" prizes until the countdown that may or may have not taken place at 7:45 pm, then lots of chatting and playing with toys. Wyatt was in heaven playing with the train set and could have stayed WAY past midnight but his mommy his a "Sleep Natzi" so we had to leave around 9:45 pm. We were having too much fun that it was difficult to leave. We came home and watched the NYE special and waited for the countdown. We made it to midnight.....barely.

No snowstorm was going to ruin our NYE!