currently

linkin' on up again….

Thinking about: how torturous yet great it felt to be "a runner" the last couple of weeks. i set a goal to run at least a mile at least 3 times a week for the last 3 weeks…. to train for the color run. which was so fun! i ran almost the whole 3 miles. i think i could have run the whole thing, but people really slowed down in the paint parts & we waited for the two stragglers… s & s who were walkers.

i'm also thinking about what a wonderful time i had in denver yesterday. i was there less than 24 hours… but it was worth it. i packed the baby up and spent the day with my hubby exploring denver. he has to be there for the week for work, so we went a day early and hung out. my dad & stepmom came over to spend the day & night with the other 5 chillens. they had a blast at the mall… picking out special treats for themselves.

Reading: planning on starting a girl of the limberlost.

Listening to: the washer and dryer. i can't even keep track of how many loads i do a day. i'm also listening to silence coming from the bedrooms. please Lord…. let this be the night i sleep until morning. just one night. c'mon kamal.

Watching: hmmm nothing really. i wanna make sure to watch all of the nominated movies.

Thankful for: this weather! so many other parts of the country are prrrreeeeeety cold right now. we came home from school and rode our bikes around & played in the driveway until it started to get dark.

the color run

wordless wednesday

currently

i'm linking up with a mama collective for my currently post :)

thinking about: how excited i am for my hot date tonight. it is our 19th dating anniversary. it's going to be a late night. our reservations are not until 8:45. we have to finish soccer practice etc. etc. before we can go. i got a new necklace & shirt. i'm even planning on showering!! maybe even doing my hair if i get crazy. we always have seafood on our dating anniversary & we are trying out a new place called little cleo's. can.not.wait.

i'm also thinking about how my little S turned 7 back in nov. and i never blogged about it. that girl is a crack up. i just want to write down everything she says. love that girl.

reading: i always appreciate the perspective of "if i could do it over again, this is what i would do..." i perk right up when experienced moms want to share their advice. this post really jumped out to me.

listening to: kids playing. they have this really weird accent they like to use while playing. all.the.time. oh man it's like fingers on a chalkboard. but they are happy and that makes me happy.

oh and i can't leave out.... the frozen soundtrack.
it's been blared out of control since Christmas morning. let it go. let it go.
 

watching:downton abbey. what even happened last night? not cool. not cool.

 

thankful for: these guys. 

 and forgiveness. and the gift of a new day. this particular day was a busy one. it was a wonderful day but a long one. we had been in the car all day. we finally got to this great new park and all needed to run around. they all ran 5 diff ways. they were really excited to chase the several peacocks that were running around the park. the hubs and i were a little low on patience and the kids were a little amped up with energy. we kinda got frustrated with the kids as we walked back to the car. in our minds we were down on ourselves and focused the whole day and the whole park experience on that 5 mins of frustration. as soon as we got in the car they all exclaimed, specifically R,
"that was fun!"
to them it was fun and exciting. to us it was wild and chaotic. i need to remind myself to have that childlike ability to move from one experience to the other and not dwell.
we took a deep breath, smiled and headed for the long ride home. thank the good Lord for mobile dvd players.

baltic bead believer

 this little angel is teething. he had his first tooth pop out last month and is working on the second. now i don't know if it's because his normal temperament is so angelic or if i just forgot... but he seems to be the most sensitive to the pain of teething. he doesn't cry much & is generally in a good mood. but with this teething business, he's miserable. and worse... up all night.

while i do think the baltic amber beads are adorable.... i really didn't think they would/could make a difference. as a desperate sleep deprived act, i went out and bought some. he honestly seemed more relaxed throughout the day and was able to take 2 really good naps. where as before he would cat nap and wake up crying. the big test was the night sleep. for the last week he had been up every 2 hours. sad if he ate, sad if we held him, sad about everything. just plain uncomfortable.

so i put the beads around his ankle and put him in footed pajamas. i put him to bed at 10:30. he woke up at 6! i couldn't believe it. i couldn't remember the last time i had slept that many hours in a row. to some that sleeping pattern might not be that impressive. but after weeks/ months of interrupted sleep... i'll take 6.5 hours any day!! (i didn't go to bed right when he did..)

now with his cloth diapers and his amber beads... all i need are some dreadlocks and we will be set!

reality

i just wanted to document this relatively uneventful but very common morning... just to remember the daily chaos of getting basic errands done with small children... it can be slightly maddening sometimes

after changing schedules & drop offs to book it to a school function in the am and ultimately being late, seeing L's presentation but missing D's (we were under the impression that it went all morning... didn't know it was only 30 min) we swung back home to pick up the prius (it needed routine work done, but that always takes a lot of coordination and changing schedules around to find time to take both cars out to the dealership & drop it off) and i followed P to the dealership. this is quite exciting for R as they have a giant pirate ship to play on. so he's a little pumped up in the car.

R: "mom! (loud and intermittent) look at this! guess what i have! mom! MOM!"

me: "yes buddy. i see you in the mirror but i can't turn around. we are driving on the freeway and i need to keep my eyes on the road."

R: "mom." 

R: "mom!"

me: "yes?"

R: "can you see me? look at me. look at this movie. why are we driving. are we going to see the pirate ship? why do they have a pirate ship? look at me, i'm holding up this movie."

me: "yes, i see you."

R: "mom, J is awake. mom, J is crying. mom, i have a movie.  mom, can we watch this movie? mom can you put in this movie? mom!"

me: "no i can't put the movie in right now. i'm driving on the freeway. look out the window."

R: "mom can we watch a movie? look mom. i have the movie over my face. can you see me? look mom."

me: "i see you in the mirror."

R: "look mom, i'm touching the wheels on the bike." (we also had to take in one of our new bikes as the back wheel was falling off) (which also entails a lot of removing of seats and car seats and shoving it in the back also managing to keep 2 car seats in place)

me: "careful buddy. i don't want your finger to get caught in the bike wheel."

R: "mom can you put in the movie?"

me: thinking i've had enough of this conversation.... "let's listen to some music"

R: "can we put in the movie after we go to the pirate ship?"

me: "probably"

R: "mom, why is the bike in the back of the car? can i ride my bike when we get home? mom? mom? mom!"

me: "can you sing this song to me?"

R: "look mom. i'm covering my face with the movie. what movie is this? look."

me: "uh huh. i see you."

R: "can we watch a movie?"

R: "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! OWWWWWWW!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

me: "what is it?"

R: screaming... "my hand is stuck in the movie case!"

me: trying to drive on the freeway & soothe him at the same time & reach around and get the case off of his hand...."hold it up. let me try to get it open"

R: screaming......

me: i manage to get it off. looking around at something to give him... "here take a sip of this water. maybe put a piece of ice on your owie. but don't spill."

R: "wahhh. ok." sniff sniff

me: "careful"

R: removes lid. SPLAT. the entire huge cup of water spills all over him and on to the floor.
 "uh oh" "oops. the water spilled"

me: "yes, i heard it"

R: sniff sniff. "can you put in the movie?"

wordless wednesday