Me: Amanda, can you turn the volume down on your game.
Amanda: But then I can't hear it.
Me: I can hear it from here, you will still be able to hear it.
Amanda: But you have big ears. I have little ears and need it louder.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Princess 1/2 Marathon
Friday the whole family left for Orlando so I could do the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon. I was going to get in one last post before we left, but Charlie was working late and I was trying to pack when the kids were being crazy and unhelpful and before you knew it I ran out of time. The story of my life. Oh well, all I would have told you is that we were all going to Orlando for the Princess 1/2 Marathon, so you're hearing it now.
Originally I thought I would come by myself, but the race was on Sunday and Andy's birthday was on Monday and that was a great excuse for bringing the kids along. I was starting to question that judgement as I was begrudgingly packing, but in the end it worked out great. We arrived late on Friday and didn't get to our rental house until around 1 a.m. on Saturday morning. Saturday we didn't have much planned so we took the kids mini golfing and then grabbed some lunch while we waited for Charlie's mom and my race partner, April, to arrive. Not together, they were just both arriving around the same time. Charlie invited his mom to come because he thought it would be a nice chance for us to see her and for her to see the kids' excitement at Disney. I hope she had as much fun with them as they had with her.
Saturday afternoon April and I went to register and get our race packs and check out the expo and Charlie and the kids swam and then went to the park. We didn't stay up too late because everybody was tired and we had to get up at 3 a.m. for the race. Ugh!
We got up at 3 a.m. and left by 3:30 a.m. and the only hitch was that in my rush to get to the alarm clock I ran into the bed post and got a huge instant bruise on my thigh - and I didn't get there before the alarm. It didn't really bug me too much, except I have found that the kids lean on my leg a lot when sitting next to me, but I do now have a bruise that is bigger than the palm of my hand and it doesn't look like it's going away anytime soon.
We got to the race with plenty of time and then we waited for our start time. we were there by about 4:00-4:15 a.m. and we didn't even cross the start line until around 6:20 a.m. About 1.5 miles into the race we saw the leader on the other side of the road getting ready to finish. She was flying by and we had just started. We joked later that by the time we finished the race she was probably already on an airplane home.
The race itself was great and a lot of fun but a little warm, in the low seventies, and very humid. On top of that the course was very narrow in a few spots so that we actually had to slow down and didn't get to pass anybody or go as fast as we wanted. In the end we beat our time from the last race by 24 seconds, so we were happy that our time improved, even though it was not by very much. We have strong hopes for next time.
Will there be a next time? Of course. We are already planning out the next few races, I just hope Charlie doesn't have any objections to me leaving for a few more long distance race weekends. Someday I hope the kids can race with me, but for now I'll just try to enjoy the training and the fact that I've completed a few 1/2 marathons.
Originally I thought I would come by myself, but the race was on Sunday and Andy's birthday was on Monday and that was a great excuse for bringing the kids along. I was starting to question that judgement as I was begrudgingly packing, but in the end it worked out great. We arrived late on Friday and didn't get to our rental house until around 1 a.m. on Saturday morning. Saturday we didn't have much planned so we took the kids mini golfing and then grabbed some lunch while we waited for Charlie's mom and my race partner, April, to arrive. Not together, they were just both arriving around the same time. Charlie invited his mom to come because he thought it would be a nice chance for us to see her and for her to see the kids' excitement at Disney. I hope she had as much fun with them as they had with her.
Saturday afternoon April and I went to register and get our race packs and check out the expo and Charlie and the kids swam and then went to the park. We didn't stay up too late because everybody was tired and we had to get up at 3 a.m. for the race. Ugh!
We got up at 3 a.m. and left by 3:30 a.m. and the only hitch was that in my rush to get to the alarm clock I ran into the bed post and got a huge instant bruise on my thigh - and I didn't get there before the alarm. It didn't really bug me too much, except I have found that the kids lean on my leg a lot when sitting next to me, but I do now have a bruise that is bigger than the palm of my hand and it doesn't look like it's going away anytime soon.
We got to the race with plenty of time and then we waited for our start time. we were there by about 4:00-4:15 a.m. and we didn't even cross the start line until around 6:20 a.m. About 1.5 miles into the race we saw the leader on the other side of the road getting ready to finish. She was flying by and we had just started. We joked later that by the time we finished the race she was probably already on an airplane home.
The race itself was great and a lot of fun but a little warm, in the low seventies, and very humid. On top of that the course was very narrow in a few spots so that we actually had to slow down and didn't get to pass anybody or go as fast as we wanted. In the end we beat our time from the last race by 24 seconds, so we were happy that our time improved, even though it was not by very much. We have strong hopes for next time.
Will there be a next time? Of course. We are already planning out the next few races, I just hope Charlie doesn't have any objections to me leaving for a few more long distance race weekends. Someday I hope the kids can race with me, but for now I'll just try to enjoy the training and the fact that I've completed a few 1/2 marathons.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Kid Quote of the Day
Amanda: I can't see the sun.
Me: It's right there, see where I'm pointing?
Amanda: That's not the sun. It's a circle in the sky that looks like the sun, but it's not the sun.
Um, okay. An example of why it's useless the argue with a three yr old.
Me: It's right there, see where I'm pointing?
Amanda: That's not the sun. It's a circle in the sky that looks like the sun, but it's not the sun.
Um, okay. An example of why it's useless the argue with a three yr old.
Sticky Situation
It's a long story that I'm not going into about how and why, but just know that Sarah has to take Miralax daily. I'm not asking for your opinion because we've seen and have multiple doctors following her progress, it's just important for this story for you to know that she takes it.
Every. Single. Day.
Due to the dry climate of Colorado, her current doctor wants her to drink 30-40 ounces of liquid a day and at least 12 ounces of liquid when she consumes the Miralax. It comes in a powder form, so we mix it into her somewhat clear drink of choice, which happens to be yellow Gatorade at the moment, and then she has to drink it all in one sitting. I don't know how familiar you are with little kids, or at least my little kids, but it is difficult for them to drink that much liquid at one time. Or in one day. I gave Andy an 8 oz glass of milk for dinner tonight and he asked me to not give him so much milk at one time. Really? I know 3 yr olds who can drink more than that, just none of them came out of my body.
So, it's a huge stretch for Sarah to drink her Gatorade everyday. She dawdles, we pester, she ignores us, and without fail she spills the entire thing on the floor at least once a week. I am not joking. I don't know what she does, but she spills way more than an almost seven yr old should. The last time it happened, about a week ago, I completely lost it. I screamed and yelled and upset everybody, but I am so sick of cleaning Gatorade off the floor and walking in a sticky mess that I could not stop myself.
At that point I knew we needed a change. So I found this big insulated cup that I bought a very long time ago when I was in the car all the time and I wanted to drink more water. My friend, Ellie, said she had one and it was amazing. It kept her water cool, came with it's own straw, and had a screw on cap so that nothing would spill out. I dug it out of the cupboard, filled it not only with the 12 ounces of required Gatorade but a few more for good measure, mixed in the powder and screwed on the cap. Wonderful. No issues, drank it right down, yay new cup.
Until today. I wasn't actually watching so I don't know exactly how it happened, but Sarah was goofing off as usually during dinner and wasn't sitting properly in her seat. That's how we say it, "Sit properly!". All of a sudden her cup was knocked over, the lid was off and there was, once again, Gatorade all over the floor. But this time I took a new approach. I wasn't going to clean it up anymore. I wasn't the one being careless and silly, she was. So I made her clean it up. Amazingly, after all the times that she has spilled and I have had to clean up her mess, she had no idea where we keep the towels. She does now. She cleaned up the whole thing, and complained the entire time. All the while I sat there and told her I knew it wasn't fun and was sticky and was wet, because I'd done it already about 100 times.
In the end she wasn't very happy, but I was. Hopefully now she will be a little more careful when she's drinking a big glass of liquid. If not, she'll spend a little more time on the floor so she can figure it out.
Every. Single. Day.
Due to the dry climate of Colorado, her current doctor wants her to drink 30-40 ounces of liquid a day and at least 12 ounces of liquid when she consumes the Miralax. It comes in a powder form, so we mix it into her somewhat clear drink of choice, which happens to be yellow Gatorade at the moment, and then she has to drink it all in one sitting. I don't know how familiar you are with little kids, or at least my little kids, but it is difficult for them to drink that much liquid at one time. Or in one day. I gave Andy an 8 oz glass of milk for dinner tonight and he asked me to not give him so much milk at one time. Really? I know 3 yr olds who can drink more than that, just none of them came out of my body.
So, it's a huge stretch for Sarah to drink her Gatorade everyday. She dawdles, we pester, she ignores us, and without fail she spills the entire thing on the floor at least once a week. I am not joking. I don't know what she does, but she spills way more than an almost seven yr old should. The last time it happened, about a week ago, I completely lost it. I screamed and yelled and upset everybody, but I am so sick of cleaning Gatorade off the floor and walking in a sticky mess that I could not stop myself.
At that point I knew we needed a change. So I found this big insulated cup that I bought a very long time ago when I was in the car all the time and I wanted to drink more water. My friend, Ellie, said she had one and it was amazing. It kept her water cool, came with it's own straw, and had a screw on cap so that nothing would spill out. I dug it out of the cupboard, filled it not only with the 12 ounces of required Gatorade but a few more for good measure, mixed in the powder and screwed on the cap. Wonderful. No issues, drank it right down, yay new cup.
Until today. I wasn't actually watching so I don't know exactly how it happened, but Sarah was goofing off as usually during dinner and wasn't sitting properly in her seat. That's how we say it, "Sit properly!". All of a sudden her cup was knocked over, the lid was off and there was, once again, Gatorade all over the floor. But this time I took a new approach. I wasn't going to clean it up anymore. I wasn't the one being careless and silly, she was. So I made her clean it up. Amazingly, after all the times that she has spilled and I have had to clean up her mess, she had no idea where we keep the towels. She does now. She cleaned up the whole thing, and complained the entire time. All the while I sat there and told her I knew it wasn't fun and was sticky and was wet, because I'd done it already about 100 times.
In the end she wasn't very happy, but I was. Hopefully now she will be a little more careful when she's drinking a big glass of liquid. If not, she'll spend a little more time on the floor so she can figure it out.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Kid Quote of the Day
Me: Are you ready to put your bathing suit on?
Amanda: Not yet, I need to dance around being naked baby first.
Amanda: Not yet, I need to dance around being naked baby first.
One More Time For Good Measure
I think I was finally functional after our Vegas weekend by about Friday. Monday and Tuesday were a blur full of driving and laundry and the rest of the week flew by. Friday was the first day that I wasn't going to bed early, totally exhausted or trying to figure out exactly what was going on. I guess you could say it was a great vacation!
Saturday we hung out at home in the morning and then went for a late lunch at a neat pizza place in the city and then to visit our friends that had a brand new baby. He is just under three weeks old. I definitely know now that I really, truly don't want any more babies because I held that tiny little man for about two hours and then gladly gave him back to his mom and didn't think about it any more the rest of the evening. All those years of baby craving are definitely over.
Sunday we woke up and took the girls to swimming and then I took a six mile walk and Charlie went for a three mile run. Not together obviously, but back to back while one of us sort of watched the kids. I noticed around 1p that my throat was kind of scratchy and mentioned to Charlie that maybe the allergens were stirred up outside because of the nice weather, but by 4p I knew that it was more than that. I was supposed to take the girls to a 5p birthday party but instead drove myself to a party at the Walgreens clinic and found out that I had strep for the second time in six weeks. Ugh.
Luckily I caught it early and it wasn't too bad yet, but I'm still feeling run down and my throat hurts when I swallow, or when I don't. The two older kids both had friends over today (no school due to President's Day) which you would think would make things worse but actually was pretty nice because they weren't relying on me for entertainment. Plus Charlie was home because his parent company is a bank and today was one of those total banker holidays where everybody has to work except the people that work at banks. Oh, and schools and post offices. So he was going to go into the office and get stuff done but was nice enough to stay home in case I needed reinforcements and hopefully got some work done from here. Not as much as he would have liked, but better than nothing.
So this week our lives are not exciting and I'm not feeling up to par, but I better get better because Friday the whole family leaves for Orlando and I do my second 1/2 marathon on Sunday. Yay! I can't imagine doing it now, but hopefully all will be well on Sunday.
Saturday we hung out at home in the morning and then went for a late lunch at a neat pizza place in the city and then to visit our friends that had a brand new baby. He is just under three weeks old. I definitely know now that I really, truly don't want any more babies because I held that tiny little man for about two hours and then gladly gave him back to his mom and didn't think about it any more the rest of the evening. All those years of baby craving are definitely over.
Sunday we woke up and took the girls to swimming and then I took a six mile walk and Charlie went for a three mile run. Not together obviously, but back to back while one of us sort of watched the kids. I noticed around 1p that my throat was kind of scratchy and mentioned to Charlie that maybe the allergens were stirred up outside because of the nice weather, but by 4p I knew that it was more than that. I was supposed to take the girls to a 5p birthday party but instead drove myself to a party at the Walgreens clinic and found out that I had strep for the second time in six weeks. Ugh.
Luckily I caught it early and it wasn't too bad yet, but I'm still feeling run down and my throat hurts when I swallow, or when I don't. The two older kids both had friends over today (no school due to President's Day) which you would think would make things worse but actually was pretty nice because they weren't relying on me for entertainment. Plus Charlie was home because his parent company is a bank and today was one of those total banker holidays where everybody has to work except the people that work at banks. Oh, and schools and post offices. So he was going to go into the office and get stuff done but was nice enough to stay home in case I needed reinforcements and hopefully got some work done from here. Not as much as he would have liked, but better than nothing.
So this week our lives are not exciting and I'm not feeling up to par, but I better get better because Friday the whole family leaves for Orlando and I do my second 1/2 marathon on Sunday. Yay! I can't imagine doing it now, but hopefully all will be well on Sunday.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
What Happens In Vegas...
We're back. Barely functional, but back. We actually got home very late on Sunday night. This was after Delta called us at around 1p to tell us that our flight was delayed for an hour, which wouldn't have been a big deal except that our connection in Salt Lake City was only an hour, so it became a big deal. We hemmed and hawed about what to do and finally went to Salt Lake anyway and by some miracle after missing our flight to Colorado Springs and a second flight to Denver were able to get transferred to a United flight to Denver. We had to rent a car to get home, since our car was in Colorado Springs, but at least we were home.
We didn't end up going to bed until about 1:30a on Sunday night, and then Monday morning I took Charlie to the train station, my parents to the Denver airport, and then drove with Amanda to the Colorado Springs airport to get our car. Lots of driving. By the end of the day I was toast. Tuesday I was still exhausted and today I was finally back on track. I guess that makes it a good vacation.
It was a great trip. We left early Thursday morning and were at our hotel by 1p. The first surprise for Charlie was that our friends April and John from Orlando were there to celebrate with us. They arrived a couple of hours before we did so were able to meet us in the check-in line. We spend a casual day with them and then had a great French dinner inside the hotel (we stayed at the Paris). The next morning our friends Joe and Lizette from Miami showed up. We all know it each other and go on vacation together every summer, but this was the first time we were all together without our kids. It was fantastic. Friday night Joe and Lizette and Charlie and I went to see the Cirque du Soleil show "O". It was amazing. I have seen several Cirque shows before but I would have to say this was by far the best.
On Saturday we indulged in the buffet breakfast and then April and I went on a walk while John and Charlie went to the Pinball Hall of Fame. It was cool because they got to play all these old pinball games and video games that aren't really in arcades anymore like Galaga and Track and Field and the Olympic Hockey game with the big glass dome on top.
Our last visitors, Kenji and Jim flew in from Dallas around 6p on Saturday. We all went and had a fabulous Asian fusion dinner and then due to some connections that John has in Vegas we were able to get a table at Pure night club, the hottest night club in Vegas on Saturday night. I won't go into all the details (don't worry, we were relatively good), but we had an amazing time. Thanks again to John for everything he did, it was an unforgettable evening and I have no idea how we are going to top it for Joe's 40th next year!
So, overall an amazing weekend. I definitely did not get enough sleep and sorry to say but I did not miss the kids at all. Especially after being with them the last couple of days, I'm ready to leave again. Thanks to my parents who for some crazy reason told Charlie they would do it again, and I even confirmed that with them on the phone when I called to make sure they got home okay because I found it hard to believe they would say that so soon after spending four days with my children. I love them, but they can be slightly challenging.
Happy Birthday Charlie! I hope you had a great time!
We didn't end up going to bed until about 1:30a on Sunday night, and then Monday morning I took Charlie to the train station, my parents to the Denver airport, and then drove with Amanda to the Colorado Springs airport to get our car. Lots of driving. By the end of the day I was toast. Tuesday I was still exhausted and today I was finally back on track. I guess that makes it a good vacation.
It was a great trip. We left early Thursday morning and were at our hotel by 1p. The first surprise for Charlie was that our friends April and John from Orlando were there to celebrate with us. They arrived a couple of hours before we did so were able to meet us in the check-in line. We spend a casual day with them and then had a great French dinner inside the hotel (we stayed at the Paris). The next morning our friends Joe and Lizette from Miami showed up. We all know it each other and go on vacation together every summer, but this was the first time we were all together without our kids. It was fantastic. Friday night Joe and Lizette and Charlie and I went to see the Cirque du Soleil show "O". It was amazing. I have seen several Cirque shows before but I would have to say this was by far the best.
On Saturday we indulged in the buffet breakfast and then April and I went on a walk while John and Charlie went to the Pinball Hall of Fame. It was cool because they got to play all these old pinball games and video games that aren't really in arcades anymore like Galaga and Track and Field and the Olympic Hockey game with the big glass dome on top.
Our last visitors, Kenji and Jim flew in from Dallas around 6p on Saturday. We all went and had a fabulous Asian fusion dinner and then due to some connections that John has in Vegas we were able to get a table at Pure night club, the hottest night club in Vegas on Saturday night. I won't go into all the details (don't worry, we were relatively good), but we had an amazing time. Thanks again to John for everything he did, it was an unforgettable evening and I have no idea how we are going to top it for Joe's 40th next year!
So, overall an amazing weekend. I definitely did not get enough sleep and sorry to say but I did not miss the kids at all. Especially after being with them the last couple of days, I'm ready to leave again. Thanks to my parents who for some crazy reason told Charlie they would do it again, and I even confirmed that with them on the phone when I called to make sure they got home okay because I found it hard to believe they would say that so soon after spending four days with my children. I love them, but they can be slightly challenging.
Happy Birthday Charlie! I hope you had a great time!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Vegas
Charlie's 40th birthday was last week. His gift from me was a trip to Las Vegas. Well, really it was a gift to myself because I've been wanting to go, but his birthday was a good excuse. At the end of last year I realized I didn't have anything planned and this was a pretty big deal and I should do something. That's when I came up with the idea of Vegas.
So, I called my parents and they agreed to come watch the kids for a few days and I booked the whole trip. I kept it a secret until his birthday, which almost killed me, and then when the big day came only told him the destination. The fact that he wasn't allowed to do any of the planning is driving him bonkers. He plans every trip we ever go on, I don't even try anymore, so trusting someone else to do a good job is not easy for him. He is convinced he can do better (and most often is right).
The day has finally come and we leave this morning. He still doesn't know everything and I do have a few surprises up my sleeve. Since he reads this blog I can't tell you what they are, but I'll give you the lowdown next week when we get back.
Of course I can't tell you everything because, you know, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
So, I called my parents and they agreed to come watch the kids for a few days and I booked the whole trip. I kept it a secret until his birthday, which almost killed me, and then when the big day came only told him the destination. The fact that he wasn't allowed to do any of the planning is driving him bonkers. He plans every trip we ever go on, I don't even try anymore, so trusting someone else to do a good job is not easy for him. He is convinced he can do better (and most often is right).
The day has finally come and we leave this morning. He still doesn't know everything and I do have a few surprises up my sleeve. Since he reads this blog I can't tell you what they are, but I'll give you the lowdown next week when we get back.
Of course I can't tell you everything because, you know, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
A Proper Kiss
Amanda is a very affectionate little girl. She asks me for kisses a lot. Of course I ask her for quite a few kisses myself. Up until recently, you never knew what you were going to get when you asked for a kiss. It was very often a wide-open-mouth full tongue kiss that would put any frenchmen to shame. Or a bite, sometimes she would get her teeth in the way.
Within the last week or so, she's figured the whole kissing thing out. She purses her lips, makes sure they touch yours, and makes a little smacking noise as she finishes. Perfect.
Makes me want to canoodle with her just that much more.
Within the last week or so, she's figured the whole kissing thing out. She purses her lips, makes sure they touch yours, and makes a little smacking noise as she finishes. Perfect.
Makes me want to canoodle with her just that much more.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Overcoming Fear
Everybody has their hang ups or strange little quirks. For example, I don't like to walk on sidewalk grates. I always walk around them. Even when I am in New York City and the sidewalk is completely made up of them, I find a way to walk around. If I can't, I freak out the entire time I'm walking on them. Andy hates stickers. And face painting. Andy temporary tattoos. But he really hates stickers. He gets really upset if someone tries to put one on him, and it takes everything he can muster when we go somewhere and they want him to wear a sticker name tag. It truly is amazing how many people try to give your kids stickers when they are little. Most of the time they don't ask, they just stick. It would drive him nuts. I finally taught him to say no thank you, but it was major torture until he figured that one out.
Amanda's hang up is flushing the toilet. She has been potty trained for over a year now, and all this time she has refused to sit on the toilet if it isn't completely clean and there is nothing inside. That kind of makes sense, except for the fact that the girls and I go together to the bathroom. A lot. Flushing the toilet after each and every person is a waste of time and water. But she is adamant. Even if I wipe my nose right before she sits down and throw that in the toilet, when she's seen ahead of time that the toilet is clean, she will flush it again.
It gets even trickier when we are traveling and the entire family goes into the family bathroom. She yells at us to flush the toilet when we are done and we yell back that we aren't going to do if after each person. I'm sure it's comical to the people waiting outside in the hallway.
Anyway, after months of this going on, the other day she went to sit on the toilet and Sarah had used it before her and hadn't flushed. She looked hesitant, but she got up there anyway and went. I'm sure it was driving her crazy, but she overcame her fear and just went to the bathroom. I'm sure she won't do it again for a long time, but once is good for me. For now at least. It means she isn't as rigid as I thought and maybe, just maybe, she will give on a few more things moving forward. A sign of better things to come.
Amanda's hang up is flushing the toilet. She has been potty trained for over a year now, and all this time she has refused to sit on the toilet if it isn't completely clean and there is nothing inside. That kind of makes sense, except for the fact that the girls and I go together to the bathroom. A lot. Flushing the toilet after each and every person is a waste of time and water. But she is adamant. Even if I wipe my nose right before she sits down and throw that in the toilet, when she's seen ahead of time that the toilet is clean, she will flush it again.
It gets even trickier when we are traveling and the entire family goes into the family bathroom. She yells at us to flush the toilet when we are done and we yell back that we aren't going to do if after each person. I'm sure it's comical to the people waiting outside in the hallway.
Anyway, after months of this going on, the other day she went to sit on the toilet and Sarah had used it before her and hadn't flushed. She looked hesitant, but she got up there anyway and went. I'm sure it was driving her crazy, but she overcame her fear and just went to the bathroom. I'm sure she won't do it again for a long time, but once is good for me. For now at least. It means she isn't as rigid as I thought and maybe, just maybe, she will give on a few more things moving forward. A sign of better things to come.
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