time flies

Yesterday I went to visit my dear friend Julie in the hospital. After a long and difficult pregnancy she had finally just given birth to her second little boy. He was tiny and perfect. One year ago this week I was in the hospital doing the same thing. Johnny's birthday was on Tuesday. I had him with me when we went to see baby Zach and I couldn't stop staring. I can't believe how far we have come this year, how far he has come. He had his well-child check-up on Wednesday, he is just over 20 lbs. He is growing taller every day. He takes four and five steps at a time and will probably be really walking any day. He babbles all day and says three words (Mama, Dada and bye-bye) and he can climb anything. I seldom see him without a grin on his face. He loves his Mommy and follows me around the house all day. We have come a long way from the days of midnight feedings, reflux and colic (ok- he still throws up all the time but my pediatrician swears he will outgrow that). I almost didn't make it through last fall, but this summer has been absolutely delightful. He is the most delightful little one I have seen in a long time and there is nothing I would trade for this time with him. It is, however, probably better that no one offered last September. We couldn't do without him and now that it's in the past I am more than willing to pay the price we did to have the lovely baby we do. I am sure that there will be many challenges in the future and he will not stay this lovely pre-toddler for ever, but I think this year has finally taught me that this too shall pass and that the struggle will pay off. Maybe that will help me through the next rough season.

judge-y wudge-y was a bear

Today I went to Hobby Lobby to get stuff for a project. I, of course, was in a huge hurry. I am standing in line and there are three ladies in front of me. They are all together. They are maybe five or ten years older than I am. They are wearing coordinated work- out clothes and Miss America make-up. Two of the three have fake boobs. They are abnormally tanned and high-lighted. They are discussing the merits of tanning beds versus"laying out". They are buying really chintzy fall-themed items to decorate what I guarantee are their McMansions. They are meandering and taking FOREVER. I do not know these women and I am sure they do a lot of good for the community (probably with the Junior League) but I can't stand them immediately and want them to hurry up and go away so I can get on with things. It was all I could do not to give them dirty looks. They have done nothing to me nor were they doing anything wrong. I am a huge snob and should be punished accordingly.

braggart

This morning I ran 16 miles. I did not cheat and I did not drop dead along the way or even after finishing. I even got my first blisters. I'm feeling pretty awesome! I might actually be able to do this...

not alone

My wonderful friend Erin wrote a lovely piece on mommies and how we need each other, so worth the read. Check it out here.

rock on

We are subscribers of XM radio. They play lots of edgy, less-heard music which makes us happy. Yesterday on the way home from a birthday party the old B52's song Rock Lobster came on and Ty and I sang along and enjoyed it as any closet Fred Snyder fan would. Since then Tommy has spent much of his time randomly yelling, "ROOOOCK LOBSTER!" at the top of his lungs from wherever in the house he happened to be at the time. It was really funny the first ten times or so and, honestly it's still pretty funny, just really loud.

into the wild

My husband is the best. dad. ever.! Friday night he slept out in the backyard with Tommy. He sent me to the store to purchase a tent, sleeping bags and extra flashlights. The got out the camping chairs and Tommy's little picnic table. They ate corn-on-the-cob and hot dogs and I made them smores in the oven. They went hiking on the golf course and read stories with their flashlights. They went out at 6 pm and stayed out all night, until, that is it started pouring at 5:10 am, when they came running in, Tommy still delighted with the whole experience. Three days later Tommy hasn't stopped talking about it. My favorite thing is that Tymon hasn't either.

i heart my home warranty

When we bought this house it came with a home warranty. I didn't even give it a second thought. I didn't know what it was or how to use it. A month or so after we moved in we were having some problems with our air conditioning and my friend Katrina recommended I check and see if it was covered under our warranty. It was! They charged me a $60 co-pay and did about $800 worth of work. Over the first year they fixed the heating and replaced my washing machine as well. Score! It came up for renewal last month and I really thought about not renewing. We hadn't had any repairs for awhile and everything seemed to be flowing along smoothly but our house and many of it's systems are 14 years old so I coughed up the $400, just in case. Last week I noticed a minor water leak near the basement air conditioning unit. They came out to check on it this morning. It needs a new component that costs $1200. I will pay $60. Hooray! I don't know how these people are making any money but it certainly isn't from me.

ta-da!

Johnny will be one this month. Yesterday, I finally finished his bedroom. What can I say? I'm a little slow. I am, however, thrilled with how it turned out so here are some brag photos. Today is rainy and overcast so the lighting isn't fabulous but you get the general idea. The woodland creatures were painted by my dear friend Julie and the rest of the art is home grown. We now have to live in this house forever because I like it so much.

so hot

Today I ran 10 miles. I hear all you distance runners saying, "Pshaw, you're not even half way yet!" This is true. But I ran that 10 miles in Wichita, Kansas, in August. It is approximately 100 degrees with about 70% humidity. Melt. I bought a water belt yesterday and it's a good thing because there is no way I would have made it. As it was I did not have enough water. I usually run about a 9 minute mile. Today I was between 12 and 13. This is not good. I finally got home dehydrated and discouraged. I called my running buddy Katherine (who is also a doctor and in my eyes, credible). She reassured me that it was not me, it was the heat. She says that running in this heat it was more like running 15 miles. I don't know if it's true but I adore her for telling me so. I am holding on to this because it makes me feel a lot better.