Month: January 2007

So I figure what better way to procrastinate than blogging! First, a few pics:

My foot, day five.

I can finally say it is doing better and mean it. I was able to wear real shoes today, and while it still hurts when I walk, I don’t have a gimp any more.

Connor’s costume de jour.

That headset microphone is the latest obsession. He “talks to the astronauts” with it. And that hat came from China via Uncle Patrick. Cracks me up! Tonight, before going to sleep, he tied his teddy bear to himself using a purple scarf. He informed me it was a Mr. Bear Bag. He had it all tangled around his torso and legs. Oh, and did I mention he was also wearing the hat pictured above and mittens? I love his imagination so very much.

The Logan Bug. So I made banana bread with the boys a few days ago, and of course he wanted to “help”. So I poured a little flour in a bowl for him and gave him a spoon. I think that snaggle smile is a seal of approval. Connor was standing next to him with the real batter, eating it (because, like me, he loves all things batter.) It’s totally monkey see, monkey do with Logan, so he started shoveling his flour into his mouth. I kept asking him if it was good, and he would look at me with that smile and say “mmmm. mmmm.” so funny! Love that crazy kid!

I went to the mall today to look for an outfit for Patrick and Noel’s wedding. While there, I decided to get my hair cut. Have you ever told someone how you want your hair cut, and then they tell you that, no, in fact you don’t want it like that? I went to a more shi-shi place that I used to go. And when I told her I wanted the longest layers cut, making my overall hair length much shorter, she said no. So I let her talk me into barely changing my hair at all, which is annoying because when I pay a good amount for a haircut, I want to be able to tell a difference. But the funniest part were her comments about my current haircut. They weren’t necessarily negative, but she certainly wasn’t ohhing and ahhing over the current style. She said things like “wow, there are NO layers at the front! And what is this drop right here? Yeah, you are going to need 2 or 3 more hair cuts to get this all cleaned up.” And the funny part? SHE was the one who gave me that hair cut! I wasn’t trying to go back to the same person, she was just available this morning. Pretty funny.

This morning, Connor toasted his own bagel, toasted some bread and buttered it, and got himself dressed. By himself. This is huge. Little signs of independence that make me so happy.

Okay, I’ve wasted enough time on here. Good night!

Let me give you a pictorial overview of our master bedroom. This is how it’s looked since we moved in a year ago.

I have my work cut out for me, that’s for sure. But I am actually excited to get this project started. Wish me luck!

I turned into a complete cry baby at the marathon. First, I cried when I met my friends before the race. Then, I cried when I went back to the hotel room after the race started. Then I had a ton of fun cheering everyone on with my hot pink “Bay Area Fit Woo Hoo” and “Red Runners Rock” posters at mile 12 and mile 18. Then I went to the finish line, and the tears really started. Holy cow, what an emotional experience! I think I would cry even without the current circumstances. There is just something about seeing all these people, from all walks of life accomplish something that took months and months of hard work and dedication. I cried when a very overweight woman came walking up with the help of a friend. She was crying as she finished her half marathon in just over 5 hours. I cried when the father/son team crossed the line holding hands. I cried when the woman stopped to kiss the marine standing next to me, and he choked up as he told her how proud he was. I cried, and cried, and cried some more. If you’ve never gone to a marathon finish, go. It was inspiring, amazing, and just incredible.

So all in all, it was a fun weekend despite the obvious disappointment. We enjoyed a fantastic meal at Buca Di Bepo in honor of Patrick’s birthday. We took Noel to Chuck E. Cheese for her very first time. We got the boys’ haircuts. We played football in the backyard, watched a lot of football, visited, and just had fun with family.

Here are a few pics from the weekend.

Patrick and Noel at Chuck E. Cheese.

Playing the snow mobile game is very intense! (and this also shows off Connor’s shaggy hair)

Logan’s shaggy hair

Connor post haircut. When ever we spike it like that, he calls it “spooky hair.”

Logan’s snazzy new ‘do.

The birthday boy. what a dirtbag!

The foot of mookery. I couldn’t get a picture that really does the pain justice, but you can see the bruising from my heel to my toes, and my foot looks like it belongs to a pregnant woman.

Unless you’re me.

Let me paint the picture for you. Derek, the boys, and I are gaily walking into a banquet hosted by Bay Area Fit (the running club I have been training with). I am super excited to see my friends, introduce Derek and the boys to my friends, eat a delicious dinner, and get pumped up for the big race on Sunday. Ahead of me I see a little run-off ditch in the parking lot. I think to myself “make sure you tell the boys not to get in that nasty water.” I carefully step over the parking bump, and before I even know what’s happening, I am on the ground, in the nasty water, tears welling up, with an intense pain shooting up my foot. Logan is crying. I am crying, Derek is doing his best to comfort us both, and Connor is watching this unfold with a look of confusion on his face.

One of my fellow runners stops to ask if I am ok. I smile and say yes, all the while thinking I am really not. But I am not going to let this ruin the evening. So I get up, hobble inside, find my friends, get some ice for my foot, and put on a happy face for the evening. But honestly I am concerned about my foot because it hurts. Bad.

We get in the car to come home, and I lose it. I started to cry as I realize that I might not be able to run on Sunday. 6 months of hard work lost in a moment. I call my mom (because, just admit it. When your hurt all you really want is mommy to make you feel better.) She suggest I call James since he is working that night in one of the ER’s nearby. An hour later, my mom and I are headed to the hospital.

The good news: It’s not broken!
The bad news: It’s now 18 hours until the start time and I can barely walk.
The good news: There are 2 more marathons in Texas in February. I can (and will) run in one of those.
The bad news: It’s really disappointing that I won’t get to run with Ruth and Jenn after spending so much time training with them.
The good news: My family is still here and we will have a fun weekend regardless of what happens tomorrow.

I am still going to stay in the nice hotel we booked downtown, I am still going to be there cheering my friends on and experiencing the marathon. And maybe I will experience a miraculous healing. And if I don’t, then I will just remember that God is in control of this whole situation, and for whatever reason, the Houston Marathon wasn’t meant to be.

This is just so classic. Only me. I am such a spas!

Anyone who has spent any time with Logan knows that his vocab consists of pointing and saying “unh? unhh?” In the past few weeks, he has really started talking more and more, repeating what we say, saying new words every day. His favorite words include No, Mine, and Wiggles. I think those say a lot about him…Anyway, here is a video from last night with a sampling of a few of his words.

I dreamed about the marathon last night. Instead of running with my friends Ruth and Jenn, it was Ruth and this girl from jr. high named Sonia (YJH gals, remember her?). And in the middle of the marathon, there was one one these we had to traverse:

Remember those? Do they even have those on playgrounds anymore? anyway, it wasn’t small like that. It was about 40 feet tall. and you know how those things cave in in the middle after time? There were caved in spots all around, so it was really hard to climb back down. Unfortunately, Sonia fell off and it knocked her out of the race. So Ruth and I pressed on. Eventually I lost Ruth…not really sure how that happened.

After the large jungle gym, we ran through a corporate office and the cafeteria, and then we had to pull those little number tabs they have at customer service desks to get out of the building. Once I got through that, I was surrounded by Mack trucks. No, not just semi’s. Macks from Lightning McQueen. When I got through that, I was on a part that really is on the course-the road goes up and then down under a bridge, and then back up. That is when I saw my mom, Nick, and Cindi. Cindi jumped in and started running with me. Then my rubber band broke and I started yelling “Does anyone have a rubber band?” over and over again until someone tossed one to me.

Then, the moment I had been waiting for. The finish line. My eyes welled up, the chills come….

“Mommy? Mommy? Can you come play with me?”

7:15. Time to get up. Gotta love Connor’s timing.

And speaking of Connor, check out this gem. Christmas never dies at our house! He LOVES to sing this song, as you can tell by the video. I had to record him secretly because he would never willingly put on this performance. We’ve tried, unsuccessfully, several times .

Tomorrow I will have a video of Logan. He is so cute and so fun! Just wait…you will see.

Oh, and I almost forgot! My album that won the grand prize in the Piggy Tales contest a few weeks ago is going to be published in a book! So excited about that!

And that’s all she wrote. For now.

Bye bye Christmas blog, hello new and improved blog. But I need a new title. In the past 2 years, this blog has morphed into less of a kid update and more of a Meg thing. I still talk a lot about the kids, because let’s face it…a lot of my life is the kids. But the whole reason I started this was to keep the grandparents and friends up to date. But now it’s an outlet, my journal, a way to keep in touch with friends and family, and it’s just mine. I feel like I have outgrown Tales from the Crib. But I can’t think of a good title yet…I know inspiration will come. Or maybe one of you have an idea?

And I have to give a shout out to Cindi and her photography business, Selah Studios. She took the pic of us in the banner. I love all of the pictures she took for us! In fact, if you want to see them all, you can check it out here. and here. And if you are in the DFW area and need some pictures taken, give her a call! She is great!

We have officially lived in our house for a year. And our master bedroom looks exactly the way it did when we moved in a year ago. I think tomorrow I will take pictures of the whole room so that you can see the pile of stuff for future garage sale, 5 tables, 4 chairs, 2 tvs, pile of frames and candles, and not a single thing on the walls.

But this is going to change! I have recovered from the trauma of removing wallpaper and I am ready for the next house project. Mission Master Bedroom is commencing!

First on my list was new bedding. Because pretty much everything else-wall color, accessories, etc will center around the bedding. So Connor and I headed out to Ikea yesterday. (Thank you Ikea for providing one hour of free childcare! I love that, and so does Connor.) I found a few throw pillows that I just fell in love with. And then I found a duvet cover to go with them. And thus, the transformation of our room is starting!

There is lots to be done still, but I love my new duvet and pillows!

Tomorrows mission-Operation Pick Paint. That is my favorite part!

I am hoping if I play my cards right, maybe my brother and his fiancee will want to help paint. They are arriving on Thursday! I can’t wait to see them.

I can hardly believe this: The marathon is next week! 26.2 miles…next Sunday…everyone start praying for perfect 55 degree weather!

I bet you are all sick of looking at that goofy pic of D and I. I know I am tired of looking at it. Yes, I compulsively check my own blog. I’m not ashamed.

I am working on a new banner since Christmas is officially over. It was a great Christmas this year, but I am ready to get life all back to normal. I took down the Christmas stuff (although it hasn’t quite made it into the attic yet.) And Derek took down the outside lights. We had a conversation about when outside decorations turn from holiday cheer to tackiness. I think thye would definitely need to come down by next weekend, but my preference is right after New Year’s. D doesn’t think it’s tacky until the end of the month! Am I the only one who thinks that is really funny? I think maybe he got accustomed to our neighborhood in California where it was quite normal to have Christmas decorations up year round. And it was also normal to have a huge wooden nativity scene on the roof because the yard is too small. And it’s normal to have graffiti spray painted on your house….ahh, the memories.

Anyway, life back to normal. Connor goes back to school tomorrow. There have been times when I couldn’t wait for him to go back, and also times when I thought I would really miss my boy. I mean, look at this cutie?

But let me just say that when he and D are involved in a power struggle lasting an hour and a half…he is not so cute. The past two days, there have been moments straight out of Super Nanny. Any prayers for patience and wisdom would be greatly appreciated. I don’t like to get on here and complain about Connor’s behavior much. Because we have times that are embarrassing and awful and make me feel like a complete failure as a mother. You know that book The Strong Willed Child? Yeah, I am reading it. For the third time. Strong willed doesn’t even begin to describe Connor at times. The older he gets, the more complicated he becomes. Just when I think I have something figured out, he changes. I start to even entertain the idea of possibly adding to our family in the future, and I have a day that reminds me I have a lot of work to do with the ones I’ve already got. I hate not feeling like I am doing a good job as their mother. It’s the most important job in the world. It’s the only job I’ve ever really wanted.

Anyway, enough about that.

For New Year’s Eve, Derek and I rented Little Miss Sunshine. It was so good! Sometime during our 11 years together, we started watching movies on New Year’s Eve. Maybe it all points back to New Year’s eve of 1995 when Derek said he loved me for the first time right in the middle of The Fox and the Hound. So sweet. Love that memory. Back to LMS. If you haven’t seen it, go rent it. It will make you laugh. And cry.

Two other movies that are now officially on my list of top movies are Love Actually and Garden State. I watched Love Actually 5 times this holiday season. The monologue at the beginning gives me chills. The first 10 minutes always make me tear up. I get giddy when the little boy runs through the airport to catch his girl. I love that movie.

And Garden State. Zach Braff. Need I say more? I can’t figure out what I like so much about him, but he is definitely my crush of the moment. I love him! What I love about Garden State, besides Zach Braff and Natalie Portman, and just the fact that it is funny and makes me cry too, is that every time I watch it I notice another little detail. I love movies like that.

So if you haven’t seen Garden State or Love Actually, go see them.
And have a happy Thursday.