Thursday, February 28, 2013

Selfishness and the Amazing Bar, and some pictures!

I have decided that if I write a book someday, that'll be the title!  And tragically, it would be non-fiction!  The good news is that the Amazing Bar is not a watering hole.  It refers to the bar of amazingness that I keep setting for myself, but more on that later.

Things are really busy around here. Between really busy work, lots of traveling, family visits (here and there),  icky winter weather (here and there), being a mom, a wife, and a nurse, it's been difficult to also find time to be a runner. The intention is made every day, but until all this snow melts, sidewalks are too icy at 6 am, leaving mid-day or pre-daycare-pickup as my other available times.  See the list above for why it's difficult to fit that all in.  But this week was three runs, each a little longer than the previous, and a long run (only 4 miles) scheduled for Saturday.

Here's the selfish part.  And I almost hate to admit this.  One of my BFFs and also my running partner (Best Running Friend or BRF) is my inspiration and my side kick.  She always manages to push me to run a little longer and a little faster. She has three kids, the youngest is only 4 months! She's amazing.  And if she can do it, then what's my excuse?  Yep. I don't have one!!  Unfortunately, the new baby stirred up trouble while she was on the inside and made Lisa's gallbladder go bad. She had emergency surgery this week to have it removed. My first question was "Are you alright?"  My second question was "Do you need anything? Help with the kids? Food?" And my third question was "When can you run again?"  Really?  She's in the ER waiting to be admitted for surgery and I asked her when she can run again.  S-H-E-L-F-I-S-H!!! I quickly realized my gaff and followed up with "I will miss you. Can we still have girl time when you are back on your feet?"  Good recovery, right?  Sigh.  I hope it was good anyway.

As for the amazing bar.  Well, Pinterest has ruined me forever and ever and ever and has caused me to set the bar of amazing so high that I end up feeling less than successful much of the time.  It's a character flaw, I suppose.  Oh, and I SUCK at arts & crafts making the amazing bar impossible to live up to! My skill level is so bad that in 3rd grade my art teacher told the whole class to buy me an eraser for Christmas. A day that probably ruined me for life and has prevented me from ever really trying again.  Until now.  Thanks to stupid Pinterest and new mommyhood.  There's something about being a mom that makes me really want to try again. I will get better over time, right?  I have a great imagination.  I have had some great conceptual ideas that someone else has always brought to life. But now it's all on me.  Wish me luck! I'll post pictures as the projects are complete! I have faith that the amount of love that goes into the projects will more than compensate for their lack of prettiness!

Now, onto a lighter note.  Bryan is mobile. I mean, not just crawling mobile...that started a month ago, but crawling at light-speed, pulling up on EVERYTHING, walking around things, and now he's climbing stairs. YIKES!  I still haven't baby proofed the kitchen!  Here's hoping he doesn't find the mandolin stored in the island!  Here are some pictures from February.  It's hard to believe he's only 13 days away from 11 months!  We've had to switch his formula to soy in that the pediatrician thinks maybe many of the ailments (and refusal to eat) was because of a dairy sensitivity...we aren't calling it an allergy yet!  At the end of January he had dipped into the 10th percentile in each of his measurements, which was of concern in that he was born in the 50th.  But we are on track to have a 20+lb 12-month old!  He weighed in at 19 lbs, 9 oz this week!  Nice work, Nuggs!!

Just like his Papa, Nugget loves raw potatoes! Sans salt, of course!

Hey, Mom! Don't look. I want to climb these while you aren't looking!

First you put your leg up!  He got up three steps before he decided to sit down. Thankfully I was there to catch him. That could have been a MAJOR disaster!

Just chillin' with his Nana! This is my favorite shirt. He's the Hockey MVP! I keep buying it in the next size up! And apparently I make him wear it a lot!!

This is my new favorite picture. Two little teeth (Now he has these 2 plus 2 that broke through on the top!), his thumb, and Frasier (his flat giraffe) hanging out in the car seat that we are moving him out of this weekend! Where has the time gone?  As a dear family friend said to me, "The days are  long, but the years are short."  Thanks, Sue! I remind myself to enjoy each moment in that tomorrow is a new adventure and a clean slate and he'll never be today's age again.