for bonner or for worse...

motym.

2011-11-22T21:31:00.004-06:00

mother of the year moment.

{motym}

after dinner we were just hanging out. we had nick jr. on tv and a nice small fire going. without even realizing it, i'm on pinterest. i mean, my account was open and it just happened. i was checking it out. scrolling through the mindless pins that make me believe if i pin enough things i could cook, have style, own fabulous accessories, feel the need to shop for things i didn't even know i want, have stunning and versatile hairstyles at my command, host the best party and become a diy goddess. i am feeling glorious! feeling like the best mother in the world for pinning a site where you take a picture of your living room and put santa in it for proof.

myotm.

until

i really see this:

my son. cleaning the coffee table while i waste time on the internet.

motym.

okay, i didn't really see this exact snap. i was the one sitting by the fire. this is what i really saw:

i didn't even stop him.

i got up and grabbed my camera.

motym.

so, really all of this happened but we didn't just have baby wipes in the living room. james went into his room and grabs his wipes box with the cars characters on it and brings it into the living room. i'm "busy" and so i am okay with this. he's naming the characters and seems like he is pleasantly entertained. he then pulls one wipe out. so, i casually say, james, clean the table.

and he does!

i mean, he scrubs away. he get another wipe and another. he is loving it!

this. is. awesome! this ranks right up under the proud achievement, trash can award. mr. h and i feel spoiled now that james knows where the trash is and likes throwing things away. (well, except for when we have to rescue the toy casualties who "fall down" inside the trash can. yep, they just fall, fall down. james swears.) but seriously, it's like now he's a little helper. doing chores and pulling his weight. baaahaha.

i just love that he is learning.

and that he's a good helper.

and that i have a clean coffee table.

the king.

2011-11-17T15:43:00.002-06:00

halloween thus far hasn't been super exciting. don't get me wrong, i love dressing james up and picking out the perfect outfit. i mean, james just really hasn't been an active participant in the halloween festivities. the first year he couldn't walk and got abnormally hot in his perfect costume for thirty degree weather. i think it was like seventy. oops. the second year we ramped it up and tried to make it more fun for him. we i tried to pick out an outfit he couldn't hate. let's face it, 19 month old baby boys don't like accessories. they want to be mobile and free. this year, well, i wasn't sure exactly what we'd do. we were newbies in texas without our family or friends to celebrate. luckily i had some options and talked to a neighbor ahead of time. the costume search began. here's what happens - i think about it and think about it. i talk to my friends about their kid's costumes and then i think about the photo session opportunity. obviously.

this year, i knew i could ask james what he wanted to be. he'd tell me a toy story character, like woody or buzz. man, he'd love those wings. if so, i would have loved to be closer to my friend, chelse, who is a nice mom and let her daughter pick out her own costume. she chose jessie. how cute would that have been? two little toy story characters running around asking politely for candy and joyfully saying thank you as they skip on to the next house. except, i think my daydream really is just in my dream world. our children are young and exert there own personality on this wonderful holiday. and i think it is safe to say, we'll work on improvement for next year. i think there is an 18 year learning curve to being a mom, right??

so, knowing james would have picked a mainstream character, i thought i'd ride it out one more year and diligently pick his costume. i might let him decide next year. if mr. h has anything to say about it, we'll let james choose. and i'm okay with that. totally. as long as it's cute. or as long as he can rock a photo session with dear old mom. but this year, this year i thought "the king" was fitting for my little prince.

my friend, haley, made his costume. from scratch. i know, right?!! it was perfect. except he wanted nothing to do with the gold glasses. wouldn't even touch them. still hasn't. dang. anyway, my work had a halloween carnival and he got to rock his costume and hear all the women coo-ing over him. i bet that is what the real elvis got, probably not g-rated though. he was a hit! until it was time to eat and jump in the bounce house. we changed his outfit so he could enjoy it more. and truth be told, so he didn't ruin it with kethcup and his rambunctious ways.

next up was actual halloween. my first thought goes to the traffic. that could be an entire post itself but let's just say that it was the longest commute home i've endured so far. i think everyone leaves work on time to get their kids ready. i told my boss to remind me to take a half day vacation next year to avoid the mess. he laughed. and said i could leave early. he remembers those days. luckily, i married an awesome hubby and dad. he had james dressed and ready to roll when i got home. since round one at my work, he kind of understood - wear this costume and i'll get candy. specifically i'll get chocolate. (i know, i know. my toddler had chocolate. he loved it. don't be a hater. it was october! if you deprived your child, you should point that finger right back around.) we successfully made it to a grand total of 4 houses. only three answered their door and i made james go to the forth so mr. h could meet the neighbors to the west. jackpot! they, by far, had the best candy. of course, james did not say one trick-or-treat or thank one kind person for the candy. awkward! he did however say trick-or-treat to ask mr. h and i for candy around the house. funny how that works, right?

thank gawd halloween is over. i loved it. i loved every kitkat, snickers bar and dumdum sucker. i have no self control. sweets are definitely my weakness. i think james got that gene from me...but i got it from grammie. so we'll obviously blame her.

thank you.

thank you very much.

**note to self - if you put the plastic pumpkin holding halloween candy in the pantry, the strong-willed toddler will know how to open the pantry for the rest of your life!**

pumpkins.

2011-11-03T17:03:00.000-05:00

i never realized that i was blessed to have an actual pumpkin patch so close to me in oklahoma. i mean, it was at least a 30 minute drive but it was there. you could pick a pumpkin, ride a mini-horse and enjoy the petting zoo. i could tell james enjoyed it last year so i just knew this year would be even better. welp, if i could find a dang pumpkin patch that wasn't over an hour away.

i decided to go to the dallas aboretum at white rock lake. i remember thinking how beautiful the lake was when i ran around it last december and i've heard that the pumpkin display is beautiful. i'm not sure what i had in mind but my thoughts were different than reality. please don't think i didn't enjoy it. i did - just minus the petting zoo, the heat and the crowded pumpkin areas.

mr. h had to go back to oklahoma so i snagged my old roomie, brittney, and we were on the pumpkin adventure with james. overall, it was a nice day and it just felt good to be outside. it felt good to be in good company.

i mean, this was his face before we even let him out of the buggy:

i knew we'd have our hands full.

he did sit for maybe 30 seconds so i could try to get that perfect picture but between his quick moves and all the other parent photographers out there, this is what we got.

then we went to check out the pumpkin house. this was neat. and they had little pumpkins you could have, for free. or we hope they were free. brittney gave james one. you would have thought it was gold. open shade equals picture time in my book. here we go.

cheese.

hi mom.

hi handsome, little stud-muffin.

look how innocent he looks. he was being so good and so cute.

i love that little crinkled nose and smile.

i'm pretty sure right after this he spiked the mini pumpkin. all boy. i really wanted to get a picture with james. i'm behind the camera, always, so i thought it was time for another mommy/stud-muffin picture.

james and i have totally different opinions.

death grip. i have a death grip on my child. he was kicking and flailing around. poor brittney didn't know what to do. so, she just took a few snaps. luckily, he kind of looks like he's smiling in this one. but trust me - in real life, he was definitely not smiling for the camera.

so, i let him go. he's way too heavy and strong and it was way too hot to fight him. once he calmed down, i had to try again though. maybe he'd take one pretending to kiss me on the cheek or give me a big hug to show his appreciation for the trip to look at a ton (TON!) of pumpkin decorations.

take two:

nope. not one single picture is he looking at the camera. so, i choose the one that i liked the best of me. in this particular pose, i've noticed i look like a hunchback and can actually look scary. bless.

immediately after this, i was putting up the camera and getting the stroller when james decided to run around the house in a circle. brittney and i are chasing him, the buggy is flying and then he decided to disappear. i think both brittney and i were terrified but knew he was there. just short and we couldn't see him. luckily we found him before we both started screaming like one of those moms. don't worry, if he hadn't popped up, i would have been. immediately after that, he got the leash put on. oh, i'm sorry, child harness.

we walked and looked around and decided it was lunch time. okay, only german brats. no thank you. oh, another stand....with four dollar pb&j sandwiches. no thank you. but i think this might have been the highlight of james' day.

yep. a cheeto break in the shade.

on the way home, james fell asleep and we went to a yummy mexican restaurant for some lunch. i am so glad i decided to go, even though mr. h couldn't. and even though i couldn't find an actual pumpkin "patch". maybe we'll make the added drive next year. maybe.

white knuckle grand prix.

2011-11-01T13:14:00.000-05:00

so, i've dropped the ball on my ambitious 3 to 4 blogs per week goal. blogger fail. i mean, i think i have a good excuse but in reality, we all have 24 hours a day. how we choose to allocate them is up to us. i have thought about blogging but just haven't done it. i even have specific blogs to write and pictures to post, like our trip to the "pumpkin patch" and my little trick-or-treater. i'll get to those soon. i promise, grammie.

my excuse for not blogging is that i got a job! phew. the day after i left my oklahoma job, i was unemployed. i did not expect to have any further revenue coming into my bank account. this made me anxious and actually saying "i'm unemployed" is less than desirable. i was completely torn - i was moving states without a job insight. this could be awesome because i would finally have the opportunity to be a SAHM. yay. we would play and be best friends. we would snuggle over my morning coffee and color and everything i'd been missing. i couldn't wait. knowing that a job would come, i needed to relish my time at home with james.

we moved down on a saturday and i had my first interview on the following wednesday. i was so nervous. i was almost more nervous about the drive than the actual interview. i suppose because texas drivers are fast and crazy and i was still in the "i'm a sahm" glory state of mind. BUT after i left the interview, i wanted it. i needed it. i knew it was a good company and i knew it would be a good direction to take my career. i was torn. i wanted to stay at home longer but i also didn't want to be rejected. i didn't want this job opportunity to pass me by. luckily, i didn't have to wait long before i got the call. the offer call, not the turn down, thank goodness. i was so happy to accept but so sad to know that my time at home was cut short. i researched daycares. took james to visit and even had to have a trial run. i think i've made a good choice and i think james is happy and have been told several times that he really enjoys the slide. isn't that what life is all about?

the main adjustment i've had to coming back to work after my three week break is the traffic. in the morning i'm a participant in the white knuckle grand prix but on the way home i think my right leg is going to fall off from breaking every 20 yards. i don't understand - people are so quick to get to work but so dang slow to go home. shouldn't it be the other way around?? in the morning i have to put away my phone and really pay attention. on the way home, i like to chat. i'm not usually a big phone talker, per say, i'm more of a texter. well, i do talk to my mom everyday but you get the point. but i've found talking to my family and friends back home make my miserable drive more tolerable. it allows me to catch up and not look at the clock every two minutes. i tend to look at the clock when i pull out of the garage at work and run a mental tally on my way home. it stresses me out and just makes me in a bad mood. this is definitely something i need to overcome. traffic isn't going away. there is no solution except to breath. and learn to use my mirrors.

i've always thought texas drivers were nuts. i still do. heaven forbid you use a blinker to change lanes. i wonder if they see my oklahoma tag and immediately think i'm a bad driver? good. maybe they'll get out of my way.

chocolate milk, pease.

2011-10-20T11:38:00.002-05:00

james loves chocolate milk. he wants it before bed, in the morning and all day long. unfortunately, we don't always give into his requests but he gets his fair share. this guy isn't getting shorted.

do you ever have those small moments when you know you're child is a genius? yes, yes, yes - i know we all think that often but really? like, james will do something and i think his brain is clicking. he is getting it. he'll be smarter than me. is he like me when i was little? did i think so in-depth about chocolate milk?

james always asks for chocolate milk followed by a pease. this trick worked for a while but now we're professionals. so, when we do decide to adhere his request he now says thank you. followed by his new genius moment - he looks for chocolate at the bottom of his cup. yep. as soon as we give it to him. he needs to see it to believe it. we used to get away with telling him it was chocolate and he never said a word. now, as soon as we make him a drink, he lifts it up and searches for the chocolate evidence. if he doesn't see chocolate at the bottom of the cup, he's going to let you know about it.

i obviously passed the test. a nice cup and some mickey mouse equals one happy boy. you know, truth be told, i love chocolate milk too. maybe we do have this in common.

tunnel vision? chocolate induced coma?

i don't care.

10 minutes of silence.

joy. pure joy. i think i hear birds outside. they've never sounded so wonderful.

medusa.

2011-10-15T12:24:00.000-05:00

i was going to link up to saturday morning scene again but the host didn't post one today. is it over and i missed it? i have been so caught up in moving and my recent life changes, i have missed blogs and posts and current events. maybe selfish, maybe just busy. priorities. either way, i'll do my own little saturday morning scene. today i wanted to introduce you to medusa.

someone thoughtfully chose this light fixture for the master bedroom. lucky me. cough, cough. at first, i thought it was just an eye sore. i'd much rather have a ceiling fan. hands down. any day of the week. but still, i thought it might grow on me.

i thought wrong.

i wake up to this sight every morning.

yep, that is my actual view. it probably has a zoom on it though.

the bottom two look a little lower to me most of the time. i'm sure it is just from where i sleep and the angle i look up and see this beauty. but still, they remind me of medusa even more.

here is a glimpse into my new home. and yes, this might be my biggest complaint so far. and if that is it, i really am happy. remember - i did not see this house until moving day. so, we all knew i'd find something that i didn't like. i just didn't know it would be the "chandy" in the master. hopefully medusa and i will make friends. she better be nice or i'll just have mr. h replace her with the old, trusty fan. i suppose this could be her official warning.

put the scissors down.

2011-10-13T19:41:00.001-05:00

so, before the move mr. h and i decided to have a garage sale. i've never hosted a garage sale but i knew that we had some good stuff that we don't use but didn't want to haul to texas. i went through james' things and clothes. then i went through my stuff. mr. h did the same. we were set. kind of. having a bi-state marriage and a two year old made it nearly impossible to be 100% prepared.

the days leading up to the garage sale were filled with clouds and rain. great! now it might not even happen. i'm mentally prepared to part with our junk. i was trying to take the "no stress" approach that mr. h insisted. he said this would be a fun garage sale, not a stressful one. on the designated morning it was rainy. this allowed us to get around slow but once the clouds parted, we finally decided to call over the grandparents to watch james while we put the advertisement signs out around the hood and tend to the mass crowd that wanted to buy our gently used or pre-owned possessions. ha.

all was fine and dandy. well, the lack of people for the first hour was concerning but things were fine and dandy until....i walked inside to get something. i don't even remember what because i was greeted to this scene - grandma standing behind james, holding scissors and cutting his bangs. yes, you read that right. grandma blindly cutting my son's hair. i was speechless. i couldn't even concentrate on what to say. put the scissors down was all that came out. then i yelled to mr. h that his mom was cutting james' hair. (now, i know she meant no harm so i am not trying to portray her that way.) i just want you to know that besides a little baby frizz trim, we have not cut james' hair. on purpose. this was shocking. and heartbreaking. and fine but definitely unexpected. mr. h explains to her that she does not have authority to make those kind of decisions. she stopped but once i explained that we hadn't cut his hair she handed me this:

a sweet lock of baby hair.

who knows where it came from.

somewhere in the front-ish area.

tear.

grandma said that when she turned on the fan, james said his hair was blowin'. so, she thought his bangs were in his way. i don't get that interpretation though. truth be told, i had been thinking about cutting some of the front myself. i hate when parents intentionally style their child's hair where it looks cool but hangs in their eyes. that is like child cruelty. well, maybe not but close. or just mean. or selfish. or vane. or something stupid. so, as you can tell, i did not want to be one of those parents. the thing is, i probably would have turned on his favorite show and put him in his highchair or done it while he was sleeping - not standing behind him. oh, because i forgot to add, there was no mirror in front of him. he was blissfully unaware watching tv.

all i know is that james already had a semi-mullet. now he still has one but we're just not quite ready to cut his baby curls. the day is coming. this just bumped it up a bit.

new school {again}.

2011-10-11T13:16:00.000-05:00

back in september james started his new, two year old class at victory kids care. on his first day, i took some cell snaps to send to mr. h and the grandparents.

i tried to get him to wear his backpack but no deal. so, i just propped him up for a picture. this lasted about three seconds before he was off to play with the new toys.

i wasn't really worried about the transition but the airplanes were a nice touch. james definitely approved. this class would only last a month but i'm sure it was a good month.

today was james' first day at a new school. i enrolled him in a two day a week mother's day out program at a local catholic church. today he is a little saint. cute name, right? so, i had to document the moment. via cell phone again. urg. this is how the drop off played out.

mom, you're taking me to daycare? me??

you're going to let the sweet face go?

okay, fine. let's do this!

follow me, please.

mom, i can't smile for you. i'm too busy watching all the other little saints go inside.

okay, mom. seriously, this backpack is loaded down and heavy. let's roll.

james p. sunshine was perfect. he gave me several big hugs but i didn't hear any cries or screams when i walked out of the room. truth be told, i miss him at home with me. i just need some time to unpack, run errands, complete employment stuff, you know - adult mommy things. i thought sending him for a couple of hours twice a week would give him some time to make friends and play. i hope he enjoys it. i'm about to go pick him up. i pray he gets a good report.

documenting life challenge: mess

2011-10-09T12:27:00.001-05:00

my sweet friend, jen, is a talented photographer in the tulsa area. she also teaches the mamarazzi workshop, a class to teach moms how to use their dslr cameras. i took this class and highly recommend it. she has been hosting a weekly photo challenge. i've been taking a few pictures here and there with the chaos but not as much as i would like. i'm working on it now. per grandparent request, i will keep the blog up to date. i've even taken some pictures to do the challenges but never blogged them. so, i won't be able to link up with the current challenge, but i'll still blog them. i'd like to complete them all so here we go.

this week the challenge was to take a picture of the messes our kids my - well, the mess my kid makes. since we just moved, this was definitely an easy "challenge" for me. ha. here is how i see things right now, i'm at home with james (just until i find a job) and so i let him have some fun. these are snaps taken yesterday during james' naptime and during the football game. this is real life.

yep, those legos are a hit. but there are so many miscellaneous toys thrown in the mix. james just keeps doing this. all day long.

until the living room looks like this:

melissa & doug puzzles are great. so are colors and his new big boy cup.

oh, and then there is the "helicocker" and "airpane". these go everywhere with us. james loves real ones even more but this is the best the local grocery store had to offer. james has no complaints.

the kid still loves horses and this book. they're around everyday too.

and in honor of game day, of course daddy and james were playing football. it really is funny. james throws a lot with his left hand. we does with his right too but i'm thinking he might be a south paw.

so, here was a snapshot into my life yesterday. one day, once i get a job, we'll get a new tv stand, rug and coffee table. we'll move the living room furniture into a more recognizable arrangement. until then, it's james own playground. and we wouldn't have it any other way. i mean, can you think of a better way to introduce a two year old to a new house? he loves it!

i wonder why.

goodbye vkc.

2011-10-07T16:48:00.002-05:00

for me, the most stressful part about moving has been the changes that james will have to make. new home, new daycare, new park, new friends, new etc. i really (really!!!) loved james daycare in tulsa. i haven't found the daycare for james down in texas but i can assure you, they have some high standards to live up too. his last day of daycare was last friday. this would also be one of our last mornings together so we wanted to live it up. you know, don't set the alarm. wild! i tell ya, wild. luckily we have an alarm clock that always wakes up before 7:30. so, we slept in, went to brunch, went to get cupcakes for james' class to celebrate his last day, and then took him on to daycare so we could pick up the moving truck and meet the movers. i get exhausted just thinking back to that day actually.

so, as we're dropping james off, i started to cry. i knew i would but it just different when it is actually happening. i wouldn't be taking him there anymore. he would have the same "friends" in his class anymore. he's had the same three boys that were in his first class, at 7 weeks, in his class until now. until i'm making him move. it got me thinking back to his first day. i cried when i dropped him off then too. (i sound like an emotional basketcase. dang!)

let's compare some historic snaps.

here we are before class:

7 weeks old! his hair almost looks red. and look at his little boat shoes, courtesy of auntie beebs. we still have those. i can't let them go.

wow! look at that big boy! he did not want to pose. or smile. he wanted to jump.

who doesn't need three spit rags handy? with those cheeks, we used a lot of those rags. life savers. when we got a ton for presents i thought there was no way we needed that many. boy, was i wrong!

look at that adorable belly? and no, no split rags these days. i do use an incredible amount of paper towels and wet wipes though. a trade off? not sure. i do still have some of those spit rags though. i could be a little more green, i suppose.

thud! my heart just exploded. look at that little, sleeping nugget!!

now look at him! i'm not sure why the scowl but i think it's kind of funny.

there were my first and last day photos. i cannot believe how quickly time flies. i know it is so cliche but it is true. i want to hit pause. bottle it up. hit replay at times. but i can't. and i know that i'll cherish each first and last as much as i did the one before. i mean, i can't even imagine the last day of high school. no, no, no. i can't even think like that.

on james' first day of school, mr. h had to carry my tiny baby inside and pray i didn't make a scene filled with tears before we left. on james' last day, he cheerfully led daddy inside. we are so blessed that we had such a wonderful daycare the past two years. mr. h promises me that texas has good daycares too. he better be right. wink, wink.

howdy.

2011-10-06T14:34:00.001-05:00

howdy ya'll!!!

this is my first time to report from the great state of texas. well, no it isn't. i blogged when i came down to run the austin marathon but i mean, this is my first blog since i've been living in texas. yee haw! about two months ago mr. h received an unexpected job opportunity in the dallas area. he fell in love and so we decided to pack up the family and move south of the red river.

here we are minutes before driving away from our first home:

we're all smiles. i'm smiling bc we're actually not running too far behind schedule, mr. h is smiling bc he has been down in texas for 6 weeks without his two best friends and james is smiling bc grandma gave him a new toy for the ride. have you seen toy story 3? there is a part when ken says, "new toys" and james mimics that line. it truly is funny.

i knew we had a lot of stuff but seriously, i had no idea how much ~~junk~~ stuff we've accumulated over the past five years. it took a small army to get us down here.

this is how we roll:

mr. h's parents were kind enough to caravan down here with us. mr. h drove the 24 foot, big truck, obviously. i drove my jeep with the babe, grandma drove the two dogs and grandpa had a bunch of miscellaneous stuff griswold style in his suv. yes, he called us the griswold's. i was thinking along the lines of beverly halebillies. ha. regardless, we all made it down here. james did great and we watched cars. twice. i gave him his lightening mcqueen toy and he was set.

as soon as we crossed the red river, i wanted to stop for a family photo. unfortunately, we were pressed for time. we knew we were going to squeak in town just in time to meet the movers. and let me tell you, we were not going to miss those guys. talk about a marriage saver, i mean life saver. so, we stopped and ran to the big texas star. grandma didn't want to get out and then have to mess with getting the dogs all settled back in so this left grandpa to take our picture. i'm not sure if grandpa has ever held a dslr but he was a sport and did what i asked - please take a family picture of us in the star.

well, there we are. in the star. and since we were pressed for time, i laughed and knew i'd have to crop it down.

here we are. newly texans.

hello texas. meet bonner.

and family.

we're glad to be here and look forward to the great opportunities you have waiting for us.

new loves.

2011-08-12T09:31:00.001-05:00

james has two new loves.

1.) the macbook pro

2.) the bubble guppies

if you combine the two, you have one happy little man. we can have bubble guppies playing in the living room and one the computer and 90% of the time james will sit and watch the same two online episodes.

with all the recent storms, james' daycare classroom flooded so i got the unexpected day to stay home and play with my aqua baby. as we were watching guppies, james wanted to wear these.

i couldn't figure out why he was insisting to wear his 80s looking construction glasses until i saw the following picture.

he wants to be like gil!

well, i'm not sure that this is guppy behavior but it definitely falls into the category of things i never thought i'd have to say - james, don't lick the computer.

this show comes on every night at 8 pm. we let james stay awake until the show is over and then we say bye bye and nite nite to the guppies. james also says it every time an episode ends online. even if it is 9 o'clock in the morning.

bye bye guppies! bye bye guppies!

***

on another note, james also did one of the funniest things i've witnessed in a while. we were hanging out and reading a thomas the train book when he shot up, took of his pajama pants, threw them away in the small trash under the sink in the kitchen, grabbed his red cowboy hat and got on the arm of the couch and started waving his hand in the air and saying yee haw! my son really does like to say it often! i laughed and rescued his pj pants. james has such a developing personality. i love to laugh with him everyday. and i'm so grateful that i can be around to witness these priceless moments, even though i'm a working mom.

yee haw bubble guppies!

yee haw!

2011-08-09T15:36:00.001-05:00

last friday as james and i were leaving daycare, we saw some teachers from the infant wing pushing babies in the little red buggies. the ones that james used to love.

then i heard this (not so quiet) conversation take place between the two workers:

worker 1: that is james. he loves to say yee haw!

worker 2: really?

worker 1: yea. watch. hi james! yee haw!!

james: yee haw!

i would have never thought my child, you know the one that lives in the city, would be known as the "yee haw baby".

oh, and this is an actual cell snap from the other night. james wanted to play in his pool so i took off his clothes and when i came back into the room, he had taken off his diaper and put on his hat. i couldn't resist trying to capture this exact moment.

yee haw, baby james. thank you for making me smile.

two years today.

2011-07-15T13:43:00.000-05:00

two years ago today, at 6:23 pm, my life truly began. happy birthday sweet baby, james.

yes. i am crying as i type this. well, i'm more teary eyed but it has happened several times today thus far. i don't really know why. but i can't control it.

this morning we all slept until james woke us up at 6:45 am. one day he'll sleep in, and we'll be the ones waking him up. is it bad that some days i'm ready for those days? anyway, we had our milk and watched some thomas the train. i had a busy morning planned for us and everyone cooperated. yay!

we took james to the park for some two year pictures. here is my sweet man on his second birthday:

i could tell this was going to be a fun day.

cheese!

he was so cute and playful.

after a few snaps, it was time to go.

oh look! it's on the ground. again.

what? you won't pick it up?!?

okay. let's go pick up some birthday donuts.

aren't they fun?

we took james and his birthday donuts to daycare while mr. h and i wrapping up some birthday party errands. i'm going to let james take his nap at daycare and then i'm going to pick him so we can birthday play!

happy second birthday sweet baby james!!!

party peek.

2011-07-14T07:37:00.002-05:00

james demanded a farm animal party this year. well, maybe he just told me he wanted one. okay, maybe he didn't do either. but i had this big idea for a farm animal petting zoo party. long story short - it's expensive and it is too hot to ~~beg~~ ask my guests to endure the outdoors. without a pool. james and i had been to the bouncy barn before and james had a good time. i knew that they had a party room as well. i thought i could still incorporate a farm theme, especially with a name like the bouncy barn. i called and we reserved the play area and the ranch room. i asked what made the ranch room ranch-like. she said nothing. they just tried to go with the name of the place. see, bouncy barn has large inflatable bounce houses for younger children. it is in a strip mall. there is bounce but there is no barn. in fact, they don't have anything inside that would remotely remind you of the country or a barn theme. this would drive me crazy, if i were the owner, but i'm not so i'll just rent the facility and hope that the party is fun for james and all his friends to bounce. and take a good nap later. and all to enjoy the air-conditioning this hot july.

i've been thinking about ways to make this party still feel like i had some creative control. i love planning parties and playing on themes. if you remember, last year "my little squirt" turned one and we had a pool party with a whale theme. this year i liked the farm party and james like animals so i think it's a win-win situation. as i've said before, i would like to plan "cute" parties for james as long as i can. i know one day he'll want a super hero, cartoon, all items store bought type of party. not that i think that would be a problem. i just want to have control while i can. i mean, james controls the the house - when we sleep, eat, shower, etc. i can control this party. i win.

here are some party peeks:

the last picture is fondant. it is the beginning of the cupcake toppers. my sweet sugar momma, sugs, set up the work station and gave me a tutorial. i am so impressed with how they turned out. they will have their own post. but for now, here is just a peek.

happy farm animal birthday party, james!

james, how does a cow go?

moo!!!

we're going to have a moo-velous time.

we're practicing our animal sounds. can you hear him mooing? he knows all his animal sounds. getting him to say them when asked, that's the tricky part.

pinch me.

2011-07-13T09:52:00.001-05:00

pinch me. please. i'm dreaming and i want to wake up.

my little baby boy is turning two on friday. where did time go? how did it move so fast?? while i love this stage james is at, i miss my little snugly baby. mr. h and i once couldn't wait to go to the park and listen to him talk and wonder what his first words will be. now he's here. he loves the park and loves talking. his vocabulary has really taken off this past month. he loves making animals sounds and asking so sweetly for chocolate milk. he loves to play outside and still reminds me of a mini evil kenevil. the boy has no fear. my once snuggle muffin has grown into an independent little guy who is strong willed but isn't afraid to ask for help. i love him more every single day. how is this possible? i'm not sure but it happens. motherhood is so awesome and unexplainable. i've only got 2 years under my belt but i feel like i was born to be james' mom.

to celebrate this special boy's big day, we're going to have a fun farm animal party.

obviously the real invitation had the important information but hey, i can't afford to invite the whole blog world to the party. BUT i definitely would invite a few sweet girls i've "met" and their adorable children. maybe one day.

zoo day.

2011-07-08T15:35:00.001-05:00

my work, and mr. h's too, has an optional summer schedule. we've chosen to participate every year. the gist of it is that memorial day through labor day you can work nine hour days monday through friday in order to get paid time off every other friday. it's call the 9/80 schedule. when said it is just like it looks "nine eighty". anyway, these 9 hour days are brutal. i hate being away from james for an additional hour every day. but...the extra fridays off are priceless. three day weekends are so much better than two day weekends. i'd still like to know who decided the five day work week and two day weekend. i'm assuming someone who doesn't actually have to work that schedule.

so, here i am, working nine hour days and sucking it up. i've just vowed that since i have to be away from james the additional time, i'll make it up to him on my fridays off work. it has worked like a charm and made the brutal schedule worth while.

my good friend, mandy (okay - i call her mandy from college because that is what she went by back then. now i'm pretty sure that she goes by amanda, or miss amanda like i'm trying to teach james, but old habits just die hard. or they don't die at all. she is still mandy to me), is a school teacher and has the summer to play with her sweet boy. i am so jealous. my first friday off we made plans to get the boys together and go to the okc zoo. they have this amazing children's zoo, so i've heard. i couldn't wait to take james! well, we woke up and took off. i bought chocolate donut holes at the gas station to start our journey. big mistake but james loved them. that was pretty much the highlight of my drive. i know my cardinal directions and such but man, okc and the highways scare me. i used the maps app on my phone but it told me the wrong exit. and trust me, i didn't want to be in the neighborhood i did exit. i called mandy and she got me back to the zoo. phew!

once she got to the zoo. i mean, she obviously beat me at this point, she read a sign that said the children's zoo was closed due to a philanthropy event being held inside that evening. what? there are school buses of kids and me with james ready to feed the lorikeets! luckily, i was so happy to be alive (exaggeration just a bit) that i just didn't care and was ready to have fun with the boys. now i just have an excuse to go back. when it's not so hot outside. speaking of, i didn't take very many pictures because it was dreadfully hot. you could tell even the animals thought it was hot most were sleeping, playing dead or hiding. we did however see the baby elephant. that was the second on my list. well third, make it to the zoo in one piece, go to the children's zoo and then see the baby elephant. it is crazy how small it looked but knowing it was 200 pounds. i wish i had that problem.

i loved seeing james excited for the animals that were out and watching him and liam play. and getting to catch up face-to-face with my friend! let's not forget that there are perks for moms on play dates too. with the heat and challenge of keeping the toddlers in sight and happy, i didn't take very many pictures. we stopped on the way out to let the boys ride some of the little rides. until we realized that we didn't have any quarters. awesome. so, now it's over 90 degrees and the boys are just playing on the toys. they didn't seem to mind but i'm sure the spectators thought we were mom of the year. personally, i think we are! the only thing i wish i would have done now is used a clorox wipe to disinfect the animals before we let them play. oh well, they survived and came out without any major diseases or injuries. that is a success my friends.

i did manage to get in a few pictures at the very end. in the shade. on the filthy "rides".

see the smiles? those are because a family with a little girl about the boys' age came up and had quarters. they let us ride along. there were no straps but this thing moved at a snails pace so trust me, it didn't matter.

next came time to try to get both of them to smile and look at the camera.

(insert laugh)

see mandy's head. she is doing a dance and trying to get their attention.

it worked!!!

they are both looking in the same general direction. i'll take it!!!

once i saw that on my camera, we packed up the boys to leave and find air-conditioning. much needed a/c.

from there we went to lunch. this was not james' finest hour. at first he was so good and the boys were playing at the table. then, like a switch, james was a terror. we broke our first plate. i could have died from embarrassment. i ate as fast as i could, paid, tipped well, and got james to the car. fortunately, or unfortunately, mandy knows the feeling and shared that liam had in fact broken his first plate there too. she understood my quick exit and james was asleep in about five seconds flat. it was such a fun day. i'm so lucky that i have gotten to see mandy and sweet liam since then. i already can't wait to meet up and go back to the zoo! and take the right exit, of course. james may be hitting the "terrible two's" but his interaction and play dates are so much fun! i am enjoying them just as much as he is! double bonus!!

expecting ryder.

2011-07-07T14:03:00.001-05:00

my friend, skinner, is expecting her first baby in november. i am over the moon excited for her and her husband. let me tell you a bit about her - when i first met her, mr. h told me not to worry if she wasn't nice to me. he said that she wasn't always accepting of new "friends" into the circle. ummm. do you know what that really sounds like to a female? she is mean! beware! everyone likes her but she is mean! well, let me be the first to tell you that this wasn't the case. at all. she was nice and friendly. actually, we hit it off right from the start. you've heard me talk about her in some of my previous running posts. we also have a few other things in common. like our first name! and to our friends, our maiden name is our nickname and what we are referred to as on a daily basis - neither of us mind. we also share a love for cookie dough and one night, after some wine, i deemed her my soul mate and haven't looked back since.

as i've said, ~~we are~~ she is expecting her first baby towards the end of the year. i cannot wait! and let me tell you why. they are having a BOY! now, i know i'm bias and i love all the little girls that my friends have had recently but finally! james will have a best friend to play in the dirt and be able to do manly things together like fish and camp. what really makes this special is that skinner's husband is one of mr. h's oldest friends. they grew up in close proximity and shared the same passion for bicycles, 4-wheelers and skateboards. i just know that james and ryder will be the same. our husbands already have big plans for these their little men. i'm afraid that their plans are the kind that will leave me fearful and involved motorized toys and skateboards with large hills. regardless, i know that they will be taken care of and will make priceless memories together.

i'm getting teary eyed just thinking about how are families are going to grow together from this point forward.

this past weekend, i finally got to take pictures of ryder. meet this sweet boy.

okay, okay. this was kind of a tease but baby ryder has been baking for 19 weeks. he's almost half way done! and i cannot wait!!

fourth of july.

2011-07-06T15:34:00.001-05:00

i feel like i'm late. i feel like i should have joined the other mommy's on the internets and posed james with an american flag before the fourth of july. then had the post ready to roll and scheduled to go live on the actual holiday. welp, i didn't. you know why? because i was having too much fun! this was a long weekend away from the office but so busy with fun-filled activities and food. yes, i said it. food. i never realized how great the food is over the fourth of july. i cannot narrow it down to just one favorite but let's just say i got my fill on hamburgers for a while and i was more than happy to indulge in some homemade banana pudding. you know, the kind with nilla wafers? it was delicious.

well, besides all the fun and food, i really spent the past four days with family and friends. it was so nice. we went to the bouncy barn to practice for james' big birthday coming up. we went to two lakes, to grandma's, to the splash park, and out to watch a fantastic firework show. james loved the fireworks. i was so surprised that the loud noises didn't seem to bother him. he didn't care for the loud ones without pretty colors, but i don't either. with the 100+ temps, we decided to stay inside for most of those. until, i decided it was photo shoot time. loud noises, really hot temps and being out at a new place made it challenging to get some snaps of my little man. i think i got some keepers though. what? i'm not ~~too~~ bias.

on james' daily reports, i've noticed they've been practicing by waving flags and marching.

james, wave your flag for mommy.

shake, shake, shake. can you see his little hiney waving too?

i couldn't get him to march, but he did like saying one word over and over....

boom!

after all the loud noises james would say boom! and smile.

after all the pretty fireworks would explode and fade, james would immediately start saying and signing "more" to let us know he was ready to see more fancy firecrackers. unfortunately, once the sun went down and our own little show was beginning, james was tired and started saying "nemo. home." over and over again. let me interpret james' two year old, toddler language for you. nemo has been in my jeep dvd player for too long. now he associates a ride with nemo. he was letting us know he was reading to watch nemo and go home. and as you know, what james wants, james gets.

this weekend was so wonderful. i need a nap to recover from all the fun.

let freedom ring!!!

saturday morning scene.

2011-07-02T10:10:00.001-05:00

my morning started early. try 3:38 early. my alarm went off to go to the fifty mile midnight madness run.

no, i did not run fifty miles this morning but there were 160 people who started out at 11:59 pm on this goal. i was a pacer. i ran beside my running buddy, and friend, kellie. i ran with her from miles 20 to 30. all in all, i ran a little over ten miles. we carried a twelve minute mile, including aid stations and one restroom stop. that is simply unbelievable that she was strong enough to carry that pace the whole run! i am so proud to call wonder woman my friend.

after i finished, i waited around looking for other crazies to make their lap(s) and happened to watch the first person cross the finish line. yep. 20 miles ahead of my friend. you know, the one that i'm so proud of. it was a woman! a woman one the who dang race in just under 7 hours. CRAZY. there is a fifteen hour time limit. i mean, that woman must eat long runs for breakfast every morning.

after my run, i came home and wanted starbucks. i decided to take james along for the ride. the starbucks by my house doesn't have a drive-thru so we had to venture inside. i took his leash and hoped he'd behave.

he was PERFECT!!!

i am on such a buzz about the run, i'm going to take james to the splash park that happens to be located right in the middle of the finish line. people have tents set up, coolers stocked and are anxiously waiting to give their ~~crazy 50 mile~~ friends a warm welcome every ten miles. i'm going to be there for my friend when she crosses. i cannot imagine running 50 miles. not in my wildest dreams. her goal was to run a 50 before 50. she is 48 and accomplishing her goal. i am so proud of her. i actually think i hijacked her running buzz. she eats energizer bunnies for breakfast.

off to the splash park for a morning of fun!

typical night.

2011-06-30T17:17:00.001-05:00

last night i picked up james from daycare and follow his nightly ritual. this is new and i think its hilarious. he wants a sippy of milk (he'd prefer chocolate and usually gets it, just this one time a day) and to watch nick jr. now, i'm not saying that i want my kid to be addicted to the tv or anything but in reality he is at daycare all day and they do not even have a tv in sight. so, if he wants to watch some education on tv, per nick jr. commercials, then i'm okay with that. anyway, he wants to chill out and just relax. feet up, arm on the arm rest and do nothing. i don't blame him. i'd love to kick my feet up and chill when i got home from work. in fact, i've had plenty of those days in my past. but today, my reality is far from that. as soon as i got home i changed clothes, started laundry, dinner, picking up toys and vacuuming. i'm aware how glorious my night sounds but hey, i'll love coming home tonight to enjoy it.

as i'm running around breaking a sweat, i look out the back window and see this:

livin' the dream.

until utah got in the way.

a personal pool, shades, putter and the water hose. this is james' version of heaven.

obviously my kid is a genius because he knows that if he wears sunglasses, the water that he insists to splash won't get in his eyes.

mom, no more pictures! but how do you like my six pack?

okay, i'll flash you my baby blues.

now go finish my dinner.

summer time.

2011-06-27T08:58:00.001-05:00

man, summer time used to be great. fantastic actually. no school, no work, no responsibilities. bliss. then one day you graduate and get a job. then you realize you no longer get a month off at christmas, a week off for a spring break vacation and three months off during the summer. what?!?? this is definitely the part about being a grown up kind of stinks. i mean, i know this is an odd post right after my "i love being thirty" post but i can still be thirty and wish i had a summer break.

we make the most of the summer around my house. it is painfully hot though. a body of water is required to be outside. do i have a pool? no. do i wish i did? no, not really. i would just be a nervous wreck about james and the dogs and it would just be one more thing to clean. but it would be fun. well, i take that back. we do have a pool. a james' size pool. and he loves it! he tries to jump in it but white boy doesn't catch any air. this is what you see.

yep. a face plant. a teeter totter, bruise you shins, face dive right into the water.

james loves it!! he'll laugh and do it over and over again.

good thing he's not thirty. i think it looks painful.

water park.

2011-06-25T08:11:00.000-05:00

since the pool and water hose are just so much fun, we had to get more creative. he'll say "outside, outside, outside" over and over until we cave. then before we know it we're finding sunglasses, sunscreen, water shoes, and toys and anything else he wants to complete his outside fun. now james has his own little water park. he'll squeal with delight and spend time wearing himself out.

see? he's "jumping" in before i can even take a picture of his new water park.

this picture cracks me up! i'm too sexy for this slide!

he's like his momma, we like our shades.

hello ladies! wanna come over to my house?

i'll be nice and share my slide.

thirty.

2011-06-24T11:33:00.001-05:00

in the great words of jenna rink, "thirty, flirty and thriving" pretty much sums up how i feel. i turned the big 3-0 a couple of weeks ago. and hell-o? the party just keeps on going. i've had three celebrations thus far. each one completely different yet have made me feel so special. the love tank is full!

first up was a birthday dinner. this was actually around my day of arrival.

who says 30 is old?

not us! 30 is the new fun!!

next celebration - dallas. you don't understand, i don't leave my child. i'm slightly obsessed with him, if you didn't already know. it was a pretty spur-of-the-moment trip. kind of. i have talked about going down to see my sweet friend, jill, but never could leave. well, plane tickets are cheap but they bump up without warning. one day, the price was right and i just booked the trip. let the fun begin.

meet jill. her birthday, 30 also, was just 3 days following mine. we had to celebrate. boy! did we ever celebrate. it truly shows how good of friends you are when you have no plans but good company and make the night one you'll always remember.

don't do it, bonner!!!

yep. i did. and i'll get into trouble for posting this. but let me give you a recap. we went to dinner, had some cocktails and had some fun. we insulted the food, met the chef and got free food and cake. we have new quotes like smile for the camera, they know it's our birthday?? and i run. i really wish the bottle of wine were facing the camera because it was delicious. i would buy it again. i'm sure for half the price too.

saturday night out in the big city is more fancy than my usual nights at home in stretchy pants. it's good to get dressed up, get your hair fixed and get out every now and again.

and

now that you think i've taken too many photos and talked too much about my own birthday, i'll remind you that it is my blog and i haven't posted in a while.

my next birthday celebrations was hosted by my dear friend sugs. you remember her? i've talked about her some but specifically in this post. so, she was out of town on the birthday dinner night so she offered to have my family over and cook. ummm. yes please! and thank you!! this was just the perfect cookout celebration i could have asked for. james was a wild man, but no one cared. she had chilled wine that went down too nicely and just some great company. oh! and delicious food.

insert a photo that will make your mouth water:

i'd eat some if it were in front of me. i've found myself craving it actually.

family photo op. i mean, mr. h and i are smiling looking at the camera. that is a feat in itself. james, well, obviously he wasn't feelin' it. but hey! i'll take what i can get these days.

auto timer = greatest invention ever.

and my favorite picture of the night is below:

thank you to all my friends (and family though i don't have any pictures from their generosity. shame on me!) for being so wonderful. i truly love you.

hidden.

2011-05-15T15:49:00.000-05:00

well, i am embarrassed. right before i left for the okc marathon, i hid my dslr camera. no one would be home and i wasn't going to take it with me. i just figured, if someone is going to peek through my windows or something creepy like that, i might as well keep the temptation to a minimum. so, i packed it away. and i didn't pull it out until yesterday! what??!! i know. this baffles me as well.

yesterday morning we were playing in our pajamas and bed head. i noticed we had some good sunlight coming through the windows so i jumped to grab my camera from the perch that i normally leave it on and bam! i realized that it was still hidden. i surprised myself. and not in a good way. but i'm back and ready to document my daily life.

here is some bed head.

james isn't quite sure about his tricycle. the great part about it is that as soon as he shows interest, he'll keep playing and playing until he figures it out. no, not necessarily the same day but i know that one day he'll love it.

though he was smiling and having a good time, this is the closest i came to capturing his sweet grin this time.

don't worry. my camera has been dusted off and i'm back at it. i've already taken some sweet sleeping snaps today.

priceless.

2011-05-04T19:17:00.000-05:00

entry fee to okc marathon - $110

hotel room - $174.99

one night of internet to blog - $12.95

setting a PR through the wind, rain and hail - priceless

i didn't take my phone on me during this run. i normally don't run with my phone anyway but i wasn't going to brave the storm with my phone. i was hoping it wouldn't rain. ha. as we were walking out of the hotel to get to the start line, people were rushing back inside. they delayed the start due to rain and lightening. really? yes. and i was about to run in it. we pulled out the emergency ponchos and chatted until it was time to leave...again.

as i walked to the start, i couldn't help but think this wasn't smart. what was i doing? am i trained for this anyway? if you know me, you know that i was feeling a little insecure about this one. i just didn't feel physically or mentally prepared. one day it was eight weeks away and then i blinked and it was the next weekend. part of me wanted to run the half marathon (13.1 miles) to see how i had improved my time over this past year but the other part wanted to run one more full. i was training. not very aggressively but i had run up to 19 miles. i had put my time out there around miscellaneous injures and mysterious aches and pains but i just didn't know if i was strong enough to handle it. the last time, austin, i kind of, well, sucked. i had a break down. i cracked. i met the wall. and i didn't want to meet him again.

the cut off for internet sign up was monday, april 25th at noon. i still hadn't signed up by sunday night. i was still undecided. should i do what my head tells me to or my heart. in my heart i wanted to run a good full marathon. i wanted to feel the high. i wanted to get the blues out of my head. as i was laying in bed, i was restless. i couldn't stop thinking about it. time ticked by and i just kept thinking but not making any progress. i was nervous i would be busy at work and wouldn't be able to make my final decision and pay my dues. almost involuntary, i got out of bed, grabbed my mac and my wallet. i went to the website, signed up for the full and went pleasantly to bed.

i'm so glad i did too. last week at work was ridiculous. i used ridiculous because i can't think of another word to describe the workload and stress i had to endure. it kept me so busy and exhausted that i didn't have time to think about my upcoming run. i didn't have time to pump myself up or talk myself down. it was just a fact that i was leaving town around noon on saturday to meet in oklahoma city to pick up my packet. mr. h was leaving town on thursday so my nights were busy too. being a lone parent really makes me appreciate how hard single, working moms have in their daily life. i respect them, immensely. anyway, i'm just telling you - this run, to me, was so big but wasn't getting any time for me to build speculations on the outcome.

this was also the first marathon that i've been so solo. plans fell through and i just wasn't going to quit. to be honest, i was nervous but i wasn't scared. well, except for the drive once in oklahoma city. and i should have been - i got lost on my way to the hotel. damn. anyway, i had reserved two rooms and had a run buddy and her husband meeting me at the hotel and another long time turtle about 20 minutes behind me on the highway. even though i was physically alone, i didn't feel it. i felt supported. and at peace.

this was a conversation between me and mr. h as i drove to okc. he asked if i was there yet. i sent the picture of myself driving. don't worry. i was watching the road. you just can't tell because of my shades.

i cried.

not long. but i definitely got teary eyed.

it made me feel confident. just the confidence i needed.

night alone.

2011-04-30T23:21:00.000-05:00

i'm in a hotel room. all alone. peace and quiet. some people have champagne while taking a relaxing bath. me? this is how i roll...

yep. that is gatorade. a big one. i'm trying to get hydrated.

tomorrow is the 11th annual oklahoma city memorial marathon. i'm running...again. well, another marathon but this will be my first time to run the full here. i ran the half marathon last year. i almost wish i was running the half this year. the weather is not cooperating. i'm going to wear gloves to start and pray it doesn't rain. just a week ago the weather predicted that it would be hot and sunny. you can't trust the oklahoma weather men. period.

i'm exhausted but set the alarm and a wake up call. my alarm will go off at 4:39 and my call will come in at 4:45 a.m. are you jealous?

i've got my gear laid out so i don't have to think about other things in the morning. this is my outfit, just in case you happen to catch the coverage on tv, you can look for me.

i kid, i kid. tv crews don't hang out to the bitter end. the kenyans finish ungawdly fast and they get all the hype. not fair. or totally fair. i look like i'm dying while i run so i don't want to be on the news anyway.

but

i will gladly accept thoughts and prayers.

i'm off to bed. as the official website just pointed out, i've only got 7 hours and 14 minutes until the start of the run.

We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity.^®

first harvest.

2011-04-27T15:34:00.000-05:00

mr. h loves his garden. so far we've had quite the volunteer turnout. he'll decide what he wants to plant this year as soon as he can figure out what all will return from last year.

our first harvest was last weekend.

can you guess what it is?

i'll give you a hint - it was perfect timing bc bunny rabbits love this food.

you guessed carrot, right?

woo hoo!

it is a curly carrot, but still a big carrot. mr. h thinks it was curly bc the soil was not deep enough in our raised garden so he will transplant the others to the ground.

james wanted to check it out. of course we let him.

he ran around like it was a sword. the actual orange part was the handle. the leafy part didn't look near as big in the garden as it does in james' hands. i thought it was going to be gigantic! i think if it hadn't been in the raised bed, it would have been. unfortunately, we didn't wait to feed it to the easter bunny. we ate it minutes after i took these pictures. it was good. all natural and fresh. i hope mr. h keeps the harvests coming.

and i guess you can tell that james still loves his red, cowboy hat. i like it. i think it is cute. and it is even better when he is outside bc it shades his fare complexion. i hate when babies get sunburned. we are always armed with spf 50 and a hat. no sunburn for this guy. no tan either. better safe than sorry.

how great thou art.

2011-04-24T09:33:00.000-05:00

happy easter.

my blog friend erin posted this video yesterday. it brought me to tears. i wanted to share as well. pair a great song with carrie's pipes and you've got me hooked.

ming ming.

2011-04-23T10:32:00.000-05:00

if our tv is turned on, there is a good chance that nick jr. is playing. we watch the wonder pets around here. i think james likes to watch the animals. i think he's moved on to more mature shows like dora, diego and dino dan but we still watch the wonder pets. lenny, tuck and ming ming, too. i have been able to sing that theme song for quite some time. i'm a truly talented mom.

grandma likes the wonder pets too. she bought some stuffed animals for james but unfortunately waylon liked to play with them too. last week she bought a real live ming ming.

james, meet ming ming.

james: for me? really???

yep. james grandma hooked you up this easter.

we better hold them now, while they'll let you and they're still cute. i'm not going to lie - i was nervous. see these sweet little creatures? would james be nice to them? would he squeeze them or drop them?

luckily, all survived. james was not as gentle as i would have liked but he could have been a lot worse. he did good. those birds are fast. well, fast for james. i mean, i'm sure those sweet birds will run with they see him coming. i don't blame them. i would too. oh and since their last visit, grandma got ming ming a friend. she said he felt left out. they are so cute right now. i wish they would stay blue and pink and little. we wouldn't have fresh eggs but that would be okay with me. only me though. mr. h wants fresh eggs.

eight seconds.

2011-04-22T11:58:00.000-05:00

this time of year seems to be so busy. i know i say this every season but it is true. spring is so busy, as i thought fall was busy. this time of year you have yard work, too many things you need to do, too many things you want to do and time you need to just spend breathing in the fresh air and sunshine. before we (oklahomans) know it, it will be too hot to sit outside and play without water and a refreshing pool in sight.

a couple of saturdays ago my sister's family had a dual birthday party for my sister and my nephew. they reserved a local park, got some live music, inflatables and a mechanical bull. yep, you read that right. a mechanical bull. let me tell you, it was perfect. the sun was shining and so many families came out to celebrate.

this was the birthday boy

it was really too windy for candles. he didn't mind.

the start of the party was during james' nap time. i went out early and mr. h brought him when he woke up. i was mingling with the guests until i looked around and saw this:

my boys are here! and james is wearing his cowboy hate. this is going to be perfect.

all the boys migrated to the mechanical bull. while it looked fun, i personally did not attempt. but someone we know was awfully curious.

once we were told that they could make it safe for james, we had to let him have a turn.

i mean, arm up and all. he was taking notes!

and apparently you have to work to stay on.

eight second? who needs just eight. james is going on forty eight.

we had one happy little cowboy.

until we had an unhappy little cowboy.

zinnia {week 1}

2011-04-19T08:27:00.001-05:00

and we have babies!!!

score!!!

james may turn out to be a master gardener. i love fresh flowers and veggies. this could be a sweet deal for dear ol' mom.

the water hose.

2011-04-15T11:53:00.001-05:00

after i took away james' zinnia pail, i went inside the house to find a nice spot for it to sit, undisturbed for a while. i'm doing my own thing, you know for a whole two miutes, when i peek out the back door to see this.

i couldn't tell the extent of the damage but i grabbed my camera and went back outside anyway.

the damage, well, it's nothing the washing machine and a bubble bath couldn't fix.

covered. head to toe. and i think i see some mud in his smile. was he eating it? or using the shovel as a spoon? i'm not quite sure but the clean up crew was called in to get to work on this little pigpen.

the clean up crew is aka mr. h and the water hose.

even though the water was cold, james loved it!

james then decided he wanted to take matters into his own hands.

the boy loves the water hose. i'm telling you, this will be a dual purpose game this summer - to entertain james and water the backyard. score.

who knew something we already need to do would be such a hit?

if you can't reach me by cell, i'm playing out back with james and the water hose.

veggie tales pail.

2011-04-13T16:02:00.003-05:00

grammie got james a veggie tales flower pot for james. it was so much fun! we got it on saturday and couldn't wait so we planted it on sunday morning.

well, mr. h and james planted it while i took pictures. i still think it counts as a "we" job.

the kit came with seeds and two blocks of compact dirt. i'm sure there is a fancy name for the dirt disks but you get the point. so, we added water and let james get to it.

can you see the piles of mud? yea, the more it went flying, the more fun this project became.

see? james is in the zone. he is having a blast. i'm just letting him do his thing but trying to not get in his line of fire.

finally the dirt was ready and it was time for the seeds. this kit came with zinnia seeds. i expected it to be a veggie. you know, they are veggie tales but it was a nice surprise. we haven't planted any flowers yet but i love our azaleas and spring flowers.

isn't it just too cute how james is mimicking mr. h? he is such a sponge. and so smart. and no, i'm not bias. he really is and his memory is top notch. this can be very tricky.

next up, time to rake in the seeds with some tlc.

james didn't really want to use tlc. he wanted to play in the dirt. so.... we had to take it away from him.

can you see the look of disgust in his face when mr. h was trying to pry the little rake from his hands? he was not happy and was not going down without a fight. as soon as we distracted him, i snagged the freshly planted zinnias and carried them inside. and put them up high where someones little hands couldn't dig it in when i turn my head.

i hope they bloom.

fingers crossed.

saturday morning scene.

2011-04-09T10:57:00.000-05:00

with warm weather brings outside time and responsibilities. after my run, the farmers market and a snack, it was time to do work.

the hubs needs to mow so james wanted to mow too. we also played soccer and climbed on the jungle gym. what a fun saturday morning.

we obviously play soccer two ways around here. you see the white blog on the bottom of the picture. that is utah. he loves that ball. he's just wait for the chance to get it back from james.

see? he loves it.

see that dog run on the fence? i'd love to say we were making that dirt a flower garden but utah would trample it.

see that hole next to utah? that is from the other dog. waylon is trying to find china.

dogs.

off to a saturday fill with birthday fun!!

happy friday.

2011-04-08T16:29:00.000-05:00

does this picture make you smile too???

i hope so.

we picked up these glasses when we went to incredible pizza for valentine's day. i've pretty much been holding them hostage until i could find a time to set up a photo shoot. yesterday after work, i deemed it time.

i grabbed the glasses, attempted to put them on and loured james outside with them. i tried to get him to sit on the deck for some snaps. he actually did good until we got photo bombed by waylon.

james was saying "waylon" and petting him and having a good time. waylon was posing so i just went with it.

i love these two boys.

neither one usually sits still for me to take a picture. maybe those are magic glasses? if so, i'll need to buy reinforcements bc they stretch out and look like they may only last another time or two. as soon as james wasn't looking, i took them back inside and put them up. i'm mean like that. well, i'm not but i just didn't want them to get broken in the first ten minutes of play time. accidentally of course.

i will be spending the weekend with family and sunshine. can it get any better? i think not.

happy friday!!!

gangsta.

2011-04-07T16:22:00.000-05:00

last night i was inside while the boys were out in the backyard. mr. h yells inside and says i have to come and check out james' gangsta outfit. hummm. i knew what he was wearing so this intrigued me so of course i went to check him out.

my little man wearing his nike flip flops, life is good shirt, his woody hat and playing with the soccer ball. it was adorable!

he did not want to pose for pictures and actually made it pretty darn hard to get one of his face. he is quick and knows how to shield his face with the ball and hat apparently.

he dropped the ball and i kept trying to get a picture. i wanted him to drop this little stick but you know that didn't happen. he is looking at me like what? what do you want??

then finally. i got what i wanted!!!

yep! that big smile.

Life is Good.

jungle gym.

2011-04-06T16:24:00.000-05:00

yay for warm weather. james got a playhouse/sports center/slide/jungle gym for christmas but it hasn't gotten much use. until now...

GO COWBOYS!

and keens!!

james is picky about whether he'll wear a hat or not. if mr. h or i am wearing one, there is a much better chance. we put it facing forward and he flipped it backward. cool kid.

see that circle he is looking out of? well, that is actually a place to practice throwing a football. we're not there yet but one day. now he looks out of it and i tried and tried to get the perfect picture.

well, while james was having fun, i wasn't getting that image of his head placed perfectly center and smiling with sunshine delight.

i got close...

but no cigar.

regardless i still love the image. it brings back the spring time memory. james is going to love this thing more and more. he will just play and play and entertain himself on the jungle gym. he'll take turns slam dunking the basketball and climbing the back to go down the slide. he'll stand at the top like he is king of the world and squeal.

and

it is so versatile. obviously.

you think a little girl would have done this?

mr. chesney

2011-04-05T15:58:00.000-05:00

this past saturday i went to the kenny chesney concert with my older sister. my sister is ten years older than i am but the older we get, the more we have in common. we live in the same town but not close to each other. we both have busy lives and don't really find time for each other. well, besides family time or time spend to honor our children like birthdays, gymnastic meets, baseball games, and so on. it isn't anything bad. we actually both wish we had more time for one another but then life happens.

this is my sister. isn't she pretty? sometimes we look similar. people either think we look alike or we don't at all. i'm on the fence. i suppose i don't see it more than i do. especially in this picture. i don't see it. there are obvious difference - her hair is naturally brunette when i'm a natural blonde. i enhance my color but it is my natural. she is at least 4 inches taller and has more of an olive complexion. i'm obvious more fair and i'm sporting a sunburn from my saturday morning run. i had no idea. she told me i was burnt but i didn't see it (or the sweet tank top lines) until i went to the restroom. i think it was margarita induced bc it wasn't there when i left the house. i swear. anyway, we're sisters and we love each other despite our conflicting schedules and lack of resemblance. obviously.

back to the man of the night, mr. kenny chesney.

this is the best picture i got of him. this is him on the jumbo tron. we weren't that far away from him but my cell phone would not take a good picture. i mean, wouldn't no matter how i tried.

kenny look like an angel. see:

i mean, he is heavenly. in a little kind of way. don't get me wrong, he is cute and puts on a great show but i couldn't stop thinking man, he is so small. i wonder if i would look huge next to him? i didn't say anything but after the concert my sister said that she thought she could take him. i knew that i wasn't the only person who didn't think he was a tiny man. dangit.

overall i had a really wonderful evening. i just have one complain. a big one.

this guy:

he smelled so bad. i know, it's sad. at first i was so mad. he sat through the first performances and played some game on his phone. i just thought why would you pay so much moeny to play phone games? then as the concert went on and the arena warmed up, it started to smell. bad. at first i thought it was me (not who smelled but the only one who could smell it) but then i noticed the girls on both sides of me smelling it too. i mean, i just don't understand. at first i was mad but then i just felt bad for him. i hope he doesn't have this problem all the time.

anyway, this really put damper on my coastal experience but i would recommend anyone who likes country to go and have some fun.

my feet still hurt from my saturday morning run and then walking around in my boots all day. i know, i know - i don't expect sympathy. i brought in on myself. i just wanted to complain.

The more things change

The more they stay the same

Don't matter how old you are

When you know what I'm talkin' 'bout

Yeah baby, when you got

Two bare feet on the dashboard

Young love in an old Ford

Cheap shades and a tattoo

And a Yoo-hoo bottle on the floorboard

Perfect song on the radio

Sing along 'cause it's one we know

It's a smile, it's a kiss

It's a sip of wine, it's summertime

Sweet summertime

dinner talk.

2011-03-31T14:53:00.001-05:00

the other night i bought an us weekly in the grocery store checkout line. impulse buy. dangit! well, i read/flipped through the pages last night while james was coloring. i left it on a table in the living room and forgot about it.

until i walked back into the room to see this:

perfect! now we'll have some fun celebrity gossip to talk about tonight at dinner. can you believe they broke up? and she actually wore that?! she should fire her stylist. and oh my! you can see her skeleton. she is too skinny. oh, the list goes on and on. i'm glad james shares my passion for cheap, gossip mags.

well, maybe.

james ended-up ripping into pieces until i had to pry it out of his little hands. man, he has a tight grip! in this process it was destroyed and found a home in the trash. oh well. do we really care about those people anyway? nope. not at all.

gold star.

2011-03-30T14:51:00.001-05:00

i grabbed my camera a bit too late but here is james proudly ~~playing with~~ wearing my whiterock medal.

i missed the lawnmower episode but i got a few snaps. this is his chair. it is james' recliner that is in my bedroom. i hate to say this, but i do not like it. it is big and blue and toy story-ed out. and i kick it. and i could go on and on but james likes it and that is all that matters. (don't worry grandma, i didn't mean it bad. james loves it, so i love it.) he used to just sit in it and love it but now he loves to flip it over and climb on it. all the time.

have we told him no?

yes.

have we turned it back over a million times to try and stop this?

yes.

has it worked?

no.

do we just let him do whatever he wants to his chair now?

yes.

am i mother of the year??

h*ll yes.

i let my son wear my prized marathon metals and flip over his chair whenever he wants. i'd say that gets me a gold star in the mom department.

did i "fix" james' hair after bath like this?

no. mr. h still tries new hairstyles. we laugh.

austin pictures.

2011-03-29T15:17:00.001-05:00

as i have said before, i've never taken my phone along for a run. in fact, i haven't taken my phone on any run since i've been back from austin. so, since i was apparently all about my phone this run, i took some snaps and would send them to mr. h or some friends for support.

this is early, before the run trying to catch a ride to the start line.

i sent this to my friend, and run buddy, and said, "no turning back now".

this is the point where i think - this is what sets the men from the boys. well, except i should say the ladies from the girls. this is where i wish i were heading back toward the finish line. even though i went to run a full marathon, i was jealous of the people in the right lane. i love half marathons. i think it is such an accomplishment and such a great distance to run, so i'm not knocking it.

this sign made me laugh. i love that this runner knows how much encouraging signs help so she made one to help out others even though she was running herself. if i remember right, she lives on a hill. of course i remember right, the whole dang course was hills!

oh man, see those signs, i loved seeing those signs. mile 24. it was beautiful. i sent this to the hubs. remember, i called him at mile 18 in tears so i wanted to show him i made it. i was surviving and trucking along.

then i saw this:

eggsalent job! baaahahah. i had to stop, check this out and take a picture. i don't remember if i sent this to anyone or i just wanted to remember the moment. i would have never guessed i would see this is the home stretch. thank you chicken owners. you are awesome! you made me smile.

then i sent this, of course:

thank God! i finished.

and then this is just a favorite picture. sorry you get to see it again.

i love medals. are they worth it?

absolutely.

just the other night james came into the living room wearing my dallas white rock medal while pushing his lawn mower. honest, one of the cutest things i have ever seen. i wish i had a picture but you'll just have to imagine it. it will make you happy.

saturday morning scene.

2011-03-26T10:37:00.000-05:00

i'm linking up with katie over at loves of life for the saturday morning scene.

this morning i got up about 6 and out the door, a little late, about 6:40 for a 10 mile run. the weather here has taken a turn from beautifully sunny to cold and rainy. this would only happen on my day off from work. go figure. i debated sleeping in but as always i'm so glad i put on my shoes and got out the door. we ran to the top of reservoir hill and if i had my phone i would have taken a picture from there to show you the view. the nice thing about a 4 mile up hill run is the 4 mile stretch coming down. i love the feeling of accomplishment. the feeling of rising to a challenge and kicking its tail.

now is time to play legos with my sweet boy. happy saturday!

tagged.

2011-03-21T14:36:00.001-05:00

my friend, mandy, tagged me in her blog last week. so here goes....

four places i go:
work
daycare
starbucks
wal-mart

four favorite smells:
clean sheets
coffee
rain
markers

four favorite movies/tv shows:
glee
grey's anatomy
sweet home alabama
old school

four recommendations:
sleeping in dry-fit tops
not gaining 50 pounds while pregnant
taking bubble baths
taking a lot of pictures

four favorite things to do:
be with my family
listen to live music
be outdoors
run

four things i dislike:
olives
traffic
theives
litter bugs

four blog friends to tag:
jenn
chelsea
tara
erin

i hope everyone is enjoying the first official days of spring. i am. i hope to enjoy being outside as much as possible before it gets hotter than hades here in oklahoma.

happy spring!

happy st. patty's day.

2011-03-17T18:08:00.001-05:00

we all successfully wore green today even though i'm sure no one is james' class would have pinched him anyway. i really like the color green and enjoyed seeing so many people at my work wearing green and being festive.

i bought james a t-shirt last week with the sole purpose so that he could wear it today. i hope his teachers appreciated the festiveness. i tried to take a couple of pictures after work today but this is the only pictures i could get:

james love sticks. i mean, if he sees one, he must go and pick it up. he will go into meltdown mode when we won't let them come inside to play. he's all boy.

happy st. patrick's day!!!

where did he go?

2011-03-16T13:18:00.001-05:00

it's that time of year. i've been cleaning out james' closet to make room for his new spring clothes. i get so jealous of his wardrobe every season. i wish i could get a new seasonal wardrobe too. anyway, i had a hard time packing away his clothes. it always amazes me how emotional i get when this process starts. he is getting so big and his clothes look so small.

then i saw this picture...

doesn't he look BIG?!!?!

i know!! where did my little baby go?

please don't mind the nightstand. you can tell i'm a mom - i am prepared with a humidifier, milk and wipes. sometimes i don't post pictures bc i seem to always have these and other random "mom" items on our night stands. i still don't like the way it looks as the background of this picture but please just squint and try not to notice. only notice that big, handsome baby that is front and center. thank you.

this is my baby less than a week old. he was just a little shy of nine pounds here but he just looks so small.

where did this guy go?!?? i swear i remember these pictures like it was yesterday.

happy birthday sugs!

2011-03-15T11:38:00.000-05:00

sug·ar (shoog.er) - slang sweetheart. used as a term of endearment.

sugs - pronounced (shoogs). i can't make that sign about the actual definition and i had to modify it so it wouldn't show up as a blob. sorry beebs.

okay, this is sounding like a foreign language so let me explain. my dear friend brooke has a couple of known nicknames; beebs and blb. after james' birthday party i gave her my nickname, sugar momma. she loves to bake and made all the sweet treats for james and fellow partiers. it was amazing. well, after a while, sugar momma just turned into sugs. and today is sugs birthday! it's a big one.

this is the only picture i can find of the two of us on my computer. please wish sugs a happy birthday.

photo by amurphy

to be honest, i'm a little disappointed that this is the only picture i can find. i know i have more but where are they. this one is a bit dated but you get the point.

anyway, i'm not a huge fan of giving gifts just to give them. i mean, i know everyone loves presents but not if they are random and don't have a meaning. well, that is how i am. hopefully i'm not the only one.

but

i knew that i wanted to get something good for my sweet friend. no pun intended. maybe. but i wanted to get her something she would like. something that would make her smile. something i knew wouldn't require a gift receipt. so, naturally my thoughts went to something for baking. one problem - i don't bake. i know, shame on me. sugs will teach me though so i have hope. regardless, she is one of my dearest friends so i know her stores - jcrew and william sonoma. i can guide myself through jcrew but she almost owns the whole store but i can't go wrong with a gift card. i've done that with great results but i wanted to be more personal this year. i wanted her to feel loved. i wanted to find a way to show her how much our friendship means to me. well, that left me with william sonoma. oh dear. i knew i was in trouble but luckily i have great friends and helped to point me in the right direction. i asked for their help and inturn, got asked a million questions about what i had in mind. finally, we made a decision. nielsen-massey vanilla. sounds boring right? well, apparently this is not just any vanilla. and i'm pretty sure the bottle i bought isn't the typical, run of the mill either.

yes. that is 32 ounces of sugar heaven.

my husband was quick to point out that most vanillas are in nice, glass containers and this was just big. and plastic. it got me nervous too but i tried to hide it and reassured him that this would not matter.

i am used to normal vanilla bottles so i wanted to take a picture for scale.

i'd say that can bake a lot of sweets. i just hope i get to taste test some of them. oh, who am i kidding?! i know i will! i always volunteer for quality control in beebs kitchen.

happy birthday sugs!!!

nakey time.

2011-03-14T17:15:00.000-05:00

warning: this post is for the grandparents and contains a naked baby.

each night after bath we allow james to run around for nakey time. there is such joy in james smile and screams as he runs and stomps. james loves bath but i think he loves nakey time just as much. friday we had a big time! it was nakey cowboy time. (if you thought something gross, get your mind out of the gutter!) here is my little cowboy.

it was all fun and giggles until we had to tell him it was time to put some britches on.

my boy loves some nakey time. too bad he can't be trusted for long.

and if you are wondering, he has not made any puddles on the floor...yet.

ummm...

2011-03-10T12:29:00.000-06:00

i'm sorry.

i have no excuse. i haven't blogged in too long. first, life just got super busy and then i went through a rut where i didn't take pictures or feel like i had any blog worthy material. well, now i'm back. i still don't have anything super exciting but, believe it or not, it actually stresses me out and makes me upset that i haven't blogged in so long. like, i lost sleep last night over it people! that is just nuts. so, here i am ready to spill it and promise not to go on a blog vacation again. unless i physically go on a cool vacation without internet, then i'll leave you bored and lonely again. well, probably not but you get the point.

some random happenings:

last week i got the announcement at work that i would be taking on two new assets and moving floors. this has led to training and a busy, busy time at work. overall it is a great thing and i look forward to the opportunity.

i hurt my neck. well, neck and shoulder. i am getting old and falling apart. i now am addicted to my roll-on biofreeze. i might smell like a medicine cabinet but it is much better than the alternative. plus, it feels the best when applied first thing in the morning. i even sound like an addict. oops.

i ran some hills last saturday. i was dreading them bc of my new found hatred of hills after austin. i did them, didn't really complain and had a great run. i had a strong run and got the affirmation that i should continue to run after such a bad one. sh!t happens.

i have been growing out my eyebrows and it has been torture. seriously. i hated it and felt so self conscious. i know that no one cares but me - but it was hard. i'm so glad i did it though. i got them dyed and threaded yesterday and i am in love. now i just need to work that into my beauty routine. i tinker between thinking it is high maintenance and necessary. today i've decided it's necessary.

james currently loves to say "oh no!". it is so cute. they must say this at daycare and now he'll say it just about anytime he can. his cup runs out of milk - oh no! he drops a crayon (or color as he calls them) - oh no! i turn off the tv or toy story - oh no! as you can tell, james lives a rough life.

james also has started to throw milk tantrums. yep, you read that right. he has this new found love for milk in the evening. he'd like one bottle before bath, one after bath and another before sleep. heck, he'd probably like the option of having one while in the bath but that just crosses the line. oh, and i should clarify, james no longer uses a "baby bottle". he hasn't since he was 1 year old. he now has some big boy sippy cups and straw cups but i still call them all bottles. anyway, now if james wants more milk and i don't think he should, he goes up to the refrigerator, opens his arms wide and slams himself up against the door. he wipes off his m&d animal magnets and goes into meltdown mode. ummm. seriously james? i cave and give him milk. i mean, it's only milk, right?

i took james to bouncy barn last saturday. bouncy barn has big inflatables for little kids. james had so much fun! well, except for the first 30 minutes where he cried on my lap. now he wants to "jump" on the bed and say "bounce bounce bounce". it gives me a heart attack. if you didn't know, when i was four i was jumping on my bed, fell off and broke my right arm. i couldn't ~~suck my fingers or~~ color! this is terrible. i would hate for that to happen to james. i cannot imagine rushing him to the emergency room. stop! i don't even want to think like that.

oh! and most important -james had his first chocolate shake. love at first sip.

oh great! now i'm craving a chocolate shake.

saddling up.

2011-02-24T07:46:00.005-06:00

courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway. - john wayne.

i was insecure about my physical training going into the austin run but mentally i was comfortable. i've decided two things can make a run significantly more difficult, no matter how much i've trained; the weather and the course. i've never had the impression that running a marathon would be easy. but i seem to forget how emotional they are. i forget the pain and depression and soak in the pride and sense of accomplishment. i know that many people run marathons and they are much faster than i am. i am not going for speed but it is hard to get a slower time than anticipated. while running, the lowest of low feeling is having to stop and walk. physically having to walk and watch others pass and eventually disappear. my negative attitude emerges and i hate myself for walking and force myself to start going again. i remind myself to suck it up - that if i don't push myself, no one will. each and every run i learn more about myself and the willpower i have developed. i want success. i want to feel success. i want to feel satisfied and complete. and proud.

at one point during the run a woman said to me she was depressed with her time. that she had run the marathon last year and had a much better time. she said the course was more difficult and that her knee hurt. my reply, without hesitation, was "no one gives a sht what time you cross, but you". she laughed and whole-heartedly agreed. the thing about that statement is i only believe it half the time. the other half i still fear that people will judge me for not being fast. basing their approval on time, not survival. i try not to be insecure but i am. i think it is only natural when you put so much of yourself into something.

i think i've set a negative tone that i'm not intending. i love to run. i am so glad i went on this trip. i am proud what i accomplished. i pushed my self to the point of tears and came across the finish line smiling. i conquered this run despite my fears and the challenging terrain. this is the first run i've ever taken my phone along for the ride and i'm so glad i did. and this is the first time i've ever called someone during a run! truth be told, i've seen those people and thought what are they doing?? i don't know what they were wanting but i was seeking encouragement. jenn and i parted ways about mile 12 and i found myself lonely. and hurting. we went shopping the day before and my feet were sore from the start. i was hoping that the pain would go away but it just continued to increase as the miles persisted. i was told at a water stop around mile 17 that the course was downhill from here. i was looking forward to this point all day...until mile 18 came and i could see no decline. i could see no relief in sight. my feet hurt and all i could see were inclines. incline after incline. it broke me. i called mr. h at mile 18 crying. crying crocodile tears. i was crying bc i was slow. my feet hurt. i wasn't trained. i wasn't running to satisfy my needs and i still had over eight miles to go. we gave me encouragement and assured me i could do it. i pushed on and started sending pictures and texts throughout my journey. i started getting encouraging texts and the miles were shrinking. i would finish. i saw more and more people at the aid stations waiting to be driven back to the finish line but i never thought i would have the guts to quit. to go and sit there while others gave everything to finish. if people thought i was crazy for crying at 18, they would have thought i was a lunatic sitting at an aid station bawling like a baby. i'm not a quitter. i didn't drive, okay ride, to austin to quit.

the miles came and i kept running (it was more like jogging at this point) and i just pushed through. i tried to ignore my pain and know that i could stop as soon as i crossed the finish line. by mile 25 i started to find comfort in the fact that i was close. this run would end and i would make it. i would pray and i would find comfort in knowing that i had completed something far more physically challenging than i thought possible. was ignorance bliss? absolutely. if we had driven the course, i would have been scared to death of all the hills. i don't know if i would have signed up to put myself through h*ll but i'm glad i did. doesn't that sound crazy?

after i crossed the finish line and got my hot banana and gross gatorade recovery drink, i tried to find some place to sit in the shade. i was sunburned and tired. my body ached and i wanted to hug someone. anyone. i didn't. if i had, i would have been a big, crying baby and a pile of mush. i called my husband crying. i told him it was so hard. that i wanted to be at home and i don't know why i would put myself in that position. people - i am not a crier. i'm really not. this was just an emotional struggle for me. as i was crying, i knew that i would run another. i knew this would not be my last marathon. i knew i wanted to feel the runner's high again and i would, in fact, run the full marathon in okc on may 1st. i know this may sound nuts but after the hurt went away, my pride set in. i am so proud of myself. i am so proud of the ramsey girls and what we did last sunday. i'm not ready to give up. i've got eight weeks to become a stronger, non-crying, runner for my next chance. next time i hope to be more like lightning mcqueen and less like mater. i may cry but i hope it is tears of joy, not tears of pain and fear.

as hard as i am on myself, i know that few people attempt a full marathon and i should take pride in knowing that i've done three since november. pride in dedication and determination. and i am proud (so proud) of this last run but yet i don't know if i feel satisfied. i gave everything i had but i'm ready to give more. feel more happy thoughts and less negative ones. i suppose the more you run, the greater chance you have of catching a bad run - if you're a runner, you know about a bad run. they just happen. it sucks but the good definitely comes with the bad. the aching body, sore muscles and missing toenails. maybe i should take up a new hobby. like cooking or knitting. both sound good but i'm not ready to give up yet.

of the sold out 6,000 marathon runners, twenty percent did not finish. i was not one of those people. i did not give up. and by gawd, i gave my all and then some. i ran across the finish line and i proudly received my medal and finisher shirt. i didn't even see lance (the event was sponsored by his livestrong organization) but i know that he only ran the half marathon. yep, for one day i out ran lance armstrong. to me, that is something to be proud of.

please excuse the grossness. i just finished 26.2 miles.

buzz...

2011-02-23T08:01:00.005-06:00

i used my iphone to capture the "buzz behind the start line" that i've talked about. below you can feel the buzz from austin too.

approximately 20,000 people gathered to run the full marathon, half marathon and livestrong 5k by 7:00 am in front of the capitol building.

this is best with sound.

after i uploaded this, i just realized that highway to hell was the song playing in the background. foreshadowing? i'm not sure but i was so concerned about trying to hold the phone, find jennifer and not trip that i didn't even hear it. i'll blame it on my buzz.

three things.

2011-02-22T10:55:00.000-06:00

1. i made it home ~~sore~~ safe from austin. i am healthy and amazingly did not even get a blister. it was hard. i'm glad i'm home.

2. i finished. i ran across the finish line. i got my medal.

3. james was asleep by the time i got home. i set up my iphone with facetime and my computer with skype but didn't get the chance to talk with james. i missed him so much. yesterday on his daily report, mr. h told me it said he was extra snugly and they thought it was cute. in my mind, he missed his mama and i would be there to give him all the snuggles he could stand. i couldn't wait to get home to him and my hubby. mr. h knew i couldn't wait so didn't give him a bath or start the bedtime routine so that i could see him awake but when i got home this is the image i came home to.

my heart shattered.

i picked him up and he barely opened his eyes, saw me, gave me a big hug and went back to sleep. that was the best hug i've ever had. well, not really but it ranks up there. definite top 10 hug.

and well, this picture isn't from last night. this is the picture i took on james' first play date. yep, he slept threw it. it was so embarrassing! but this is exactly how he looked last night. minus the red chair. he was in his blue toy story chair but still had on his shoes and all. i cannot wait to snuggle him tonight! i still miss him so much.

i am exhausted and will blog about the run tomorrow and the next couple of days. but i just want to say thank you to all who have supported me and have given me encouragement through the whole training process. i cannot express my gratitude enough. i truly love each and every one of you.

i could not have gotten this ~~heavy medal~~ without you.

** i know i usually blog about james but my next several posts will be about austin and the run. i like to read and blog about james but i want to document my experiences too. i want to have them for memories and i want to attempt to share how i feel to those who care. so, bare with me - i have fun pictures and videos heading your way. thank you. **

what more could i need?

2011-02-19T08:37:00.001-06:00

i made it. i'm in austin. i've got my running shoes, my mac, a lawyer and a chiropractor. what more could i need? nothing. besides james. but i am having a fun girls trip. the marathon is tomorrow. while i'm expectantly nervous, i'm more excited. i'm excited for the buzz before the finish line and the last surge of adrenalin when i will see the finish line after 26 miles. i'm getting goosebumps as i type right now!

during the white rock marathon, i don't remember what songs i listened to and when they played. i remember i started to soulshine and ended with cee-lo. obviously i'm ready for the finish line feeling again.

it will come soon enough. until then, i'll leave you with a song that still makes me smile and brings back an awesome memory.

outtakes.

2011-02-16T16:46:00.002-06:00

if you're wondering, i took james' valentine pictures this year. last year i didn't and i regretted it so this year i made the time. i thought about a prop and made it happen. go me! but let me say one thing - most of the time i just take pictures to capture memories of james. i just take my camera along and hope i can get some good snaps to document our fun adventure or what-have-you. on the valentine card, you can tell it is staged. or i hope you could. this takes planning and thought. that is why i don't take these kind of photos often. i don't have any cute back drops or anything so i get tired of using my chocolate brown, dinning room walls but unfortunately this is the room with the best natural light and open space. well, it has open space when i move out the dinning room table and chairs. you see where i'm going? this takes effort and planning and light. since i work this means i need to use a sunny weekend day and i must pay attention to the shadows and hope that when all is right that james is in a good mood and ready for some pictures. phew! this makes me tired just thinking about it. or you think i sound lazy. i'm going with the first one though.

so, i planned to take james' pictures for his valentine cards on january 16th. early. i know! but by the time i made them from scratch, ordered them online, got them mailed to me and then found time address them and mail them out, it takes time. truth be told, i bought the sucker on the 15th and so if i found time on sunday i would have what i needed and wouldn't curse myself for being to lazy to drive and search for a lollipop. on sunday, around 11 i noticed that the light was good so i moved out the table and chairs and recruited the hubs to give james a bath and just put his patigonia pants on him. i found a stool, combed james' hair and unwrapped the sucker. the photoshoot started at 11:27 and ended just shy of 11:31. yep, that was quick. it didn't take long for james to shatter the sucker on the ground, proceed to shuffle it everywhere and get covered in sticky sucker crumbs. after we denied him the joy of licking the pieces off the floor, we had a meltdown and all were covered in pink, sticky sucker. joy. mr. h said something like, "wow. that was quick. did you get anything?" i thought, man i don't know. i hope so.

i uploaded my images and snapped exactly 20 images. i know this may sound like a lot to some of you but to those who have children and try to pose and prop, you know this isn't a very big selection. especially if you're shooting moving children. i found two images that i was happy with and therefore decided to make a two-sided card.

i thought it would be fun to share some of the outtakes. i want you to know how hard i had to work to make this simple card happen and how most of the images just didn't make the cut.

enjoy.

there are some award winners, right? every time i think this will be easy, i am proved wrong. apparently giving my 18 month old a sucker and wanting him to pose and smile was more challenging than i had hoped. the trick to getting the perfect image is to take lots of photos. and pray that you'll be satisfied with a couple of images. luckily, james pulled through and i got the snaps i wanted. thank you baby james. and mr. h for you help and patience with me. i love you both for your camera cooperation. it makes me one happy momma.

february 14th.

2011-02-15T10:13:00.000-06:00

valentine's days are celebrated at our house but not necessarily in the most romantic fashion. the hubs and i like it that way. our first valentine's day mr. h got me a camelbak and i got him the bamboo longboard he'd been drooling over. no, i would not have purchased myself a water pack but i love it. it's perfect when biking and hiking and i've used is occasionally while running. mr. h used to ride his board all the time but it's been taking a break since james was born. it will come back out. i know it will.
anyway, this year was no different - except for james future bride was born! we are so excited. she is so precious and perfect. so, directly after work we took the two to meet. well, not really. in all honesty, i just wanted to snuggle the little baby. love. it almost makes me want to have another. for now, i'll go and snuggle my friends' little ones and get my baby fill until i'm ready.
before the special delivery, we had talked about doing dinner but knew that all the restaurants would be packed and we don't like to wait. some may call it impatient, we just call it hungry. so, we knew we wouldn't fight the valentine's day crowd but talked about taking our little valentine out to do something he would enjoy. there are only a couple of local places designed to entertain little kids so our options were limited.

yep, we spent our valentine's meal out at incredible pizza. james had so much fun and we got to spend some quality family time. can't get much better than that, right? well, except for the hubs got me a keurig! yes, the little coffee maker i've been dreaming of is all mine. i'm so excited! i was too exhausted last night to set it up but i am making it an official counter decoration tonight. he is so sweet. he knows me very well.

as for james, this is what i got him:

yep, some good ol' cheesy poofs and new colors.

he'll love them both.

for not having set valentine's day plans, i think it turned out pretty good. no wait, it was perfect.

happy valentine's day.

2011-02-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

valentine poker run.

2011-02-12T12:37:00.003-06:00

this morning i woke up to do a five mile poker run. the roads and trails have snow but they are passable. they're worth running outside versus the treadmill. hands down. when my alarm went off, it was dark in my room, cold outside and i dreaded getting out of bed. as always, i'm so glad i did.

i crawled out of bed and got ready. after the hard part, i was excited to put on my socks and shoes and get to the trail.

these are my new favorite running socks. fun huh? at first they felt weird but in a good way. i also thought the gray made me look like a senior citizen. although i'm over it, i still think they look funny and they feel great.

i took this iphone sceen shot on my way out the door.

brrrrr.

if you're reading and wonder what the heck a poker run is, wait no more, i'm going to tell you. before the run start you get your bib and one card. mine was an eight of clubs. then when the run starts, you run the course and pick up cards along the way. today we got cards about miles 1.5, 2.5, and 3.5. these cards are given out random and you just grab them as you stroll by. you pick up your last card at the finish line and there is your fifth card to complete your poker hand.

this was mine:

they give out prizes to the best hands first and it trickles down. obviously the better the hand, the better pick of prize. unfortunately, two eights isn't a good hand. i didn't wait around to get my prize. i was towards the bottom last year and got a small tube of chafe cream. sweet. but first prize is a 50 dollar gift card to runners world and then they have some awesome shirts, hats, gloves, gu and other random running gear. i should have waited but starbucks was calling my name.

it was nice to have a short run today. i got to come home and play with my baby.

who has found every book and half of his toys and brought them into the living room. move over chucky cheese, we've got our own game room on boston.

i had a good, strong run today. it felt so nice to get out. massive amounts of snow make it hard to enjoy running outside. i'm glad it's melting. i'm glad the weather is going to be nice this week. thank you mr. groundhog. i appreciate the early spring and cannot wait.

sour face.

2011-02-09T15:15:00.002-06:00

my new favorite drink is lemon water. not fake lemon water but a water topped off with a splash of real lemon juice. apparently james likes it too. he makes the same funny face after every drink but he keeps coming back for more. honestly, i don't mind until i get some random floaties or something i don't have a word for in my drink. until then, i'm nice and i share. cheers!

please excuse my loud voice in the background. it's embarrassing. jeez.

two to you.

2011-02-07T18:00:00.004-06:00

happy anniversary, mr. h. i love you.

all images by andrea murphy, as if you didn't know.

nun-ya.

2011-02-07T08:05:00.000-06:00

this actually happened.

james, what are you doing?

james, are you licking the bath tub?

seriously? james. why are you licking the tub?

james:

nun-ya! nun-ya! nun-ya!

nun-ya!

i swear that is what i heard him say. like he was telling me it's none of my business that he is licking the bath tub. i don't think so, sonny. everything you do is my biz. that's my job. i'm your mom.

or do you think cabin fever was in full effect?

okay james. i'm going crazy. let's get on your jammies.

well, i'm sure you can image the thud you would hear if i let him slip over the side.

i put down the camera and got back to my mommy duties.

doesn't he look big?!?

officially {un}blue.

2011-02-05T20:40:00.000-06:00

i'm just going to be honest - the first few snow days were fun. my work closed and i got extra snuggle time with james. but then it just kept snowing and, well, i think it made me a wee bit depressed. cabin fever had set in and the snow kept coming. i wanted to run. i wanted to get out some energy. i feel productive when i run. so, in absence of running, i feel unproductive. i feel lazy. last week james was sick and i had to slack on running (no complaints. james is first and most important to me) and then again with the snow. i was officially blue. and not from the cold but from being stuck indoors while my tennis shoes collected dust.

until today. my running group was meeting at 7:45 at the park. i couldn't decide if i wanted to face the snow or go to the gym. after two run buddies encouraged me to run the trail, i gave in but couldn't help but think how stupid i was going to look. and you know what? i know we looked silly but that is because we were laughing and having an awesome time.

i was nervous at first. i won't lie. you would be too if this were your first obstacle.

yep. that big snow mess was above my waist. the only way to get to the trail was to try to walk across it without sinking and getting stuck or too much snow in your shoes. i did it but i will admit, this is not what i wanted to see before i even started running.

i sent this picture to my husband. we were one mile in and he was inside and snuggled up. i wanted to show him how tough i am. and how pretty i am without makeup. and the frozen river behind me. he liked it.

and we're off. most of the trail looked about like this. except this is a high traffic area so this is a nice picture absent of any big snow mounds, puddles and ruts. we did however try to hike some of the deeper stuff but had to retreat.

i wore my running spikes. this was the second time i've gotten to use them in the last year. i think i got my money's worth today. they were awesome. after many laughs, stumbles and good times, we called it a day and ran about 10 miles. this was a much needed run for me. it turned my mood around and sent the blues packing. i'm so grateful for people who enjoy my company and encourage me to do something challenging. running in the snow was hard. my legs got a good workout and my lungs appreciated the fresh air.

my saturday started so good. i ran and went to startbucks where, get this, i got to pay it forward! do you remember this story? well, it felt awesome. it gave me an indescribable buzz. i just thought, man i am lucky. i was behind a nice lady in line and she ordered two cups of coffee and handed over some cash. i wasn't really paying attention until i heard the sb employee say i'm sorry we don't accept those. do you have any other cash? so, i looked. she was trying to pay with a hundred dollar bill. she replied no and i think everyone expected him to take her money but he refused. i was inches away and just said "no worries. i got it." it just came out. i didn't even have to think about it. thought i think both the employee and woman were in shock. i knew it was meant to be. her and her husband were so thankful but honestly, it just made me feel good. i got to pay it forward! i've been waiting and had the perfect opportunity. it was there just so perfect - it had my name written all over it. and had a pretty bow attached. life is good.

today was good.

family snow day.

2011-02-03T16:40:00.002-06:00

once we all had cabin fever, you know, tuesday morning, we had to bundle up james to go out and see all the snow. mr. h bought james a columbia snow suit last year and just couldn't wait to test it out. on the other hand, i'm not sure james was too excited.

keep in mind it was windy and cold and we mr. h had not had the chance to shovel yet. i stayed in the garage and could only snap a few pics from my nice, covered position. i had on my snow boots but other than that, i didn't have on appropriate pants to tackle on knee height snow. mr. h was prepared and had a little sled just waiting for james' squeals of joy.

obviously i can't see if james is having fun but mr. h says he was so i believe him. maybe next time i won't be such a weenie and enjoy the snow too. i mean, lets face it - james was out only a matter of minutes before we deemed it too cold. i could have endured three minutes of snow. i know i could have. oops. next time.

james is feeling much better. he is still coughing and on breathing treatments but he is on the road to recovery. i think we've all enjoyed these days at home together. i don't know when the snow will melt and i'll feel safe traveling with james in the backseat but he seems happy to be at home with our company. i want to enjoy it. i know one day he'll be wanting to play outside with his friends building snowmen and forts. until then, we'll play whatever he wants and enjoy the extra time together.

snow-klahoma.

2011-02-01T10:47:00.001-06:00

if you don't live in the heartland, you may not know that we are getting record snow today. a little before 11 last night, i heard the sleet, or winter mix per the weather channel, started. when i woke up at 6 this morning there was a blanket of white covering my yard and a delay opening message on my work weather line. i then of course turned off the alarm and hoped james would sleep in.

the snow is still falling down in a whirl of white with the wind gusts declaring tulsa's storm a blizzard. i'm snug as a bug with my boys but had to take a few picture to show the snow thus far.

the boys had held their morning business long enough and dared to venture out.

can you see utah? he loves the snow.

waylon? well not so much. it is already taller than he is and i imagine it is pretty chilly on this little, pig belly.

i'm obviously not going anywhere.

the snow is noticeably taller now. my mom gave us window covers for christmas and we put them on our front windows last night. i'm hoping it will help but with all this snow, who knows how hard it will be to take off at this point. honey - you busy??

james is tired buy refusing to nap. he is playing with my sorel box. yep, i'm armed with snow boots and got them out today. i'm going to pretend to go outside but really i'm going to snuggle my little boy and enjoy the snow from inside. and pray that we don't lose power. happy ~~snow~~ blizzard day my friends.

live strong. austin.

2011-01-30T11:02:00.000-06:00

it's that time again.

my third marathon is 20 days away. i am so excited! i've never been to austin but i've heard it is an awesome town. i'm going down with one of my dear, and oldest, friends and i cannot wait. i'm truly blessed to be healthy and able to run. i'm blessed that i have support and friendships that allow me to enjoy it so much.

ready jenn? it's for real and we're going to rock austin!!!

poor baby james.

2011-01-28T14:06:00.000-06:00

i've been with my baby. he's been sick. there is nothing worse than a sick little one. on one hand i get a super snuggly little boy but on the other i have a baby who's temperature i cannot get below 100 degrees. i have a child who will not eat or drink. not even cookies or vanilla pudding. or pedialyte pops.

sunday night i noticed james was running a fever and had a rash on his face and his torso. the rash on his face was like one i had never seen before. it was bright red, flushed cheeks that looked more like a sunburn or a windburn than a rash but james wouldn't have been able to get either in the natural elements. so, i took him into the doctor on monday and he was diagnosed with both fifths disease and the hand, foot and mouth disease. one would cause a rash and high fever and the other caused blisters in the back of his throat preventing him to eat. those are both in the "it is a baby virus that all babies get but we can't do anything because they just have to heal on their own" virus category. awesome.

mr. h was out of town so we sent him these pictures from mondays events:

james stayed home from daycare on tuesday with mr. h because i had a deadline at work. james was still running a fever on wednesday morning so we kept him home from daycare one more day. we were convinced he was on the road to recovery and would return to daycare on thursday. we just didn't want to be those parents that send their feverish child to daycare risking the health of a classmate.

james has been treated like a king propped up in our bed able to watch toy story 2 and 3 on demand. see, he still loves his woody doll. woody's cool factor dramatically increases if he has the removable, little cowboy hat too. luckily we had it but it once again missing in action.

wednesday night took a turn for the worse. james' fever was sky rocketing into the 102s and he was so uncomfortable. he was coughing and had very short breath. i called the doctor first thing yesterday morning and got him in for a followup at the first available appointment. we got the news that james had a severe right ear infection (which was perfect on monday) and either pneumonia or rsv. james got a shot that requires a 20 minute wait in the office after administered. while we waited i gave james his first breathing treatment.

this was so sad. james didn't even fight it. he was so puny that he just laid on my lap and patiently took medicine threw the machine. we were then sent down to the lab to have an rsv test run.

i don't think you understand that this is the opposite behavior of my usually active, happy, curious, little boy. while we were waiting, i asked the nurse if we would rather have pneumonia or rsv. she said pneumonia because it is a bacterial infection and we could get antibiotics to start treatment immediately.

well, the test came back. rsv. we have another antibiotic but mainly for the ear infection and our very own breathing machine. we were instructed to give treatments every two hours. all night long. luckily james still doesn't fight them. i think they actually bring him relief.

for now, we are trying to force pedialyte and fluids down his throat. if is does not get enough, he will have to be admitted into the hospital for dehydration. this is what we like to see.

right now my little prince is sleeping. i'm hoping he'll wake up feeling a little bit better. and have a wet diaper. i know, totally a mom thing but diaper matters can tell a lot about a baby. they have been a staple conversation around our house.

please pray that my sweet baby boy has a speedy recovery.

thank you.

first dental appointment.

2011-01-26T16:09:00.000-06:00

yes, you read that right. james had his first dental appointment. i know, he's barely 18 months old but the dentist asked me to bring him in. so i did. i'm a teeth freak. i don't mind going to the dentist. i don't have any cavities but i have one filling. tmi. i know. i'm just saying, i like the dentist. they are our friends. they keep our smiles pretty and our gums healthy. so, you better believe my baby is going to go to the dentist if they ask. they pretty much just want to get him in the office a few times before they actually want to do any "work". and by work i think they start with a cleaning and then it goes from there, if needed.

this is how it went down....

james, want to sit in the chair? look at the animals on the computer screen.

absolutely not. i can slide down this chair. watch!

okay, how about he sits on your lap. and we'll try to sit our hands in his mouth and ask a ton of questions. yep, just like they do me! except james wasn't really having it. they got to peek in and said they could tell that his pearly whites and gums were healthy and didn't have any spots and such that could indicate a genetic problem or too many sugar products. i proudly told them we brush our teeth every night.

which toothbrush? it is a tough decision.

we have a winner! we'll see you next year!

we were back there about 5 minutes. 10 minutes tops. they gave me good news and james a new toothbrush and toothpaste. score.

and no, they didn't charge me or my insurance for the visit. isn't that nice?

today's bucket list.

2011-01-19T16:26:00.000-06:00

on of my friends posted a blog about her bucket list and encouraged more of us to do the same. i throuoghly enjoyed reading her list. while are bucket goals are not the same it is always inspiring at what others want to accomplish.

i think that my bucket list items change. a lot. depending on my mood or if i've done one and it lead to another and so on. i don't think i'll change my mind about some of these items but one never knows. i hope i can look back and smile. probably laugh too.

visit the Louvre. i want to spend hours breathing it in and enjoying the scenery.
take james to the san diego zoo.
work an aid station/water stop for a large run. one much larger than in oklahoma.
find a charity and give both my time and money regularly to support and encourage others to do so.
go to a world cup with my husband.
learn how to play chess.
go on a weekend get-a-away with my mom. and splurge.
complete a triathlon. (yes, i had to mark marathon off and set another physical goal)
read the Bible from cover to cover.

there is my list. it seems short for how long i hope to be alive. some of these i am almost embarrassed to admit. why haven't i done them? why haven't i read the bible? i haven't i donated my time?? truth is - i don't know. i suppose i've allocated my time elsewhere. but hey, i'm working on it. if anyone has a plane headed to paris, please take me. i'll sleep or read. you won't even know i'm there.

gift idea.

2011-01-18T16:32:00.002-06:00

i'm relatively new to the kid birthday party scene. i mean, the kind where james is a guest to one of his friend's parties. i'm always curious what people give and get as gifts. i love when i see a unique gift idea so i'm going to post james' gift to hudson.

first i would like to say that james and hudson have the same passion for yo gabba gabba. my idea started there but i knew just getting a dvd wouldn't be fun for a two year old so i got to thinking. i decided to make a movie night basket for the family. my friend ashley has her own business making personalized gifts and i remembered that she made personalized cups that would be cute. (she makes so much more so check out her blog! she was so helpful and fast! i can't wait to order more stuff for james.) so, i gave her a call and had two cups made, one for hudson and one for baby sister. it was too fitting for the cup for hudson to have a plex-like robot on it. ella's cup is hidden in the back. it was perfect and i wish i had taken a picture of it but i didn't. i used it to prop up the birthday boogie dvd. okay, so i was up to a dvd and personalized cups. then i remembered the dollar section of target. pot of gold! and i remembered that they had plastic popcorn buckets. i snagged two of them, one is again hidden, and a blue bucket also from the dollar section. i topped it off with some tissue paper, a bow and three packets of microwave light popcorn.

voila! a movie night bucket tailored for hudson but made for everyone to enjoy!

if i had been more on top of my shopping list at target, i would have gotten some yellow paper stuff to put in the popcorn bucket but oh well. i'm just saying, it drives me nuts but i'm pretty sure hudson didn't mind.

one or two?

2011-01-15T10:20:00.002-06:00

do you put one or two spaces after a period? or question mark, obviously.

me? i'm a two spacer. not because i think it looks better or actually have an opinion on the subject. i do it because that is the way i was taught. yesterday i found out that i have been typing incorrectly my entire life. i'm actually forcing myself to only put one space as i type now and it is killing me. i type a period and then instantly, without though, hit the space bar twice...and then delete once.

am i the only one who is kind of freaking out? i know this isn't a major problem in the world today or on the forefront of the headlines or even on E! entertainment but it still bothers me. i think it is because i like habit and now my habit is wrong and i must change. change something that is so natural. i mean, this is killing me just typing this one little blog. one space. one space. i just keep reminding myself to only put one space.

do you think i'm crazy?!!???

either way, here is the link to the article:
http://www.slate.com/id/2281146/pagenum/all/#p2

long story short and my paraphrasing of this long article -

Who says two spaces is wrong? Typographers, that's who. The people who study and design the typewritten word decided long ago that we should use one space, not two, between sentences. Hundreds of years ago some typesetters would end sentences with a double space, others would use a single space, and a few renegades would use three or four spaces. Inconsistency reigned in all facets of written communication; there were few conventions regarding spelling, punctuation, character design, and ways to add emphasis to type. But as typesetting became more widespread, its practitioners began to adopt best practices. Felici writes that typesetters in Europe began to settle on a single space around the early 20^th century. America followed soon after.

so, see. i'm wrong. i have been typing incorrectly. so, if you've been reading my blog and cringing, i'm sorry. i am going to try to put this nasty, little, bad habit behind me but i'm not going to lie. it will be hard. but i guess with the starting of a new year, it will be a good time to finally start typing correctly. i suppose this is another non-resolution for me. man, i'm making too many non-resolutions. the list is getting longer than i anticipated.

are you confused? will you continue to use two spaces now that you're aware that is is wrong? have i been hiding in a cave to not know this tidbit of information? i am telling you - i am in shock. before i read this article i would have said two spaces with pride. good thing i've never had to have an intellectual conversation about it. but still this is a tough one to swallow.

dear second, unnecessary but wonderful space after punctuation,

i will miss you.

sincerely,
mrs. h

never grow up.

2011-01-13T11:00:00.001-06:00

i've recently heard this song and it actually brought tears to my eyes. my little boy is growing so fast. as much i love seeing him develop and grow, i want him to stop. i want to freeze time and bottle up the good feeling he gives me in his innocent bliss.

turn on your speakers. if you're a mom, you may want to grab some kleenex. enjoy.

hudson's birthday.

2011-01-12T15:40:00.003-06:00

saturday, after soccer, james had a birthday party to attend. mr. hudson was celebrating his second birthday. my friend, jen, is his mom and did such a wonderful job planning this party. please go to her blog and check out how perfectly she documented her little buckaroo's special day. she is such a great multitasker. i'm telling you, she was the party planner, photographer and super hostess. phew! i'm tired just thinking about all that.

i know that people stress out about having winter birthday parties but it was 115 degrees during james' party so i guess there are only a few oklahoma months with "perfect party" weather. well, i have to say jenn picked a pretty daring, yet awesome, party activity.

yep folks. that is in fact a little bounce house in her living room. the kids loved it. oh my goodness they had so much fun. i randomly snapped this picture, on my way out the door, to show the size of the bounce house. had i been paying more attention, i would not have cut off the birthday boy's head, at the bottom of the picture. that slide was james' favorite part. and if you look to the left, you'll see part of jenn (and no she's not the sweet, 12 year old girl). see, this is what happens when you just snap away.

when we got there, 30 minutes late due to a necessary nap, the kids were going wild. laughing with delight and having the most wonderful afternoon. james' eye got so big as he just stared. we let him take it all in before we decided it was time for him to try it.

he timidly sat near the edge...

and peek out out at us. check out that static hair! glad i'm not the only one.

and then made an escape.

until he discovered the slide.

he loved the slide. i think he would have sat/laid right there watching all the action all afternoon, if he wasn't hogging the slide. or until he got bounced off. i suppose that is just what happens in a bounce house though, right?

thank goodness we put on a pair of white socks. this could have been really embarrassing.

luckily, we just had one happy boy!

my boy loves cake. are you surprised? below is his "please give me more cake" face:

and the classic yearbook pose. and yes, this earned him more cake. how could i resist?

this past saturday was so much fun. i wish every saturday could be this family friendly and fun for everyone. if my living room could house this thing, i might invest in one. as for now, if anyone we know wants to set one up in their house, we'll come over for a play date.

thank you hudson for inviting us to your birthday party. we had so much fun! happy birthday!!

frozen.

2011-01-11T11:11:00.001-06:00

ever have one of those mornings? i'm totally having one right now. i'm trying not to let it ruin my day but in all honesty, i'm in a pretty bad mood. or a bad, morning mood for me.

my alarm went off at 5:05 but of course i hit snooze twice. dang! i really should only hit it once before crawling out of bed but today it was so nice and warm under my covers and it was so cold outside of them. but around 5:25 i did it. i made myself get up and do a little ab and arm workout. i know, it was only about 35 minutes but it has got to be better than nothing, right? i tell myself that it may jump start my metabolism too but i should google it. anyway, i did that and got in the shower so in turn, i'm having a pretty good morning. the only thing that would have made it better would have been a nice cup of coffee from my keurig. the keurig i do not currently own but will be getting very soon. i need one. there, i said it. it moved off my "want" list and onto my "need" list this past weekend.

i check the weather this morning, on my phone, and it says that it feels like -5 outside. awesome. have i mentioned that i lived in a character home in midtown? this is a nice way of saying i live in a home built in 1949 where the garages are tiny and are used more for storage than for parking. so, i loathe this weather. i do have remote start so it hasn't been too bad but today, well, it just didn't help. when i was time to get james out the door, i put a warm sweatshirt, stocking cap and his warmest jacket on him. he was good to go. i took a few cell snaps of him in his osu sweatshirt to send to my mom as a little morning present.

mr. h takes james to school. so, they were out the door and just fine. i finish getting ready, coax waylon into his kennel, bundle up and head out the door. it is freezing! i mean, it is below freezing! i get to my car and nada. i pull the handle and the door won't open. well, it moved enough to make you think it may open or i may rip the handle right off. hummm. this is annoying. i have to go back inside and to the garage because the de-icer is in there. so, i now back at my door fumbling for my house key. got it. find de-icer. please be on the shelf. yes. thank you. go back out, re-lock the front door and spray de-icer on the door. nada. what? nope. not working. well great. i then have to do the whole key thing again and get inside. i call mr. h but he doesn't answer. i can't remember if there are rules about using cool water versus warm water versus hot water. okay, i'll start warm water. get water on gloves. great, this really sucks. poor water on door seal. nope. not gonna happen the water is just freezing back to it. this isn't what is supposed to happen. so, i go back inside and get hotter water. calling ben and about to scream. no answer. i'm doin' it. go out, still gloveless, and try hot water. i'm thinking "1,2,3 pour and handle". did it work? h*ll no. now i'm out of ideas and calling my female co-worker. she has no idea but thinks hot water will work. i now have two glasses of hot water and am back out the door. i spill some on my pants but i'm so mad that it doesn't really even phase me. i get out the and just start pouring the water on every place possible. even the places that don't look stuck. i go for the handle and nothing. what? how is that possible?!! i try again with a little more force and it finally worked! yes! now i can finally fight the traffic and go to work! well, first i have to go back inside, grab my purse and put down our kitchen glasses.

so, i'm driving to work and noticing that the water is still stuck to my window. it is not supposed to get above freezing temperatures today so does this mean it will just re-freeze while i'm slaving away at the office?

this is the frozen mess as i'm almost to work while sweating because i have the defrost cranked all the way up in hopes to melt some of this. i get to my parking garage and of course my window doesn't work so i was one of those people. you know, the ones you laugh at because they are awkwardly trying to do something while opening the entire door? well, that was me and i now have a new found sympathy for people with broken, or frozen, windows. oh, and i almost forgot - when i was pulling off my street my car told me that i had a door open. really?! funny. that's what i've been trying to do for thirty minutes. so, i have to pull over and crawl into the back seat and pry open my back doors and slam them shut so that i have a battery later today. i did the passenger side too, for good measure. anyone jealous yet?

i am at work. i am a peach. i am listening to music and drinking hot coffee. i will turn this day around. i won't let this ordeal ruin a whole day but i'm praying all day. i'm praying that the same thing doesn't go down tomorrow morning. or today when i try to leave work. i now have spoken to mr. h and will require some husband help in the morning. i think he knows he just got another "honey-do" added to his list. luckily, he's smart and knows not to debate with me right now.

i hope everyone is warm. and safe. and not stuck outside their frozen car.

lil' kicker

2011-01-10T15:23:00.000-06:00

i am officially a soccer mom. minus the minivan. and the soccer stud. well, maybe. we took james to his first soccer "practice" on saturday morning. it was so much fun. james was the youngest kid in his class but he kept up. kind of. he did the things he wanted and didn't do what he didn't. he wasn't the only one with his own agenda though. i think he enjoyed running around on the turf the most. he enjoyed trying to escape, building towers and playing with daddy. i don't know who had more fun, daddy or james.

first james was trying to get all the soccer balls near him. while it was cute, he was not paying attention to his teachers at all. luckily, they didn't really seem to mind.

goal!

stomping bubbles was another fun activity. at first james was confused but then he caught on. i wonder if he'll start stomping bubbles around our house now too.

this is james on the other half of the field. where another class was taking place.

i love this picture. james was squealing with delight as he was trying to escape and fake mr. h out. can you just see his happiness?

next up: squishy balls. no lie. technical term.

most of the kids were bouncing on them, throwing them, and having a good time. as you can see, james liked to lay on the rest of the squishies. he played right there until the teacher needed the sack to put up the balls.

next up were these little cones. james was pumped. he kept going to these on the other side of the field.

you were supposed to build a tower and kick it over. um no. james just wanted to keep building them over and over. taller and taller. when it was time to put them up, the class was almost over but james was done.

i would like to report that he was unhappy because we had to leave but in reality, he just didn't want to stop making cone towers. plus, it was almost nap time. obviously this was a bad combination.

overall, we all had a great time though. mr. h will take james back on saturday mornings and i can't wait to go and see how much he learns and improves. i think it's too late to quit my day job and get corporate sponsors, but maybe one day...

resolutions?

2011-01-09T10:45:00.000-06:00

do i make resolutions? no, i don't. not really. i know i didn't for 2010 and i know i don't have any set for 2011. not that i don't set goals for myself. i suppose i just don't classify them as resolutions.

i never look in the mirror and think "dang! how did i get so perfect?!" never. i will always be the type of person who will want to lose (at least) five pounds. i will always see that wrinkle. i will always wonder if i said something wrong and may have offended someone. if i'm a good mom. if i should be more Godly. if i should be more of a suzie homemaker and less of a i need to run type person. i've told you before that i'm a worrier. see, i'm doing it again.

but i do have some things for 2011 that i'd like to tackle. i was emailing a friend the other day and this is the gist of what i said were my non-resolutions: i want to paint my fingernails more. i want to find a balance for myself, my son, my husband and my work. i want to clean more and complain less. i want to work on not looking like darth vader on the weekends and try to be presentable for unexpected company (and my husband). as i said, i don't consider these resolutions but things i should always work on.

am i the only person who doesn't set resolutions? from the blog world, it seems i may be. so cheers to all you non-resolutioners out there! 2011 will be a great year to complete our non-resolutions. i can feel it.

random: i just googled "darth vader" to make sure i spelled it right before i published this post and i did. maybe i'm a subconscious star wars buff. well, i'm not but i'm still pretty impressed. i actually don't even know what comparison i have to darth vader when i haven't brushed my hair or put on makeup but i suppose i just don't think darth is pretty. i love it when the smallest thing makes me happy. happy correctly spelled random word day!