and my girl (and me)

Scarlett is something I can't describe. She is such a mess, a little monster, but so sweet and lovable too. She will definitely be the one to try me, to push me, and to test every limit. She has no fear. Today in the store she said "hey" to almost everyone we passed. Most of them say something back. One woman didn't and Scarlett kept on "hey"...."hey"....louder "hey"...even louder "hey". Then "mommy that lady not talking to me."

The other day we watched the NYC Marathon. She noticed the runners had bibs on their fronts & backs and told me "Mommy you don't race with a bib number on your back. You wear it on your tummy." I was surprised & impressed that she put together what she was seeing on tv with going & watching me run.

Me....I dyed my yarn. It didn't turn out anything like I wanted. The tutorial I was following suggested pouring the dye over the yarn in the stockpot and when I tried that it didn't stay in one area...it spread throughout the pot. That makes sense to me, but I saw the pictures (in more than one tutorial) where they did this same thing and their colors actually stayed in individual sections, like pieces of pie within the pot. I don't know what I did different so that mine ran all through, but when I put in 4 colors it didn't look like 4 quadrants, it looked like I mixed 4 colors all together. Not the effect I was going for. I'll do some more research & hopefully next time it will go better.

And, I've signed up for a slot in the 2010 NY Marathon!!! Yeah, fat old me running the big one! No guarantee right now that I'll get in, but I have a chance. It's a lottery & I won't know until March. That means we're definitely putting off baby plans until March, and if I get the spot we'll wait until at least November. I'm also debating about running a marathon in GA in March or one here in April. If I run the one in GA I'll run the half here in April. I wanted to run one in Hawaii but I couldn't get flights to work out. I am really excited about this running...I did 10 miles yesterday & it felt great. I feel great today too...no soreness, no aches/pains, nada. Whew!

my big boy

Matthew is growing up so fast, a little more every day. It is amazing to watch him grow. Last week we got a couple of Christmas toy catalogs in the mail. As I thumbed through the mail while we ate lunch, he noticed them and said "mommy I want to look at the toy book." I promised him we'd look after naptime. After his nap he reminded me, and we sat down on the couch together with the catalogs. He pointed at each & every toy, on each & every page, and said "oh mommy I want that" or "what's that?" and then when I answered "well I want one of those." So cute! I remember anxiously looking through the toy catalogs as a little girl & I didn't think he was old enough for it, but he sure seemed to enjoy it.

He doesn't watch a lot of tv (especially that isn't PBS) but a couple of weeks ago I turned on Tom & Jerry for him and he loved it. But he called me during the commercials screaming "I want one of those!" and when I got in the room he told me by name what toy he wanted. The commercial was over so I rewound to watch it, and then told him that his birthday & Christmas were coming up so maybe he would get one. I wrote down the toy so I wouldn't forget. Several times since then he has mentioned it, without seeing a commercial, so I felt sure he would get one. Then he saw it in the toy ad & said "that's the toy I've always wanted."

Yesterday David took them shopping while I did some housework, and when they got home Matthew told me he saw a lobster claw and he wanted it but he didn't have his money. He asked if we could get his money & go back to the store to buy it. I was confused and asked David what was up...David explained & I told Matthew we would go back today. Apparently this toy was on the clearance aisle and Matthew asked for it. David told him he didn't have his money so Matthew asked if he could come home & get his boat (which is his piggy bank) and go back. David told him he had a Santa Claus gift card (yeah he got it last year for Christmas & we haven't taken him shopping yet) he could use instead of his money. This morning we got his gift card & went back. Walked up & down the clearance aisle 3 times...couldn't find the lobster claw. Matthew was upset, but I told him we'd look in the toy section. He seriously had his bottom lip out! They did have the other toy he had asked for....regular price $59.99, on the clearance aisle for $35. He played with that for a few minutes, then got back in the buggy so we could go to the toy section & look for the lobster claw. Meanwhile, I look & his gift card was for $35, so I decided if we couldn't find the lobster claw, I'd let him buy the other toy. I called David when we couldn't find the lobster claw in the toy dept either and asked him exactly where it was. He told me & we went back & found it. Matthew was so happy.

I was also able to sneak the other toy in & buy it without him knowing it. :) When we got to the checkout he was pretty impatient and was trying to give the cashier the toy & his gift card all at once, before the customer in front of us was finished. I talked to him about patience and waiting our turn, and he settled down. He was so cute paying for his toy all by himself. Hopefully he is learning lessons too...but I'm not sure a gift card is the best way. Probably would have been better to use paper money, but we had the gift card, KWIM?

It's small things but things I wasn't expecting to happen quite yet. I wasn't ready for him to shop and pay for something, I wasn't ready for him to pick out toys from the catalog! I'm not ready, but it's coming anyway!

Halloween & random

We took the kids trick or treating Saturday evening. We carved a jack o'lantern and tried to take their picture in their costumes. Matthew wouldn't look at me - he kept looking at David. David said "Matthew look at mommy." Matthew said "I want to look at you too." David said "No look at mommy." Matthew replied "Well I have two eyes I will look at both of you." David then moved to stand behind me and we tried to explain that your eyes can't look different directions at the same time.

We reminded the kids before we left home to say "thank you" when they got treats but at the second house we visited the lady was giving out bags of potato chips. Scarlett said "thank you" but Matthew held the bag up to the woman and said "I don't like these. I want some candy instead." I wanted the ground to swallow me up I was so embarrassed. When we left that house & got down the straight we promptly had the "you say thank you even if you don't like it" talk. I hated I didn't think of it before we left the house. Then when we started home Matthew asked if he could eat his candy. David told him he could have one piece and he said "can I eat my chip?" ARGH - that boy.

Tuesday Matthew got the show & tell bag at school. He was SO excited over it & immediately told me he wanted to put "puff" in it. Puff is a stuffed animal I slept with until I got married and now he's Matthew's. When we got home from school I had to help him get Puff in the bag. At naptime he wanted to sleep with Puff IN the bag. I told him no because I was worried the handles could be a choking hazard. He agreed to take Puff out of the bag to nap but immediately upon waking up we put Puff back in the bag. Today he was thrilled to take Puff to school to show his classmates.

This morning Scarlett & I played outside for a little while when Matthew was at school. We haven't raked leaves yet so she was running through them & would roll around in them. She had a blast. She loved scooping up big hand fulls & throwing them at me. Hopefully all of them will fall out of the trees before this weekend so we can do our raking & both kids can really enjoy playing in them.

I have a new project for tonight. I'm going to dye some yarn. I've been planning it for a while but didn't have all the supplies I needed. Well I finally have them & can't wait to play with chemicals in my kitchen. Seriously - I'll be putting my degree to work in a whole new way. :)

not my best

This has not been my best week.  I've had to sit in Scarlett's room with her almost every day for the last 2 weeks to get her to nap.  She is 2 - she *needs* a nap or she's a monster later in the day.  But the stubborn child will only lay down with me in there.  I don't know what to do with her.   As a result of this, Matthew also isn't napping great.  He is getting old enough that he doesn't *have* to nap but he's certainly more pleasant when he does.  Frustrating.   Today his preschool had their Halloween parade.  They had a party & then came into the fellowship hall to do a play for us & then they trick or treated around all the parents.  I could see Matthew looking for us when they came in but he didn't find us until after their play.  He went to his teacher & said "I can't find my family" and I felt so sorry for him.  Scarlett had been squealing for him from the time he walked in so I don't know how he missed us, but I put her down & said "go get brother" so she ran to him & hugged him, then they both ran back to me.  They really love each other and are so sweet.  Somedays when she doesn't want to nap she goes in his room and when they hear me coming up to get onto them, they both climb into his bed.  They often ask to sleep together, and earlier this week Matthew told me he wanted a bunk bed and Scarlett could sleep on top.    No matter how much they love each other, they still like to fight.  It's not all fun & games!    I cut my hand bad the other day.  It *still* hurts BAD, and it's in a place that's just hard to do anything with it.  It also keeps me from being able to knit.  I didn't realize just how sane knitting keeps me.  I feel like a monster this week without the relaxation of knitting.   I cut my hand AFTER starting to make cake pops, which meant I had to wear gloves to roll them out & decorate them.  I *hate* gloves.   On a good note, I've had some kick ass runs this week.  Other than boot camp I hadn't run since the half, but I did a quick 2 mile run one night & a 3.4 mile run yesterday.  I literally ran to the store, just to kill 2 birds with one stone.  I wore my belt so I could shove the things I bought somewhere instead of running with them in my hands.  Sigh.  I'm gonna shut up now, I feel myself starting to ramble.

code for bad?

Saturday night the church where Matthew goes to preschool had a Halloween Party / Parents' Night Out.  We do not go to church there and the preschool is not affiliated with the church, they just rent the space, but they invited the preschool children and their friends/family so we decided to take advantage of it.  Matthew & Scarlett were so excited to wear their Halloween costumes.  Friday evening we shopped & Scarlett wanted to be a monkey so we decided to just let her wear Matthew's costume from last year (and the year before....I think he would have worn it again this year if it still fit!).  Matthew wanted to be an astronaut but we couldn't find an astronaut costume.  He saw a Thomas the Tank Engine one and said he wanted it.  Then he was distracted by a pirate, then a cowboy, then another pirate.  Finally he saw a firefighter one and when we suggested looking at the others (since he had changed his mind so many times), he was adamant that he wanted to be a fireman and not look anymore.  Scarlett immediately wanted a firefighter helmet so we got Matthew's costume & an extra helment & came home.   Saturday night we dressed them & took them over to the church, got them signed in, got a quick hug & kiss, and they ran off to play, never looking back.  We hung around for a few minutes talking to some other parents but once we saw that the kiddos were having fun & not worried about staying with "strangers" we left.  When we got home, David walked over to pick them up & they were playing in a different room with a couple of other children instead of watching the movie.  The woman who was watching them told him Scarlett was a "bundle of energy."  Just like us southern girls say "bless her heart", isn't that teacher code for "bad?"

the half marathon

When I signed up to ran I hoped to run in 2:20.  I thought that was pushing myself, as I was running an 11 minute mile and needed to take occasional walk breaks so I was averaging more like an 11:30 min/mile.  In my training I had gotten to where I was running faster than 11 minute miles but when I run more than a few miles I have to add walk breaks and those make me average about 11 min/mile.  We went down Saturday to pick up my number and hang out at the expo.  On our way home I took a good look at the bridge and got really upset, thinking there's no way I can run that.    I rode downtown yesterday morning (at 5:30) with a couple of girls from the gym and we hung out before the race.  They are both quite a bit faster than I am so they were seeded in a different start group.  I love the energy surrounding a big race - there were over 19,000 people registered for all the different events, so there was a big crowd.  It was cold (28* when I left the house and sunrise wasn't until like 7:45) but I was dressed appropriately.  People actually overdress and along the route strip down...so you see all sorts of clothes, hats, and gloves along the run.  The clothing is collected & donated to a homeless shelter after the race, so that's kinda cool.   Anyway, I was feeling good - the start was slow because it was really crowded but I hit the first mile marker in less than 10 minutes.  Then came the bridge.  The ramp up to it and the climb up were hard, but I kept running.  I was slower my 2nd & 3rd miles, but they were mostly uphill and it was still pretty crowded.  The view crossing the bridge was AMAZING.  No matter what you think of Detroit with the sunrise reflecting off the river the skyline was gorgeous.    Once we crossed over into Canada we had a wide road so the crowd thinned out.  Miles 4,5,and 6 were pretty easy and I hadn't taken a walk break yet.  I finally decided that I should walk for a minute just to save some energy so I walked through the next water station.  Got to the tunnel...that was HARD.  It is only 2 lanes so it was crowded again and it was HOT!  I struggled through the tunnel but finished my "underwater mile" in right at 11 minutes.    When I got out of the tunnel I was watching for David because he was planning to be there but I didn't see him.  I got my cell phone out of my belt & called him, but he hadn't gotten there yet.  He thought the race started at 7:30 and knew I wouldn't "start" until about 15 minutes after the official start time.  It actually started at 7:15 so I started around 7:30 (we didn't communicate about that...I told him 7:30 and he thought it was the race but I meant when I would probably start).  So he hadn't gotten to the tunnel yet and had to find another place to go watch.    Shortly after I heard someone yell "go kaci" but I didn't know them.  Then I remembered our names are printed on our bibs!  A couple of other times people yelled for me...that was pretty cool that they didn't know me but yelled for me anyway.  This is the first race I've run where they put your name on your bib.  I was wearing a GT shirt as my outer layer & a couple of times people yelled "Georgia Tech" or "Yellow Jackets" too.  I love good crowd support!    Anyway, I got to the water station between 11 & 12 miles.  By then I had decided I should walk through every water station, to give myself a little break and to make it easier to drink.  About the time I threw my cup down I saw David, with the camera, and I was WALKING!  I quickly started running again and then he brought the kids to the curb so I could give them hugs & high fives, then I went on.    I passed the 12 mile marker & was getting really tired, but I was determined to run to the finish line.  I got there finally...that last half mile seemed to last forever!  But I finished...in 2:08:49!    I am pleased with my run.  I am really sore today but it's totally worth it.  I have said I want to run a marathon and I'll admit yesterday's race has me questioning that dream.  I'll admit...I don't know if I can handle twice the distance I did yesterday.  I definitely have a long way to go to get there.

it's people like this

It's people like this who make me want to tear my eyes out. Here's the story, from AOL:

Mom Has 2 Sets of Twins in 1

A Texas mother has given birth to her second set of twins in less than a year.

Samantha Lopez, of San Antonio, already had two children when she delivered her first set of twins in December, KABB-TV reported. Soon after, she found out she was pregnant again with another set. The babies, a boy and a girl, were born last week.

Lopez and her boyfriend, Lorenzo Saldana, told KABB they are depending on food stamps to support the family because neither can work due to the demands of caring for their six young children. Saldana said he plans to find work when the babies are a bit older. Lopez is a licensed childcare provider.

Seriously? I understand caring for 6 young children would be difficult, but to have baby after baby without having some way to provide for them, BESIDES food stamps?!?! I am glad to know that not only is my husband working hard to provide for his family but he's also working hard to provide for families like this. NOT! We think the economy is shitty now, what would happen if every couple with more than one child at home decided that both parents needed to stay home because the children are demanding? And wouldn't you expect a licensed childcare provider to be able to handle her OWN 6 children without her husband staying home? I can't even find the words I am so outraged over this.

Let me make it clear...I have no problem with people taking government assistance, when it is a valid need. When people work hard and something happens (either a job loss or a health situation, for example) and they need help, they *should* take the help. But people like this who abuse this system really piss me off.