Ready, set, GO!

I ran a 5K on Sunday morning. The plan was for all four of us to go and make it a family outing since there was a fun race for children, but the weather didn't cooperate so I ended up going by myself. I haven't run a race since 2003 but I am pleased with my time and felt great that I got out there and did it. I usually go to the gym every week morning. The girls go to the child development center and play or do arts & crafts so I feel good that all three of us are having a good time. The first song I usually listen to is Let Go by Frou Frou. I love the song and find it easy to listen to on a treadmill or while on the computer just chilling out. I am still loving iTunes and can spend too much time listening to music and looking for new stuff. If anyone has a favorite tune that you listen to while working out please share. Two things I am always looking for more of: music & recipes.

And back to our regular program.

Well, the husband is back for a couple of weeks. The girls are happy to have him home (I am too), and everyone is feeling good. We have had a cold snap here (low 40s) and have enjoyed some evenings by the fireplace, some hearty soups, and some warm sweaters that have not seen the light of day for a year - maybe more. All is good. I still don't understand why time speeds up just because Martin is here rather than Texas, but it seems to do it every time he comes home. Last weekend we had a couple over for dinner. This is something that happened on a weekly basis for a long time but then tapered off for some reason. It was so nice to have them here, hang out, talk, eat. I made Paula Deen's gumbo casserole and her lemon gooey-butter cake. So yummy. I don't cook her food too often, but on occasion it really hits the spot. I could go for a piece of the cake now along with some hot tea - too bad it was polished off days ago!

My Turn

The stomach-bug paid me a visit on Saturday evening. Thankfully I was able to get the girls down for the night before I fell ill, but I knew it was coming. Awful, awful feeling. Sunday morning was much better aside from the lack of energy. The girls had tons of energy and did not understand why I kept asking them to get off the sofa (aka - off of me). It was my personal all time low in parenting. I had no patience, no energy, they received really crappy meals all day, and they didn't get outside at all. The rest of the week has to get better. Right?

There goes the neighborhood.

This past week there was a robbery from a home in our, usually very quiet, neighborhood (I can look out of our office window and see the very house). The theft occurred during the day. The same day I was here all day because Erika was recovering from a stomach something-or-other. Then tonight I get a call from the neighborhood watch that an armed robber is on the loose in or around our neighborhood. The helicopters were flying overhead, there was a road block on the corner outside our subdivision. Apparently, this armed robber had hit up a gas station and was on the run. Unfortunately, he ran our direction. Of course I am here by myself with two little girls to look after. They are totally oblivious, but I am hyper-aware. I have every outside light on, the alarm is set, and I won't be able to sleep unless the 11 o'clock new announces that this insane person has been caught. If I weren't scared, I would be very mad at this person who so selfishly puts innocent people in harms way and has no respect for himself or others. I am beginning to agree with with my husband. We should just pack up and move to some nearly deserted place and live very quietly.

Just your average Wednesday.

Monday was a good day until 10:30pm. Erika was sick that night and started throwing up about an hour after she crawled into my bed. Tuesday was an amazingly good day considering the night E. & I had, and the fact that we didn't leave the house once. The girls played with their dolls & puzzles, and I did mountains of laundry. Wednesday - well it has been a good day too. We resumed our normal routine now that everyone is feeling well again.

This afternoon we spruced up one of the flower beds. The girls love being outside and find everything interesting. Today it was a moth. The poor moth was at death's door, and Erika & Ainslee helped it through the door a little faster. They are not delicate girls - a tap is usually a thud, and it was just too much for the ailing moth. The hoodies they are wearing may give the impression it is cold -it is not. They decided it was suitable to wear the hoods up. Who am I to argue?

Entirely different topic: my husband ran the Houston marathon on Sunday. This was his first marathon. His running time was 3:44. I wish his cheerleaders could have been there! I am pretty proud.

Never wake a sleeping baby.

I have heard the above phrase a lot. Funny thing is when the girls were baby-babies it was close to impossible to wake them. Only in the recent past has it become easy to wake them up. The need never occurred often, thank God, until our house went up for sale. This past month has kept me in a tailspin between holidays, traveling, decorating, undecorating, Martin in and out of town AND showings. Today I had to keep the girls up and out of the house (aka: entertained) an hour past their nap time for a showing. The real kicker is I had to wake them up 1 1/2 hours later to leave the house again for a different showing. Now, as I was making the bed up this afternoon in between showings I was cursing the anonymous people and praying at the same time that they are "the ones". My sweet girls were so well behaved considering they were totally robbed of a decent nap time. The whole day has been (1) mall, (1) restaurant, (1) food court, (2)parks, (1) bookstore and (1) craft store ( not that I totally mind shopping AND eatting out, how am I supposed to potty train amidst this chaos?). For now they are nestled in their beds, soundly sleeping, and soon it will be my turn!

Waiting and waiting and waiting

Our house has been on the market for months now (five). We have had many showings and many compliments, but no contracts. My husband started working for a new company and has been commuting across the country for months now (five) while I care for our girls and take care of things here. Well, we had a very spur-of-the-moment showing over the weekend which resulted in a couple "loving" our house. They have since decided to put their house on the market so that they can buy our house specifically. The whole situation seems odd to me, especially since they live less than five miles away, but I am grateful that a potential buyer is motivated to buy our house. I don't have my hopes too high as we still don't have a contract, but at least someone has fallen in love with our house just like I did three years ago.

On an entirely different note: GO GATORS!!! Outstanding job the other night. Don't be deceived as I am not a huge sports fan (I am married to one though), but I always want the Gators to win.

Bloggy Weekend

My husband and I were driving home Friday night when I realized something. We are becoming the family I never thought we would be: Martin was driving our SUV, talking on the cell phone and listening to the radio (it was on anyway). I was listening to my iPod, and our girls where in the back seat mesmerized by Tom & Jerry on the DVD player. My husband and I agree on how we want our lifestyle to be: environmentally friendly, and we do prefer simple living. So how did we get to this? I am not concerned, but I have removed the DVD player and screens from the car since they are only meant for long road trips. I am careful of accumulation and acquiring stuff. I want to use what we have and have what we need. I am not a believer in conspicuous consumption and want to raise our girls to be gracious, aware and grateful.

On another note I have spent some time reading blogs this weekend. I have come across a few new ones which is always fun, but can be time consuming. These women are amazingly talented. I really want to sew and am envious of people who can do it. It reminds me of a saying I heard a decade or so ago. I was freshly out of college and was working in a business that I didn't think suited me and I felt a little scared by it all. All I remember is the saying: "you are what you do every day". With that in mind I do try to engage the girls in different activities and I enjoy being creative. There isn't a whole lot of time to commit to it many days, but I still try to make it a focus in our lives. I currently have a small project in mind and bought some materials today. Since I don't have a stash of crafty items I am trying to gradually build a supply. I am very excited about my new purchases (a sampling is posted above).

Where does the time go?

This little blog is getting a slow start, but there are just so many other things to do during the day, and so little time during that day is just for me. The focus of the past two days is getting to know my new iPod Nano. This is my first apple product and it is pretty user-friendly. However, iTunes is a whole other story. My husband, Martin, got the iTunes account set up in my computer yesterday morning while the girls and I were out of the house. Basically we share an account since he originally set his up under my e-mail address, and that seems to be part of the issue. The accounts are merged, but the playlists are not. Frustrating since I had bought songs on his computer that I wanted on my iPod. I know there is a way to do it, and I can't seem to let it go until I have it they way I think it should be. I predict more hours spent toying with it a some point today. There really are other things I could be doing, but I know those tasks will be waiting on me when I get to them.

My Very Own Blog

I remember asking a friend's son a couple years back: "What is a blog?" and now here I am with my very own. I resolved to join the blog race this year so that friends and family can check in and check us out. Armed with a new camera and a new year I am hoping that this will be a resolution that sticks!