Tribute Run -- Saturday

A friend of mine, Polliwog, posts on a blog called Marathon Mommy. Several of the mommies decided to dedicate their runs on Saturday to President Hinckley. Well, the movement is spreading like wildfire. Originally they wanted to gather 97 miles, but now they're trying to get 97 runners. Here's the link to the post if you want to read more about it. I realize not everyone out there is a runner, but I would challenge you to do something to better yourself on Saturday in remembrance of a great man, a great prophet. Even those who aren't members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints can be inspired by his life and words. There have been many around here offering words of condolences and love; I've been touched by the kindness and goodwill. And here are President Hinckley's words to inspire you:

Each of us can do a little better than we have been doing. We can be a little more kind. We can be a little more merciful. We can be a little more forgiving. We can put behind us our weaknesses of the past, and go forth with new energy and increased resolution to improve the world about us, in our homes, in our places of employment, in our social activities . . . We can do it, if we will be prayerful and faithful. We can do better than we have ever done before.

So if you're headed out for a run on Saturday, spend a few miles (or yards) thinking about how to better yourself and the world around you. I know what I'll be doing for my nine miles.

Just an idea.

Amy

It's all about ME!

Tomorrow starts my birthday month. You know, the month in which I was born. No, not a month-long celebration about me, although that's not a bad idea. This morning I was gearing up for my month of free yummies. I subscribed to the following freebies. You may want to take note for your birthday month!

Qdoba - coupon for free entree
Coldstone Creamery - a free creation
Red Robin - free gourmet burger
Noodles and Company - free entree
DSW - $5.00 if you are part of their rewards program (Who doesn't like new shoes??)

The best part is, most of these are coupons redeemable for the two weeks surrounding your birthday, so you can spread the love. Since I've only spent one of the last three birthdays in the city I live in, I like to celebrate all around my birthday. Those of you around here, or who have lived here, know about all the local freebies. I think we'll be gone again on my birthday, which will be sad. Luckily J and H both have birthdays near mine, so we can score the deals on their special days.

I'll be 31 next month and I'm not even afraid to admit that! Hooray for birthdays! Another excuse to eat a lot of ice cream!

Amy

Wind Chill Factor

Today is the coldest day of the winter, thus far. I hope there are none colder. With the wind chill factored in, we are at negative temps all day. No one goes outside, no one comes to visit, and everyone is isolated in their homes. Which is kind of sad. Reminds me of a song we had on a record when I was growing up. It might have been Janeen Brady's "Watch Me Sing" record, but I was six and didn't pay much attention to details. The words go like this:

"Hey-a-ay, won't somebody come and play-a-ay with me?
I'm all alone (and here's where I lose it)

Hurry, hurry come and play."

This is how I feel today! I recorded a voice file of me singing the song, but I haven't figured out how to get it posted here. That's probably a good thing, since I'm not known for my a Capella solos. But it might have made you laugh!

And that's all from me today,

Amy the Prolific Poster

Product Placement

Santa slipped this into my stocking this year, but it took me a while to get around to opening it. Finally I did and wow! This chocolate is delectable, palate-pleasing, and fully endorsed by this blog. If you like dark chocolate, orange, and almonds, Lindt Excellence Intense Orange is for you. The orange (bits of peel in the chocolate) is not too overwhelming, and the almonds just add a little crunch. The flavor profile is perfect. I've been nibbling on this for a week or so, but finished it up today. Luckily Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Will Santa let the right people know I'd like another?

Amy

Money, Money, Money, Money - MONEY! (sing to "Apprentice" theme song tune)

Whew! That was quite a title. Hope you got it. We are headed to Walt Disney World (WDW) right after Kyle graduates for a family vacation. Thanks to Kyle's Mom's generosity in sharing with us her time share points, we are going to go for a good price too. But everything in WDW is a little on the pricey side, especially souvenirs. Kyle and I were talking about how we'd like the kids to have money to spend, but we don't want to be dishing out every day. Then my friend gave me a great idea for Disney Dollars. A few tricks on the ol' word processor, some stickers from the dollar store, and 30 fun-filled minutes later, J and H were smiling big about the chance they have to earn some moolah before our trip. They can earn 2 DD/week from Mom and Dad for doing things like practicing piano happily, doing their chores, playing with Kara, working on learning stuff, etc., and if they want to do extra chores they can earn an extra dollar. Right before the trip we'll cash in the DD for the real thing (or for a loaded gift card at the park) and they can go hog wild -- at least until their cash flow runs out. Saturday is Disney Dollar day, when they get to add to their stash. I hope it works! And if anyone needs some little jobs done (trash out on a cold day??) I've got a couple of kids who are willing to work for Disney Dollars.

Amy

In Memoriam

This isn't the picture of President Hinckley I wanted to post. I really love the ones where he is outside at a temple ground-breaking ceremony with his hat and coat on. I think he looked quite dashing in a hat. And I love thinking about his hand, waving to those who came to see him. Once, when I was walking to a regional conference at Ricks College, a car drove up on the wide path next to me. It was President Hinckley's car. He waved to all the students walking nearby as his car slowly made its way to the building. He was about 5 feet away from me. His presence was electrifying. It caught me off guard. I felt a surge of love for him, for his work and sacrifice, for his love for the members of the church and the people of the world. I appreciate how he always asked us to be a little better, to do a little more. This morning, when I heard of his death, one of my first thoughts was "I am so happy for him." It seems like he has missed his wife Marjorie a lot since her passing a few years ago, and I am sure they have enjoyed a sweet reunion. I will miss his leadership and guidance, but he lived a very full life. What a wonderful prophet.

Amy

One way to waste time

Tonight Hayden and I had a party. Jillian was off with some friends at a pizza, popcorn, punch, and popsicle pajama party, so we had to make due here at home. We played Star Wars guys (mine always lost), ate ice cream (chocolate cookies and cream - yum!), put away laundry, put Kara to bed, and then played computer games. I know, I know, putting laundry away does not happen at just any party. But Kyle called and we were talking to him while doing it. Back to the computer games. We went to this game at pbskidsgo.org. It builds a roller coaster for an annoying dog to ride. You have to figure out potential vs. kinetic energy. It is ridiculously hard because they won't let you build your track high enough off the ground in the initial climb. The designer of the game needs to take a look at some of the roller coasters at Cedar Point, like this one. Seriously, I probably wasted an hour trying to get my coaster to work. I ended up with a pretty pathetic one, but the dog seemed to like it. It was fun to spend time with Hayden, and I think I got some cool Mom points for playing Star Wars guys. I need to work on my light saber sound effects for next time, though, so maybe I can win.

Amy

My New BFF

Is an old friend, my Brother sewing machine. We're going to be spending a lot of time together the next week or so as I buckle down and finish some sewing projects left undone far too long. The main one is the top to my Michigan quilt. Many of you are proudly displaying yours, but mine is still in squares. Those squares will have borders in the next day, and then they will be sewn together. I hope it all turns out okay; I've never actually done this part before. You can also see pieces of my yet-unfinished Halloween calendar and turkey headbands. Halloween's going to be here before I know it, and I refuse to move unfinished projects. So if you don't see me around for a few days, it's because I'm hunkered down, sewing away. What project do you have to finish?

Amy

What have I gotten myself into?

That's what I was thinking when I finished my 10K training run last Saturday in 7 degree, snowy weather. The same thought crossed my mind as I headed out in 3 degree weather this morning at 6:30am. Is this marathon thing going to be worth it? I think it will, but I will have to keep you posted. Reevaluation is definitely an option.

I will say this, though. If you're dressed properly, running in 3 degree weather isn't half bed. I was actually pretty warm. I did pick up some new gloves today to replace the ones with the holes I was wearing, and I think I'll get a better wind/water repelling jacket, but other than that I'm set! My friend Amy wears the headlamp and the safety vest to lead us all out in the dark and cold. And if it's going to be -14 in the morning, like it was on Monday, I think I just hop on the treadmill and call it good.

Thanks to Jillian for taking this picture from our front door. She was too cold to come out all the way or to get a straighter picture. Guess she's not quite as tough as her old mom.

Amy

Courtesy Laugh

H: Why did the falling leaves not fall down?

A: I don't know. Why.

H: Because the rain was in the mail.

A: Oh. Is that funny?

H: Because the rain was in the hail??

A: That doesn't make a bit of sense. Try another one.

H: Why did the chicken fluff out its big tail?

A: To make the lady chickens like it?

H: No, so he could go splosh.

A: Oh. (weak laugh)

H: If you see a fin in your bathtub, make sure it's not a shark. (He waits for my laugh.)

A: That's not very funny, but it is good advice.

Still persisting, H tries again:

H: Why did the underwater castle turn into muck?

A: I don't know.

H: Because the rain cloud came down.

(Insert discussion about what makes jokes funny.)

H told me two or three more "jokes," and by this time I really was ROFL and LOL because it was so funny he couldn't think of a joke that was the least bit coherent. I give him an A for effort, but I was kind of wishing someone else was around to listen to some of the jokes so I could escape.

H: Why are you laughing? Do you think these jokes are funny?

Well, do you?

Amy and Hayden

A rapidly mutating organism

is taking over our house. It goes by the name of CLUTTER! Here is the evidence that the organism exists, in case you've never witnessed it in your own abode.

It begins as objects mysteriously find themselves in places they don't belong. They try to disguise themselves as useful and organized, but secretly they create chaos in the space around them.

Children often bring home smaller bits of the organism from school, spewing clutter all over the house with little regard for areas they are infecting.

Clutter likes to breed in receptacles purchased for the express purpose of appearing organized. Beware of its haphazard regard for cleanliness and order.

Today I am going to conquer my clutter. I'm going to recycle, throw away, reassign, and purge several areas of junk. This organism is going to be eradicated from at least a small part of my house. I'll have to bring in the big guns for the basement.

Here's one are I already finished:

There are few things that can keep me from my decluttering. Here is one of them:

Wish me luck! I am off!

Amy

Baby Milestones

Kara Jane is 5 months old today. Here's a picture her Aunt Mandie took of her at Christmas. I was starting to get paranoid about her lack of developmental progress so I looked up in one of those books the things she should be doing. She wasn't doing about three of them. I wasn't really worried, since most babies do just fine, but I was watching out for new tricks. Then, in a matter of two days, she did all of them. How do doctors and child development specialists decide that making a "wet razzing sound" is a developmental milestone? Kara mastered that one yesterday as she razzed rice cereal right into my eyebrow. Good girl! She's not rolling over quite yet, but she can babble consonants "baa baa baa", grab her feet and rock to the side, and rake a raisin into her fist. She was a little sad when I took the raisin away from her. What doctor decided to use a raisin as the object to let 5 month old babies try to get? They can't eat raisins!

Anyway, I know most of you have babies and think "big whoop", but somehow it's a wondrous thing every time a baby reaches certain milestones, especially when it's your baby. We love our Kara!

Amy

A Confession

I took a flying leap off the no-sugar bandwagon and ate some treats late Monday night. It was a pretty conscious decision, and one I'm not upset about. I was baking yummies for an election day sale at Jillian's school. I made toll house cookie bars and double fudge brownies (from scratch, not a mix). They were irresistibly good, especially the corners, and I nibbled. Then I ate. I started feeling a little giddy and actually began laughing at the pure delight of eating a brownie. It was quite comical. Kyle was staring at me with a peculiar look on his face as I cackled and chewed.

I humbly climbed back on the no-sugar bandwagon this morning, but only for today. I've decided that I proved my point. I can go without treats. And if you can't eat goodies while nursing and training for a marathon (more on that later), then when can you? I'll have sugar-free days every once in a while, but I'm also going to savor every bit of my real ice cream and dark chocolate.

What? Did you read that right? Did I say MARATHON? I did. I am seriously considering beginning training for the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City, MI, over Memorial Day weekend. I have to get Kyle's okay, but I think I'll do it. I have friends to train with, time to run, I'm in a good place physically to start, and I'd love to prove to myself I can do it. I won't be breaking any records, but if I can finish a marathon I'll feel like I did something cool while we lived in Michigan. Not as cool as getting a Ph.D. in accounting, but cool enough. What do you think? Am I nuts? I know quite of you have run marathons, so I'm interested in your input.

Amy

And I'm proud to be an American . . .

Today is Michigan's presidential primary election day, or something like that. I'm not sure of all the official-sounding terms. Some people are saying Michigan's primary election is illegal, and some candidates have refused to put their names on the ballot. Despite all the hoopla, Hayden, Kara, and I went to cast our vote. Hayden kept trying to sway my vote, but I stood firm. I filled in my oval and accepted my sticker with pride. Here's a hint on who I voted for, in case you're wondering. I voted for the only candidate I have ever seen in person.

As I was leaving the Official Polling Place, I was thinking about how easy it is to vote in America. No one stands outside harassing you. We don't worry about bombs near polling places or backlash for casting an unpopular vote. Then I was thinking about people in other countries who have risked, and lost, their lives casting their votes and trying to uphold democracy. It made me a little teary-eyed. Then I ran into my friend Jan, who asked with concern, "Is everything okay? Why are you crying?" Why? Because I'm a big sap. Because I have pride in my country. Because I exercised my right to vote and felt immense gratitude at the ability to do so.

Enjoy my self-taken photo of my voting sticker. Hayden's wearing his too.

Amy

Temptation lurks in every cupboard

Well, in one cupboard, at least. And in the freezer. The kids were complaining about no treats in the house (even though I made cupcakes and brownies in the last 10 days), so I gave in and got some ice cream and mini candy bars at the store. Let me tell you, opening that carton of Edy's peanut butter cup ice cream and scooping it into little bowls for the kids without even taking a lick took sheer willpower. I didn't know ice cream smelled so good. I had always assumed it didn't smell due to it's frozen nature. But I swear I smelled it. Later I had my no sugar added CRAP ice cream with nasty cookie dough chunks that were powdery and I felt cheated. Needless to say, the second week of no sugar treats has been much worse than the first. I'm definitely having to work harder to ignore the cravings. Yesterday was an extremely stressful end to a stressful work week for Kyle and I wanted chocolate or ice cream soooooo bad. But when it came down to opening the freezer and choosing, I chose the sugar free again. It tasted slightly better this time. I washed it down with half a diet Coke and called it a night. And thus ended my 10th sugar free day. I am committed to 2 weeks, but after that, we'll see. The scale will definitely have to have tipped in my favor (lower weight) in order for me to continue much longer. The stress is going to keep on coming, and chocolate helps me deal with it. It's deliberate emotional eating, I know.

Instead of waking up and running in the dark today, I waited until about 9:30am and ran in the SUN. It is a glorious winter day in Michigan. The temperature is about 41 degrees and the sun has been shining most of the day. My six miles were going very well until about mile 4, when I noticed my left foot and right knee were hurting. I've been putting off buying new shoes as long as possible, but I decided not to wait any longer. Just picked up a new pair of kicks and I'm so excited! New running shoes make me very happy. I'm starting my half marathon training in a week or so and I feel very well equipped.

My running shoe purchase brings our shoe buying total for the past 8 days to a whopping $250, give or take a few bucks. What? I know, it's insane. Kyle needed new dress shoes and found some he really liked, so we got two pairs, black and brown. He's usually so stingy about shoes and unwilling to spend more than $40, so I capitalized on the moment. He says he can stand all day in these; they're even recommended by some official foot doctor association. Then my running shoes were upwards of $80, and Jillian needed new ballet shoes. Throw in a couple more clearance pairs at $8 each and you've got yourself a whole lot of shoes. Yikes. Dressing a family can be pricey, especially when our kids don't wear each others' clothes as hand-me-downs. Kara does wear a few things Jillian did, but they are completely different sizes, and I saved very little.

And there you have it. Happy weekend, everybody. Thanks for the comments on the blog. They keep me writing. When I get comments I feel like I'm not just talking to myself and letting a bunch of other people read about it.

Amy

Overheard at the dinner table . . .

H: Mom, where are we going to move to?

A: I don't know. Where would you like to move?

H: (excitedly) Maybe St. Louis!!!

J: Italy!

H: Or China!

J: Italy!

H: Or Walt Disney World!

J: Walt Disney World!

H: Dad could run the rides there.

J: I bet Dad would make a lot of money running the rides at Disney World.

H: Yeah, Dad could run the rides and we could LIVE there.

A: I don't think Dad could make very much money for our family running the rides at Disney World.

J: Then he could serve food.

If our four years in grad school end up with Kyle serving food in Walt Disney World, I will have to be medicated. But aren't kids cute when they're naive about something?

Something in the water . . .

In the last day I have heard of four women in my neighborhood who are pregnant, and two other friends who don't live near me. Then someone asked me if I was pregnant, since it seems to be going around. The very firm answer is "Heck no!" : ) These pregnancies seem to go in waves around here. It could be something in the water, or the fact that we are all of child-bearing age. Anyone else out there in the blogosphere want to make an announcement? I'm dying to know!

Amy

Multitasking

I am an accomplished multitasker. This is one of very few things I do better than Kyle. I think men are more one-task-minded. Yesterday I did some fabulous multitasking while the kids were at school and Kara was napping. She took a marathon nap because she's been keeping me up in the wee hours of the morning hoping to eat. But I'm holding out! Back to the tasks. I was flitting back and forth between the following tasks:

laminating
dishes
sweeping
vacuuming
talking on phone
checking/sending email
making dinner
baking bread

There's nothing that makes you feel more accomplished than getting several small things checked off a long to-do list. Well, I feel accomplished. I resumed multitasking again today, but got distracted by a cute baby laughing and squealing at me. Then H needed help making a Lego biplane and I started telling him about people who did tricks on those planes in "the olden days." Ha! Some things are better than being organized or checking off a to-do list. Playing with my kids is one of those things.

Christmas fun

I know I'm late getting these up -- we've all seen plenty of Christmas pictures -- but try to enjoy them anyway. We had, as usual, a great time in St. Louis. It's always fun to be there. The kids loved playing with their older-aged (23, 19, 17) cousins and their younger-aged (3,1) cousins. Their aunts and uncles were kind and attentive too. St. Louis is a great city to play in and we never run out of things to do. In fact, there were 2-3 things on our list we didn't even get to. Guess we'll have to go back soon. The kids did really well on the drive home, and pretty well on the drive there. Thank goodness for snacks, a minivan, and a DVD player with two screens. I thought it might be hard to have a baby in the car with us, but Kara did great. She is so easy to please and has a mellow personality thus far. I think she's having holding withdrawl, since grandma, cousins, and aunts aren't picking her up at every turn, but she'll adjust.

Now things are in full swing for the new year. We bought Kyle a suit today for his interviews. Those will probably start at the end of January. This week Kara started on rice cereal. I think her 18 pound body requires more than just milk. She's taken to it like a pro. She hasn't taken to sleeping 7-8 hours straight like a pro, but I should have her back on her schedule in a day or two. Until them, I'm feeling kind of tired. School starts Monday for the kids and I can't wait! I have lots to do and it's too tempting to just drop it all when they're home. Never fear, though, they're next vacation is in seven weeks, and they have two holidays off between now and then.
The internet is being positively slow uploading the rest of my pictures, so I will post them another day. Have a great weekend!

Amy

PS -- Day 4 of my holiday detox. Going well so far, but as I was watching Kyle munch on candy tonight so nonchalantly I really wanted a treat. But I am already feeling better, even though I'm not getting much sleep, and I think my no treat diet is the reason. I'll just stockpile my chocolate for later, right? I did discover Chocolate Chex. Only 8g of sugar per serving, and a nice cocoa dusting on some of the Chex. Is that cheating?


The kids in front of Scott and Jill's grand tree. So cute, huh? Pretend you got this picture for our Christmas cards.


Hayden, Jillian, Connor, and Sydney act out the nativity story on Christmas eve. Not pictured: Kyle as the donkey and Kara as baby Jesus. They must have been in makeup or wardrobe getting ready.

Kara's first Christmas! The kids were disappointed for her that her stocking wasn't very full. I don't think she minded one bit.


My best gift -- a kiss from my cute husband. He is so against kissing in public. Is this public?


The girls after three hours of present opening -- why are we still smiling??

A Delightful Read

I just finished one of the most delightful books I've read in quite some time. I HIGHLY recommend it. It is called I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith. Ms. Smith also wrote The 101 Dalmatians, but I can't imaging that book being as good as Castle. If I were to summarize the plot, it would sound trite and a bit too contrived. Just trust me when I say this book has just the right blend of romance, humor, philosophy, beauty, and humanity. It may have a tad too much literary criticism, but I forgive it one fault. The cast of characters is intriguing, the setting is sometimes ancient, sometimes modern, sometimes surreal, but always interesting. I'm going to try and find the film (2003) based on the novel to see if it holds up at all. Thanks to Mandy for encouraging me to read it. If you pick it up, let me know if you're as smitten with Cassandra and her life in 1930's England as I was. And if you're up for another "castle" read, I've always loved The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery.

Amy

PS -- I'm going to get pictures from Christmas up tomorrow. I've been super busy and super tired ever since we got back. But never fear, I will get them posted! I'm trying to post a picture of the book cover, but I can't get it to upload. So sorry!

Holiday Detox

I'm doing it. I'm going dessert/sugar free for at least a week. I'm committed, along with my bro-in-law Scott and my sister Shauna. Want to join the bandwagon? I want to get 2008 off to a healthy start. I'm going to demand lots from my body this year, so I'm going to try to feed it a little better. No more three desserts a day for me. Christmas vacation was delicious, but also fattening! I also know I'm going to be feeling a lot of stress this year, and I'd rather not cope with the stress by consuming large amounts of ice cream, like I usually do.

Today is day two of my detox. Yesterday was a cinch. We drove home from St. Louis. I snacked on peppers, cucumbers, carrots, apples, and nuts. Very satisfying and filling. Today as I tried to hide the dark chocolate I got for Christmas and didn't finish, I felt a twinge of craving. I'm sure I'll be dying by Saturday. I went grocery shopping and ignored the sale price on my favorite ice cream. I'm sure I'll want that by Sunday. But, no, I'm committed. I'm going to stay the course. And if I make it through the first week, I hope to continue. My friend Em did this last year and avoided desserts/treats for well over 7 months. It was impressive, and she looked phenomenal. One reason I'm trying is because I'd like to lose all my baby weight without quitting nursing. I have just three pounds to go. I'm sure Kara will appreciate my effort.

Anyway, I'll let you know how it all turns out! Can I put mind over matter? I hope so! I've got a little too much matter right now.

Amy