Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Lofty Goals








Recently, I decided to take on a very daunting challenge and turn it into a goal. I am going to participate in the Avon 2 Day walk to support breast cancer research. I have to raise a certain amount of funds to be able to participate and I have to be able to walk almost 40 miles. I get 2 days to walk 40 miles, but still, I have turned a corner. For many years I have looked at my husband as some sort of genetic mutant (sorry honey) for wanting to run marathons and ultramarathons and ultra ultra marathons. And here I am, attempting to walk a marathon one day and a half marathon the next day. The voice of caution must have been on vacation the day I signed up for it. But it's for a good cause and I hope the readers of this blog support me.

What I didn't take into consideration was the fact that you have to train to be able to go out and walk 26 miles one day and 13 miles the next. My idea of training and regimen is to get fired up and exercise for two days, have a setback on the third and bag the whole thing on the fourth day, consoling myself with the very same confection (cake, ice cream, Tagalongs, etc) that had me making the resolution in the first place!!! However, this time is different. This time, people have shown, and continue to show, that they believe in me. The outpouring of support has been amazing. Friends and family have contributed monetarily and with strong showings of moral support so I have taken this training seriously.

The fact that I am taking this training seriously has affected my interpersonal relationships, I gotta be honest. I look for suckers, er, I mean partners, to train with me. Failing that, I bring Kaitlyn along in her stroller. People refuse to look me in the eye as I pass them in the hallway on my way to my lunchtime walks so they won't be roped in too! Friends have stopped returning phone calls just to avoid my cajoling! However, this past weekend, I was able to find two suckers, er, I mean wonderful friends, to participate in a 5k with me. I walked a VERY brisk 5k with my friends Jennie, Megan and the ever patient Kaitlyn. We had a phenomenal finish time (nearly linking arms like sweaty Bobsey Twins....er, Triplets I guess), supported a really great cause and left the race patting ourselves on the back for our outstanding race! Kaitlyn, not being used to getting up at 6 am was less than enthused. Jennie was able to capture it in the picture you see at the beginning of the post.

I know this is only the beginning of many many 5ks to come and I can't help feeling that I've stumbled onto something great. Don't expect me to run any time soon (or ever), my friends! I may have set a lofty goal, but I haven't lost my mind just yet!







Monday, March 22, 2010

Where do babies go?

I remember when Kaitlyn was an infant, wondering when she'd reach certain milestones. I never found the brand spankin' new baby part to be very difficult at all. I mean, I love sleep as much as the next guy (probably more) but I always made time for what was important. Cleaning the house could get done when Brent came home and it was his turn with the baby. Spending time snuggling on the sofa, or gazing into each other's eyes, that's what I remember most. But I always wondered "When will she smile? When will her teeth come in? Am I doing it right?" Now I know that I shouldn't have been worried about that part at all. All that is a piece of cake. It's when they find that little glimmer of independence...watch out, world, here she comes!

Here's just an example. This is a dialog between Kaitlyn and her daddy:
D: "Kaitlyn, can I have that please?"
K: "Go 'way!"
D: "Kaitlyn, give it to me please. It's dangerous..."
K: "Go 'WAY!"
Minor scuffle ensues. Daddy winds up with the hotly contested item.
D: "Kaitlyn, go see mommy please"
(As an impartial observer, I have started to pay attention as I'm mildly curious to see where this is going to go)
K: "I NOT!"
Kaitlyn stomps into a room in a completely opposite direction. Daddy dissolves into giggles and I heave a sigh, knowing that we have been given a brief glimpse of the teenage years.

Later, Kaitlyn decided to put some muscle into "I NOT!" Picture a child, no bigger than a leprechaun with blonde, flyaway curls swirling madly about her head. She's got big blue eyes, a cute nose and pearly white miniature teeth. She can give you the sweetest smile, an impish grin or the steely stare of her father when she's not happy with you. This time, she fixes you with steady gaze, bends at the knees and back, bends her arms at the elbow and shouts "I NOT!" flinging her arms towards the floor. She wants you to know she means business. This wasn't done for any reason in particular, just to show that she could. This time, I am the responsible party as I kept encouraging it in order to record it for posterity (I failed, miserably).

My friend Tish always said my first child was going to be a girl. She said she was looking forward to me having a sassy, girlie girl who was going to keep my on my toes. At the time, I thought that was the meanest thing anybody has ever said to me! I play poker and race cars! What could I possibly teach a girlie girl? It's clear that Tish's prophecy came true, but I honestly wouldn't have it any other way. My time with bebe child is the highlight of my day and even when I'm at the bottom of the well with my patience, all she has to do is turn and smile at me and all is right with my world. I guess kids are just like that. You wanna squeeze 'em with all the love you've got in you one minute and the next minute, you're wondering how much longer until you can implement time out!

So I guess I'm wondering where did my baby girl go and where did this little girl come from?? A little SASSY girl at that. They really do grow up so fast. Who knew we'd grow up with her?

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Kaitlyn-isms

Oh the joys of motherhood. The past two weekends, Kaitlyn and I have had quality mommy-daughter time. As in prime time, all the time. No daddy interference whatsoever. And I have come to realize one very important thing: I am not cut out for full time mommyhood. Maybe I could do it if I didn't have a choice, but I have a choice and my choice is not full time mommyhood. I love my daughter dearly, but dear LORD is she a bundle of energy. In the time it takes me to crawl from my bed to the bathroom, she has rearranged her entire bedroom. As I spend time getting ready for the day (including propping my eyelids open with toothpicks as they REFUSE to stay open on their own), half of her room has now made its way into the bathroom. I am not sure how it is possible that I gave birth to this little dynamo of energy, but I heartily appreciate the fact that I get to drop her off somewhere and let Miss Lida try to harness the tornado that is Kaitlyn.

Some of my fave Kaitlyn antics from the past couple of weeks:
- It is most efficient to dry off during your shower as opposed to after the shower. One morning, while I was lathering my scalp, Kaitlyn opens the door and says "Here, mommy." I crack the corner of my eye open to see her thrusting the towel in the shower. I thanked her for her assistance, took the towel and put it back on the side of the tub. Such a helpful little girl.
- "HEY! Don't DO that!" Kaitlyn has picked this up from one of the little girls at day care. She uses it any time she's irritated with something I've done. Which, when you've got a two year old going on 12, is pretty often. Sometimes, I have only mildly irritated her, in which case I get a "Hey...don't..." 100 times a day. Not tedious at all.
- Two. The following is a conversation I had with Kaitlyn>
"Mama, I want mumblemumblemumble"
"Kaitlyn, do you want a cookie? (that was what I had on hand at the time)"
"Yeah!"
"Okay, but you can only have one."
"Two."
"Kaitlyn, you want two?"
"Yeah, two"
What could I do? My child is a genius! I gave her two.
- Another conversation with Kaitlyn (if you can call it that):
Me: "Kaitlyn, I love you"
Kaitlyn: "Mwah"
I love that little girl! Of course mwah means I love you too!

In other family news:
Brent completed his marathon and was not the last one to finish! It was a tough course he said, but he had a good time and got to get away for a weekend. Thankfully, since the weather was about the same as it was in DC, I wasn't envious at all. I mean, who wants to spend 6 and a half hours running anyway? Not this girl!

My dad wound up having a double bypass surgery last week. He's doing well and is due to be released from the hospital today. Don't quote me on it, but I have a feeling the first thing he goes for is a big, fat, juicy steak. Mmmmmm red meat.