Ten for Texas

Two of my friends and I ran a 10 mile race a couple weekends ago. I was coming out of recovery from being injured and then sick for a few weeks...and let's just say it wasn't my finest hour! At mile two I started to question whether I would be able to complete the entire 10 - I was really feeling cruddy :) Anyway, the race photographer emailed us some pics and I thought I would share them...just so you can really appreciate how "great" I was feeling that day...

...the good news is that we did a 20 mile training run this Saturday and it felt much better...and I can still walk :)

The Incredibles!

So for Halloween I had this great idea that we would dress up as the Incredibles (you know - from the Disney Movie) since our family had all the characters covered. About three days before Halloween I realized that I hadn't figured out how I was going to do this yet. Luckily, I was in Utah where my mom and sister helped me scour the shelves of Target for all the right pieces. It turned out pretty cute (Andy did wonder about my sanity when I took the kids trick-or-treating in leggings and a swim-suit bottom! [I forgot Spencer was here too - so he probably thought I was really crazy]) and it was fun. I couldn't get Andy to commit to the full-tights and gloves outfit but he did wear an Incredibles shirt under his suit - kind of like Superman :)

We flew home from Utah on Halloween and I let the kids wear their costumes on the plane - I think it earned us a few bonus points with the crew and they were easy to spot as the raced through the airport!



All the kids at a neighborhood Halloween Party!


Naomi (aka Violet) and Tal (aka Dash) - this picture doesn't really do the costumes justice - they really looked very cute :)



Andy didn't tell me my shirt was see-through. Thanks hon!

Don't we look like serious crime fighters? Interesting that I'm the only one smiling...hmmm

Tal's Birthday

His expressions says it all!


Yep that's right - it's reversible!!



I have been promising I would post so - here I go. Tal had his fourth birthday in October! It was great fun - he has been asking for a "Batman, Superman and Spiderman" birthday party since his birthday last year so I scoured the internet and found some great ideas for a superhero training camp birthday party (thank you Google!). We had the kids start with a moon-bounce moonlighting as an anti-gravitational chamber. Next, they used super soakers to shoot "bad-guys" (aka Mc-Donalds toys) off of the deck balcony. Then, with Andy's help they had to pass fitness training - this was an obstacle course Andy set up - they slid down a slide, under a rope, through a tunnel and up a ladder to rescue one of Naomi's dolls - it was a huge hit. Finally, they graduated - they each got a super-hero cape (it started out as a great idea but Tal's was the only one I got completely finished) and a can of silly-string. Why the silly-string you ask? Because "Monster Daddy" (aka Andy) was coming and all the super-hero's had to use their weapons to stop him! Andy was a pretty good sport. Anyway, it was fun - probably the last "fun" party I throw for a while - so I hope Tal enjoyed it :)

Setting up for target practice - these water guns were bigger than most of the kids :)

Part of the obstacle course. I tried it and couldn't get through that tunnel :)

Okay so not the most creative cake ever. Basically we just through some superhero toys on top!

Silly String!

Isn't she the cutest superhero?

I told you Andy was a good sport - these guys were serious :)

All the newly graduated super-heros!!

This is hard work!



Presents! Tal really liked this part!

He's here...

Yeah! So happy this is going to be over!

I told you he looked like E.T. (I mean that in the most loving motherly way :))

Well after nine (long) months Calvin Glen Law has arrived! Sunday night I went to bed with a sharp pain in my side so Monday morning I went to the hospital to check it out and make sure everything was going okay...I was dilated to a 3 and completely effaced so they decided to induce me (hooray!!) Calvin was born at 2:05 Monday afternoon after about 5 hours of pain-free labor (I LOVE epidurals). He hit a speed bump coming out and got a little bruised in the face, their was meconium in the amniotic fluid and the cord was wrapped so tightly around his neck that they had to cut it off - but even with those few hitches the birth was quick and (relatively) easy. I am absolutely smitten by this little guy - he is so sweet and LITTLE! I can't believe how little they come - even though at 8 lbs 3 oz he is by far our biggest baby. Andy has been wonderful and is being the full-time Mr. Mom at the moment. We are so grateful for our family - a little overwhelmed at times but grateful still. Tal and Naomi love their brother! Naomi couldn't stop laughing when she first saw him. Tal promptly told Calvin he was going to teach him to play football :) I will post more pictures as soon as I find my camera cord but here are a couple to hold you over :)

Warning: Extensive babbling follows...

I was reading my sisters blog and she was posting about simplification - it started me thinking...I could stand a little simplification in my life. I think I see that need especially with my kids - it is so easy to fill their lives with toys, activities and cartoons that they never have a chance to just be kids. You know, spend time imagining the tub is a boat, or pretending to be pirates and princesses. I am really trying to shut off the TV and just let my kids be kids. It's interesting, I think in a way it scares me to take all of the distraction out of their lives because then (gasp!) they might want to play with me, and sometimes (I know it sounds ridiculous) that just seems overwhelming. But what I am finding is that they have wonderful imaginations and are great at playing and creating themselves. Sometimes they want to play - but that's okay it's good for momma too! I am so grateful I was a kid in Idaho - in a lot of ways it was such a different world - sort of a Leave It to Beaver life, but it taught me some really good life lessons like the importance of imagination, spending time outside, and interacting with other kids. Some days are better than others - but I hope in the end my kids get enough time to play and pretend and that in some small way it can contribute to a fuller life for them.

I LOVE YOU!!!

Naomi has this habit of picking up on phrases and then repeating them over and over and over again (read: slighty annoyed yet strangely amused). Her latest phrase is I love you. It always starts out as a sweet I wuv you. However, be warned: if you do not repsond with a prompt "I love you too" it quickly escalates until she is screaming at the top of her lungs "I WUV YOU!" This is not cute (it can be funny) because her scream sounds more like a growl and anyone who has heard her growl can attest to the fact that she can sound amazingly demonic/possesed at times :)

Tal and I were eating lunch a couple of days ago and he asked me what Calvin was going to eat. I told him, trying to keep in simple, that since Calvin is in my belly he eats what I eat. He thought about that for a minute and then asked quite straight-faced, "Mom, does Calvin have a kitchen in there?" It was pretty funny.

NAPS

(just imagine that in my head I am screaming this) OKAY. SO IGUESS TAL IS DONE TAKING NAPS. I AM HAVING A HARD TIME WITH THIS. IT'S NOT THAT HE WON'T STAY IN HIS ROOM FOR THE HOUR LONG "QUIET TIME" OH YES, HE DOES THAT VERY WELL(HE'S BEEN THREATENED WITH A COLD SHOWER). what is making me mad is that ... HE NEEDS A NAP. NOT JUST BECAUSE HE'S CRANKY AND FALLS ASLEEP IN THE CAR WHEN HE DOESN'T GET ONE. but also, because HE'S TIRED! DOESN'T HE KNOW THAT I AM HIS MOM AND I KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR HIM???? when i say go to sleep i mean GO TO SLEEP NOW!!!

okay, I feel a little better. I suppose I will just give up a little control here - ah it begins :)

P.S. I just told Tal to come out of his room - I made him stay two hours today trying to force the issue to no avail (can you believe he will play in his room quietly for two hours) as soon as I said (in a surrendering voice) "Okay Tal you can come down" I hear this sigh from his room as he says "Thanks mom!" What a sweet kid.