"Blizzard" of 2009

Don't worry, we're still alive and kicking here in MD. It's been a busy couple of weeks with work, the holidays, and a small "blizzard". Here are a few pictures from the glorious snowstorm that closed the federal government and let me sleep in on a Monday! Woohoo, I mean brrr :)

Accomplishments and ambitions

Picture it, Patuxent River State Park in Upper Marlboro, MD, early November, 2009. It was a crisp, cold morning where Doug and I were participating in a 5k and 10k race, the 10K being my first.



We stood in line to get our bibs and then made our way to our respective starting lines.



Hi honey!



That's when I encountered my first race crazy of the day, grown men in tights not included.



What you see is not an optical illusion. That would be a grown man in women's fleece pj pants. I have no explanation for his choice of running clothes and am not really sure I want one!

Mile 1, complete.



The course took us across this lovely wooden bridge.





Mile 2, complete.



Oh, hello again race crazy. I shamelessly had my camera in hand waiting for him to come around each and every corner!



We left the asphalt for a nice run through the woods. This was a first for me, but was enjoyable.



Mile 3, complete.



Hello, dead corn?



Mile 4, complete.



And I crossed the wooden bridge again. It told me I was doing a great job! I believe I gave it the finger after mustering up some energy :)



Who knew swamps could be so picturesque?





I was pretty famished at this point and would have gladly sampled the red berries had I not feared dying a slow death in a swamp.



Lucky for me, a water stop was just ahead! Is it just me, or does the fish remind you of the deck of Go Fish cards we played with as kids?



I feared coming in last, but didn't really care with this peaceful, beautiful road ahead of me.



Not terribly flushed!



Do I have to even tell you that I SERIOUSLY contemplated crossing the field to my car?



But I didn't, thanks in part to this strategically placed sign.



One word came to mind when this lady passed me after having ALREADY completed the 10k and was running it AGAIN!



5 miles, complete.



6 miles, complete!



Rejoice!



Double rejoice! We won 2 plants as door prizes, both of which are now frozen to death on my front porch :)



What's next, you ask? Is a half marathon in June too ambitious?

Surprise!

Hello? Anybody there? I realize I have been in hiding recently, but that's only because work has been crazy busy the last few weeks. Today is no exception, but I figured I would use my break to post some pictures instead of indulge in some much needed caffeine. Y'all should feel really special now :) Anyway, allow me to share what's been keeping us busy outside of work...

Sydney cheesed it up for the camera with her apple.



And showed off the remains of her cupcake.



Here are the "neigh neighs" we see everyday walking home from daycare.



And the maple pecan muffins I made a few weeks ago. Super yummy! Perfect for this fall weather :)



She also waved to the ice skaters at Pentagon City. Maybe next year she'll be big enough to skate with a bucket. And give mommy some lessons!



She also helped polish off the Mile High Pie we ordered at Champps this weekend. There were 6 of us feasting on this monster! It was delish :)



And here she is showing off her BIG GIRL BED!!!



Now if we could only get her to STAY in it at nap time and bedtime all would be well. Until then, if you have any advice on how to keep her in bed and not running up and down the hall at all hours of the night, PLEASE share :)

The following is based on a true series of events that occured last night from the hours of 7:30-10:30pm.

Once upon a time, there was a sweet little princess who had a bedtime of 7:00-7:30pm. The little princess was so understanding of the queen's need for sleep (I mean, she does get up at 3:45 every morning to rule the world) that she usually went to bed without much fuss, even at the very young age of 21 months.

Until one night, the sweet little princess rebelled. For an hour and a half, she cried and fussed until the queen could take it no more. The queen put down her book and went to check on her sweet little princess. She was standing in the crib with her blankie and Manda Panda in hand waiting to snuggle. The queen obliged and they snuggled for 20 minutes, during which time the queen sang her songs and brushed her hair gently with her fingers. The queen put the sweet little princess to bed and then went to lay down herself. The crying began almost immediately. The queen thought the sweet little princess might not be feeling good, but there was no fever or dirty diaper to support such crying. All the sweet little princess wanted was to snuggle. So snuggle they did until the sweet little princess fell asleep in her mommy's arms an hour later.

The queen was a little bit tired the next day, but she sat with a smile on her face thinking about the night before, how mindblowingly awesome it is to have someone love you so much and wanting nothing more than to be next to you and fall asleep in your arms. Or was it the large, skim, no whip mocha that the queen owed her smile?

The End.

Smoochie Boochies

Does it make me a bad mom that the first thought that came to mind when I saw this picture was a catchphrase from Jay and Silent Bob? Eh, who cares. This is hands down my favorite picture of Sydney to date :)



Oh, this one too.



And this one.



Num num.



And this one.



There are just so many! How does a mother ever choose a favorite?

The phone, the phone is ringing...

I am currently sitting at my desk listening ever so diligently to my ipod and keep hitting the back button on the same song, wondering if I'm the only one who ever does that. I don't just mean like once or twice. I am talking about 5, 6, 10 times! The repeat song of the day is called Something. You may have heard it before. It's off Abbey Road, by The Beatles, and is hands down one of my favorite songs ever. It inflicts so many emotions and moods in me, just depending on the kind of day I'm having. Today it's making me smile :)

So in order to let me know I'm not completely crazy and obsessed with any particular song, what do you listen to over and over again? You can tell me. I won't judge. Promise.

There's another song that gets frequent airtime in my world. Can you guess from these pictures which song I am talking about?



Still no? Try this one.



If you said Ring Around the Rosies, pat yourself on the back! Then watch the below video and thank me later for giving you a teeny tiny dose of my life :) Sewiously.

Three Squares? You Can't Spare Three Squares?

Nothing good can possibly come after reading that title, right? But seriously, I've had some pretty interesting bathroom encounters in my day. Rest assured there was no toe tapping or arrests involved so you can keep reading :)

1. The first encounter that comes to mind is not so much an encounter as it is an observation. I was in the end stall at work once and someone opted to use the stall immediately next to mine. Nevermind the other two were empty. Anyway, I went ahead with business as usual until I heard a clanging sound from next door. I glanced down to see the occupant's pants all the way around her ankles pretty much laying on the floor. Her belt was the cause of the clang. I ask you, who pulls their pants all the way down to their feet in order to go to the bathroom, well, besides a 2 year old? And a public bathroom at that? GROSS! I hope whoever it was washed their hands, as that is a problem for some people in my office. Don't ask.

2. Two words. Runaway tampon. I always fear that it will be my paraphernalia that decides to stop, drop and roll into the next stall while somebody else is in there and they will see my hands frantically grab for it and hopefully not intrude too much on them and please God don't let them finish their business before I can get myself out of the bathroom and they see who I am because surely I am the only woman on the planet to have to do such things in the ladies room! Or I'm just mental. But y'all knew that. Bet y'all didn't know that it wasn't me that dropped the goods though. I am still batting a thousand thank you very much :) Can't say the same for the woman in the stall next to me this morning though. Bless her heart.