This post is dedicated to Macie.  Macie is merging closer and closer towards 2. I love this stage because their little personalities come alive.  She can say a few words and has more control over her body which means she is constantly doing hilarious things  This stage is also hard because she is exerting her independence more and more and thus she is trying to gain control of everything that she can.  And thus begins the power struggle, the hardest part of parenting. 
She has been making me laugh a lot lately:
1. she loves to dance.  she takes my hand and leads me to the piano where she jibber jabbers that she wants me to turn the piano music on so she can dance.  When the music starts, she puts her arms up in the air and twirls around.
2. She only wants to wear summer dresses.  She puts up a fight when I try to put leggings on underneath or when I insist she wears a jacket.  She throws a tantrum for 10 minutes.  note:  I DO NOT enjoy the tantrum part of this stage. 
3.  I noticed the other day that she has started singing to herself.  Randomly I heard her going around singing what sounded like Jingle Bells, minus the words.  I thought maybe it was just by chance that she was making tones that sounded like Jingle Bells.  But no, she is definitely singing Jingle Bells. 
4. She waves hi and bye to everyone, even strangers.  she is also very good at saying "bye."

We really enjoy Macie. I am so glad she is part of our family.

Scripture says, that in the last days, mens hearts shall fail them.  Well, my heart is failing me today.  It has failed me other times in the past too-I hear about unspeakable crimes, and I think to myself-why...how...how could someone be so morally corupt to do that to another soul? 

But the crimes that get to me most, always involve the victimization and harm to the most innocent and defenseless members of our society. Any crime affecting a child or a person with special needs, gives me the most awful pit in my stomach and lump in my throat.  I put myself in those parent's shoes, and try to imagine what it must be like to be told my precious, perfect, joy of my life, will not be coming home, and they won't be opening those Christmas presents that I so excitedly thought long and hard about, because I wanted to make their Christmas as special as they are.  The horror of it is too much for me to comprehend. 

An entire kindergarten class unaccounted for.
I cannot imagine my darling Chloe having to endure such terror, and without me being there to hold her close and shield her from harm. 
Not that I could have done anything, but at least I would know she wasn't alone.
Those poor, poor children. 
Those poor, poor parents and siblings.
Those poor, poor classmates to have their innocence snatched away at such a tender age.

Dr. Ablow, a psychiatrist said this concerning the event:
"The limits, which even the most violent (or violently ill) among us would seemingly never violate, continue to be violated. The shooting of 5-year-olds would have seemed to be one such limit. But something has gone terribly wrong in the American psyche—perhaps a dulling of real-life emotions via reality TV and Facebook and iPhones. The needle measuring what someone must do to shock us has moved further into the red zone, faster than most would have imagined possible."

I don't know what causes people to become so morally corrupt.  I am not a psychiatrist.  I don't know if it can be blamed on facebook or iphones.  But I do know that our senses are constantly being dulled by the filth, hate, and violent acts we hear about every day.  And I do know that people mock religion and faith and God.  And I think our society suffers for that lack of spiritual compass.
I am tired of the limits of violence being surpassed.  And unfortunately , I am certain that this won't be the last time that I am surprised by a person's absolute wickedness.
I am tired of my heart failing me because of the violence in this world.
God help us.

This had me laughing so hard I wad crying. And by the way, the little boy wanted to share the video on youtube, so I think it is ok to think it is funny. The kids are so cute, they kill me.

Chloe.

Chloe told us last night that she didn't want to go to school because she wouldn't get to play at recess today.  She has to sit by the wall for punishment because she was climbing on top of the monkey bars.  She repeated these sentiments this morning.  We told her she had to face the consequences.  I hope it all went okay.  She told me that she gets " so thirsty just sitting by the wall."  Kindergarten life is sure rough. I feel kind of sorry for her thinking about her just sitting there by the wall.  I know how much she likes recess.

On the way to school today I let her pick the radio station.  She picked the station playing "Highway to Hell."  And she sang along.
By the way, we do not like classic rock around here.
Correction.  I do not like classic rock.
Don does, kind of.
But not ones with the H-word.

 After living here for a year and a half, we finally replaced the dead microwave.  Or as I like to call it, my extra pantry. I guess I will have to find a new place in the cabinets for my oatmeal and flour.

And, my dreams came true.  I now own a working dishwasher. 

Chloe asked me today if I knew who was on the naughty list.
I asked her if she knew and she told me:
"Yes.  Tristan, and bad guys.  And bad Dads. and bad Moms."
I am sure the 5 year old in her class would be happy to know that she has been put in the same category as criminals and degenerate parents. 

My Christmas List.
AKA The things that I will "hint" to Don that I want, but will in the end, buy them for myself instead.
Just being honest.
I just feel like making a list, okay?

Well, I know that I will never cough up $300+ smackeroos for the original Kate Spade purse.  That's just ridiculous.  

Buuuuuuuuuuut, this girl told me that she could make me a knock off for much, much, MUCH less!

So I think that my new favorite thing is bows.  I still love ruffles.  But I think I might love bows more.  

What comes after the bows?... I just don't know.  I can't think of anything as girly or as pretty that I am going to like better.  Maybe scrunchies will come back after the bows.  

Friends, if I ever start wearing things like this, will you please take me aside and set me straight?

I also want an apple slicing contraption.  

Cause Macie chokes on the peels of the apples.  And I can make a whole lot more apple cobbler.  

And I need some measuring spoons because the last of mine were swallowed up whole by my garbage disposal.  Which is pretty great because I still haven't gotten it unstuck from the jaws of death down in my sink.  So that coupled with my lack of dishwasher...and you can imagine what my kitchen looks (and smells like) right now.

Speaking of, I also would really, really like a dishwasher. That would be pretty great.  I won't ever complain about doing the dishes again once I have one again...well at least for a week.  I probably will start complaining about doing the dishes again.  Because I still hate dishes.  I thought that I hated putting them away the most. But no, I have since learned that in fact, the part that I hate the most is washing them...followed by putting them away.  I just didn't realize how much I hated washing them because in the past I have had little men in a box and very hot water do that for me.  Don bought me a dishwand a little bit ago- he told me he bought me a "dishwasher."   It brought back memories of college, and how one wand lasted an entire school year, and by the way, how does a sponge used more than once, and not bleached after every use, count as a sanitizing tool?

Oh, and I also need some bowls because mine are all broken.  Hence I need unbreakable bowls.  

Well that is my really exciting Christmas list for the year.  

I hope Santa brings me a dishwasher.  

That is my Christmas wish.

Oh, and peace on earth.  

Chloe asked me last night why it is taking Macie so long to grow up.
She said she needs someone to play with.  And that Macie is too little to do stuff with her...Like drawing... ("she just scribbles on everything")
It made me feel kind of bad.  So I guess I should look into adopting a five year old or something.
I'm okay with Macie taking her time growing up.  And Chloe too, for that matter.

Thanksgiving

   well thanksgiving is officially over.  And it is hard to believe Christmas season is upon us.  Especially since it has been 80 degrees.  But Chloe was so desperate to get the tree up.  So we did.  And she is sleeping in front of it tonight.  She said it was so "magical."  Don told me he overheard her singing Christmas songs to herself as she was putting herself to sleep.

 Dad took the girls for a little ride today.

And now to Thanksgiving.


Chloe participated in her school turkey trot.  She did an excellent job trotting.  Macie and I did an excellent job moseying.


After that I met up with my childhood friend Jourdan, and the only think I have to show for it is this picture of our children.  I wished we lived closer because she is fantastic.  It is so weird that I have known her since she was 3, and here we are with our own children and able to remember being friends when we were just wee little things. I hope my girls stay friends with some of their childhood friends.

 After that I basically chained myself to the oven for the rest of the day.  For Thanksgiving I was in charge of 10 pies, 2 pans of sweet potato casserole, and 2 pans of pecan bars.  Thankfully I didn't actually have to make any of the pies, I just baked them.   So it wasn't too wretched.  That night I took the girls to the outdoor mall for the Christmas tree lighting and some ice skating performances on fake ice,  (still trying to figure that out).  But it didn't feel much like Christmas because I was seriously sweating buckets standing out there watching the fake bubble snow falling.

  Here is Macie "helping" me on Thanksgiving eve.  She has this incredible ability of making messes exponentially worse.
.
On Thanksgiving I ran the Mesa Turkey Trot 10k.  Oh, did I say ran? I meant hobbled.  I thought it would be cake since I just did a ragnar, but it was not cake.  It was fruit cake maybe. Just hard and icky.  I don't know what was up with my feet, but I had to take my shoes off and walk for a little but because my toes were so pained.   But at least I felt like I had earned my thanksgiving dinner.

This year was Don's family,  big family reunion.  My sister in laws and I were in charge.  All the accolades really go to my sister in laws though, who I think did much, much more than I did.  

Gee, it would have been nice if we had taken a family picture. Oh well.  It seemed like to much work at the time.  

Saturday morning we all went to Arriba's Mexican Restaurant, where Don's Mexican relatives treated us all to a Mexican breakfast.  We had the entire restaurant to ourselves and a Mariachi band.  Macie showed off some of her amazing dance moves.  

That afternoon I played the piano for Don's Uncle Rudy's open house.  He wanted some background music and asked me if I would provide it.  

And by then it was already time to head back to the church for Day 2's dinner.  

And then there was the talent show.  

Chloe and Paloma did an adorable little song from "tangled."

I sang a Patsy Cline song because Don told me his Mom loved Patsy Cline.  It was a fun night.

 The family members who came in from Mexico are always the life of the party.  I love Mexican culture.  I love that they kiss everyone on the cheek and are so family oriented.  They were so fun to get to know a little better.

 Here I am making Macie insanely jealous.

 But my Miss Macie Moo will always be my main squeeze.  (well one of them)

Here is a picture of the original siblings.  I think there might have been 14 altogether...I will have to check on that.   At any rate, it makes for large and fun extended family get togethers.

Saturday morning some people went for a hike, but I slept in.  Holidays can be very tiring!  That afternoon was Park day.  Macie napped by the tree. there was more eating and more talking. 

Finally that night, we gathered at Kay's house for some final visiting and some take out Chinese food.

And then it was over!

On Sunday I vegitated and had a Downton Abbey season 3 marathon.  Which I know Don thought was super cool.  It was just the mind numbing silliness that I needed to wind down after a great, but busy, weekend. 

Random Funnies

The other day Chloe said to me, "Mom, I know what it means to vote!  It means someone who watches the whole country!  Like when there's sharks, they're going to watch it.  And they help us catch things things that are mean."

So in Chloe's mind:  President of the Unites States = Zoologist

I can live with that.

Here is the paper she gave Chelsey yesterday.  She drew faces with boxes in which Chelsey was supposed to mark which emotion she felt.  Chloe went ahead and x'd the boxes for Chelsey which made Chelsey irate. so she crumpled it up and threw it away.  It was at that point that I found out about this paper since Chloe came in crying that Chelsey had crumpled up her paper.  Look closely and you can see the faces and boxes.  My favorite is the irate box.  So I guess Chloe tracked that Chelsey's moods went from sad to irate, to sad and to happy.  I think I missed the happy part.

 Chelsey on her scooter.  She has one more week, hopefully.  And she has gotten pretty fast on this thing.

 I found Macie in my bed asleep.  She put herself there. And her head was at a 90 degree angle.

 This is Chloe's Halloween skeleton.  I love that she gave it long hair.

Ragnar

This weekend I ran my very first Ragnar Relay race.  If you want to know what a Ragnar relay race is, watch the video above.  We watched it about 15 times on our trip and it never got old.  If you have ever run a ragnar race, you MUST watch the video above.  It is hilarious.

We left Thursday, had a nice drive to Vegas, got settled in our rental house, then ate dinner at IHOP and took a trip to Wal Mart for supplies. In the morning we got ready and drove to the starting line where my team members filled me in on the logistics of the race.  It was freezing and windy in Vegas.  Let me repeat.  Freezing and Windy.  I was not expecting it.  Phoenix has been incredibly warm and so when I heard we were going to have a cold spell, I was thinking in the 70's.  But it was actually more like highs in the 50's.  Which if you are used to being a desert rat, that is very cold.

I was runner number 8.  I started my first leg which was 5.7 miles, somewhere around mid morning.  I cannot remember specifics because I basically was in a time warp for the whole weekend being that the only 3 places I spent my time was 1. on the course  2. in a van 3. in our rental house.  I ran through the suburbs of Vegas.  The wind blew my hat off twice and I would say the first 2 miles of that run was pretty crappy.  The wind was so loud I could hardly hear my music.

After that run I got back in the car and sat there for oh, about 6 hours.  Then we got dinner at Quiznos, returned back to the house, showered, rested a little, and then got up around 11 PM and headed back out to the course.

Did I mention it was freezing?  I tried my very best never to have to get out of the van. And I am proud to say that I only had to use the Porto Potty once the entire trip.

I started my night run at about 2 AM.  That leg was 4.7 miles.  There was one point in that run when I was listening to Cold Play, that I really enjoyed myself and felt good.  The other 4.6 miles was sheer will power.

Then I got back in the van and slept uncomfortably until the sun started to rise and it was time to head back to our house to once again shower and stretch out for a little bit.

I stumbled into bed and awoke feeling invigorated and refreshed.  Not.  I felt like I had been run over by one of the vans.  But after some intense stretching, a shower, and some food I felt better and was ready to get my last run done.

The last run was 4.2 miles and I am not ashamed to admit I walked a good portion of that run.  I was pooped.  Right before my run I ran into (not literally) one of my old college friends, Sam.  That was pretty cool.  The whole experience kind of made me feel like I was back in college.  For a couple days I had no responsibilities but myself, and it was 2 days of joking around and talking about silly stuff (well, except for some Political discourse).

After my last run I felt fantastic. I was done!  And I ate an entire take out container of Panda Express.  Which wasn't the wisest thing I have ever done.  I knew we had plans to eat at the Billagio buffet later that night, but I completely stuffed myself on orange chicken and Beijing beef.  I am pretty sure I managed to still gain 5 pounds this weekend even though I ran almost 15 miles.

Our team finally finished around 7 PM.  We got our medals and hobbled together through the finish line.

And then it was Buffet time!  I made sure to get my $41.08 worth of food.

I ate enough to feed a village in Ethiopia.   And then we went back "home" and I literally walked through the door, fell down on my bed, and didn't wake up until 9 in the morning.  I had an amazing night's sleep.

And then we came home.  And I basically slept the whole way home.

I was excited to get back to my family and Chloe stayed awake until 10 PM asking me about my race and what the President does.  Apparently she has picked up on the prevailing conversations around here.

So final words?  Ask me in a few months if I ever want to do another Ragnar.  I had a blast with the people in my van.  We had a lot of good laughs and I felt like I was 16 years old again.  The body aches and the lack of sleep made me feel like I was 60 years old.  All in all, I had a really good experience, made some new friends, and did something crazy.  About as crazy as I get.

 

I know there are a lot of people that are really happy today.  I am not one of them.  I am a member of the half of the country that didn't get what they wanted. Above, is us last night, optimistic but nervous.

 

 And this was me this morning.  

I have pretty much felt like this all day.

Also it is my Mom's birthday today.  So that just added to my glee.

I don't normally talk about my specific political viewpoints because I have this need to be liked.  But maybe just this once I am going to say something just to explain why an election could cause me to hang out in a hoodie for most of the day.

We have been greatly affected by the down economy the past few years.  My husband is self employed.  We were hoping for a Mitt Romney win.  We felt he had extensive business experience that would be incredibly helpful in getting the economy going again and get the spending back in control.  

We really thought he could do it.  And now we will never know.  

It's hard to find hope when I realize nothing is going to change.

How can it change? It's all the same people. 

I feel our country is headed for an economic meltdown.  

At any rate, I have to accept it.

We lost.

And whether you were happy or sad today, I am sure you can understand what it feels like to lose something that was really, really important to you.

So I moped about it for pretty much the whole day.  

I realized this evening that I had ignored my children all day, and have been mentally checked out for the past few days obsessing over the possibilities.

And it started to show this evening with their behavior.

In my struggle to find something positive to cling to, I found something.

My children. 

And so from now on, I am recommitting myself to my family.  And I am going to turn off the news and pay attention to them.

The End

 

 Chloe has at least 3 cavities.  hooray.

 

Halloween

I don't know what was up with Chloe this year.  She had been looking forward to Halloween since pretty much last February, yet she managed to be in a funk on the blessed day. 
Yesterday she was showing me her phone artwork when I came across this beauty.
I asked her why she was sad in this picture.  And she told me that she drew this on Halloween night when her and her cousin were "in a fight."
Apparently the fight ensued because "She has more fancier things than I do.  More fancier hair things...more fancier jewelry...more fancier clothes...and she's prettier than me.  And she has brown skin and I have white skin.  And I am taller than her.  So now we can't be best friends anymore."

Help.

So anyway, I guess that's what she was doing in the corner with my phone.

(She just came and asked me if I could help her make cookies out of her recipe book because she needs to have cookies for her garage sale tomorrow.  News to me.  But she said she is "selling the cookies for free."  So I guess the excuse that we don't sell things on Sunday, will not be an adequate detriment to her plans.)

Macie discovered the magic of Halloween this year.  She caught on very quickly that the goal was to go up to a stranger's basket and take a candy of her choosing...eh, multiple candies of her choosing.  She loved it.  Absolutely loved it.   And she unwrapped every single lollipop in her bag to taste test.
I tried to get Macie to wear some wings, but she hated them.  Alas, this is the first year I have not had a winged creature to show off.  I don't know why, but I just really love wings on babies.

 See, babies need wings.

 As you can see, our costumes were pretty amazing this year.  Chloe was a ballerina, and she was very particular of what her costume entailed, and Macie, I still am not exactly sure what she was, besides happy. 

In other unrelated news, here is the latest happenings.
Next week I am running in a Ragnar race in Las Vegas.  I have no idea what to expect.  But it has been good motivation to get me running again.  The best part of running, is being done running.

Also next week is the election.  One half of the country will be in mourning and the other half of the country will feel like Christmas morning.  I hope to be in the latter half.  I am so anxious to know what the results will be.  I hope that we will know by the end of the evening and that it is not so close that we have to wait 2 weeks.

Also last week Hurricane Sandy decimated parts of New York.  Sometimes I think living in New York City sounds rather romantic, but seeing the news lately makes me grateful that it is 90 degrees and always, ALWAYS sunny here.
The world is kind of a crazy place right now. I am quite grateful that my little sphere of the world is quite dull.

PS I was just told that my sister in law asked chloe if she liked animals.  And Chloe said, "Yes, just one."  And she asked her which one, to which Chloe replied, "A unicorn."   aaaaaaaghhhh....that's my Chloe.