Time Goes So Fast

Six years ago today, Papa Runner and I were married.
























The time has flown by. It seems like just yesterday.

Our kids are growing fast, too. As I've said recently, Sweetie flipped a switch when she turned 18 months and is now acting more like a two-year-old. Her favorite word is no. But it's not just "NO!" No, it's more like this:




And Smartie has suddenly developed an attitude that's more like a teenager. Today she dressed up in the princess dress I made three years ago.

"Mom, do you know who made this dress?"
"Yes, I made it."
"Uh, no? *eye roll* It was the birds and mice?"

Love how the statements are questions, along with the "you're so dumb" look.

Back from Chicago

I'm interested in starting some sort of business in babywearing. I just got back from a fantastic conference in Chicago where I got to take all kinds of classes and try all kinds of carriers. I know that I want to teach, either groups or 1-on-1 (or both). I'm deciding whether to make my own carriers to sell, sell established brands, or just point people to online businesses.

My "How to Teach" class was particularly fascinating. We talked about how a lot of mothers don't want to try babywearing because they've used an inferior brand (Bjorn or Snugglie) or perhaps had a decent carrier but no proper instruction. Their babies were unhappy, they were uncomfortable, and BW was obviously not for them. If they had quality carriers and proper instruction, they and their babies could get all the wonderful benefits this offers. And the benefits are many and amazing.

If you see me out and about in the next few weeks, I'll probably be wearing Sweetie. I may even wear Smartie at times (really, with a good carrier it is completely comfortable to carry an older child, at least for a while). And if neither of them are in the mood to be worn, I may have to wear my weighted doll just for the practice! I'll have Papa Runner take some pics of the various carriers and holds I've learned to share with you.

No Tylenol for You!

Sweetie is NEVER GETTING TYLENOL AGAIN at least in infant form, and probably not in childrens liquid either! She was running a fever for a couple days. Now, I don't treat fevers up to 102 because I think it's a healthy part of the immune system. But once it goes over 102, I feel like it's time to treat.

On Wednesday night, it hit 103 right at 8:00. I gave her a dose of infant Tylenol and put her to bed. She slept until 9:30. I then rocked her in the computer chair while I messed around. She finally started to fall asleep just before midnight. Now, I figured it was about time for another dose before I laid her down. Big mistake!

She was back up at 12:30 yelling, "Mama, w'are you? W'are you!" I got back up with her and headed to the basement. She proceeded to spend the next hour running back and forth on the couch. When she finally got bored with that, she spent another hour running in circles around the ottoman. And when she finally got all that energy out, she spent another hour sitting next to me poking me and saying, "Eyes! Ears! Belly!"

She finally started to relax enough to be put to bed at 3:30. I am positive she had some kind of hyper reaction to the medicine. Smartie had a similar reaction to Dimetap at about the same age. So NEVER AGAIN! She'll just have to make do with Motrin until she's big enough to try chewables or swallowables.

Finger update

We had our LAST appointment with Dr. M today! Sweetie has made lots of progress in using her injured finger. Dr. M thinks it has been numb but the feeling is coming back. So he doesn't need to see us again unless something drastic happens. We're all hopeful the scar band will smoothe out, but if it doesn't we can go back to Dr. M in a few years for a small snip--so different from the surgery we once feared!

How Inspiring!

This is Dick and Ricky Hoyt, a father and son team. A few months after Dick had a heart attack, his son asked if they could compete together in a marathon. Dick said yes. After completing a few marathons together, Ricky asked about triathlons. His father said yes. And finally they moved on to an Ironman. Now the Ironman is a 2.4 mile ocean swim followed by a 112 mile bike ride and ending with a 26.2 mile run--the top endurance races of three events combined! Again, when Ricky asked Dick said yes. Here is their dramatic finish: warning, you may need tissues!

My Wonderful Husband

We took Daddy to the Chiefs game for Father's Day. We all had a wonderful time!

The Big-Girl Bed Experiment

Okay, who flipped the switch? Sweetie turned 18 months on Sunday and overnight became a tantrum thrower. Until now, she has always been a fantastic sleeper and napper. I say it's bedtime, and she claps and runs to her room. And now, she screams and runs to Smartie's room. She desperately wants to sleep in Smartie's bed, not the crib.

Yesterday at nap time, I took the crib matress out and let her sleep on the floor. She was so excited, she grabbed her Boo and Ivan and went right to sleep. An hour later she fell off the matress, and that was the end of nap time two hours early. Grr.

Last night at bed time, she completely freaked out about the matress on the floor and banged on the door until I put it back. Then she screamed for another twenty minutes because she didn't want to be in her crib, either. She wants to sleep with her Sissy! Don't you get it, Mom?!? She actually said, "I ni-night SISSY!"

We Did It!

The Stats

Papa Runner: 2:18:33
Mama Runner: 3:20:58
# of starters: 22,000+
# of finishers: 16,373 for full, 808 for TNT-only half
# of TNT participants: ~3400
Total $ raised: $12.5 million
Total raised by us: $9,701.44

The Story

We had a wonderful flight to San Diego, where we stayed in a gorgeous hotel. We got to meet some great people with interesting stories including:

Barb, whose son (now 20) was diagnosed with leukemia at age 5 and cured with a bone marrow transplant. This was Barb's 29th event for TNT. She has raised over $70,000 and counting.

The San Antonio Mothers of Multiples team, eight women, each with a set of twins or triplets between the ages of two and five, who together raised $50,000.

Howard, a 50-year-old survivor who was walking his first marathon.

Almost forgot the 84-year-old lady who has run a marathon each of the last ten years! And the blind power-walker and her guide who fundraised together.

We both struggled a bit, but we finished and learned a lot. We're hooked: we're planning our next race this fall and probably another fundraiser in the spring.