A day in the life

Morgan and I are going out of town tomorrow for our anniversary and these are the instuctions/CRITICAL INFORMATION that I left for Kristen and Keenan. What? I didn't go overboard.

Breakfast – Usually a banana and 50 pcs of peanut butter toast (toaster is in cabinet beneath the coffee pot (more coffee is in the freezer)). Cut him off at some point because he will continue to eat toast forever. Also, milk.

Lunch – PB&J, Mac and Cheese, also there is some frozen broccoli/potato/cheese soup in the freezer (top shelf on top of the hot pocket box). Or whatever else sounds good.

Dinner – I bought all the stuff for popovers because I know Keenan likes them and Conor will eat them too, but feel free to cook whatever you feel like.

Bath – lots of bubbles. Also a rain slicker for yourself. A bath is not critical so if its too late or you don’t feel like it, that’s ok. It is however a great way to kill sometime before bed. I usually bring a book or a magazine. You know, because I like to be involved.

Nap time – usually put him down between noon and 1pm. He should sleep for two hours. He gets passie, bubba, a few stories, a song or two then in the crib. He should go right down. IF he wakes up before two hours have passed, go in, give passie back, roll on tummy, cover with bubba and leave. No talking or eye contact.

Snack – about 10am and when he wakes from nap. Crackers, raisins, string cheese, more toast if he wants it.

Bedtime – pretty much same routine as nap time just remember to turn on the heater in his room because it will go below 60 degrees in there and that is just too cold. Also, make sure he is in footie jammies to keep those toesies warm.

Coloring – he will want to color a lot but he has to be watched because, as you can see when you look around the house, he likes to color on walls, windows, furniture, etc. He gets one chance. If he colors on something that is not paper the second time, the crayons get put away. Paper for coloring is in the front of the top drawer of the file cabinet. He can color on the back of the paper that has already been used.

TV – he likes Super Why (8am, channel 10) and Sesame Street (9am, channel 10) also, Diego and Dora, but I don’t know where to find those shows. Also, there is an Elmo DVD in the player, just hit the “input” button on the side of the TV until you get to “component 2” and it should start playing. Not sure where the remote for the DVD player is so you have to use the buttons on the actual machine. I know, we live like animals.

Wild Life – Tucker gets one cup of food in the morning and one in the evening. His food is in the closet in his room. Luna gets food when her bowl is empty. It is under the utility sink. Carl gets one pinch of food when he looks hungry. He’s a very expressive fish.

STroller– the stroller is in the garage. There is a latch/hook thingy on the right side. Release it and pull the handle up and back towards yourself. It should unfold. Don’t even try to refold it. Just park it in the garage when you are done. It took me two weeks and special ops training to figure out how the get the damn thing to collapse enough to fit in the trunk of my car. He does need to be strapped in though or he will try to jump out. I suggest you bring some cars if you go for a run with him.

Bed - there are clean sheets on our bed or you can be like mom and sleep on the couch.

And this, folks is just the preliminary draft. I'm sure I'll add more before we leave tomorrow. Just a day in the life!Hello Cutie McHaircutWhy, yes I am adorable, thank you very much.

Um, can someone let me know who dropped this eight year old in my house?

Busy, busy

I realize that I've been a little flaky in postings lately. It seems like we have so much going on I hardly have time to get any of it done, much less post about it. And then, as I'm sitting here, finally typing, I realize I have nothing to say. So, I"m going to wrack my brains and try make all the minutiae of our lives interesting.

I started back to school about three weeks ago and Conor started full time (well, two full days a week) preschool. The first several times I dropped him off were challenging for both of us. He cried when I left, I cried to see him cry. Then I left the building and forgot all about him. Ok, that's not entirely true. I spent my whole first day back to school feeling nervous and I couldn't figure out why. sure, back to school nerves and all that, but I felt like I was waiting for something. Finally, I realized, as I clutched my phone in my hand, that I was waiting for Conor's school to call. Perhaps, subconsciously, I was waiting for them to let me know that he just couldn't bear it without me and that I should just come get him.

Of course that didn't happen because of course he loved it. He's got wonderful, amazing teachers who have more patience in their little fingers than I have in my whole body. They love the kids, the kids love them and the kids love each other. I don't think there are more than 12 kids enrolled in the whole class and not all children attend on the same days. Still, there are ALWAYS 4 teachers in the room. They are always sitting at the tables or playing on the floor or reading books. I was nervous dropping him off that first day feeling like he might get lost in the shuffle, but with so many adults in the room he's always got a friendly face to turn to.

Also, I made a bubba. I was so hesitant to carry his blanket back and forth to school each day in case we left it at home or (horror of horrors!) left it at school over the weekend. So, I made a new one with some fleece and some bright gingham edging. No, its not the same, and yes, he certainly knows the difference (his teacher tells me calls it blue and not bubba) but he naps at school (ON A COT--NO BARS!!!) and I don't have to worry about the bedtime panic of not having a bubba around for sleeping.

As for me, school seems, well, different this term. Last year, I was so driven to get straight A's and I did and it felt great, but so far this year, I barely think about it. I still do the reading and still do my homework but something has changed. I think its that I've decided to put off grad school for a while. And, having the best grades to get accepted, easily, into grad school was my driving motivation.

The decision to put off grad school, and by extension my teaching career, was not an easy decision to make. But, before I go off and spend $25,000 (yikes, what a number) on education I should probably make sure I can back that education/money up with a job. And frankly, teaching, in Oregon, blows right now. The Oregonian just had a front page article on the plight of teachers. Specifically it stated that in 2009, Oregon Universities graduated 2400 new teachers and of that number, on 60 received teaching positions. Bad news. Bad, bad, bad news. Many teachers had to move out of state (hey, I hear Arizona is hiring!) and those that didn't are either working at Starbucks or subbing when they can get the jobs. The thought of spending $25,000 on an education that doesn't have the positions available to graduates, well, it turns my stomach a bit.

Another reason...frankly, we can't handle another 2+ years with me not working. And that's being generous because it assumes that I could get a job right away, which, as stated previously, there are no jobs to be had. But then that leads me to the next question...what the heck am I supposed to do? The only thing I'm really qualified for is mortgage finance and...bleck. Not going back there. And, my undergrad degree in Social Science is not exactly a specialized degree. Social Science is my major so that I can go into grad school and teaching. It really doesn't lend itself to lucrative careers. So, I don't know what I'm going to do. Any suggestions? Seriously. Obviously, if you've managed to read this far, you can see I"m conflicted.

BUT! You don't come here to hear about me, you want to know about the baby. And by baby, I mean, giant 8 year old-ish man-child. We finally succumbed to those subtle and not-so-subtle comments and cut his beautiful curls off. Truthfully, he has my hair and all that means is that its just a big crazy mess. So, we plopped in his booster, gave him some crayons and raisins, and Morgan got to work. He really did a great job and Conor looks cuter than ever. Yes, the curls are gone, but in their place a child has grown and I look at him and I"m so surprised he's not a baby. Because he really ISN'T. He's a full on kid now. But, if I sneak into his room in the middle of the night (what, you did it with your kids too, don't deny it) I can still pick him up and rock him and kiss his sweet, soft, chubby cheeks again and again and again. Man, I love that kid.

Here are his most recent stats as of 18 months:

Weight: 29.00 lbs 90%
Height: 37.5 inches 100+%
Head: 49.0 cm 75%

So, the deal is, you're supposed to take your 24 month old's height, double it and that will give you their adult height (I don't buy it though--according to my 2 year old height, I was supposed to be 5'8". yeah right). So, if Conor keeps growing at the same rate he has been for the last 6 months (2.5 inches every three months. OUCH doesn't that hurt?) he'll be 43.5 inches tall on his 2nd birthday. Double that and you get 87 inches. Divide that by 12 and you get 7.25 feet tall.

Please, God, let him stop growing.

He's awake from his nap now, so no time for pictures. I'll try to get some new ones up soon. We went to the pumpkin patch last weekend and have a couple of cute ones.

Cutest Baby on the Block

Conor was accepted into the GAP Casting Call Contest! Kristen's wedding photographer was kind enough to let me use one of her wedding photos as our submission picture and...well...we hope he wins! Check out his picture! Also, if you're a voting type of person, vote for Conor as a Fan Favorite. I'm not really sure if that increases his chances of winning or not, but its worth a try. :)

And, for your viewing pleasure...

Not my words

but they sum up perfectly how I feel sometimes

All and Sundry

Her son is just a couple days older or younger than Conor and in just about every post she writes I feel like she is looking inside my very head and speaking my words but doing it just so much more eloquently.

We have nothing going on but he sure is cute

Baby in a Box

He was so mad because the trucks he has in his hands wouldn't fit into the box along with him. He kept telling me "stuck, stuck, help".

Oh and by the way, he likes to climb. He was trying to scamper off the table at this point. Too late, buddy. I've got the evidence now!

Portland to Coast 2009

It's just before 5am and I'm pounding down a back country road. It's so dark that all I can see is the five feet in front of me lit by the beam of my head lamp. My ipod ran out of battery life about a mile into this leg and its quiet. More quiet than anytime I can remember in recent memory. Its just me, my breathing and my feet pounding on the pavement. There are stretches on this winding road where I can't see anyone ahead of me and I'm too focused on finishing to check to see if anyone is behind me. At one point I wonder if I'm still on the right track and wish I had brought that whistle with me. Just in case. Its cold and my breath creates little puffs of fog before my eyes, but I'm sweating because I'm working so hard. I've GOT TO beat my time. I pass a woman, working just as hard as I, but still, I pass her. One roadkill down. I can't wait do get back and tell my teammates. By the end of my leg, I've passed 11 other walkers and its these small little goals that help me finish my leg in (personal) record time. Finally, I crest a small hill and scan the crowd gathered at this exchange point for me teammates. The sudden brightness after miles of still darkness disorients me and its not until I hear my name called that I see Clair and pass the bracelet off to her. My teammates tell me they are surprised to see me because they didn't see the person in front of me that they had seen a few miles ago. I passed her-I think she was my 9th roadkill on this leg. I'm exhausted but I'm done and I'm so exhilarated that I want to keep walking. I DID IT! I participated in the 2009 Portland to Coast. Along with 11 other women, we walked 127 miles from downtown Portland to Seaside, OR along highways, mountain roads, gravel logging roads and forest pathways.

Before I started my first leg I was nervous although I couldn't pinpoint why. Lindsay reminded me that I had survived childbirth and I could survive this too. But this was different. Childbirth was my body powering me ahead and my brain had no choice but to follow. But this, this was my mind, my willpower, my stamina. I forced my legs to move when they wanted to stop. I forced myself to go forward-faster, harder, more. At any point I could have stopped and someone would have picked me up. But I didn't. I went on and on and on and ON and I didn't stop. It was awesome and I've never felt so good about myself. I feel powerful, like I could take on the world.

Part of the fun of the Portland to Coast is seeing all the van decorations and runner/walker costumes.

pool floaties are used

LOTS of window paint

Stickers

Five members of the team Dozen Disco Divas. They did not walk in these outfits but danced as often as they could!

The Divas ride. Some pretty creepy dolls on top.

The Sweaty Betties. cute.

Us. Big Trouble in Little Seaside. Our van was the Pork Chop Express. Van 1 was the Egg Foo Yong Tour Bus

The start where Jenn began our journey. Then Van 2 had to go kill about 7 hours in a field in St. Helens. We had to amuse ourselves.

Taneha trying out her 'sleeping mask'.

Me trying out my sleeping mask. It smelled like lavendar!

Van 2 before we walked our first leg.

Mary, the first walker in van 2, waiting for the handoff from Kristen, the last walker in Van 1.

Kristen, finishing her first leg.

The hand off! Mary is off and walking!

Sisters. Tara (right) has finished her first leg. Lindsay is still fresh.

Clair getting some water from Kelly during her first leg.

Taneha, mid-walk

Taneha, finishing her first leg and approaching the exchange point.

Lindsay, preparing for her first leg.

Kelly handing off the bracelet to Lindsay.

The night exchange. This is about 3:30 in the morning. Kristen, as the last walker in Van 1, has finished her second and final leg. Mary will take the bracelet from her and Van 2 will begin our second legs. We'll be finished about 11:15 am Saturday morning.

Traffic is pretty crazy on these little mountain roads. Walkers and runners walking on the left side of the road and the support vans can follow along on the right side of the road. Its pretty straight forward during daylight hours but when night falls, it can get pretty tricky. Each team supplies 3 volunteers for a total of 3600 volunteers directing cars one way and walkers/runners another.

Taneha hands off the bracelet to Kelly after her final leg.

Van 2. Not as pretty as before, but still smiling!

Kelly finishes her final leg and hands off to Lindsay. Lindsay is the final walker on our team and will cross the finish line for us.

Finally! After 31 hours together, we've completed the Portland to Coast. We're tired, stinky, sweaty, hungry and cranky. It was the best weekend ever! And one final word...SHORTS!

Special thanks to those who supported me and the American Cancer Society with their generous donations. I raised over $200 for ACS. WOOT WOOT!

The Latest Stats

Conor had his 18 month appointment last week. His stats are as follows:

Height - 37.5 inches - off the charts. He's a giraffe. He gets it from me.
Weight - 29 pounds - 80%. On second thought, he's a gorilla. He gets THAT from his dad.
Head Circumfrence - Actually, who keeps track of this one? I remember it was the 75th percentile.

He's meeting all the fine and gross motor skills benchmarks and blowing away all the cognitive benchmarks. He can recognize all but two of the letters on sight. As in, "what is this, Conor?" (point to J) and he says "aJ?" He can count to ten (he skips 9 but who needs 9 anyway?) and recognizes all numbers on sight (excluding that pesky 9, of course). He is saying well over 100 words and learns a new one literally every day. I can hardly keep up. It is important to note that if you spill salsa on your pants at lunch and you accidentally say a naughty word, THAT will be his new word for the day. YAY!

He is finally beginning to enjoy independent play. More and more he'll wander off during the day and I'll find him down the hall or outside just playing with trucks or reading books or just sitting in a chair. Also, I will find him standing on the dining room table. So. It's not ALL good.

He is a joy and the light of my life. And cute as a freaking button.