Suiresphere

Letting Go of The Crib

2012-01-19T21:29:00.004-06:00

This post was first published on my profile at BlogHer.

I was making my usual Mickey Mouse pancakes on a Sunday morning when it happened. I guess I was too distracted by the breakfast commotion to realize what was taking place upstairs. While I was busy attending to the specific requests of each child (milk in a pink princess cup to go with the pink plate for Sophia and orange juice in a Lightening McQueen cup to go with the blue plate for Tallen), Trey was already disassembling the crib in Tallen’s room.

For more than five years, this crib has held my babies. It started out as Sophia’s crib in the smallest bedroom in our house. The first time I got pregnant, I decided to keep the gender a surprise but once my little girl was born we added the girly pink princess bumper and sheets. I was in awe at how tiny Sophia looked curled up in the middle of the crib but she grew so fast. By the time she was two, she filled her crib with so many stuffed animals at night that there was barely any room for her to sleep.

Around that time, I found out I was pregnant again. A big white daybed replaced the black crib in Sophia’s room and we started painting the walls of the spare bedroom blue for our little boy. Tallen was spoiled as a baby and preferred to sleep next to his mommy but by the time he was 7 months old, he was sleeping in his crib through the night. Instead of a crib full of stuffed animals like his sister, he only needed his "bubby" and blanket. Now he can only fall asleep when he is lying in the far left corner of the crib and only after I have sang "Jesus Loves Me" to him (sometimes twice).

Tallen is tall for his age and we noticed that he does not have much room when he sleeps crammed into the corner of his crib. I resisted the obvious solution for months but one Friday night, Trey and I spent the first half of date night trapped in the never-ending maze that is called Ikea. We emerged about an hour later with several boxes that contained (we hoped) all the pieces of a twin bed and a twin mattress for Tallen. Since Trey wasn't feeling well on Saturday, the boxes stayed in the car (fine with me).

As I was finishing my breakfast waitress duties on that Sunday morning, Trey came downstairs and asked me where I wanted to store the crib.

"You already took his crib down?" I asked. "Why didn't you tell me you were getting ready to take it down? I didn't get to say goodbye!"

Trey just stood there for a moment, shocked at the panicked look on my face.

"I didn't know it was such a big deal," he answered.

When it comes to major life changes, even happy ones, I become very emotional. I cried at both my high school and college graduations. While I was saying my vows at our wedding, I had to whisper them through my tears. The night before Sophia's scheduled induction, I wept at the thought of losing the physical connection I had with the baby I carried in my belly for 9 months.

About a year ago, I wiped away tears as I wrote about saying goodbye to my journey to motherhood as I know our family is complete. That crib was my last connection I had to my babies as babies... and now it was gone.

A little while later when Trey was busy assembling the "big boy bed" we had bought for Tallen, I stood in the hallway running my hands across the rails of the pieces of the disassembled crib. I touched the spots of bare wood where Tallen had chewed while teething. I closed my eyes and remembered the hundreds of times I had leaned over the edge of that crib to place a sleeping baby inside. Then I said my goodbye and with my eyes filled with tears, I let go... of my babies and the crib.

Getting Over the Guilt - I Forgot to Bring Snack to School

2012-01-13T12:56:00.000-06:00

Note: This post was written for and posted on my profile at Working Mother

Just this week, my daughter brought home a piece of paper from preschool. It was a note written to the parents, asking to bring a snack to share with the class on Thursday morning. The snack should be something from our culture and we were asked to write down the name of the snack and what was in it so the kids could discuss it in class. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I got the note Tuesday evening right after I got home from the grocery store.

Immediately, I felt pressure to come up with a healthy, wholesome snack that my daughter could share with her class. One that represented our culture (um, ok) and would be served in a classroom were re-heating was probably not an option.

How do I even define our family's culture? I'm from WV and, if pressed, could guess that my descendants were French-Canadian. My husband is from Louisiana, which is Cajun country, but my children have never lived in that state so Cajun cooking is not something they experience often.

On Wednesday evening, I asked my daughter what she wanted me to make for snack the next day. Her request was strawberry cupcakes with "red on the bottom and strawberries on top." I vetoed her suggestion, However I liked the idea of a mini cupcake sized snack so I started to brainstorm. Mini bread puddings, bite size mac-n-cheese, tiny egg frittatas... Unfortunately, I could not figure out how any of these represented our culture.

When I checked out the activity calendar that the school sends home each month, I saw that the next day was labeled "Foods from Around the World." Ok, since I could not come up with anything to represent my WV culture maybe I could expose these kids to some food from around the world. I quickly justified that the mini egg frittatas could be considered Spanish and vowed to make them once the kids were in bed.

Since my husband had a prior commitment, I was single parenting that night. After cooking dinner, feeding the kids, attempting to potty train my two year old and trying to keep the dog from eating play-doh off the kitchen table, I finally got the kids in bed about half an hour later than their usual bedtime. I pulled a muscle in my back earlier that week, and the pain not going away so I decided to sit down and rest. Knowing that mini-frittatas would not take long to make, I decided to bake them the next morning before school so they would still be warm.

Then for the first time in almost three years, I overslept for work. The sound of my son singing from his crib work me at 7:15 AM the next morning and I leaped out of bed to get dressed and out the door. By the time I sat down at my desk about an hour later, I suddenly realized that my daughter did not have a snack to take to preschool. Guilt, disappointment and dread settled in.

I immediately texted my husband and asked him to please apologize to her teachers and explain why we did not bring a snack. He assured me it was not big deal and not to worry. My response to him?

"You don't understand, I am a Working Mommy. That means there is more pressure on me to participate in her at-home projects, because I am not able to volunteer or attend most of her school activities! I feel so bad!"

My husband gently replied that I was the only one putting pressure on myself. He reminded me that its only pre-school and our daughter did not even notice that she didn't have a snack to share. He also said that the teachers understood and not everyone participates in classroom activities and we usually ALWAYS do.

By the end of the morning, I had let go of my guilt and disappointment and when I got home that evening, my daughter ran up to me and gave me a big hug. Then she ran right back to her dolls and started playing again but I felt forgiven.

Do you put unnecessary pressure or guilt on yourself because you are a Working Mother? Have you ever forgot about a project or snack for your child's school? Do your kids even notice?

Blogging Needs to be Back In My Life

2011-12-08T13:00:00.001-06:00

I miss blogging. More than I ever imagined.

If my hubby can get my computer fixed soon, I can get back to writing in my spare time.

Until then, I am making a list of Christmas cookies to bake. So far the requests are pretty standard:

Sugar cookie cut-outs (Sophia)
Chocolate cookies with peanut butter chips (Trey)
Chocolate Chip (Nestle Toll House original) (Tallen)
Oatmeal chocolate chip (Trey)

What cookies/candy/holiday treats do you bake every year?

I think I am going to bake the Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls again this year, or maybe go back to french toast casserole for Christmas morning (because both of these can be made in advance).

30 Days of Thanks - Day 28

2011-11-28T15:59:00.001-06:00

Today is my first day back to work after taking 5 1/2 days off for the Thanksgiving holiday. It was one of those trips where things went even better than we planned so we came back happy, healthy and ready to start the Christmas season. For that, I AM THANKFUL.

On Tuesday, we pulled out of Dallas around lunchtime so start our Thanksgiving road trip. Trey was shooting a commercial for a local jewelry store in Shreveport that evening. After expecting to entertain the kids by myself for the evening, we were all surprised when his shoot was finished in less than two hours. After eating the free dinner at our hotel, we all piled on the pull-out bed in our room and watched Cars 2 together. I was so excited when we woke up the next morning and I realized that the kids let us get a full 8+ hours of sleep that night! Wednesday morning we packed up the car again and drove to Lafayette. As soon as we got in town, we headed to one of our favorite burger places, Judice Inn, for lunch. Later that evening, 18 members of the Suire family posed for a picture wearing bright red shirts as we prepared to participate in the Camellia Crossing 5K race in honor of Trey's late grandmother, Jane Suire. That night, three Suires completed their very first 5K - Sophia, Nick and Mark (Opa).

Thursday morning was Thanksgiving at the camp. I made breakfast for the kids and watched bits and pieces of the parade between sitting outside in the beautiful weather. We ate lunch around noon, then listened to Trey and Nick sing and play guitar for the entire family. After the obligatory nap while watching football, the kids wore themselves out by playing with their cousins. Instead of pumpkin pie for dessert, we made smores by the campfire that evening. That night, I even managed to start reading a book that I checked out of the library 6 weeks ago.

On Friday, I left the kids with Trey and took advantage of Black Friday deals to get some Christmas shopping finished. I was one of the few women that was not pushing a stroller around the mall that day. For that, I AM THANKFUL. Later that evening, I put the kids to bed and stayed up late to finish the book I started the night before. For that, I AM THANKFUL.

Saturday morning I was excited to go for a short solo run in the country. However, it was a warm and humid outside when I started my run. Then I startled some duck hunters as I ran by with my music blaring from my phone and I got chased by two dogs as I ran down the road. Not so thankful for any of that.

Later that afternoon, I sat in a dark movie theater with two little sleepy kids on my lap while we watched The Muppets. Memories from my childhood came flooding back while I was making new memories with my kids. It was the first time I had ever taken both kids to the movies by myself. Since we were running a little late, I did not have time to stop and buy popcorn for Sophia on the way into the theater. Instead, I promised the kids I would take them out for ice cream afterwards. A little while later, I sipped on a butterscotch shake as I watched Sophia spin in circles on a red bar stool at the counter in Borden's while I helped Tallen eat his ice cream.

Saturday night, Trey and I met up with some of his old friends from Crowley. After dinner, drinks and lots of laughter, I was beyond exhausted so we headed back to his uncle's house where I immediately crawled into bed. Our drive home on Sunday was uneventful and I even took 2 (or maybe 3) naps in the car. For that, I AM THANKFUL.

It was an extra-long holiday weekend filled with family, friends, food and fun. For that, I AM THANKFUL.

30 Days of Thanks - Day 17

2011-11-17T17:57:00.001-06:00

Ok, so I have missed a few days. You will just have to cut me some slack because it has been one of THOSE weeks. In fact, during the last few weeks I have been extremely stressed about work and it is affecting my sleep, eating habits, etc. As a way to handle the extra stress, I have been backing off the extra pressures of blogging and writing.

But there is one thing that has kept me going and that is my family.

In the last few days, I have received two or three comments about what I good job I am doing with my kids. I have been told that I am a good mom, that I am setting a good example for my kids and that it is obvious that I love my children...

For that, I AM EXTREMELY THANKFUL!

These things are just what I need to hear when I am struggling to keep up with work responsibilities. My family is the biggest priority (next to serving God) and I take comfort in knowing that they are loved. Take a moment today to tell your mom, your brother or sister, your husband or wife, your kids that THEY ARE LOVED! That might just be the thing they need to hear...

30 Days of Thanks - Day 10

2011-11-10T17:42:00.001-06:00

If only my children acted as sweet as they look in these pictures...

I have two beautiful, smart, funny, interesting, amazing, loving children.

For that, I AM VERY BLESSED.

30 Days of Thanks - Day 9

2011-11-10T11:26:00.001-06:00

Wednesday morning, I got up early with every intention of getting out of the house before the kids woke up. Daylight savings time foiled my plan because the kids were up before 6:30 AM, like they have every morning this week. Once I was dressed and ready for work, I was able to take the kids downstairs and make breakfast. Sophia wakes up starving every morning, so I made three servings of whipped banana oatmeal and she had finished her entire bowl in about three minutes flat. For that, I AM THANKFUL.

With deadlines approaching at work, I have been staying late a couple nights a week. Unfortunately this means that I leave for work in the dark and drive home in the dark. However, Wednesday I promised Trey that I would leave work at 4:30 so I could pick up Tallen from daycare. When I got to Mrs. L's house, he was wearing a superhero cape and hiding from me under the table in the playroom. Let me tell you that there is nothing cuter than a two year old wearing a cape. Especially one that is so excited to see his mommy that he jumps up and gives me kisses! For that, I AM THANKFUL.

Before I left for work on Wednesday, I had put some chicken in the crock pot so we could have pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches for dinner. When Tallen woke up that morning, he asked for a hamburger so I also had Trey cook some turkey burgers. Then something magical happened...

All four members of my family sat down at the kitchen table at the same time and ate dinner together!

For that, I AM OVER THE MOON, SUPER THANKFUL!

*Pictures taken by Sophia who has developed an interest in Photography.

30 Days of Thanks - Day 8

2011-11-08T22:02:00.000-06:00

Today I worked for more than 10 hours at the office then rushed home to put my kids to bed. Both of the kids ran to the door when I was parking the car and did their happy dances that Mommy was home. After about five minutes, I told them it was time to go upstairs to read a book and Sophia's world turned very dark.

Notice that I did not even use the words "bed" or "time" when I told her we were going upstairs, but she is 5 yrs old and has BRAINS. At least that is what she tells us when we ask her how she got so smart.

Anyway, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and read one book to both kids at the same time. Poor choice on my part. After I vetoed the third book that Sophia chose for a bedtime story, she had a meldown of Chernobyl proprtions. (FYI - 1st book was an activity/puzzle book and impossible to read, 2nd book was a sing-a-long book but the batteries were dead and the 3rd book was a 6th grade level story about Snow White which I declared to old for Tallen).

Sophia was so over the top with demanding that I MUST read Snow White, that even Tallen got off the bed and waved his little finger in her face to stop. Then he went to the bookshelf and picked out a Winnie the Pooh storybook, which Sophia grabbed out his hands and THREW ACROSS THE ROOM.

That is basically when story time ended for her.

Instead, I took Tallen to his room and we sat together in his chair while I calmly read Winnie the Pooh. For that, I AM THANKFUL.

While I was enjoying the five minutes that I actually got to spend with one of my kids today, Trey was handling the discipline of the meltdown making, book throwing, scream producing little girl in the next room. For that, I AM THANKFUL.

After finishing her talk with her Daddy, I asked Sophia for a hug. She said NO and walked away.

I stood there for a moment then left her room. Within 10 seconds she ran out of her room and gave me (a somewhat lackluster) hug. But she did hug me and I got to tell her "I Love You" before she went to bed. For that, I AM THANKFUL.

30 Days of Thanks - Day 7

2011-11-07T15:28:00.000-06:00

Monday mornings are not my favorite time of the week. In fact, this morning was pretty much over the top for my stress levels from the moment I sat down at my desk at work. First, I found out that the theater tickets that I bought for my birthday were actually for a perfomance on November 1st and NOT November 11th. So we missed the performance and there was nothing the ticket office could do about the fact that I wasted $70 on tickets that went unused. After deciding that I was unwilling to purchase new tickets for Friday night, I am left with making birthday plans at the last minute.

Oh by the way, my birthday is on 11/11/11 this year. You should all try to call or email me at 11:11 AM on 11/11/11 and wish me Happy Birthday. Or you can buy me 11 presents. You choose.

Then I found out that I have another project that is starting this week and has a deadline of mid-December. That means that I will basically be putting in overtime for the next 7 -8 weeks. I know that is expected at this time of year but I always get anxious about getting all of my work completed and meeting all the deadlines.

Why am I burdening you with all of this? Because it took me awhile to find something to be thankful for this morning after starting the day of with so much negative news. I really had to dig deep today.

Then I thought about my Sunday afternoon, when I got home from the race. Sophia wasn't feeling well, so she wanted to lay on my lap and watch a movie together. Although I have heard every word of several movies that the kids watch in the car during long trips, I have not actually watched most of these movies. Sunday, I finally sat down and watched the movie "Up" while snuggling with Sophia. For that, I AM THANKFUL.

A little while later, Tallen woke up from a too short nap and was crying uncontrollably. Neither Trey nor I could calm him down for almost 15 minutes. Finally, I went downstairs and rocked him awhile then gave him three of his favorite things: a stuffed animal he calls Bubby, his favorite blanket that he sleeps with every day and a cup of orange juice. Turning on an episode of Scooby Doo helped too.

Once he finally stopped crying, he was ready to play. Since I was too sore to cook, do laundry or even pick up around the house after running 13.1 miles that morning, I was able to just sit on the floor and play cars with Tallen. For that, I AM THANKFUL.

Later that evening when I was putting Tallen to bed, we settled down in the yellow chair in the corner of his room to read a book. As soon as we were finished, he asked for another book. In fact, he said he wanted his "farm book" that has pictures of tractors working on a farm to get it ready for the fair. This was the first time that Tallen has asked for a specific story during bedtime, which lets me know that I have sparked a passion for reading books in my kids. For that, I AM THANKFUL.

Once I was downstairs, Coco Puff jumped up in my lap and demanded some pug attention. Usually I push her off because she stinks and I don't want to smell like a stinky dog. Somehow Trey talked me into giving her a bath on Sunday night. For that, I AM THANKFUL. After washing, rinsing and repeating with Smurf bodywash and Strawberry Shortcake shampoo, Coco smelled sooooo much better. Which is why she was allowed to sit next to me on the couch and lay next to Trey on the chair. I guarantee for that, COCO PUFF WAS VERY THANKFUL!

If you are having trouble finding happiness or hope today, dig deep and think about the little things in life that you are thankful for. You will probably be surprised at what you can find.

30 Days of Thanks - Day 6

2011-11-07T11:46:00.000-06:00

(A Day Late) - Sunday, November 6th

Yesterday, I was very thankful to finish the DRC Half Marathon at White Rock Lake! You can read my full race recap on Food and Fitness 4 Real. Hope you all had a great weekend!!!!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 5

2011-11-05T16:43:00.001-05:00

Even though today is Saturday, I woke up before the sun came up. My body is conditioned to wake up around 6 AM every day and today was no different. Then I heard Sophia open the door to our bedroom and felt her crawl into our bed. She has a cold so she kept sniffling and I knew that I was not going to get any more sleep.

I decided to go ahead and get up, so I could get my grocery shopping out of the way. Today I was cooking a special lunch for some very special guests, so I needed to go buy all the ingredients for Vegetable Lasagna. Since Sophia was not feeling well, I convinced her to stay home and promised that I would make her some Mickey Mouse pancakes when I got back from the store.

Even though I had a long list, grocery shopping went quick since there was not a lot of people in the store. For that, I AM THANKFUL. When I got home, I hurried to put away the groceries because Tallen kept asking for pancakes.

After breakfast, I got to work making two large pans of lasagna. They were in the oven by 11:00 AM and ready when our guests arrived for lunch around 1:00 PM.

A few days ago, Trey called and asked me if we had any plans this Saturday. Trisha just finished her training for her job in Petroleum Engineering in Oklahoma and her parents and boyfriend were driving her back to Louisiana. They thought it might be fun to drive to Dallas for a short visit on their drive home, so I offered to make lunch for everyone. Trey's parents also come over for lunch, so we all gathered around the (very much underused) dining room table. For that, I AM THANKFUL.

The weather was perfect today, with the sun shining and a slight chill in the air. After lunch we sat outside and watched the kids play on their play set. It was so nice to have family at our house, since it is usually us who travels to visit family. For that, I AM THANKFUL.

The kids went home with Trey's parents to spend the night again, so Trey and I have the entire afternoon to rest and relax. For that, I AM THANKFUL. I have to get up early in the morning to run a half marathon!!!!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 4

2011-11-04T16:23:00.001-05:00

Yesterday morning around 9:15 AM, I made my usual phone call to Trey to see how the kids behaved after I left for work. When I left they were eating pancakes and watching cartoons on PBS but Tallen started to cry a little when I told him goodbye. Trey could tell by the sound of my voice that something was bothering me, so he kept asking if I was okay.

Finally I admitted that work is completely stressing me out. I have several deadlines coming up in the middle and end of November and I am overwhelmed at the amount of work that I need to accomplish in the next few weeks. Between family, work, running and writing - there just does not seem to be enough hours in the day. Work is taking priority right now, so that means that I have to cut back on some of the things that I really enjoy doing in my spare time.

Because right now, I have NO spare time. There is barely time to do the basic things around the house like cook, clean up the dishes or do a load of laundry.

So when I called Trey later in the day to let him know that I had a late afternoon meeting, he arranged to have his mom pick up Tallen from daycare so I did not have to stress about getting there on time. Even better, Sophia asked if she and Tallen could spend the night, so Trey packed them some clothes and told me there was no need to rush home.

I was able to get in a few extra hours of work last night without the guilt of missing my kids. When I got home around 7:15 PM, the house was fairly quiet. As I walked into the kitchen to put away my lunch bag, I noticed that there were no dishes in the sink and the kitchen was clean. For that, I AM THANKFUL!

I guess I was not the only one who was able to take advantage of the kids being gone for the evening. Trey cleaned up the kitchen, loaded the dishwasher and folded three loads of laundry. For that, I AM THANKFUL! He even had to re-wash a load of towels because I got to busy earlier this week and never put them in the dryer!

Instead of worrying about kids or dishes or laundry last night, I was finally able to relax. I opened a bottle of red wine and dug through Tallen's Halloween candy until I found some dark chocolate. Then I went upstairs and soaked in a hot bath - by candlelight! For all of these things, I AM THANKFUL!

30 Days of Thanks - Day 3

2011-11-03T12:56:00.000-05:00

Running is one of my newer hobbies. About a year ago I started running on a regular basis and decided to sign up for a few races as motivation. I stuck to 5K races for several months, then ran my first 10K. Eventually I signed up for my first half marathon, trained for the race and finished in under 2 hours.

I ran the Heels and Hills half marathon in May with Team in Training

I loved the feeling of accomplishment when I crossed the finish line. The realization that I am stronger than I think and that I can accomplish things that seemed impossible before. In fact, I loved that feeling so much that I wanted to share it with my friends and family. Specifically, with Trey.

Several months ago, I started looking for races to compete in this fall. I signed up for a few local races, but thought it would be really fun to do a destination race. Even better, I decided that Trey and I could take a weekend trip somewhere fun and I could run a race while we were there. So I picked the Rock'n'Roll Las Vegas half marathon. At the time, we planned to meet some of Trey's friends from Georgia in Vegas and we all decided that we should run the race together. So Trey and I signed up for the half marathon.

I ran the 13.1 Dallas half on October 22, 2011

Trey has never participated in a race longer than an 5K and until a few weeks ago, he had never ran longer than 4 miles. Over the past month, he was been training for the Las Vegas half marathon so we can run our first long distance race together. Then on Saturday, he ran 8 miles and woke up the next day injured.

Yesterday, we were talking in the car and the topic of running came up. Trey admitted that he kind of missed being able to run this past week. He said that even though he ended up hurt, he enjoyed his 8 mile run last weekend. In fact, he told me that running that distance was not that difficult and for the first time ever... he felt like a runner. Finally, I was able to share my passion for running with the man in my life that I am most passionate about.

For that, I AM THANKFUL.

My life is busy and work is consuming most of my time right now. But Trey's comment about missing his running reminded me that even though I may have missed a few training runs these past few weeks, I am healthy enough to run 13.1 miles this weekend at the DRC Half Marathon.

For that, I AM THANKFUL.

30 Days of Thanks - Day 2

2011-11-02T15:47:00.006-05:00

Yesterday after work, I rushed to daycare to pick up Tallen then drove home to check on my injured husband. After changing Tallen's dirty diaper (no, that is not the part I am thankful for), I sent both kids outside to play while I started making dinner. Usually I have to keep a close eye on Tallen when he is on the play set, but Trey was willing to sit outside on the patio and watch the kids while I cooked.
For that, I AM THANKFUL.

About 40 minutes later, I had two home-cooked meals ready for dinner. The kids had their choice of chicken & sausage jambalaya or a cheesy broccoli chicken and rice casserole. Trey was starving so I made his plate first, then put small bowls of jambalaya in the freezer to cool off so the kids can eat. Once I got the kids seated at the table and filled all requests for milk and juice, I noticed that Trey was limping to the table with his plate to join us for a family dinner. For that, I AM THANKFUL. Even though it was a struggle to get the kids to eat, we still make an effort and that is what is important.

After dinner, I chased both kids up the stairs so they could take a bath (that was way over due for both of them). Drying off my clean smelling kids and putting them in warm pajamas is the best way to end a hectic day. After letting them watch a few minutes of Scooby Doo, I took turns taking each of them to their bedrooms and reading books before bedtime. Books were read, prayers were said and kisses were spread. For that, I AM THANKFUL.

30 Days of Thanks - Day 1

2011-11-02T11:13:00.001-05:00

30 Days of Thanks -
I am not sure that I will capture all 30 days, but I wanted to start out November talking about the things I am thankful for in my family. I hope you enjoy...

Monday night was Trick-or-Treat in our neighborhood. With two small children, there is usually a lot of discussion and planning about who is taking the kids trick-or-treating and who will stay at home to hand out candy. This year, Trey's parents offered to hand out candy at our house while we took the kids out to get their sugar rush.

On Saturday, Trey went for an 8 mile run as part of his training for the Rock n Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon that we are running together in December. After church on Sunday, I noticed he was limping because he ankle was hurting. By Monday afternoon, Trey was in a soft cast and a walking boot as the result of tendinitis in his ankle. The doctor told him to stay off his feet as much as possible for the next week, so that meant Trey was out of the picture for Halloween night.

Instead of hanging out with Tallen and me, Sophia decided to go trick-or-treating with the girls next door. I knew this was coming, because last week she let me know that Tallen was "too little" to go trick-or-treat. I waited for Tallen to cry when his sister left with the 'big girls" but he was too excited about candy to care.

Around 7 PM, Tallen and I started walking up the street by ourselves. For the next 45 minutes, it was just me and my little skeleton knocking on doors throughout neighborhood and checking out all of the scary Halloween decorations. I realized that I rarely get to spend "fun time" with Tallen alone. Usually it is family time on the weekends or I choose to take Sophia with me to the grocery store, but there are not a lot of times where Tallen and I are by ourselves. But Halloween night, I got to hang out with just my little boy. For that, I AM THANKFUL.

Tallen lasted a lot longer than I expected. About 35 minutes after we left the house, he asked me for some orange juice which meant he was getting sleepy. A few houses later, he walked up to say "trick-or-treat" but stood still after the neighbors gave him some candy and oohed and ahhed about how cute he was in his costume. When I asked if he wanted to go home, he replied "Yeah." When I asked if he was ready for bed, he replied "Yeah."

So I scooped up my tired little skeleton and carried him two blocks home. He laid his head on my shoulder and held on tight around my neck. After changing him out of his costume and into his pajamas, he went to bed without any protests or requests for candy. For that, I AM THANKFUL.

Listening to the Sounds of Life

2011-10-11T13:08:00.001-05:00

There is so much noise in a house filled with children.

Sounds of laughter, shouting, fighting, screeching at the top of their lungs for no reason. The television is usually blaring a kids show like Scooby Doo. I would much rather it be on something a little more low key like Super Why or Word Girl, but Trey bends the rules waaaaaayyyy more than I do. On top of the television, I also hear Elmo blasting from the speakers of the computer as Sophia learns something new from http://www.sesamestreet.com/.

Trey and I both sat down for a moment on Sunday and just looked at each other while the chaos around us continued. We gave up having meaningful conversations during daylight hours. It's no use, we get less than two minutes into a conversation and someone asks for a cup of milk, an apple, a piece of cheese or a toy from upstairs. Then the dog is barking to be let out or protesting being put in her kennel after she is punished for chewing up Barbie's shoe.

The washing machine and dryer are our background music on Sunday. The dishwasher joins in later in the evening. I try to escape to the back patio but someone always follows. Tallen wants to be pushed on the swings, Sophia wants her garden tools to dig in the dirt. Coco barks at the breeze blowing through the trees, or maybe at nothing, I can't really tell the difference. Our life is lived LOUD.

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This morning I was running a little late for work because of my early 6 1/2 mile run. Instead of escaping the house while everyone was still sleeping, I heard Tallen awake and yelling at me from his bed while I was making my breakfast. I had just let Coco go outside to potty when I walked upstairs to his room. As I was changing his diaper, I heard more noise downstairs:

the microwave beeping to let me know my eggs were ready
the toaster popping up with my bagel thin
the nonstop barking from Coco, letting me know that she wanted back inside
the sound of Tallen's voice asking for his choo-choo train

Instead of letting the noise of the day overwhelm me, I stopped for moment and thought...

what if there was no sound of my toddlers voice telling me he was awake?
what if there was no sound of barking from a persistent little pug?
what if there was no sound of laughter from two kids playing?
what if there was no children's shows playing on tv?
what if there was no child asking for a drink or a snack?
what if there was no music playing from Trey's guitar?
what if?

Last week I was traveling for work and each night I came home to a quiet, empty hotel room. Some nights I did not even bother to turn any music or television. However after a few nights, I missed the sounds of home.

The noise that children bring, the music that comes from my husband, the sounds of everyday life in our house... I don't ever want to know what life would be like if these things were gone forever. I don't want a quiet life. So tonight I am going to go home, turn on the tv, the radio, the dishwasher, the washing machine, the computer games, tell Trey to play his electric guitar - and just listen to the noise. Because my life would not be the same without it.

“If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud" - Emile Zola

Funny Stuff my kids say...

2011-08-16T11:04:00.002-05:00

Sophia: "Mom, these trees are making me sneeze. They have too much moisture in them. They have coconuts or something in them and I am allergic to coconuts." Achoo! (continues to fake sneeze)

Sophia: "Mom, there is a hooker in my bed!" I turned around and looked to see if a woman with questionable morals was standing in my daughter's room, but no one was there. "Where is the hooker?" I asked. She pointed again and I realized that she was showing me a plastic hanger on her bed. "Sophia," I said, "those are called hangers."

Tallen: "What dat makin noise?" I was sitting next to him and he had just passed gas or as we call it tooted. "That was your bootie," I told him. "Oh, he said, My bootie makin noise!"

Sophia: "Mom, how did you learn to cook so good? Can I live with you when I get big so you can cook for me?" "Yes," I answered, "You can live with me as long as you want." Sophia said, "When I become a mommy, I still want to live with you." Okay sweet princess, that is fine by me.

Sophia: (talking to Trey while they were at the play place at the mall) "Mom needed some alone time so she can cook dinner and was tired of hearing the cartoons on the TV so we had to leave so she could turn off the TV." Well said my little girl. Well said.

Tallen: "Where my gate go at?" We recently removed the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs after Sophia fell down the steps, crashed into it and bent the frame. She is fine, btw. "I don't know where the gate is Tallen," I answered. He walks around the house yelling, "Gaaa-ate! Where are you gate?"

Sophia: (in the bathtub after I had finished giving her and Tallen a bath, but wanting to play with her toys some more). "Mom, can you give me some privacy?' I started to tell her I could not leave her alone in the bathtub, but first I decided to ask her a question. "Sophia," I asked, "Do you know what privacy is?" She answered No. "Then I don't need to give you any. Now let's get out of the bathtub and get ready for bed."

Tallen: (sitting in his high chair at the kitchen table while all four of us are eating dinner together) Tallen announces, "I not go poo-poo." I looked at Trey and asked, "Do you think that meant he just went poo-poo in his diaper, or does he just want us to know that he doesn't need to go to the potty?" Trey made a face and said. "I have absolutely no idea what he means." We just went back to eating dinner... his diaper was clean when I got him out of his high chair.

Oh No! Mom Has a Camera!

2011-08-06T20:42:00.003-05:00

Every once in awhile, we like to torture our two children.

First we make them sit at the kitchen table, then we start pulling their fingernails out.

Just kidding.

Actually, all we have to do is pull out the camera and this is the reaction we get...

Oh the horror.

The tears, the pouting, the hiding of faces...

Could they be any more pitiful?

Tallen at least gives us something to work with...

We call this his "Old Man Face."

Pretty good for a two year old.

I think he has a big career ahead of him.

Sophia refuses to smile for 99% of the pictures we take,

but she takes this a step further by refusing to show any part of her face.

Complete face block by her arm.

That actually takes talent too...

We find that givng them food improves their mood.

Although Tallen is still not co-operating.

Tallen just stuffed an entire grilled cheese triangle in his mouth.

They are still averting their eyes from the camera.

I think Trey was off to the right trying to get them to smile.

Stubborn but cute.

That is the best way to describe my kids.

I love them anyway.

Happy 5th Birthday to my Beautiful Baby Girl!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-08-01T22:12:00.000-05:00

Five years ago, you came into my world and changed my life.

Sophia Jane Suire - August 2, 2006

I was nervous and so excited to meet you. I remember staying up all night, just watching to make sure you were still breathing. Let's just say I was a little overprotective in the beginning.

Your daddy fell in love with you the first time he held you in his arms. He was "magic daddy" the first few days and was the only one who could calm you down.

Our world turned PINK in a matter of months.

This is the first picture we have of your beloved bunny. She is so FLUFFY!

Sophia on her first birthday. Just like her mom, she did not have any hair until she was almost 1.

I thought this was a picture of Tallen at first! So sweet and innocent.

Sophia's very first visit to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch. This has become a family tradition every October. I was so excited to put her hair in (a very small) ponytail.

Halloween 2007. Not sure how to describe her outfit, maybe Leopard Princess Ballerina?

Sophia's two year old pics and our very first photo shoot with our favorite photographer, Brandi with B4 Photography. Finally she had some hair and lots of pretty blonde curls.

She might look sweet and innocent but she refused to smile for Brandi. We were starting to see her strong, stubborn, independent personality emerge.

I love this picture. I love it even more that she is holding bunny. My little girl was 2.

Halloween 2008. My pretty princess all dressed up in PINK.

Sophia could not wait to become a big sister. Here is our first family picture with Tallen, who was two weeks old. It broke her heart to hear Tallen cry.

She asked to hold him all the time. A true big sister who always wanted to help me take care of the baby.

Sophia on her third birthday. I loved her hair at this age - so curly, wild and free.

Bunny is never far away from this little girl.

Sophia's 3rd birthday party. Finally a real ponytail in her hair!

This was the year that Barbie took over our lives.

Playing dress up at a Fancy Nancy tea party with Mommy.

Now that is a real princess!

Sophia at her first dance recital. She was so excited to get dressed up and wear her ballerina costume.

She was NOT excited to actually get up on stage and dance. Can you find bunny in this picture?

Sophia is almost 4 years old and she finally smiled for Brandi!

So young and carefree. I love seeing her in this moment.

This picture is a perfect fit for her personality. My strong, confident super-hero Sophia.

Nothing will ever defeat her.

My little girl is all grown up, but she still needs her bunny.

Brandi still had to bribe her for smiles. Bunny always helps though.

Happy 5th Birthday sweet Sophia! You made me a mother and I love you so much.

Seeing your sweet smile every morning just brightens up my day.

I look forward to watching you grow into the woman that God has planned for you to be.

You are my amazing, beautiful, spirited little girl!

A Date Night do-over!

2011-07-20T12:32:00.001-05:00

Last night, our dinner date got off to a bumpy start...

Trey was busy getting things ready for our date before I even got home from work. He packed clothes and pajamas for the kids so they could spend the night at his parent's house, he packed a cooler with a few beers for each of us and was dressed when I walked in the door around 5 PM. All I had to do was change into some casual clothes and we were ready to go.

After picking up Tallen from daycare, we headed to his parent's house to drop off the kids.  Tallen was either tired or not feeling well because for the first 5 minutes we were there, he cried and wanted me to hold him. After getting him something to eat and kissing both kids goodbye, we were ready for our date to begin. I gave Trey directions to the cafe where we planned to have dinner. It is located in a outdoor shopping center filled with restaurants, wine bars, clothing stores, a fitness facility and a local performing arts theater. We pulled in and found the cafe right away, with an empty parking spot right in front.

Maybe the available parking should have tipped me off, but I did not notice until we got out of the car that a handwritten sign was on the door.

New Summer hours! Closing time on weekdays is now 6 PM instead of 8 PM.  I looked at my watch, it was 6:14 PM. Total FAIL on my planning for our dinner date.

We got back in the car and tried to think where we should go on this random Tuesday night. Since we already brought our own beer, I grabbed my phone and searched for BYOB restaurants on Yelp.com again. Then over the next 15 minutes, things started to go downhill. With a limited selection, I threw out a few names of restaurants and Trey shot them down. While I was still searching for places on my phone, he started driving which makes me car sick, so I loudly suggested that he find a place to pull over until we decided where to eat.

By this poing we were both irritated and hungry. Trey took off driving again and we still did not know where to eat.  I pointed to an upscale pizza place that I knew was BYOB. We pulled into the parking lot and sat there a minute. Eh. Neither of us were feeling it. Finally, Trey suggested a wine and coffee bar that we stopped at a few months ago. I pulled up the online menu, saw the words flat bread pizza on the menu and shouted "YES! Let's go there." We needed to pull this date out of the black hole that it was quickly disappearing into...

Less than 10 minutes later we pulled into the parking lot. Trey ran inside to see if they were BYOB. Nope.

No problem. Instead of heading in the restaurant right away, we decided to have a "do-over" to the beginning of date night so we each opened a beer, toasted each other and celebrated the fact that we were having a conversation in our own car without getting interrupted by the kids or being forced to listen to Scooby Doo on the DVD player.

It was wonderful.

To read about the rest of date night and see what we finally ate, check out my post on Food and Fitness 4 Real.

An Unexpected Weekend...

2011-07-18T21:17:00.002-05:00

I admit it. I am spoiled.

I'm not talking about the fact that I am spoiled because I don't have to pump my own gas (Trey puts gas in my car every week) or wash my own car (Trey does that for me too).

No, I am freely admitting that I am spoiled for my weekly date nights with Trey.

I have bragged - um, I mean Blogged about the fact that I go on a date with my husband every Friday night. My in-laws love spending time with their grand kids, so each week my kids spend the night with them. Trey takes them on Friday afternoon (around 4:30 PM) and I usually pick them up the next day before noon.

Because of all of our traveling and guests over the past three weeks, we missed out on several date nights this past month. About a week ago, I planned our Friday night date that included a sushi dinner followed by a show at the House of Blues. We were so excited to have an adult night out so we could reconnect and have a conversation without a million kid interruptions.

Sometime in the middle of the week, I realized that there was a huge snag in our plans...

My in-laws were going to be out of town for the weekend!

After some debating back and forth about getting a baby-sitter, we decided to stay home instead. Friday night felt different, because I went grocery shopping with Sophia instead of out to dinner with my husband. I think I actually spent more time with Sophia than I did with Trey the entire weekend. No complaints though, it was nice to spend time with my daughter after she ignored me for five days at the beach.

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I blogged about the Things I learned on my Sunday morning run on Food and Fitness 4 Real this weekend. If you missed it, one of the things I learned was to make sure my kids are supervised when I am out running:

6) Kids need to be supervised when I go running. My daughter greeting me at the door, showing off four new tattoos that she had applied on her own while I was gone. Then my son came around the corner with a ring pop in his hand and his entire face stained blue. Apparently they found the goodie bags from the birthday party we went to last night. My daughter, being the helpful big sister, opened the ring pop for her brother and went tattoo crazy. Awesome. Now when I get up early to run, my husband will have to get up early too to make sure the kids are not eating CANDY before breakfast. Or we just need to do a better job hiding the goodie bags.

After I walked in the door and saw Sophia and Tallen, I could not resist taking pictures.

This sweet smile is hiding the fact that she was up to no good while I was out running.

Sophia put on tattoos all by herself!!!

"This one is a little wrinkled," she told me, "But that's okay."

Mmmm. Candy for breakfast!

WHAT? Do I have something on my face?

I hope you enjoyed your weekend. We had a great weekend with the kids but I am really looking forward to date night with my husband this Friday night. Yes, I know I am spoiled.

Six Reasons I Love the Beach

2011-07-12T15:54:00.001-05:00

You may get the impression from my last post that I Hate the Beach. I actually love the beach but I just have a different point of view now that I have to take my children with me on vacation. Although there were some low points, we did have some wonderful moments on our trip to Florida. So now I give you...
Six Reasons I Love the Beach!

1) The View - Sitting in a chair on the beach, staring out at the clear blue water and listening to the crashing sounds of the waves was my favorite way to spend my day. In spite of the kids, I managed to take a few walks along the beach in the middle of the day to just enjoy the scenery.

2) The Slower Pace - Because we were on vacation, I had more time in the mornings to spend doing the things I enjoy, so I went running. Running barefoot on the white sand, with only the crashing waves as my soundtrack, was a completely different experience than running in my neighborhood or in the park. Having my husband running alongside of me was also a luxury of going on a family vacation. We ran a little slower, enjoying our time together and the beautiful white sandy beach.

Trey on the beach after our morning run.

3) Trying New Things - Vacation is a time to try new things, like new restaurants, new beaches... or if you are my daughter, the Zip line and SkyFlyer. Sophia decided to leave her shy, timid self at home and unleash the daredevil inside of her on vacation.

Sophia on the zip line. I think my heart was beating faster than hers.

Sophia was so excited for the SkyFlyer with her Daddy!

Trey asked if she was scared and she replied "No Way!"

Amazing! I was so proud of her and she LOVED it!

4) The Food - We tried some amazing new restaurants while we were in Florida. We ate on the front porch at Borago in Grayton Beach, which was perfect for the kids. An old favorite is The Crab Trap, another family friendly restaurant which is right on the beach and has an outdoor play set to occupy the kids while the adults grab a drink at the outdoor bar.

The Crap Trap in Destin, FL

My favorite dinner was our adults night out at Caliza Restaurant in Alys Beach. It is in a very exclusive new development and had a European feel. Everything we ate was excellent and I would highly recommend this restaurant for a date night.

Caliza Restaurant in Alys Beach

5) Late day beach trips - After a hot day of playing at the beach, we would head back inside around 2 or 3 PM to take a break from the heat. After a few hours of rest, I like to head back out on the beach. This time of day the sun is not as strong, the ocean seems calmer, and families tend to cluster their chairs together at the edge of the ocean.

My beautiful daughter on the beach, late in the day.

6) The Family pictures - Every year I make our family take pictures on the beach. We have lots of pictures of the kids playing in the sand or swimming in the ocean during the day, but I like the shots that we take on the beach of our entire family together. Because we had some fights about taking family pictures earlier in the week, I put this off until our last night at the beach, right before we went to dinner. I am not ashamed to say that we bribed Sophia by telling her she could wear pink Barbie high heels to dinner at the restaurant. I am also proud to say that I LOVE THESE PHOTOGRAPHS!

To avoid a meltdown, we allowed Bunny in our family picture. I guess she is part of the family!

Look at Trey and Tallen, they stand exactly the same!

It may look like a smile, but Tallen is trying to scare Calvin (our photographer) in this picture.

I wonder how much longer she will let me hold her like this.

My baby, Tallen. I promise one day you will love the sand!

What is your favorite part of a beach vacation? What beaches do you like to visit? How has having kids changed your family vacations? I love getting comments!

Five reasons I Hate the beach...

2011-07-08T13:23:00.002-05:00

1) The Traffic - I totally missed out on getting to the beach on our first day at the vacation because we spent almost an hour sitting in traffic during the last 30 miles of our trip. We were oh so close to the beach, yet oh so far away.

2) The Stuff - To spend the day at the beach, my family alone required one pop up canopy, two beach chairs, two kid folding chairs, one beach bag, one bag of sand toys, one cooler of food and snacks, one backpack filled with sunscreen, and five beach towels. Each of these items needed to be carried from our car to the beach, then back from the beach to the car each day. (Someone also had to carry Tallen the entire time - see reason #4 below).

Yes, even Sophia had her own chair at the beach.
We just had to carry it for her.

3) The Sand - It gets EVERYWHERE and it you can never get it off. I could do that shower, foot spray thing for 10 minutes and still find sand on me once I got to the car. You also find it in unexpected places throughout the day, like in your sandwich at lunch or in your daughter's bathing suit bottoms when you give her a bath that night.

Trey covered in sand after the kids buried him. Yes, he did this willingly.
No, I would never let them bury me in the sand.

Sophia playing with her sand toys and getting sand in her bathing suit.

4) The Fear - Tallen was absolutely terrified of the sand on the beach. I am talking ear piercing screams, arms trembling with fear and big fat tears rolling down his face. This made our lives very difficult, because we were on vacation at the beach and we basically sat in the sand every day. I spent most of the day standing up holding him, sitting in a chair while he napped on my lap, or ignoring his pleas for me to hold him. If we would have just made a drinking game out of the phrase "Hold you Mommy!" we could have spent our week drunk and happy.

"Hold you, MOMMY!"

Oh No! My feet are way too close to the sand!

5) The Fury - Going on vacation means throwing your schedules out the window. This meant my kids stayed up late, didn't get enough sleep, played really hard, ate too much sugar, and meals were way off schedule. This can lead to meltdowns, whining, pouting, and temper tantrums. This applies to the kids as well as the adults. One night we had to skip out on dinner (after we had already arrived at the restaurant) and go home to put the kids to bed.

You would not know it from our smiles, but Sophia is off to the left having a meltdown
because she refused to be in the family picture.

Check back soon for a more upbeat post titled "10 Reasons I LOVE the Beach". I hope I can come up with ten reasons. I must still love it because we are already planning our trip to the beach next summer. I really hope that we have cured Tallen of his fear of sand by then.

Food and Fitness 4 Real

2011-07-01T15:56:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to announce that I am launching a new healthy living blog today, called Food and Fitness 4 Real. It is about my journey towards healthy living and what it looks like 4 real as a busy working mom.

Unlike Suiresphere, which is about my family, Food and Fitness 4 Real (FF4R) is my personal experience with food and fitness. In fact, my children will not be featured often on FF4R. I will be sharing tips for eating out and staying healthy, my switch to eating more organic & seasonal foods, and trying out new recipes. In addition, I will give tips on fitting exercise in your busy life, how I found time for myself when I laced up my running shoes, and why it is important to let your kids see you make fitness a priority in your life. This fall I will be running two or three half-marathons so it will also chronicle my training schedule for my races.

Stop by often, as I will be posting daily on my new blog. I already have a week planned full of recipes, tips for eating out, and a review of one of my favorite pizza places in Dallas (yes, pizza can be healthy too).

Suiresphere will still be a way for me to share stories about my family and the struggles of a career mom with two young children. Make sure you don't miss a moment of the Suiresphere, sign up today to get emails with new posts. Just fill in our email address on the top right corner of this blog.

Thanks and I am looking forward to you visiting me at Food and Fitness 4 Real. I love to hear your comments and can answer any questions you may have about Healthy Living 4 Real.

See Ya! I am on Vacation!

2011-06-24T06:11:00.011-05:00

Last night I was up to my elbows in shorts, swimsuits and sunscreen. That can only mean one thing... we are leaving for family vacation in Florida soon!

I look forward to our beach vacation the entire year and now it is finally here. My sister, her husband and kids and my mom are all meeting us in Florida so it will be a busy, fun-filled week. Before I had kids, going to the beach meant lying in the sun, listening to the waves, reading a book, lounging by the pool and drinking a cocktail. After having two kids, a beach vacation doesn't look quite the same. I will be much busier as I try to keep up with my kids as we build sand castles, splash in the ocean and go swimming at the pool.

Sophia (9 months old) and Trey at the beach in Florida in 2007.

However, I am looking forward to leaving my work behind at the office, logging off of Facebook, Twitter and maybe ignoring my blog for a few days. We all need time to leave behind the business of everyday life and enjoy our vacation. So for the next week, you may not see many updates on Suiresphere. Maybe I will get inspired to post a few pictures so I can share the beauty of the beach with you... If you really miss us, check out some pictures from our trip to Florida last year in this post.

Our first family photo at the beach in 2010. Tallen - 1 yr and Sophia 3 1/2 yrs old.

We will be back in town around July 4th so enjoy your Independence Day! See you then!

Date Night, Done Right!

2011-06-23T06:15:00.001-05:00

Friday night, Trey and I decided to cash in a Groupon for wine tasting at a nearby winery to start our Date Night.

Grapevine, TX has a several wineries and tasting rooms, many which are located on historic Main Street. We visited Su Vino, a cute little tasting room on the corner of Main, where you can even create your own custom wine. Seven years ago, we talked about making wine to give as gifts to guests at our wedding...

Sadly, we have not got around to creating our own wine. However, this night we were looking forward to sampling several wines from the tasting menu. First, we started with the Sparkling Almond Champagne. It was so light, sweet and delicious that we decided to take home a bottle!

We also ordered the cheese platter as an appetizer to snack on during our tasting. Trey decided to stick with all white wines while I wanted to try at least one red.

After a long week, it was nice to have a chance to relax and talk to my husband without kids interrupting our conversation.

Trey and I both look forward to "Date Night" each week and the was a great way to start off the night. It also helps that we have stepped up our efforts in planning date night after some failures earlier in the year.

I finished off the night with an after dinner drink, a taste of the Grande Finale. It was described as liquid honey and I liked it at first. However, the super sweetness did not sit well in my stomach and I needed several glasses of water before dinner to get my appetite back.

I told you we took home some champagne! My plan is to take it with us to the beach and drink it at night while listening to the sound of the ocean. Did I mention we are leaving tomorrow for vacation!!?

Trey also bought a bottle of Summer Rain which was a light, refreshing white wine blend. It is perfect to sip on during the hot summer days, however we will not be taking that bottle to the beach with us because it is already gone! Tallen has been sick for three days and it has been a rough week, so Trey needed a glass (or two) of wine in the evenings.

Overall, it was the great way to start off Date Night. We both agreed that we need to go back to Su Vino again soon to stock up on some of our favorite wines, and hopefully create our own custom wine. Maybe I will name it Suiresphere and invite some friends over for a wine tasting at our house. I can always find a reason to drink more wine!

A Father's Day weekend - Part Two

2011-06-21T06:35:00.035-05:00

After meeting my Target quota for the month, our little family of four drove to pick up Trey's parents for Father's Day dinner. Our destination was Rockfish Seafood Grill in Highland Village, because my Father-in-law requested seafood for dinner The menu at Rockfish includes lots of fresh fish, healthy side dishes, and a larger variety than chicken nuggets and pizza on the children's menu. Even better, their Happy Hour prices apply all day on Sunday.

Trey dropped his parents, the kids and me off in front of the restaurant while he looked for a parking place at the shopping center. We were immediately seated at a large booth in the corner (yay) but within two minutes, both of my kids had burst into tears (boo). First, I was surprised when I looked down and saw blood on Sophia's foot (I remember thinking how did she cut her foot on a knife already?), then I realized it was from a cut that was already there. I guess she was scratching it and it started bleeding.

Anyway, her shrieks were freaking Tallen out! He was literally climbing into my lap and clutching my neck with a death grip while I tried to convince Sophia that a little blood was not a big deal. She was breaking out into a sweat from crying so hard and I was already regretting our attempt at eating out.

When I realized that I had left the bag filled with snacks, sippy cups, diapers and wipes in the car, I called Trey to ask him to bring it with him. He could barely hear me over the screaming and crying but grabbed the bag and showed up shortly to calm Sophia down. We even managed to get Tallen in his high chair so he could get busy with his job as "Official Thrower of Goldfish Crackers on the Restaurant Floor".

If I was our waitress that night, I would have already turned around and ran the other way. But she was WAYYYY more patient than me and came back to the table three times before I could even give her our drink order.

After a band-aid and some lemonade, Sophia seemed to be doing better... until she looked at me and said her tummy hurt. Visions of her throwing up in the middle of the restaurant, ruining every one's Father's Day dinner flashed through my mind.

"Do you want to go to the restroom?" I asked. "Do you need to throw up?"

She said no, but I put a plastic bag beside her booster chair and gave her some of Tallen's goldfish and my glass of water. Within five minutes I could tell she was feeling better because she was laughing and doing this to her daddy...

What's that? I can't hear you...

Oh, I can't hear you because there is a lemon in my ear...

Daddy was doing whatever it took to make Sophia happy.

Even if that meant having lemons shoved in his ears. Happy Father's Day Trey!

Tallen thought lemons in Daddy's ear was hilarious. He was laughing LOUD. No really, SCREAMS of laughter.

When I tried to quiet Tallen down he just grabbed my face in his sweet little hands...

and ROARED like a lion at me again.

Tallen was screaming so loud, that the family sitting beside us were cringing and leaning away from our table. If I were the family at the table beside us, I would have also turned and ran the other way when I saw the chaos that we create. At the very least, I would have requested another table.

This smile is all it took to make me forget about all the whining, screaming, crying, spilling, and shouting over Father's Day weekend.

However, nothing will make up for those three trips to Target. I hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day with your family.

A Father's Day weekend - Part One

2011-06-20T11:54:00.040-05:00

Aww my kids are sweet.. look at them sitting together,
watching an educational program on TV.
Oh who am I kidding, they are just in a trance from
watching Scooby Doo for the 247th time.

So the rest of the weekend was a little better than the beginning (click here to read about the start of our day), but I was already starting out with low expectations so it could only go up from there, right?

When I left off on Saturday afternoon, the kids were in their bedrooms for "nap time". Sophia does not actually nap but I still make her have quiet time in her bed while Tallen is napping, in hopes that she might accidentally drift off to dreamland. Tallen slept for a glorious two hours, then I made Sophia take a shower and get dressed for her Daddy/Daughter date night.

Chick-fil-a hosts a special event on Father's Day weekend, where a limo picks up the couple for their "date" and drives them to the restaurant. A reserved table was waiting for them inside, and they had their own server who took their order and brought the food to their table. Apparently, daddy and daughter toasted the evening with four glasses of "champagne" lemonade, had their picture taken by a photographer, and talked about their favorite color, food, and friends. SUPER. SWEET.

All dressed up for her date night with Daddy!
Yes, she has a better tan then me and I am jealous.

Rest assured, Tallen and I finally made it to Target to buy a Father's Day gift while Sophia was on her date with Trey. This was Trip One of the three-trip Target weekend. After the Daddy/Daughter date, all four of us headed to Saginaw the meet up with Brandi (of B4 Photography) who has taken amazing pictures of our family every year. Like these...

2008: Sophia at age two, with her beloved bunny.

Family picture 2008 - No matter how hard we tried, we could not get Sophia to smile.

2009: Brandi came to our house to capture some amazing pictures of a two week old Tallen.

2010: She was even there to celebrate this little boy's first birthday!

As I mentioned earlier, I was not getting my hopes up about the pictures. I swear if you hold up a camera in front of my kids faces right now, they both shout "NO" and look away. Every. Single. Time.

However Brandi is very patient and she must have sprinkled her magic picture-taking pixie-dust on my kids (in the form of candy) because they actually smiled for the camera. "Flat out bribery," she said is what works best for kids. So in addition to the candy, we promised to buy Sophia lots of sand toys for our beach trip next week. For the first time ever, we left a photo session thinking "Man, we got a lot of great shots tonight!" In just a few weeks, I should have the photos to post.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Sunday was Father's Day and I decided to treat my husband with breakfast in bed. After some covert text-messaging, I convinced Trey to stay in bed until I could get the kids to cooperate by "surprising" daddy with pancakes and coffee.

Disclaimer - These are actually my pancakes
and they look much prettier than what I actually served Trey.

Then it was off to church, where we met up with Trey's parents. After church I headed to Walmart, still dressed in my strapless dress and heels, because Coco Puff needed some dog food. After some strange looks, I realized that I was way OVER-dressed for the Walmart people (seriously, check out this link) and hurried home.

After throwing Trey's Father's Day presents in a gift bag (no, I did not have time to wrap it), Tallen gave it to his Daddy. Inside were two dri-fit shirts and some running socks. I promise I am not boring, these were AWESOME gifts for Trey and he loved them!. However, one of the shirts was too small so I headed back to Target (Trip Two of the three-trip Target weekend) to exchange it while Trey put Tallen down for his nap. Sophia came along with me to cash in on her photo session bribe (fun sand toys for the beach) while I exchanged Trey's shirt for a bigger size.

Back at home, Trey tried on his shirt again but this time it was too BIG! Apparently, the first shirt I bought was a SMALL (I picked up a MEDIUM hanger but never checked the size ), then I exchanged it for a LARGE. So, can you guess what happened next?

Yes, it was Trip Three of my three-trip Target weekend.

This time Trey AND both kids came with me to Target so he could try the shirt on and get the right size. I feel like we were trapped in the story, "The Three Little Bears." The first shirt was too small, the second shirt was too big, and the third shirt was just right!!!

Ok, I am exhausted already and I still haven't got to our Father's Day dinner. Look for more tomorrow in Father's Day part Two.

No Schedules on Saturdays

2011-06-18T12:37:00.002-05:00

Today is one of those days where so far, nothing is going as planned. First, I wanted to get up early to go for a run. Really early, like before 7 AM so I could beat the heat and take advantage of my kid free Saturday morning to get in more than my lunchtime 3 mile runs. When my alarm went off at 6:30, I realized that I had a throbbing earache. All this week I have been a little under the weather, mainly a sore throat and annoying cough, but not sick enough to actually take a day off of work so I guess the earache is just the icing on the cake.  I HATE getting sick on Saturdays because I am two days away from getting in to see the doctor but not sick enough to justify a trip to a family clinic.

So, I hit snooze and debated about going on my run for the next 45 minutes (which is how long I can hit snooze until my alarm clock finally surrenders and turns itself off). First I decided to rest instead of running, but then I could not go back to sleep and I started to get mad because I had been looking forward to this run all week. Seriously, I really prefer running outside and mornings is the only time the temperature drops below 90 degrees in Dallas. I had also planned on running around the lake with Trey and now we were just wasting out free time on Saturday by sleeping!

By the time I got out of bed, I was annoyed with myself and determined to put on my running shoes and head out for a few miles. As I put my shorts and sports bra on, I announced to Trey, "I am going running. If you want to go with me, you have to get up now!" He did not complain but got up and was dressed in five minutes.

We drove to Grapevine so I could show Trey my route that I ran with Team In Training, and we set out on a slow, easy four mile run. The temperature was in the 80's but we did have some shade and I wore my hydration belt so we had water with us. I rarely get to run alongside my husband but we enjoyed talking about our upcoming races this year. Once we got back to the car and stretched, I realized that I NEVER regret getting up for a run but I always regret sleeping through one.

After our run, we stopped by to pick up our produce bin and headed home.  I put away our food (new post on that later) and grabbed a quick snack of Greek yogurt and granola before picking up the kids. I had to take a quick shower first because I was stinky after my run,. Then I threw on some shorts, a Tshirt and my TOMS and grabbed my keys.  My plan was to take the kids to Target to let them pick out a Father's Day gift for Trey but when I got to Gran's house, they were both very cranky.

Sophia refused to put on the shirt I packed because she said it was too tight. Then she cried because I wanted her to brush her hair. The fact that she had to put on her shoes just sent her over the edge.  As soon as I walked in the door, Tallen asked me to hold him and would not let me sit down. He kept grabbing my face with his hands, staring me in the eyes and yelling "ROARRRR!" like a lion.

Once I managed to get both kids in the car, they saw my hydration belt and started asking for a drink. I filled both bottles about halfway full of water, but Sophia started crying again because she wanted milk instead. Tallen happily started drinking his then asked for Sophia's (which she was still refusing to drink). When she saw that her brother wanted something that was hers, she grabbed it out of my hand and yelled "NO!".

At that point, I gave up all hope of making it to Target. "New plan," I told the kids, "We are heading home for naps RIGHT NOW!" This brought on a fresh wave of tears from Sophia.  Tallen just grabbed the second bottle of water to drink (or so I thought). When I took him out of his car seat at home, I discovered that he had really just held the second bottle upside down and poured it all over his lap.

After making both of the kids a cup of milk (while they both stood in the kitchen and cried), I took them upstairs and put them to bed. Well, I had to change Tallen's clothes first because he was soaking wet, THEN I put him to bed. Now I am trying to figure out when I will have time to make it to Target for a Father's Day gift.

Did I mention that we also have Family pictures tonight (outside at 6:30 PM when the temperature is expected to be 103 degrees) and we do not have a good history of the kids cooperating with our photographer. I am just leaving all my expectations at home and will see what comes out of this photo shoot. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised...

Do you ever have one of those days when nothing goes as planned? Are you good at going with the flow or do you fight to stay on schedule?

Cupcakes are Better than Ice Cream

2011-06-16T21:39:00.001-05:00

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes are even better than Ice Cream!

Look Mommy, I got a CUPCAKE!

I LIKE it!! Mommy, I LIKE it!!

Mmmm! I like cupcakes!

Wipe my hands, I got CUPCAKE on my hands.

Do you want some CUPCAKE, Mommy?

Here Mommy, Have a CUPCAKE!

I Got Ice Cream!

2011-06-15T06:29:00.006-05:00

"I got ICE CREAM!" he yelled in delight.

His little feet slapped against the tiles as he ran around the store, stopping at each of the tables filled with families.

"Hey, I got ICE CREAM!" he would yell as he tipped his bowl down to show them the smallest swirl of frozen yogurt. The other moms and dads in the store looked down at him and smiled, while the cool teenagers in the corner just looked away. One dad even answered back, "You must be excited to eat your ice cream."

He turned to me and yelled, "Mommy, I eat my ice cream!"

"Yes, you can eat your ice cream now. Let's get you a spoon and find a place to sit while you eat," I answered.

Sophia wanted to sit on the bar stools, but Tallen was too little so our family decided to split up. Daddy and Sophia ate their yogurt at a counter in the corner, while Tallen and I had an "ice cream date" at our own table.

Maybe Sophia was just practicing to be one of those cool teenagers who ignored Tallen, or maybe she just wanted time alone with her Daddy.

No words are needed to describe how sweet this moment was...

As I watched Tallen eat his own bowl of frozen yogurt for the very first time, he melted my heart.

He even stopped to offer me a bite, but I had already finished my own bowl. If you look closely in the picture below, you can see his little ice cream mustache!

This was just one of those little moments in life that means so much to a mom. I am definitely going on another ice cream date with this little boy again soon!

Working Moms are Often Out of Balance

2011-06-13T06:05:00.048-05:00

I gave up trying to "balance" work and family a long time ago. The truth is, for most working moms, there is no balance. I have to fit in work, family time, exercise, grocery shopping, cooking, date nights, laundry, girls night out, church, friends, etc. There always seems to be something that needs my attention and I can't balance it all every day. To quote Oprah Winfrey, "You CAN have it all. You just can't have it all at once." See, Oprah Winfrey and I DO have something in common.

Some times, I feel like things are really out of balance, like something in my life is not getting enough attention. This weekend, that "something" was my kids. I thought about this Saturday night when we were halfway through the weekend and I had spent a total of four hours with my kids.

Friday the kids spent the night with their grandparents so that Trey, Trisha and I could go out to dinner and a comedy club. Since both kids were sleeping when I left for work Friday morning and Trey dropped them off at Gran's house before I made it home from work that afternoon, I did not get to see my kids at all on Friday!

Saturday morning after getting in a quick workout at the gym, Trey and I picked up the kids from Gran's and headed home. I had a massage and pedicure scheduled at noon (finally cashing in my mother's day gift certificate) so I was only home for about a hour before I left again. Tallen was napping when I got home a few hours later, but woke up soon after. Our family outing on Saturday afternoon was driving to Sprinkles for cupcakes. Once we got home, I immediately started getting ready for a baby shower that evening. Trey was going to feed the kids dinner and put them to bed, because I was not planning on getting home until after 9 PM.

Earlier in the weekend, Trey told me we were invited to spend Sunday afternoon on his friend's boat at the lake, an offer that I was less than enthusiastic about accepting. We could either:
a) bring the kids with us and let me have yet another anxiety attack every time one of our kids got close to the edge of the boat, or
b) ask his parents to watch the kids so just the adults could soak up some sun.

I asked Trey to let me think about it...

Before I left for the baby shower, Trey decided that we should take a rain check on boating (I was so relieved) and spend some family time together on Sunday instead. Tallen and I woke up Sunday morning feeling a little under the weather so Trey went to church alone (he volunteers with the children's ministry) while I stayed home with the kids. After mandatory late-morning naps for everyone except Trey, Tallen and I were feeling better and ready to get out of the house. The only problem was it was 99 degrees outside. I suggested we cash in some Groupons that I had purchased for the Indoor Safari Park in Southlake, which ended up being SO much fun! Train rides, mechanical animals, play centers, miniature golf and a jungle gym kept Tallen and Sophia busy for 1 1/2 hours and the best part was all the fun was inside and out of the heat!

By the time we finished dinner and Trey gave the kids their baths on Sunday night, I was sad to see the weekend ending. However I was happy that I was able to spend the entire day with my family. My family time and "me" time felt a little more balanced.

Now I am really looking forward to our week-long beach trip at the end of this month!

It's Time for this Mom to Clock Out!

2011-06-10T12:04:00.001-05:00

Every working mother faces the same obstacles when she gets home from work each evening. Moms rush to get dinner on the table, because we have a family to feed. Then there are notes and papers from daycare and preschool that me must read. Then we have to make sure everyone has clean clothes to wear the next day, help pick an appropriate non-toy to bring to show and tell, and remember to send more diapers to daycare. Most nights the kids need a bath, then it is time to fight the teeth brushing battle. Finally, we get to my favorite part of the night, which involves reading a few books followed by hugs, kisses and bedtime.

I celebrate bedtime.

If you are like me, there are some nights when you just you can't wait until those kids are finally in bed and you can Clock Out from your Mommy Job.

When my Mommy Job is finished, I can focus on something important... like sitting next to my husband on the couch, drinking a beer and watching So You Think You Can Dance.  That describes how I felt last night.

To be fair, I did not even have bedtime duty yesterday evening. Trey had asked if he could put Tallen to bed, because they had not hung out together all day. We both love to be in charge of Tallen's bedtime duty because it very sweet and super easy. Our little boy is full of hugs, kisses and pretty much goes to sleep as soon as you lay him in his bed.

Sophia is the total opposite. That girl can stall her bedtime FOREVER. So when I noticed her walking upstairs to get a toy about 10 minutes before her bedtime, I told her to change into pajamas so her dad could put her to bed. That immediately sparked tears, cries of protest, and a mini temper tantrum (from Sophia, not Trey). While Trey took care of putting Sophia to bed, I finished loading the dishwasher. I was sitting down for the first time that night when Trey came downstairs about five minutes later.

Mom and Dad were officially off the clock. Or so we thought.

After about ten minutes, Sophia yelled for me to come tell her goodnight. I climbed off the couch, up the stairs and went into her room for a quick hug and kiss. She told me she needed to potty. The she wanted to change her pajamas. I could almost see her dreaming up excuses in her head, finding any reason to delay going to bed.  After a potty break, a change of clothes and some hugs and kisses I headed back downstairs.

About 15 minutes later, Sophia yelled for her Dad. He forgot to say prayers with her before bed. Oh My GOD! Really? I was in the kitchen getting something to drink so I let him handle that one.

Another 15 minutes go by and I hear her yelling for me again. "WHAT?" I yell from my comfortable spot on the couch.

"I need to tell you something Mom," Sophia said.

"WHAT IS IT?" I yelled back.

"Um, I...  I am thinking about...  I keep thinking about you leaving again Mom," she said.

I couldn't ignore this one. Even if it was a stalling tactic, Sophia has experienced abandonment and separation anxiety in the past, as a result of me traveling for business. So I pulled my butt off the couch, climbed up the stairs again and went into her room. Without saying a word, I pulled her up on my lap and gave her a big hug then covered her face with kisses.

"Mommy is right here sweetie," I said. "I am not going anywhere. I have to work tomorrow, then I will be home with you all weekend."

Sophia smiled at me then curled up in her bed, clutching her bunny in her arms. I covered her with her soft blanket and told her goodnight. When I left, she was smiling sweetly with her eyes closed.

"Night Night, Mom" she said in a singsong voice.

Trey smiled in amusement when I came downstairs, trying not to laugh at my frustration.

I should get paid overtime for this.

Tweet, Tweet! I am finally on Twitter!

2011-06-09T00:08:00.001-05:00

Just like I resisted joining the Facebook revolution for years, I have been stubborn about signing up for a Twitter account for even longer. I just didn't get it... why did I need a Facebook account AND a Twitter account?

Tuesday night I finally caved and signed up. And now I get it.

Do you remember those first few days of Facebook or Twitter, where you are checking your account every five minutes, feeling like you having been missing out on this part of the world? Well that is where I am at right now.

You can follow me @suiresphere.

I am slowing wading into the waters of the Twitter world (I have only tweeted once) but soon I will be tweeting the links to all my new posts at Suiresphere. Hope you stop by often to check out what is going on in my world!

By the way, New changes are coming to the Suiresphere that I will be announcing next week. It is not ready yet and I want some time to let the anticipation build... so you will to wait a little longer. This is kind of like Tom's new One for One campaign that was unveiled on Tuesday. The new product line is cool and you should check them out.

Don't forget to check back next week for my big announcement or watch for it on Twitter!

How (NOT) to Welcome Out of Town Guests in your Home

2011-06-08T12:32:00.003-05:00

Trey's cousin, who is Tallen's godmother, is visiting us for the next few days. We LOVE having her visit but I am not sure we gave her the best welcome on her first night here...

Welcome to Casa A La Suire!

We are so happy to host you in our home this week. How was your 6 hour drive? I hope you are enjoying the HOT Dallas weather. We specifically ordered a temperature of 98 degrees for your visit. Yes, it will be 98-100 degrees the entire time you are here with FULL SUN every day. Not a cloud in the sky to provide any shade whatsoever. Only the best for our out of town guest!

Let me show you to your room. Be careful to squeeze your luggage through the narrow baby gate, then head upstairs. Watch that second baby gate at the top of the stairs, many guests tend to trip over the metal bar across the bottom. We have prepared the best room in the house for your, located directly between the bedrooms of our two small children. Yes, on either side of you is a child that could begin screaming in the middle of the night or a child that wakes up early and begins yelling for his mommy.

Here is your room. Please excuse the stacks of outgrown children's clothes that need to be given to Goodwill, but for now let's pretend they just add character to your room. Sorry, the light bulb in the lamp beside the bed is out, so you will have to open the closet door and turn on the light inside if you need to see in your room after it gets dark. Just don't actually look in the closet because it is very messy. This is our storage closet and we don't want our guests to look in there and see how unorganized we really are.

Warm? It's warm upstairs? Oh, you noticed that. My apologies but the upstairs air conditioner has been out for a few days. We hope to get it fixed tomorrow but there are not guarantees that it will be working at all during your stay. My best advice is to stay downstairs as much as possible during your visit. Only go upstairs after 11 PM when it has finally cooled off from a steamy 86 degrees to a not-so-stifling 82. And you will not need those pesky covers when you sleep. I also recommend that you keep your door open so that the downstairs air can have a chance to drift into your room. Just be warned that both of the kids will have their doors open too which means there is a better chance that you will hear them crying if they wake up in the middle of the night.

The bathroom. You will have to share a bathroom with our two small children. Sophia tends to smear toothpaste on the counter around the sink when she brushes her teeth and we have discovered that this attracts ants. We are trying to teach her to clean up after herself, but she is four so she is not that tidy.  I would recommend that you wipe the sink and counter down at night after you brush your teeth so we don't have another ant invasion. Tallen is attempting to potty train so watch out for the pink potty in the floor of the bathroom, it can be a trip hazard. In fact, the entire upstairs area can be a tripping hazard because our kids tend to leave their toys on the floor. Be careful where you walk, especially at night when you can't see what toys they have left on the floor. And remember, you should only venture upstairs at night because the A/C is broken...

What do you want to do while you are here for your visit?  Just remember that Mr. and Mrs. Suire (owners of Casa A La Suire) will both be working during the week and may not have much time to show you around Dallas or spend much time with you between the hours of 9 AM and 5 PM.

Do we have any plans for dinner? Oh dear. I would have to go to the store to buy something to cook and I'm kind of tired from working all day... Let's just go out to dinner. And to make up for this horrible welcome we gave you, let's go out for frozen yogurt afterwards!

Otherwise, we are SO happy that you are here to visit for a few days!  Enjoy your stay!

Are you an Amazon Mom?

2011-06-07T17:16:00.007-05:00

Are you an Amazon Mom? If not, then you should be.

Tragically, I was not an Amazon Mom when I had my first baby almost five years ago, and I am kicking myself over the time and money that we wasted over the past few years actually going to a store to buy diapers, wipes and formula.

Now I simply log on to my Amazon Mom account and order the baby supplies I need at a 15% discount AND I receive an additional 15% discount for signing up for Subscribe and Save. Yes - that is a 30% savings on diapers, wipes, etc. Subscribe and Save automatically re-orders my selected items at pre-set intervals (we usually go through a box of diapers in one month). It is almost like Amazon is reading my mind! Don't worry too much about the schedule, you have the option to change your delivery, skip a delivery or get an extra delivery before your subscription is due.

Did I mention that the diapers are shipped for FREE? Note that the free shipping benefits are based on how much I spend in a single order, so for every $25 dollars I spend I get an additional month of free two day shipping benefits.

The best part is the free shipping applies to other Amazon.com orders too! Last week I ordered a few books for my summer reading list and my Amazon Mom membership qualified me for free shipping (without the usual $25 order limit).

Over the weekend I realized that we were running low on diapers, so I logged on to Amazon Mom account. Even though my next shipment was not scheduled until next month, I selected "send additional delivery now" and those diapers are scheduled to be delivered to my house before I get home from work today. For a busy mom like me, that is a huge time and money saver! If you have questions, just go here.

I did not receive any payment or promotional items from Amazon for this post - I am just a busy mom who wanted to spread the word to other busy moms out there like me.

The Start of My Summer Reading List...

2011-06-06T21:19:00.001-05:00

If you know me very well, then you probably know that some of my passions are; my family, running, dancing, baking, writing/blogging and of course READING! I have loved books since I was a little girl and my mom read to me every night at bedtime. In fact, my mom tells me that I was so impatient that I taught myself to read before kindergarten.

Once school started, I would win the reading contests in my class for the most number of books read in a six week period. The library was one of my favorite places to visit and I loved getting lost in a good book for hours.

This love for reading has not changed over the years, but the time I have to read has dramatically decreased. I have also made a transition from reading mainly fiction books to memoirs, cooking, parenting advice, and health/fitness. Here are a few of the books that are stacked on the floor beside my nightstand that I am ready to devour this summer...

Run Like a Mother by Dimity McDowell and Sarah Bowen Shea

Carrots N Cake: Healthy Living on Carrot and Cupcake at a Time by Christina Haupert

Hot (Sweaty) Mamas: Five Secrets to Life as a Fit Mom by Laurie Kocanda and Kara Thom

Operation Beautiful: Transforming the Way You See Yourself One Post-It Note at a Time by Caitlin Boyle

Writer Mama: How to Raise Your Writing Career Alongside Your Kids by Christina Katz

Summer would not be complete without a few indulgent romance or chick-lit books. They kind of book that you want to throw in your beach bag to read on vacation. I need some recommendations to take on my Florida trip in a few weeks so...

What are you reading this summer? What easy-reads should I pack for vacation?

Race Recap - Firefly Run

2011-06-05T22:45:00.002-05:00

Last night Trey and I ran the Firefly Run (5K) in Plano, TX. I was excited about this race because it has been 8 months since I have run a race with Trey AND it is officially the latest start to a race that I have ever participated in... 9 PM! Over 3,000 people were registered so we arrived pretty early to get a parking spot, stand in line at the porta pottys, and grab a few samples from the vendors.

I enjoyed wearing the BRIGHTEST running clothes I own and my shirt even matched the LED light up bracelets that were in our race packets. They were a little to big to wear as bracelets so we strapped them on our legs and turned them on right before the race.

As this is a national race that visits several major cities, there were some familiar sponsors...

It was HOT outside so we stopped by the Jamba Juice and Honest Tea tents for some samples before the race. I had a Strawberry Surf Rider from Jamba Juice and the Honest Tea Peach White tea. Trey tried the Strawberry Wild from Jamba Juice and the Honest Tea Superfruit punch (which was my favorite).

We look so much better here than in our post race picture, we had no idea how hot it would still be at 9:30 PM.

Waiting for the sun to go down so the race could begin. I was really glad that we decided to run the 5K instead of the 10K. Trey just started training to run four weeks ago and I have not had a long run since my half marathon last month.

Around 8:45 we go in line and I could tell that it would be an interesting start to the race. We started right on time at 9 PM. No pace corrals and no wave start... which meant it was pretty much a free for all the first mile. We probably started out a little too fast trying to find some room in the crown to run, but after about 1.5 miles we found some breathing room. There was only ONE water stop which we slowed down and walked through. I never saw the 2 mile marker but I was wearing my Garmin so I kept giving Trey updates on how much farther we had to go. About 20 minutes into the race we were soaking wet, running up a hill and tempted to slow down for a walk break. After the turn around on the hill, Trey surprised me by picking up the pace again. I checked my watch and told him we only had about half a mile to go so we kept pushing. Our goal before the race was to run it in under 30 minutes, which would be a personal record for Trey.

As we passed the 3 mile marker, I looked down at my watch and told Trey that we had this. We made the turn towards the finish line and Trey grabbed my hand just before we crossed... and I forgot to look up at the clock. We did it!

Trey looked at his watch and his time was 28:02. We were thrilled when we checked the official race results and found that we both had a new PR of 27:50!!!

Running a night race was a great experience but it never cooled down outside like I expected. In fact, the temperature was 97 degrees AFTER the race. The heat made it much harder to catch my breath and it also took longer for me to cool down. By the time we took this picture, we had drank LOTS of water and sampled more food from the vendors.

There was no beer tent at the race so we headed out to BJ's brewhouse in Lewisville for our post race beer.

Trey and I both ordered the seasonal brew called Nit Wit which was really refreshing and the Margherita Fresca flatbread. It was the perfect ending to a long day!

Celebrating Summer Vacation - Part 2

2011-06-03T06:25:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I told you about our fun-filled day on the River walk in San Antonio. What I didn't mention is the fact that we had to get the kids up extra early that morning (around 6:30 AM instead of 7:30/8:00 AM) so we could get on the road before rush hour. After getting up early, sweating on the boat, swimming at the pool, eating junk for dinner AND staying up late to watch a movie... Sophia was exhausted.

Because it was vacation, we were not as strict as we are at home with her eating and bedtime schedule. Isn't vacation the time to break all the rules? While that seemed like a good idea at the time, I forgot one very important thing. When Sophia gets worn out, she has night terrors. Night terrors, where the child is scared, agitated and inconsolable, is not the same as nightmares and experts recommend that you SHOULD NOT try to wake a person having a night terror. Watching your child have an episode like this is scary and heartbreaking for a parent, but we have learned how to handle them over the past several years by sitting close by and comforting Sophia until she calms down.

Less than an hour after we went to bed, I heard Sophia start crying in the other room of our hotel suite. I listened for a few seconds before I recognized the familiar sound and I knew it was more than just a bad dream. She was sleeping on the sofa bed with Miss K who was trying to console her but when I walked in the room, Sophia was sitting upright in bed, screaming, crying and shaking uncontrollably. I told Miss K that she was having a night terror and could not wake herself up, but she would be okay. Then I picked up Sophia and walked down the hallway towards the bathroom. I felt the warmth on my leg before we made it to the bathroom door, letting me know that she had an accident.

It took about ten minutes to calm her down, get her cleaned up and in a pair of dry underwear. I could tell by then that she was awake, which usually means she would not have another night terror that night. (If she can't wake herself up, she will often have 2 or 3 in a row). I took Sophia back into the room with Miss K, who looked worried, but Sophia was exhausted so she laid down and went right back to sleep.

With my sleep pants soaked with pee, I headed back to bedroom and realized I had no clean PJ's to wear to bed. No problem! I wasn't going to get much sleep anyway because Sophia's night terrors had woken up Tallen. He was sitting up in his bad that we had made on the floor and he asked me to hold him. I laid him next to me in the bed and tried to go back to sleep for two hours but he was too wiggly. Finally I got up and put him back in his "bed" on the floor... where he stayed until about 6:30 AM when he woke up and wanted me to hold him again. Oh the joys of sleeping with the kids in a hotel room.

Around 7:30 AM we all got up and started getting dressed for Sea World. I was in charge of the multiple outfit changes that would take place over the next 12 hours for all four of us (clothes for the park, swimsuits for the water park, dry clothes after the water park) plus snacks for the day (dried fruit, goldfish, crackers, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches).

Our hotel had a hot breakfast (this was a great place to stay with kids) so we all ate before we checked out and drove to Sea World. Trey was overwhelmed by how many cars were in line when the park opened at 10:00 AM, four lanes of traffic were all going into the parking lot. As soon as we got out of the car we covered the kids with sunscreen and started our long day of family fun.

Ready for SeaWorld! Seriously, my kids hate to look at the camera.

First we went to see the dolphins (where Tallen was more interested in splashing his hands in the water than watching the dolphins swim by), followed by the sharks.

"They look mean," Sophia said. Trey and I agreed. Look at those teeth!

We were in line early to get good seats for the first show of the day, Azul, which featured whales, dolphins, birds, acrobats, synchronized swimmers and high divers. It was breathtaking and actually kept both of my kid's attention the entire show!

Beautiful acrobat and swimmers during the show

Tallen couldn't take his eyes off the birds and the dolphins

As we left the open air theater, Sophia told Trey that when she grows up, she wants to train dolphins.
It was noon and it was already HOT so we headed to the water park. Tallen was in the stroller and on the verge of falling asleep so I found a spot in the shade where I could watch Trey, Sophia and Miss K at the splash pool. The we moved on to my favorite spot in the entire park... the lazy river. We made Sophia wear a life jacket so she could swim without holding onto me for dear life, which meant I could float next to her in a tube. Miss K kept an eagle eye on her and we made several loops around the lazy river while Trey took a break while Tallen was sleeping.

Tallen woke up grumpy and hated it when we took him to the water while Sophia started whining that she was starving. Again, we were off our usual schedule and I knew we were on the edge of a major meltdown so we headed to the cafe in the covered pavilion at the water park (water, shade and food were needed NOW). Tallen didn't eat much again (how does that kid even grow?) but we all felt better after our lunch. We left the water park and headed to the Sesame Street Bay of Play, in hopes that we could find a spot that Tallen would enjoy. That kid was not having it... He hated every water feature and cried any time we went near them but Sophia had a blast.

I asked Trey for the time and realized we were going to miss the next Shamu show (it started in five minutes and we were a good 10 minutes away from the stadium and still soaking wet). We decided to dry off by walking to see the sea lions.

Hey sea lions! Look at us over here!

This was Sophia's favorite part of the day. Trey bought her some dead, stinky fish that she could feed to the sea lions and they barked and splashed the water to get her attention. They loved those stinky fish!

Feeding them stinky fish

After the sea lions, we walked way to far to see the penguins which were not that exciting. It was at this point that I realized that my kids were done with Sea World.

He may look sweet but he is really trying to steal my sunglasses!

In my early years of motherhood, I would have made a big mistake here. Even though the kids were tired and the next Shamu show did not start for another hour (which meant it would be about 2 hours before we could leave the park), a few years ago I would have made us all go to see Shamu... because if you come to SeaWorld then you have to stay to see the big whale!

Do you now what? My kids have no idea that they missed out on anything that day. They saw so many beautiful animals and we had a great family vacation. Don't worry Shamu... we will be back to see you soon.!

Celebrating Summer Vacation - Part 1

2011-06-01T12:06:00.004-05:00

San Antonio, TX - River walk

It is officially summer!!! Sophia's last day of preschool was Thursday, so we kicked off summer vacation by packing up the car Friday morning and hitting the road to San Antonio. Our plans were to arrive around lunchtime, soak up some sun along the River walk and take the kids swimming at the hotel pool. For the first time ever, we took our new ~~babysitter~~ nanny, I will call her Miss K, with us on our short vacation.

Since Sophia is out of preschool for the summer, we had to find arrangements for some part-time child care. When I brought up the idea of sending her back to Tallen's in-home daycare, she declared herself too old to go there.

"They take naps at Mrs. L's house. I'm too big for naps, that is just for babies!" she told me.

So, Miss K is Sophia's new "nanny" for the summer. I just like saying a nanny because it sounds way more exciting than babysitter.  Miss K will be coming to our house three days a week (about the same hours as preschool) and her main job is to make sure Sophia has a lot of fun while both her parents are busy at work. To let Miss K get to know us and the kids better, we invited her to come with us on vacation.

Let me just stop for a moment and say this... If you have young kids and you have ever taken them anywhere for vacation, then you know that at some point during the trip... someone is going to have a meltdown. It could be one of your children at a time, both children at once, or even the kids and one of the parents having a meltdown. So, in essence, in order to let Miss K get to know us and how our family works, we brought her along. (Shh! Another reason we brought her was so Trey and I could have a night out on the River walk while she stayed back at the hotel with the kids.  Family vacation AND a date night? Whoohoo, count me in!)

About an hour into the trip, the kids started asking for snacks and yelling for someone to pick up the toys they kept dropping and could not reach from their car seat. I sat calmly in the front seat of the car with my shoes kicked off, sipping my chai latte and ~~blocking out the noise~~ enjoying the scenery while Miss K was hard at work, retrieving lost toys, dispensing my carefully packed snacks and spending most of her time turned around backwards in her seat to take care of the kids. Did I mention that I get carsick very easily, especially when I have to turn around and look at the kids? I almost reached over and kissed my husband to express my gratitude for his genius idea to bring a nanny with us on vacation... but I didn't want to spill my latte. Note to hubby: Best Idea Ever. I think I even took a nap during our five hour drive through Texas.

Yes, there was a double child meltdown at some point in the car (probably when the Scooby Doo DVD was over) but it was expected and we all survived.

Once we got to San Antonio, the kids were full of snacks (thanks Miss K) but the adults were HUNGRY.  We were pleasantly surprised to find that our hotel room was ready for check in when we arrived at 12:30 PM (when does that ever happen?) so we quickly dropped off our luggage and headed down to the River walk to find a place to eat lunch.

We can never get Tallen to actually look at the camera when we take his picture.

I think we made it less than a block before we settled on the closest restaurant with outdoor seating. Although the food was fine, the smell from the birds doing their business was pretty strong. Sophia even noticed and told us loudly several times, "It smells like bird poo!" We didn't linger long after lunch, but walked next door to buy tickets for the boat ride down the River walk.

Little T and Little S are deep in conversation. Maybe they were planning their next double meltdown.

Have you ever tried to get a just turned-two year old to sit still on a boat for about 30 minutes? I'm sure the people around us were thrilled that Tallen was moving around the entire time.

NO! I will NOT sit down!!

We were squeezed in there pretty tight while he decided to play Goldilocks on our laps the entire time.

He would climb onto Daddy's lap, TOO HARD, so he climbed back down.
Then he would climb onto Mommy's lap, TOO SOFT, so he climbed back down.
Finally he climbed up into Miss K's lap, and decided it was JUST RIGHT (for about 30 seconds then he would start all over again).

After the boat ride we headed back to the hotel so the kids could cool off at the indoor pool. Then we took advantage of the "non-Mommy approved" free food at the hotel; hot dogs (choking hazard), nacho chips (covered with that strange melted cheese product) and popcorn (yet another choking hazard). However, the food was FREE and we did not have to take our overtired kids (no naps the entire day) out to another restaurant for dinner.

It also meant something really exciting for Mommy and Daddy...

Trey and I saying, "We escaped from the kids!"

After a quick shower, getting Tallen to sleep and putting on a movie for Sophia, we left both kids with Miss K and headed out on the River walk for a date night! As much as I LOVE my kids, I loved my husband first and we really enjoy our date nights. Getting a chance to walk along the river without worrying about a child falling in the water or hearing one of them ask for ice cream 7,000 times in a row was... well, it was actually enjoyable.

No strollers, no diaper bag and no kids to keep from falling in the river!

We could stroll along at our own pace, check out the shops and vendors along the way and choose a restaurant where we wanted to eat, and not one based on the quality of their kid's menu.

Strolling along, searching for a place to eat.

After lots of walking and working up an appetite, we chose an Italian restaurant overlooking the water. Although we were eating Italian, a local mariachi band was playing to the customers eating dinner in the restaurant. They stopped by to see if we wanted to be "serenaded"... Trey knows that this is my nightmare. If a mariachi band would ever just walk up to our table and start playing for us (with the entire restaurant staring, I might have a panic attack on the spot. So he quickly told them, No thanks, and they moved on. Whew, crisis averted.

Good Night San Antonio!

After dinner we walked some more, did some people watching, and checked out a few places for drinks. Sadly, we knew we had to get up early the next morning so we did not stay out too late. We brought some leftovers from dinner back to Miss K and Sophia (who we knew would still be up) and were in bed before 11 PM. I know, we really know how to live it up! Keep in mind, this was still our family vacation and we had a busy day planned for SeaWorld!

I am pretty wordy today, so I am going to save Day 2 of our summer vacation for tomorrow. Check back to see why I could have used a second pair of PJ's for a one night vacation (hint: night terrors) and for a recap of SeaWorld.

National Running Day - June 1, 2011

2011-05-31T12:20:00.000-05:00

Sophia showing off my medal after my first half-marathon

Did you know that June 1, 2011 is National Running Day?

To be honest, I think they could have picked a better day than June 1st, maybe like April 25th or May 1st when the weather was much cooler here in Dallas. Tomorrow, June 1st, the temperatures are expected to climb to the mid 90's! But since it is NATIONAL Running day and not TEXAS Running day, I guess I shouldn't complain.

Since I just found out about this National event, like five minutes ago, I am not sure how I am going to celebrate. Team in Training is joining forces with DFWRuns and putting on a social run at the Katy Trail in Dallas tomorrow evening at 6:30 PM. This would be a great time to get hot and sweaty with a bunch of other DFW runners and celebrate our passion for the running lifestyle.

You can check out this site to see if there are running events in your area.

After several attempts to become a runner over the past several years, I can now say that I am hooked. I am officially a runner. If you are not a runner, you might ask... Why do you run?

I run because...

It is my "me" time away from my kids
It is beautiful to watch the sun rising on early morning runs
It makes me feel stronger, physically and mentally
It makes me more feel more confident
It puts my problems into perspective
It makes me feel empowered as a woman
It can make a difference in other people's lives

Why do you run? Share your love for running by leaving me a comment about why you run.

Happy Memorial Day!

2011-05-30T14:15:00.000-05:00

Happy Memorial Day! I hope that everyone gets a chance to spend some time with family and friends today. Also take a moment to honor and remember all of the men and women who have lost their lives serving our country.

After a busy start to this four day weekend, we are slowing things down at the Suire house today. The kids spent the night at their Gran and Opa's last night so Trey and I were able to sleep until 8:00 AM!! After starting some laundry and cleaning the kitchen, I headed to the gym for an hour long workout. Although this may not seem like a big deal to you, I was so excited that I had more than my usual 40 minutes on my lunch hour to squeeze in my workout.

About five minutes after I got home, Gran showed up with the kids so we could all head to the pool. Trey drove the kids to the neighborhood pool while I finished making us all a picnic lunch. After packing the ice chest and grabbing my towel, I walked down the block to meet them. Tallen has not been a fan of the pool so far this year so when I got there this afternoon I was happy to see that Tallen sitting in a raft, splashing in the water and enjoying himself. Trey had borrowed a raft from our neighbor so Tallen and Sophia were both sitting in it while Trey pushed them around the pool. Besides our neighbors and their friends, we pretty much had the pool to ourselves.

The kids were hungry when I got there, so they got out of the pool and sat down at the picnic table while I set out our lunch. Lunch was kind of a free for all because I never know what the kids will be in the mood to eat, so I packed carrot sticks, grapes, strawberries, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on wheat bagel thins (Sophia insists on bagel thins instead of bread now), veggie Pirate's Booty, cheese sticks, banana chips and yogurt smoothies. Trey and I shared tuna salad (made with mashed avocado and a little mayo) on three seed wheat bread from the bakery along with some carrot sticks and grapes.

After lunch, the kids got back in the pool with Trey and I did something that I have not been able to do since I became a mother almost five years ago... I sat in a lounge chair by the pool and read a magazine for 30 minutes without anyone interrupting me!!! I looked up a few times and saw Sophia playing with the neighborhood boys in the water. She was wearing her floaties and there was always a dad close by so she was safe. Trey took Tallen into the baby pool to play for awhile, then Tallen came back to my chair to ask for more snacks.

It was about time for Tallen's nap so I offered to walk home with him while Trey stayed at the pool with Sophia. I told him that there was no way that I was getting in the water (it is still way to cold for me) so it would be better for him to stay so Sophia could play a little longer. I came home to a quiet house and took advantage of the few minutes I had alone to blog.

Well, Trey and Sophia are back from the pool so I better go see what else we have planned today. I vote for a frozen yogurt trip followed by a cookout in the back yard. I have some turkey hot dogs and watermelon that would be perfect on this beautiful summer day!

Check back later for a post about our trip to San Antonio and Seaworld this weekend!

Everything is better in TWOs!!

2011-05-24T11:43:00.009-05:00

Tallen is TWO YEARS OLD today!! How did that happen? Excuse me while I wipe away a few tears. My baby boy keeps growing so fast and I really need to quit calling him a baby, he outgrew his baby status this past year. People often comment on how tall he is... Although I don't think at my height (5' 2 1/2") that I can take any credit for his height. Here are my musings about Two, inspired by Tallen turning Two.

Two is...

The number of times I kissed each of Tallen's hands and feet this morning while changing his diaper after he woke up...
The number of times someone sang Happy Birthday to him this morning (Mommy and Daddy each sang to him)...
The number of times Tallen rode on a pony at my company picnic this weekend...
The number of times I have almost regretted writing this post now that Tallen is no longer a baby...
The number of Tallen's birthday cupcakes I ate on Sunday night (hey, they were not frosted yet so they didn't count)...
The number of Tallen's birthday cupcakes that I plan on eating tonight (check out the recipe here for these AMAZING cupcakes)
The number of miles I ran on Saturday morning before I got a call from my mother-in-law telling me that TWO of my kids were sick...
The number of times that Tallen apparently threw up on Friday night...
The number of plans we had to cancel on Saturday after the kids got sick (we canceled our play time at the Indoor Safari Park in Southlake and canceled family pictures with our favorite photographer)...
The number of movies I watched with my husband this weekend (a rare occurance) - we saw Bridesmaids at the theater on Friday night and watched The Fighter at home on Saturday night...
The number of days until our family vacation in San Antonio - we are taking the kids to Seaworld!!
The number of family celebrations we have in May - Our wedding anniversary and Tallen's birthday...
TWO is the number of kids in our family. Which makes our family complete.

Your Toys are Going in the Trash... or Not.

2011-05-20T17:24:00.002-05:00

Tuesday evening, I was home with both of the kids while Trey was working late. It was a non-bath night so we headed upstairs to Sophia’s room around 7 PM to play awhile before bedtime. When I walked in her room and saw that the floor was covered with toys, clothes and shoes (the usual four year old mess), I told Sophia that we needed to pick up her room so that Selena could clean her room on Wednesday. (Yes, we have a lady who cleans our house every other week but I am a full-time working, career mama of two little ones and there are only so many hours in the day and I would rather spend them with my kids instead of cleaning toilets so don’t judge).

Because it was close to bedtime and because she is four, Sophia started to whine and was not having anything to do with my “Let’s clean your room!” enthusiasm. Because I had woke up at 5AM for work that day and because it was close to her bedtime, which means MOMMY TIME in my world, my patience was thin and I did not want to hear the whining. So, I told her if she did not help me pick up her toys I was going to… wait for it…

Throw Them Away.

In the trash.

The toys would be gone forever!
(I may have even raised my voice when I said this).

“Okay,” she replied and went back to playing with her Scooby-Doo action figures. “Just don’t throw away these toys that I’m playing with.”

She was calling my bluff.

To show her that I really meant business, I picked up the empty laundry basket from the corner where I had been folding the clean clothes and starting throwing in everything I found on the floor. I called out the name of each toy as I threw it in the basket so she would know that I meant business.

"Little zebra is going in the trash. All four Barbies are going in the trash. The skirt you wore to school today is going in the trash," I called out. "Oh no, I hate to see all your dollhouse furniture going in the trash."

Sophia jumped up and finally decided to join me in my cleaning spree. She grabbed her Barbie corvette, "Mommy, this can go in the trash too. I don't like it any more." Then she moved on to the biggies: her dollhouse and her Barbie airplane which she BEGGED for just last Christmas. "Let's throw my airplane away too, I don't play with it. And you can throw away my dollhouse and buy me a new one."

I couldn't keep my poker face on any longer, I let a four year old beat me at my own game.

"Sophia, I am not going to make you throw away your Barbie plane, or dollhouse, or even little Zebra. Maybe we can find some toys that we can give away to charity and clean up your room a little."

In the end, we filled two bags full of toys to give away in addition to an entire bag of shoes from her closet that no longer fit. I would like to say that I won that battle but my little girl managed to 1) get me to clean up her room 2) get me to clean out her closet and 3) delay her bedtime by thirty minutes!!!

Remind me not to play cards with my daughter when she gets older. Sophia is sooooo much better at bluffing than I am.

The End of my Journey to Motherhood

2011-05-19T15:43:00.004-05:00

Tallen at two weeks old

Our church had baby dedication on Mother’s Day this year, making the day a little “extra” special for those new moms who proudly held their squirming infants and toddlers in front of the congregation. Tears blurred my vision as I looked down the row of little girls covered in bows and ribbons, and little boys dressed in their Sunday best. On two separate occasions I have stood at the front of our church to dedicate my children to God and I know how proud and exciting that moment can be for both parents.

Watching those beautiful babies that Sunday morning, I waited for the feeling of longing to enter my heart, that gentle tug to have another baby. It is a feeling that I usually get every time I hear that a friend is having a baby or when I get the chance to hold and breathe in the intoxicating scent of a newborn child. To my surprise, that feeling never came…

I was about 25 years old when my older sister had her second child (another boy). Although I lived almost 1,000 miles away from her and was not there when the baby was born, as I listened to her voice as she told me about her new baby I felt the tug of motherhood for the first time. I experienced this feeling, the longing to be a mom multiple times over the next 5 years but due to timing and circumstances, motherhood was put on hold.

By the time Trey and I decided that we wanted to start a family, I was 31 years old. Sophia was born nine months later and the minute that the nurse put her in my arms, I knew that I wanted to have more babies. Blame it on the hormones, but the rush of love, amazement, and wonder that you experience those first few hours, days, weeks after your baby is born... indescribable.

Thankfully, the lack of sleep from caring for a newborn wore us down and we decided to wait awhile before having more babies. I say babies because we always talked about having three kids when we first got married. We actually were not set on a certain number, but we both agreed that we wanted more than one. Trey was an only child and has always felt like he missed out on having brothers and sisters.

A family of three

Around the time that Sophia turned one, we started seriously talking about having another baby. Although I liked the idea of having another baby, I did not enjoy the actual pregnancy the first time and I was not looking forward to it again. I was fast approaching 34 and knew that my time was limited before I became “advanced maternal age”, which is any pregnancy after the age of 35. Surprisingly, my body needed some encouragement to get pregnant the second time and we visited a fertility specialist for several months before I found out I was pregnant with Tallen.

This time, I kept telling myself to enjoy every moment of the pregnancy because it might be my last. Tallen was born at on May 24th at 11:19 PM (during a game of the NBA playoffs, which was playing on the TV in my hospital room) about 10 minutes after Trey bet me that the baby would not be born until after midnight.

Our first family photo as a family of four

Over the next two months, Tallen did his best to ensure his lifelong status as the baby of the family. Colic, reflux, screaming eight to ten hours a day... By the time I went back to work when he was 9 weeks old, I swore that I did not want any more children. I was finished having babies.

But then I would visit a friend in the hospital who just had a baby, or hold a newborn and marvel at those little fingers and toes. The longing was trying to creep up on me again. My OB-Gyn asked if I was ready for permanent birth control options. I could not tell her yes. When Tallen grew out of the infant seat, I moved all the baby gear out to the garage so I could load it up and take it to the resale shop. The swing, bouncy seats, and baby clothes have been there for over three months. I loved holding my babies, rocking them to sleep, kissing their sweet little cheeks. But my babies are now 4 ½ and (almost) 2 years old so they don’t really qualify as babies anymore.

However over the past month, I have noticed some changes. We invited some friends and their kids over for a cookout. As I watched my friend with her 9 month old, I did not get the longing to have another baby. In fact, watching her struggle to feed the baby while fighting off her exhaustion – I actually thought “I’m glad I am not in her shoes.” I held another friend’s baby a few weeks ago and was happy to hand her over to her mom when she woke up and burst into tears.

Family picture taken around Tallen's First Birthday

Our babies have grown up. Our kids can play in the backyard without me hovering over their every step. They can sleep all night in their own beds. Sophia can go to the bathroom, get herself dressed and brush her own hair in the morning. Tallen can tell me what he wants (or doesn’t want) to eat at dinner. We have started to enjoy traveling with the kids instead of dreading it, so we have planned a few short vacations this summer.

So when I teared up looking at those new moms at the front of the church on Mother’s Day, I was also shedding a tear for me too. Babies are no longer in my future and I have come to the end of my journey to motherhood. But my motherhood journey is still rolling ahead full steam. And I love it more every day.

My "Babies"

Arts and Letters Live - Kathryn Stockett

2011-05-04T17:37:00.006-05:00

When I entered the First Presbyterian Church of Dallas for the Arts and Letter Live Special Event on Tuesday night, I was already a fan of Kathryn Stockett's debut novel, The Help, which has been on the NY Times bestseller list for a stunning 93 weeks to date.  After less than five minutes of listening to the slow, southern drawl of this Mississippi native, I became a huge fan of the author too. Her quick wit, dry sense of humor and obvious southern charm worked its magic on the packed sanctuary of mostly (white) women who spent the night in rapt attention or in roars of laughter.

Although it may seem like the book became an overnight success, Stockett spent five years writing The Help and received a total of 60 rejection letters before finding a literary agent who was willing to represent her and the book.

"What if I had given up at 15, or 40, or even 60?" she asked. "Call it tenacity, call it resolve, or call it what my husband calls it, stubbornness. I could not give up."

She even shared some of her rejection letters with the audience. "I really didn't like this book at all," she read aloud from one letter before going on, "Please do not send me any more of your writing again." She can smile about these letters now, given the enormous success of The Help which has sold over 2.2 million copies.

The book is set in Jackson, Mississippi during the the civil rights movement in the 1960's and explores the relationship of young, southern white women and their black maids who they trust to raise their children, clean their homes and cook their food but not to polish the silver.  An unlikely friendship leads to a secret project that uncovers the stories these maids have never been able to tell and breaks all the rules of society.

Stockett talked about finding the voices of Aibileen and Minny, the two black housekeepers who work for white families in Jackson. When the book was released, she convinced her best friend Octavia Spencer to come on her book tour and read aloud the character of Minnie. Then she selected her best childhood friend Tate Taylor to write the screenplay and direct the movie version of the book, which is scheduled be released in August 2011. Stockett herself makes a cameo appearance in the movie (as does her mother, sister, and friends) in the DAR scene. Her daughter, Lila, is also cast as the young Skeeter, although she does not have any lines in the movie.

Blonde haired, petite and "adorable" (as dubbed by one of the ladies during the Q&A session), Stockett kepts us entertained the entire night. I was not the only fan in the room of Stockett. One woman waked up to the microphone and told the author how much she had enjoyed the evening and how she wanted to "hit her friends over the head with this book for not being here tonight."

"Call them!" Stockett drawled, "Let's tell them what they're missin!"

Another fan in the audience, had this advice for the entire audience. "If you liked reading this book, then you will like it five times more if you listen to the audio book". I am in complete agreement because that is how I heard The Help. The accents and heavy dialect of the black characters drew me in to the story and I could almost picture Abilene and Minny sitting at the kitchen table sharing stories over their coffee. If you haven't read The Help already, I suggest you read (or listen) to it before the movie comes out this summer.

Heels and Hills Half Marathon 2011

2011-05-02T22:38:00.003-05:00

I don't even know where to begin. For the past three months, I have been getting up at 6:00 AM every Saturday for my long runs. On Tuesday nights, you could find me at the track in Valley Ranch doing speed work. Once the weather warmed up, I would come home after work and run 3-4 miles around the neighborhood. I ran somewhere between 175 and 200 miles preparing for my my first half marathon and now it is over...

I ran a Half Marathon and I have a medal to prove it!

We checked into the Omni Mandalay Bay in Las Colinas on Saturday afternoon and immediately headed to the pool so the kids could go swimming. After family time at the pool, I headed upstairs to get ready for the Team in Training (TNT) Inspiration Dinner. It was a night full of excitement, lots of purple attire, plates piled high with pasta and special recognition of the Honored Heroes; those men, women and children who have fought or are still fighting against blood cancer. After dinner, we decorated our purple TNT race jerseys with our names, pictures and ribbons.for our honored heroes.

I headed upstairs to my hotel room with high hopes of getting a good night's sleep. However, my stomach was full of nervous butterflies and my room was full of two energetic little kids who were excited to be sleeping away from home. It took about an hour to get them settled down and I finally drifted off for about two hours before I woke up to go to the bathroom at 1:00 AM (that is what pre-race hydration will do to you)! When my alarm went off at 5:30 AM, I had managed to get between 4 - 4 1/2 hours of sleep.

My nerves were settled by the morning and I took my time eating breakfast (bagel thin with peanut butter and a banana) before getting dressed. Even though I was trying to be quiet, the kids woke up just before I left and gave me good luck kisses before I headed downstairs to meet my TNT teammates in the lobby. Unfortunately it was raining, so we covered our carefully decorated jerseys with trash bags and walked 1/2 mile to the starting line. The sky cleared up a little so we took advantage of the sliver of sunshine to take a team picture. GO DFW METRO team!

Since the kids were already awake when I left the hotel, Trey got them dressed and brought them to the starting line to see me. This was a nice surprise because I thought they were going to stay at the hotel, eat breakfast, and be there to cheer me on at the finish line. Too bad they were both a little camera shy at 7:30 in the morning. Can you tell that neither of them wanted their picture taken? Sad Sophia face :(

Right after this picture I panicked when I realized that the race was starting in four minutes!!!! I did not have time to stop at the porta potty or even warm up. The good thing is that I did not have time to get nervous either. Trey was still strapping the kids back in the stroller as I ran to the staring line, found a place near the 2 hour (9:05) pace group, and the race began....

The first few miles were on surface streets in Las Colinas as we made our way from Williams Square to the Champion Trails of Irving. Once we passed the first water stop just after mile two, it started raining. HARD. So hard that if felt like sleet, which really stung. I was basically running with one eye closed, trying to stay in the middle of the trail and wondering how long I could keep up this pace in the rain. After about 10 minutes the rain tapered off a little but we were still running into the wind, which was gusting up to 20 mph. Because it was so early in the race, I did not get discouraged. In fact, I decided to pull away from the pace group and turned on my Ipod for some musical inspiration. Time for Gu and Gatorade.

Around mile 5, I started to settle into my stride and really enjoy the race despite the challenging weather. Lots of spectators lined the route near the turn around point and one of my TNT coaches was there to cheer me on..

"You are doing great, Steph!" he shouted. "You are right on pace. Sub-two, you GOT this!"

After making the loop at the turn around, I started passing lots of TNT members. "GO TEAM!" we shouted every time we saw a purple jersey. This was the BEST point of the race for me and with six miles to go, I knew that I could finish strong. More Gu and Gatorade.

A few miles later, I started to chat with the runners around me.
"What's your goal?" the guy next to me asked. We both agreed that we wanted to finish under two hours.

Behind me, I heard a man's voice ask, "Who is Jacob Norvell?"

I was running this race in honor of Jacob Norvell, the grandson of my co-worker, Janet Norvell. Jacob, who was diagnosed with Leukemia at age four, is now nine years old and has been cancer free for almost two years. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has been a huge blessing to the Norvell family and they are very grateful for the care that Jacob received while he was fighting Leukemia.

I ended up running the next several miles with this gentlemen, who told me his name was "Spareribs". Those who follow the running blog in the Dallas Morning News will recognize him by this nickname that he acquired in college. Spareribs, who will turn 65 this year, told me he had recovered from an injury in February and ran the Boston Marathon in less than 4 1/2 hours just thirteen days ago.

At mile 12, he stopped for a water break and told me to run on ahead. I knew the finish line was getting closer with every step and I had forgotten about the weather conditions... until I noticed the cops directing people off the trails and onto the street in front of me. Other runners noticed too and commented to the police who yelled back at us "Bad weather is coming, we have to END this race!"

Two things crossed my mind at this point:
1) There is NO way I am going to stop this race with less than one mile to go!!
2) There is NO way I am going to let those girls who cut in front of me beat me either!

So... I started running FASTER. As fast as my legs could carry me after running non-stop for 12 miles.

With the finish line in sight, I started scanning the crowd for my family. Blue shirt. Trey was wearing a blue shirt. I finally spotted him on the left side of the street and started yelling and waving to get his attention.

That is me waving at Trey

My family was there! They were holding signs, waving and cheering as I passed them on my way to the finish line. I glanced up at the race clock and saw 1:56:58. I finished in under two hours!!!!! After some young boy handed me my finisher medal, Trey came running up and gave me a big hug! "I can't believe you made it so fast!" he said before adding, "I didn't expect to see you for another ten minutes!"

There was no time to celebrate because a storm was headed our way and we needed to take shelter. Official race times were not posted and I was not even sure if the race had been stopped at that point. I later heard that some runners where stopped for about ten minutes before the race resumed. The storm ended up dissipating before it reached Las Colinas, so all the runners were safe.

We headed back to the hotel for some post race pictures (Tallen still did not want to participate in the pictures), then I showered and we celebrated with a post race beer over lunch.

My official time was 1:56:47 and I placed 8th out of 49 in the "Mom of Toddlers" division.

My half marathon experience was wet, windy, cold, exciting, inspiring, tiring, exhilarating, and at times overwhelming. I would definitely do it again! Just as soon as I can walk and climb stairs again without pain. I am so sore!!!

One more thing... GO TEAM!!!

Do you want to play a game with me?

2011-04-18T19:59:00.000-05:00

Let's play a game, Jeopardy style.

The answer is: 2 hours, 3 minutes, 2 seconds.

Ok, shout out your guesses now.

What is... the amount of time we spent hunting Easter Egg this weekend? No.

What is... the time we spent sitting in traffic trying to find a parking place at the Fort Worth Main St. Arts Festival? Nope.

What is... how long it took me to give both kids a bath and put them to bed on Sunday night after they ate cupcakes, cookies and candy at the neighborhood Spring Fling? Almost!

What is... how long I wanted to spend sitting in a bubble bath, drinking a glass of wine after putting the kids to bed Sunday night. Nada (because I would have fallen asleep after 15 minutes).

What is... my prediction for my race time in the Heels and Hills half marathon on May 1st? I wish!

It is the time of the Fastest Marathon ever, set today at the Boston Marathon! That is AMAZING. That is also twice as fast as I currently run.

So if I could actually run my HALF marathon in 2 hours, 3 minutes and 2 seconds, then I could say that I am HALF as fast as the winner of the Boston Marathon. I think I can live with that.

If you want to guess my time for the race, post it in the comments below. (Hint: I am running between a 9 and 10 minute pace in my training runs and the race is 13.1 miles),

My Daughter has a Boyfriend

2011-04-13T12:10:00.004-05:00

When Trey arrived to pick up Sophia at pre-K a few weeks ago she ran up to him with a huge smile plastered across her face, excited to tell him her news.

"I met a new friend today, Daddy," she said while by hopping back and forth from one leg to the other, doing her happy dance. (Side note: the happy dance looks a lot like the I have to potty dance but you can tell the difference if she has a panicked look on her face. This dance was accompanied by a big smile so it had to be the happy dance).

"That's great sweetie," he replied, as he reached down to give her a hug. "What is her name?"

"Not a girl daddy, I met a boy! I don't know his name but he just started going to school here and I met him today and I REALLY like him," Sophia said, looking up at her daddy with complete innocence in her bright blue eyes.

Really... Long... Pause... Trey picked his heart up off the floor and while beads of sweat formed on his brow. His little girl LIKED A BOY. He was so not ready for this. Didn't he have another 60 years until she started dating?

"That's great that you made a new friend," he finally said, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.

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A few days later, Sophia and I were in the car alone driving home from a birthday party. I had secretly been informed of her new "friend" but Sophia had yet to share her news with me. I thought that little girls were supposed to share all their secrets with their mommies but so far I was being left in the dark.

"Mommy, do you love boys?" Sophia suddenly asked.

My eyes flicked up to the rear view mirror to look at my daughter in the backseat of the car, trying to catch a glimpse of her face. She was sitting in her pink booster seat, staring out the window and appeared to be deep in thought. Surprised by her question and unsure where it was leading, I didn't answer right away.

Finally I responded, "Yes, I love your daddy and he is a boy. I also love Tallen and he is a boy."

After another long pause I said, "I also love you, Sophia, and I love my mommy and both of you are girls. So I guess you could say that I love both boys and girls."

"What about you," I finally asked, "who do you love?"

"I just love boys," she answered.

This was my chance. She started this coversation and I wasn't going to let it go until I had the scoop.

"Are there any special boys that you love? Like Daddy, or Tallen, or anyone at school?" I asked again.

"Mo-om," she answered in very disgusted teenagerish voice. (Is teenagerish a word?) "Dad already told you. I am going to marry that boy on the radio."

Apparently Trey and Sophia listen to a lot of music on the radio while they are in the car together. Whenever Sophia hears a song that she likes, first she asks the name of the person or group singing, then she asks to see a picture of them. With the magic black box that is the iPhone, Trey can pull up a picture in 2.2 seconds of the artist or group. That is how my daughter decided that she is going to marry Chris Brown. After hearing his song and seeing his picture for the first time, she declared "I like him, so I think I want to marry him when I get older".

So now I have a 4 1/2 year old daughter who doesn't tell me about the boys she likes at school, talks to me like I should already know what she is thinking, and wants to marry Chris Brown. Does anyone else think I should be worried? How did my daughter suddenly become a teenager?

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A few nights later, Sophia and I were lying in her bed talking before I turned out the lights. I finally asked her "Do you have a boyfriend, Sophia?"

"Yes, my boyfriend is AJ," she said with a big smile on her face.

Sophia and her boyfriend, AJ

"Why is he your boyfriend?" I asked.

"Because I like him, Mom. He's my friend and I like playing with him at school," she replied.

Sophia's teacher snapped a few pictures of them together at school last week. They were getting ready for a school performance and Sophia would not participate until she was able to stand beside AJ. That night on stage, in front of all the parents, Sophia held on tightly to AJ's hand while they stood on the stage in the sanctuary and sang several songs. When the children were finished singing, she pointed excitedly to Trey and me in the audience and told him "Look, there is my mommy and daddy!"

That is how I met my daughter's first boyfriend.

I hope she is just as excited to introduce us to her boyfriends at 14 like she is at 4 yrs old.

Motherhood Milestones

2011-04-05T13:02:00.003-05:00

A few months ago, I reached a huge milestone in this journey called Motherhood. It happened in the middle of the night, when Sophia woke up with a stomach bug and started throwing up in her bed. The sounds of her crying woke me and I immediately recognized the sound of her getting sick. When I walked into her room, she was sitting up in the middle of her bed with her head hanging down. Tears were streaming down her face and as I was walking towards her - she got sick again. What did I do?

I stood there… and waited for her to finish throwing up.

That was when I realized something… I have reached the point of motherhood where I am no longer willing to catch throw-up with my hands.

When she was finished getting sick, I helped her out of bed and walked her to the bathroom. I filled the bathtub with warm water, stripped off her pajamas then washed her hair and shivering little body. After getting her dried off and dressed in clean clothes, I put her in bed with her daddy while I stripped the bed and started washing her sheets. Once I had everthing cleaned up, I climbed in bed beside both of them and went back to sleep.

Motherhood has definitely changed for me since I started this journey almost five years ago. After Sophia was born, I was in hyper-protective mode for months. When she was a few weeks old, I was scared to leave the room because I believed that no one else was qualified to watch my sleeping baby. I hated to let other people hold her in public and I refused to leave her in the nursery at church until she was over six months old. Mama Bear protecting her baby cub was an accurate description of my attitude at the time.

After my second child and few years of experience under my belt, saying that my mothering style has changed is an understatement. Just like an infant reaching those all important milestones like their first smile, first tooth, first bite of food - I have reached some important Motherhood Milestones in the past five years. These are not the obvious milestones like leaving Sophia with a babysitter for the first time or letting her "cry it out" to go to sleep at night. These are more like the "I am claiming my life back" moments that I needed to regain my sanity after the exhausting baby years.

MOTHERHOOD MILESTONES:
- Responding to every cry, whimper or whine is counterproductive to the development of a child. Let them learn to live with a few bumps and bruises. When I hear someone cry, I ask them "Do I need to call an ambulance? Is there blood?" If the answer to both of these questions is no, then mommy's attention is not necessary.

- Realizing that I have the right to eat the food on my plate ALL BY MYSELF, without sharing with the kids is justified and necessary. I just say that the food is too spicy and it will burn their mouth then happily finish my meal in peace without little fingers dipping into my plate.

- Teaching kids that every toy in the house is not for their personal use saves you money. Last spring, my husband bought me an HP Mini laptop that is only for ME. It is so pretty and NO ONE else is allowed to use it, touch it, or even breathe on it. When Sophia wants to practice her "typing," she can happily click away on the computer in the kitchen without me worrying that she will delete a file or break the keyboard.

- Eating out at a restaurant WITH THE KIDS is forbidden from this day forward until all children have learned to sit in their own seats, eat from their own plates, and participate in table conversation without letting out random shrieks or screams. Growling and roaring like animals is also prohibited.

- Signing up to train for a half-marathon gives me a minimum of five hours of time to myself each week during my training runs. BONUS: I am raising money for cancer research and getting in shape too!

(Disclaimer: No children were severely hurt, injured, or ignored during my motherhood duties. All children have been fed, cared for and loved excessively. They just have a mommy who realizes "I am just as important as my kids" which actually makes me a better mom).

A really good run...

2011-03-30T17:15:00.001-05:00

It was cold, dreary and wet here in Texas yesterday morning. I dreaded the thought of pulling out my warmer running clothes and meeting up at the track in Valley Ranch that evening, so I opted to do some interval training on the treadmill at lunch instead. That way I could get in my workout earlier in the day and stay inside, warm and dry in the evening (which led to baking cookies).

At the gym, I climbed on the treadmill and warmed up with a half mile run at 6.3 mph then stopped to do some stretches. Once my head phones were on, I sped up to my normal pace of 6.7 mph (about a 9 minute mile) and finished the rest of the first mile. Then I started 8 x 400 intervals with a 100 meter recovery, increasing my speed each time. With each interval, I increased my speed from 6.7 all the way up to 7.4 mph with my recovery speed between 4.0 - 4.2 mph.

After the fourth interval, I realized that I was enjoying the faster speed and around that time I hit that "runner's high". I love that feeling! My legs felt great, I was not gasping for air, and I had the energy to keep running faster... I also have the Black Eyed Peas to thank because their songs always get me pumped up, even towards the end of my runs.

The last two intervals at 7.3 and 7.4 mph were the fastest I have ever trained and HARD to maintain, but I told myself that I could manage that speed for 1/4 mile. I enjoyed the change of pace from running intervals and before I knew it, I was on the last half mile of my cool down. I stepped off the treadmill with a big smile of my face and a huge sense of accomplishment from a really good run.

What makes you have a really good run, is it music? Running Mantras? Personal goals? Let me know what keeps you running.

Cookies!

2011-03-30T07:28:00.000-05:00

I was craving some cookies yesterday, but wanted to keep it a little healthy so I tried out a new recipe from Tina over at Carrots N Cake (one of the Healthy Lifestyle blogs that I follow). Oatmeal, almond butter, and chocolate chips - how could I go wrong with that combination! My daughter, Sophia, usually helps me in the kitchen because she loves to bake but tonight she was not interested because she was playing Wii tennis and bowling with her daddy. The good news was I could make these cookies much faster without her "help" and with a one bowl recipe, the cleanup was super easy.

COOKIES!

The original recipe makes 6 cookies and calls for 1/4 cup of almond butter. However, I have four hungry cookie eaters in my house so I decided to double the recipe. When I gathered all the ingredients, I realized that I was almost out of almond butter! After adding that to the grocery list, I mixed up the oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and egg whites with a combination of Justin's Honey Almond Butter, Justin's Natural Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Jiff Creamy Natural Peanut Butter.

The mixture was a little loose and messy (I will add a little less egg whites next time) but it made about 14 cookies. I baked them at 350 for about 14 minutes (it is hard to tell if they are turning brown so I had to do the touch test in the center) and let them cool for a few minutes before I had to taste them myself.

The taste reminded me a little bit of no-bake cookies that I ate as a child, because of the oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate mixture. These were not as rich but the chocolate chips gave them that sweetness I was looking for without all the butter, flour and white sugar. They got a huge thumbs up from my husband who said I could make these for him ANYTIME. He is usually not a big fan of my "lightened" recipes for sweets so that was a huge compliment.

Note, these cookies are best when they are eaten the day they are made. I stored them in a tupperware container overnight, but noticed they were a little soft this morning and I prefer them with a little more crunch.

Rock and Roll in Dallas

2011-03-27T14:55:00.000-05:00

Today is the Dallas Rock and Roll Half Marathon, and I am not running the race. I am so bummed. Last October, I was checking out local races scheduled for the spring on the RunOn website and I saw this race listed in March. The Rock and Roll part sounded like a lot of fun, with bands playing along the course and a headliner concert at the end. However, with just a few 5K distances under my belt, the half marathon distance seemed out of reach for me. When I noticed that this race had a relay option, where one participant runs 6 miles and the second participant runs 7.1 miles, I approached Trey with the idea that we could run it together.

I made sure he knew that there would be music, LIVE BANDS playing along the course! Wouldn't that be fun?

"But I would have to run six miles," he replied, "that does not sound like fun at all".

I mentioned the headliner concert at the end (unknown at the time, but it turned out the be Brett Michaels).

"I can go to a concert in Dallas anytime," he said, "and I don't have to run six miles to get there."

Okay, so I would not be running the relay either.

A half marathon really seemed out of my reach at that time, so I decided to train for a 10K instead and picked the Cowtown in Fort Worth which I completed at the end of February. The idea of a half marathon still lingered in the back of my mind but with no training partner and no experience in training for long distance races, I was not sure if it would ever happen. That is how I ended up signing up with Team in Training and now my first half marathon is just five weeks away!

On Friday afternoon, I went to the Health and Fitness Expo for the Dallas Rock and Roll at the convention center in downtown Dallas. As soon as I entered the doors to the Expo, I felt the pre-race rush of excitement and really wished that I was registered to run this morning's race. Even with the difficult week that I had just experienced, I wanted to RUN. While standing there in the middle of the convention floor, surrounded by sponsors, exhibitors, and race participants - I texted Trey and told him that I was running this race next year. Even if he decides that he is not interested in running the relay (because running is one of my hobbies, not his), I will run the half marathon on my own.

I spent about an hour walking through the Expo and came home with some fun new purchases. I was fitted for a sports bra at the Moving Comfort exhibit, bought a second pair of running shoes and dry wick socks at Sun and Ski, bought some electrolyte tablets that make a sugar free recovery drink, and bought some GU for my ten mile training run on Saturday. I also tried several sports drinks (Honey Milk, Cliff, Nuun), energy bars and chomps (Snickers, PowerCrunch, Cliff, PowerBar, GU). I left with a renewed excitement for running and with new gear to prepare me for my race.

By the way, I completed my TEN mile training run on Satruday morning around Grapevine Lake, my longest run to date. It was long, hot and sweaty but I made it. Just five more weeks to go!

Tears in my milkshake… the end to a bad run.

2011-03-25T12:18:00.002-05:00

For the past few months, my Monday runs have become a real challenge. Because I work full time and still have two kiddos to take care of after work, I try to fit in most of my workouts at lunchtime. Mondays should be an easy two mile run, but I always struggle with this workout. After long runs on Saturday mornings, two miles should be easy. Maybe going into the run thinking “It will be a short, easy two miles” is why I dread it so much. So this Monday, after a long camping weekend that wore us all out I decided to be kind to myself and just do a brisk two mile walk followed by some stretching. The walk was fine but the stretching felt good.

Tuesday nights I usually meet my TNT teammates and coaches at a local high school track and run intervals, but this week I volunteered to get my run in right after work so I could get home to watch the kids so my husband could go on some work appointments. After a quick snack of some cheese and crackers, I strapped on my Garmin and headed out the door to a park nearby that has a four mile loop. One side has a packed dirt/gravel track and the other side has a paved running/bike path around the lake. The sun was shining, there was a light breeze, and lots of kids were on the soccer fields practicing as I started my warm-up.

Less than half a mile into my run, I knew it was going to be a struggle.

“It’s just the gravel track that feels different”, I told myself. “Just keep running and you will find your rhythm”.

After my mile warm-up, I stopped to stretch before following the paved trail to the other side of the park. My goal was to run another three miles at about a 9:30 pace so that I could finish and get back home in about 30 minutes. I started off, wishing my IPod was not at home on the kitchen counter with a dead battery, but trying to enjoy the beautiful day. Before I reached another mile, I had to stop and walk.

I was out of gas…

My legs were fine, my lungs were fine, but I did not have enough energy to keep going.

In order to shorten my run (which had pretty much become a walk at this point), I took the shortcut across the park instead of around the lake. I made two more attempts to run again, but was back to walking in about a minute each time. I looked down at my Garmin and saw a total distance of 2.26 miles. I resolved to just walk the rest of the way back to the car, and kept my pace at 13:30. By the time I made it back to my car at the park, I had covered a total distance of 3.1 miles (yay, at least I got in a 5K).

Once I got in the car, I called Trey to let him know I would be home soon. He was busy with our crazy kids but he could hear something off in my voice when he asked how my run went. When I hung up the phone, I started to go through the reason why I had such a crappy run. One of the best things I have learned in the past two months is to listen to my body. Just because “FOUR MILE RUN” is written on my calendar, my body may not be up to it that day. Looking back over the past few days, I realized that my Sunday rest day was not so restful and I also knew that I had missed my afternoon ‘pick me up’ snack before I left work that day. My body said NO to running that day.

I made up my mind that my body needed REST and NOURISHMENT for the rest of the day. I drove straight to MOOYAH, ordered a hamburger and ate my first bite of red meat in three months. Once I got home and broke down into tears again about my failed run, my husband went one step further and brought me a magic potion in the form of… a MILKSHAKE. Oh, it is so my yummier to drown my tears in a milkshake.

Because my weekly mileage is adding up, I also realized it is time to add in some more calories in my diet too. Our friend and personal trainer had recommended adding some red meat back into our diet so I am considering that as well. My very wise husband also told me that I have already accomplished so much that I need to be proud of each step, and remember that the goal is to cross the finish line on May 1st. He asked, “Who says you have to run the entire time? Take walk breaks if you need them.”

This is the first time I have ever trained for a long distance race, so I am going to have some bumps in the road along the way. Good thing week was just training and not the actual race day. Lessons learned this week: I carb load and get lots of rest in the days leading up to the race. And I will make sure my IPod is charged for my next training run too!

Do you struggle with bad runs? Is it a mental or physical struggle? What do you do to overcome?

Ants don't eat pink plastic princess crowns... and other things I learned on my camping trip.

2011-03-21T21:03:00.002-05:00

It all started the middle of last week, which coincidentally was Spring Break week for most of Dallas/Fort Worth schools. Sophia's preschool was closed, so we had planned for her to spend all five days with her daddy. However, Trey still had a business to run and because of the warm weather his work was getting busier by the day. So in an effort to help out, I happily "volunteered" to take a vacation day on Friday and spend it with my daughter. I checked the weekend weather forecast and saw highs of 80's with lows around 60 for Friday and Saturday so in an effort to take advantage of the beautiful weather and get outside with the kids, I came up with the idea that we should all go camping!

Trey said GREAT - as long as I would be the one to plan the trip and make the campsite reservations. Since planning is one of my specialties, I jumped at the chance to make lists: supplies we would need, food we would eat, and activities we could play! By Thursday afternoon, we had a tent site reserved at a State Park less than an hour away.

Friday morning I was able to sleep past 6:00 AM (a miracle) and made breakfast for the kids before dropping Tallen off at daycare. Sophia and I had plans for the day which included going shopping for camping supplies in the morning then working in the garden in the afternoon. This will be the second year that we will plant a vegetable garden so we needed to prepare the soil in preparation for planting. Sophia was so excited to help me that she had her gardening gloves on (oh yes, she has her own gloves with Dora the Explorer on them) before I had a chance to put away all of the groceries. She worked beside me with her own spade and rake but would run away from every bug and worm she found in the dirt, proving once again that she very much my daughter. In my defense, I only run from spiders and lizards now but Trey still has the appointed title of "insect exterminator" in our house.

After our hard work, Sophia and I cooled off by running through the sprinklers in the backyard then dried off while sitting in the sun, sharing a snack of apples and yogurt dip. It suddenly hit me that Sophia is old enough now to actually enjoy doing the same activities as me... running, gardening, shopping, cooking, baking. It is not about me trying to occupy or entertain her anymore, while I run errands or do chores around the house.

Playing with Opa

Our plan was to leave for camping on Saturday morning once I got back from my training run but even with my lists and preparation the night before, it took us almost 1 1/2 hours to get loaded up and ready to go. During that time, Sophia ran screaming from the car because she saw a bug and Tallen fell while running in the driveway and scraped up his knee to the point that it was bleeding. Not a great way to start a camping trip. After stopping by the grandparent's house (who were following us to the campsite and spending the day with us), we were FINALLY on our way.

Tallen testing his limits by the water

We quickly learned that we need our campsite to be as close to the parking lot as possible - or we need our kids to grow muscles and help us unload the supplies. It wasn't long though, before we were eating a picnic lunch followed by a walk down to the lake. Sophia practiced casting on her pink princess fishing rod and Tallen tested his limits by walking as close to the water's edge as possible before actually giving me a heart attack. It was around this time that I realized that both Tallen and I needed to apply some sunscreen and find some relief from the sun because our pale, fair skin was turning bright pink. We cooled off in the car while taking a drive around the rest of the park, then headed back to start cooking dinner on the grill. After eating our hot dogs and roasting marshmallows over the fire, we settled down for a quiet night in the tent... HAHA. My kids are anything but quiet and that does not change just because we have tent neighbors nearby! The rest of our trip can be summed up with the following list:

Roasting marshmallows

Things I learned while Camping with my Kids:

1) Packing the car, unpacking the car at the park, repacking the car to go home and unpacking the car at the house are the most stressful parts of the entire trip.

2) Sophia is deathly afraid of bugs, especially ants and spiders and ran away crying until one of us (meaning Trey) would find the offensive insect and remove (or preferably kill) it. This scenario repeated itself at least 3 times every hour.

3) Tallen managed to trip and fall over every rock, branch or twig in the vicinity. He fell approximately 30 times during the trip and face planted in the dirt at least twice.

4) Ants do not eat pink plastic princess crowns, I promise. I spent ten minutes convincing Sophia that NO, the ants did not want to eat the pink princess crown on the end of her fishing rod.

5)  A small child + flashlight in her hands = Total hearing loss. Seriously, once I put a flashlight in Sophia's hands after dark she did not hear/listen to a word I said. "Stop pointing the flashlight at the other campsite, Shine it on the dishes so I can finish washing them, Stop putting your feet in the water while I am washing dishes, Stop shining that flashlight in your brother's eyes, Stop shining that flashlight in my eyes, Turn off that flashnight NOW!"

6) "Don't touch that" is my new mantra.  We told the kids "Don't touch that" when they got close to the hot grill, prickly bushes, the camping stove, the floor of the restroom, the propane lantern, or the old ashes in the fire ring.

7) Telling the kids it is time for bed and putting them in the tent did NOT mean that they got tired and fell asleep right away. Or get quiet. Or get along. It did guarantee that we had an audience of two peering out at us from the tent while they whined to get out - when all I wanted to do was sit down and drink a beer with my husband.

8) Giving up and crawling into the tent to try to get them to fall asleep only put me in the middle of the action - Tallen hopping around the tent pretending to be a frog (yelling RIBBIT), while Sophia groaned that she could not read her books in the dark and she REALLY needed the flashlight back (see #5 above).

9) Camping with my kids under the "Supermoon" meant there was no need for a night light.

10) Snuggling with my kids in the middle of the night was the sweetest, most memorable experience ever. Watching thier sweet little faces as they slept allowed me to fall in love with both of them again and I realized that camping with my family is FUN.  Until I woke up at 3 AM with a rock poking me in the hip, Sophia's arm poking me in the eye and Tallen laying lengthwise across my pillow so I had no where to put my head.

Morning at our campsite

My boys in the morning

Bonus: The ride home after our camping trip guaranteed that both kids got their afternoon naps and I finally got to have a conversation with Trey with peace and quiet in the background. What did we talk about? How much we are looking forward to going on another camping trip soon.

We are Produce Co-op newbies

2011-03-17T06:36:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that I haven't written about this yet, but we joined a produce co-op at the beginning of the January. Every two weeks we drive to a farm-stand location (ours is at our church, every other Saturday) to pick up a bin of fresh, organic, local (as much as possible) and seasonal produce. It has been a great way to try to new fruits and veggies that I might never buy at the grocery store. In fact, I can honestly say that I would have never picked kale, red swiss chard, turnips, or mustard greens but now we have tried all of these.

The first week I was embarrassed that I could not even recognize a few items in my bin. Not to worry, because I was able to call the Urban Acres store in Oak Cliff and they described the mysterious vegetables in my bin. Apparently I was not familiar with collard greens or beets. In addition to choosing a variety of fruits and veggies, Urban Acres sends out emails with suggested recipes for the produce they select. For those time that you get a bunch of dandelion greens in your share and have no clue how to eat or prepare them (I guess I was not the only one who was clueless here).

One of my favorite parts of joining the co-op is the excitement of opening the bin and seeing what is inside. I usually open the bin and peek inside before Trey even gets it in the car. Once we get home, I take out all the fruits and veggie and arrange them on the kitchen table. Then I point to each one and ask Sophia if she can name them. She also gets excited to taste new items, although she was not too crazy about the taste of raw mushrooms. I tried to tell her they taste much better once they are cooked but she wanted to taste it right away. Sweet potatoes, carrots, oranges, apples, pears, tomatoes, and squash have been her favorites so far and she even liked the kale chips I made a few weeks ago.

Now if you will excuse me, I just found a recipe for Chocolate Beet Muffins that I need to go try. Anything to give me an excuse to bake... Sophia and I will be in the kitchen in our matching aprons if you need us!

Post Workout Banana Smoothie

2011-03-16T11:35:00.019-05:00

Last night after I got home from running 4 miles of intervals, I wanted something cold, refreshing and tasty. I decided on a banana smoothie and this version turned out to be a lot like a Green Monster but without the spinach. Maybe I will have a green monster in celebration of St. Patrick's day tomorrow.

In the mix for my Banana Smoothie:

1/2 cup of Almond Milk (unsweetened)

1/3 - 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt (I used the rest of my vanilla Chobani)

1/2 frozen sliced banana

1 scoop of whey protein powder (vanilla)

1-2 Tbs of nut butter (I like the PB2 chocolate peanut butter flavor)

1 Tbs ground flax seed
1 sprinkle of chia seeds
6-8 ice cubes (add more if the shake is too thin)

I put all the ingredients in the blender (or a Vitamix if you have one) and blended until smooth. Of course the minute I turned the blender off, I heard Sophia yelling "Mommy" from her bedroom. She wanted to know what I was making (because she recognized the sound of the blender and banana smoothies are her FAVORITE). Since it was past her bedtime and I didn't want to give her a smoothie after she had already brushed her teeth (or maybe I just didn't want to share), I told her I was making a protein shake. She said "okay" and went back to bed. I promise I will make her a banana smoothie today, I will just have to double the recipe so we can share!

Week 5 Update - A few days late

2011-03-15T17:51:00.003-05:00

(Sorry this is being posted a few days late...)

I just finished week 5 of my training - only 7 weeks to go until the Heels and Hills half marathon!

Early morning view of the boat docks on Lake Grapevine

Saturday morning was officially my longest run to date... 7 miles! I can't say that for too long because the next three weekends I am adding on to that distance to go from 7 miles to 9, 10 and 11 miles. It was a slow, easy run with lots of water stops and a stretch break when I felt my calves getting tight. In an effort to be a little better prepared on Saturday, I wore my race belt that held my camera and GU energy gel. I ate about half of the packet of GU after about 4 1/2 miles and washed it down with some water. Having my camera on my run allowed me to take a few pictures of the lake and parks along our training route.

Starting out on my 7 mile run

Oak Grove Soccer Complex

New playground at the soccer complex. Looks like a great place to bring my kids!

A few weeks ago I bought a race belt at the Cowtown Expo. I tried on the spibelt and the iFitness belt when I was working the Team In Training booth that Friday night before the race, then went back early Saturday morning to make my purchase. I was set on buying a spibelt because I had heard such great things about it from other runners - but their booth was CLOSED so I ended up with the iFitness. I actually really liked the way the iFitness belt fit, so I decided to test it out during the race. It had room for my car keys, phone/camera, GU, and chap stick plus it had toggles for my bib number so I did not have to pin it to my shirt. I wore it low on my hips and it stayed put most of the time.

Now I need to add some hydration gear, so I am looking for some options that I can add to my race belt. I also need to upgrade my socks for these long runs so I have a feeling that I need to make a trip to RunOn or Luke's Locker very soon!

Week 5 mileage: (Still recovering from last weekend's illness) Monday - 2.6 miles, Wednesday - 3.1 miles, Saturday 7.1 miles

Date Night is normally a Failure...

2011-03-15T12:15:00.001-05:00

Trey and I have the most dependable, reliable babysitters that LOVE our children so much, that they beg us to go out on weekly dates just so they can watch Tallen and Sophia.  They even allow the kids to spend the night so we don't have to rush home from a date to pick them up AND (in theory) it gives us a chance to sleep in the next morning. Who are these magical, mythical people who offer to babysit for us on a weekly basis? Their names are Opa and Gran otherwise known as... the Grandparents.

Even though we have almost weekly date night opportunities, Trey and I get a big "F" when it comes to actually planning our date nights. Dinner and a movie are the "go to" options but I get bored with eating at the same restaurants near our house and I hate wasting money to sit in a dark theather when I could be having a real conversation with my husband. A real conversation where two people are able to participate without a small child interrupting every 5 seconds to get our attention. True story - I tried to tell Trey about my day for almost two hours last night but was sidetracked by making dinner, opening tubes of yogurt, giving kids their baths, putting diaper cream on freshly washed bottom, brushing teeth and reading bedtime stories to Sophia.

For the past few months, Trey and I usually end up staring at each other in the kitchen at 6 PM on a Friday night when I am so hungry/tired that I am impatient and grumpy, trying to decide where to go for our date.  So I am trying to make more of an effort to plan fun, interesting date nights IN ADVANCE that still fit our budget and diet. Which is about as successful as asking Sophia to clean her room and asking Tallen to pee-pee on the potty - impossible!

This week we switched it up and moved date night to Saturday instead of Friday night. I picked a winery in Grapevine where we could go to a wine tasting, then we were hoping to find somewhere to eat dinner. The first wine tasting room was closed when we arrived at 6:15 PM even though I had called IN ADVANCE and they told me they were open until 9:30 PM.  FAIL #1. I soon found out that I had called a different winery that was open late, which is where we ended up about 10 minutes later. We tasted four wines each and shared most of our glasses. Suprisingly, we both picked the same wine as our favorite so we bought a bottle to bring home.

Next on the agenda was dinner, however we had not decided on a restaurant in advance. FAIL #2.  Driving around on a Saturday night at 7:30 PM is not a great way to pick a restaurant in Grapevine or Southlake, especially when you don't have a reservation!!! Finally we ended up at a mexican restaurant that used to be one of our favorites. Although the service was quick, we both agreed that the food did not taste great. FAIL #3. As we were driving towards our house and trying to decide if we wanted to go to a late movie, I suggested we go out for dessert to make up for the not so great food at dinner. After dessert and coffee, we vetoed the late movie in favor of going home and watching a movie on the couch instead. All that wine, food and dessert had made me sleepy and I didn't think I could stay awake in the movie theater.

Going home was probably the best decision of the night. After changing out of my date night dress & heels, we snuggled up on the couch and I stayed awake for an entire movie!!!  Finally a successful end to date night!

Do you plan in advance for date night? What is your usual date night routine - Dinner and a movie, museum or a concert?

A Day in the Life... (aka the GOOD and the BAD)

2011-03-11T11:41:00.024-06:00

Excuse me if my blog feels like it has a little bit of a personality disorder lately. Is this a mommy blog or is it a running/fitness blog? I am trying to decide if I want to keep blogging about my kids and family or (because of some creepy searches I found that target pictures of little kids) switch away from the family blogging and focus on healthy food and fitness choices. So until I start another blog or figure this out, you may get a little of both for a while.

Yesterday was one of those scrambled messy days mixed with some GOOD things and some BAD. The BAD part started out very early, when I went into Tallen’s room to get him ready for daycare. When I pulled his PJ shirt over his head, he grabbed both of his ears and cried out in pain. Then he looked at me and shouted “No, Mama” because I had hurt him (BAD). I looked a little closer at his ears and noticed that fluid had drained from both of them during the night but was dry now. After taking Tallen's temperature (no fever), I finished getting him dressed and went to talk to Trey about who could take him to the doctor. Trey’s morning was busy but I had some wiggle room in mine so at 8:00 AM (the minute the doctor office opened), I called and got an apt for 8:30 AM. The nurse took one look at us when we walked in the door and noticed the green fluid oozing out of both ears (BAD) and said “I think I can guess why you are here today”. When we left the office about 30 minutes later, we had a diagnosis of one ear infection (not too BAD) and two prescriptions for antibiotics and ear drops.

After spending $175 on prescriptions (BAD), I started driving Tallen to daycare so I could go to work. While I was in the car, Trey called to tell me that Sophia had asked (actually begged) for me to come to her preschool later that morning because they were having a petting zoo visit for “Rodeo Day”. (Finally, we are getting to the GOOD part of the day). After checking on a few things at work from my computer at home, I drove the three blocks to preschool.

Sophia's first pony ride!

Sophia and I held hands as we walked into the petting corral – goats, baby pigs, chickens, bunnies, baby chicks, guinea pigs, two donkeys and a llama were all waiting to be fed and brushed. Sophia kept going back to get more food and loved sitting down to hold the soft, fluffy bunnies. Finally it was her turn to ride the pony and her eyes were shining with excitement as she climbed up into the saddle (GOOD, GOOD, GOOD!) After a second and third trip to the petting corral to feed those hungry goats, she took a second pony ride before it was time for her class to go inside for lunch. Saying goodbye to mommy was a little hard for Sophia, and she asked more than once to go home with me instead of staying at school (BAD).

I made it to work for the second half of the day, then headed home to make dinner before leaving again for book club that evening. Because the Texas weather was so nice, we decided to eat dinner on the patio. Sophia set the table with paper plates, napkins, forks and cups while Trey cooked chicken sausages on the grill. I made green beans and slaw, then brought out some oranges for dessert and we all relaxed in the sunshine while we ate dinner. Besides Trey dropping his wine glass on the patio and watching it shatter, Tallen refusing to eat anything but cheerios and Sophia spilling her cup of water all over her plate, it was a GOOD family dinner.

I left around 6:30 for book club and Trey stayed home to put the kids to bed. Dessert, coffee and discussion about the book lingered a little late so when I finally made it back home at 10:00 PM, the house was quiet (GOOD). I soaked in the silence for a few minutes then headed upstairs to bed.

A few bumps in the road

2011-03-07T06:55:00.002-06:00

Throughout many of our journeys in life, we often hit some bumps along the road. At the end of January I decided to sign up for a half marathon, and I was in the middle of good training program. Once I started meeting with my team, I got some great coaching advice and have increased my speed and distance training. I was very pleased with the results of my first 10K and things were just rolling along… then last week I hit a few bumps.

When I woke up this morning, I realized that I have not been running in almost a week. My last training run was Tuesday night on the track in Valley Ranch. I took it slow and easy that night because I felt like I was still recovering from the race the weekend before. On Wednesday I went to the gym at lunch to do some cross training but I was still running on empty. I blamed it on a lack of sleep (from staying up until midnight on Sunday to watch the Oscars on DVR and from Sophia’s night terrors that woke me up on Tuesday night). No workout on Thursday in an effort to rest and by Friday morning it was apparent that I was coming down with something… a stomach virus. I left work early and headed straight for my bed.

By Saturday evening I was finally able to sit up, eat dinner, and stay awake for more than 2 hours at a time. Lack of food and dehydration had taken its toll and I was glad that I had an extra day at home to recover before heading back to work on Monday. Basically I missed all the fun stuff that happens on the weekend that I looked forward to all week: date night with my husband on Friday, training with my team on Saturday, brunch with the girls afterwards, and shopping with the kids for spring clothes. We did make it to church on Sunday and I went to the grocery store that afternoon. After being confined to my bed or the couch for two days, it felt great to just get out of the house.

I will be starting out this week slow and easy, but I will be building up to 7 miles this Saturday.

Week 4: Monday – 2 miles, Tuesday - 3.6 miles, Thursday – no running, Saturday – no running

Sundays are the Best for Rest...

2011-03-01T21:24:00.002-06:00

When I finally went to bed on Saturday night, I felt like I had been up for three days. Somehow, I managed to do all the following in one day: ran a 10K race, took a shower and a nap, updated my blog, relaxed in the hammock, made turkey spaghetti for dinner, met a friend downtown at the museum, and went to watch UFC fights at a sports bar with my husband. Cramming all of that in one day could only mean one thing… REST DAY ON SUNDAY!

On Saturday afternoon, we took the kids to their grandparents house so they could play and spend the night - which meant that I was able to sleep until 8:30 AM on Sunday morning! (Excuse me while I do a little happy dance). After an exhausting day on Saturday, sleeping late was just what my body needed. Well, the extra sleep and some Pioneer Woman cinnamon rolls! I made a few extra pans of these during the Christmas holiday and put them in the freezer. Then, like most people, I cleaned up my diet after the holidays so those cinnamon rolls have been sitting on the freezer shelf for two months just begging to be eaten. Is it bad that I was happy that the kids were not home so I didn’t have to share?

After church we had nap time/quiet time for the kids (I got another nap in too - two days in a row!), then we all headed outside to enjoy the warm sunshine. Sophia and I cleaned out the dead leaves and plants from the flower beds, the garden, and the planters on the patio. Then we had a blast drawing pictures on the driveway with sidewalk chalk. I drew her a huge beach scene and we pretended to swim, surf, and lay in the sun. It is hard to believe that about three weeks ago we were playing in the snow and now I am already thinking about the beach!

A slow, easy Sunday. Just what I needed for my rest day.

Week 3 mileage: Monday - 4 miles, Tuesday - 3 miles, Thursday - WALKED 2 miles (because of my hamstring), Saturday - 6.2 miles!

The Things we do for Love

2011-02-27T09:37:00.003-06:00

Have you ever done something that is not really in your comfort zone, something you would not choose to do on your own, something that you may not even enjoy doing but you do anyway because it makes the person you love very happy?

Last night I did something that I would only do for my husband. I went with him to a bar to watch the UFC fights, on a Saturday night at 10 PM after a very long day that included me getting up at 3:30 AM to go running in Fort Worth.

Line for the post race beer tent

I will admit, it was not a complete sacrifice for me to go to the bar with him because I did get to eat wings and finally drink my post race beer. I did not visit the beer tent after the race yesterday morning because 1) it was 8 AM and I have lost the ability to drink alcohol so early in the morning (which was not a problem in college when tailgating started at 7 AM for football games) and 2) I had to drive 45 minutes to get home and drinking a beer on an empty stomach before getting in the car to drive is not a good idea when one beer can make me tipsy.

Not only was I willing to go to the bar with my husband to watch the fights, I did this AFTER I got home from another event that evening. Earlier on Saturday, I met a friend at the Dallas Museum of Art to attend the Distinguished Writer series in which acclaimed author Joyce Carol Oates spoke about her incredible career as a writer before she read some excerpts from her current memoir. So when I got home that evening, I was in a completely different frame of mind.

I had to switch from listening to Joyce Carol Oates, award winning novelist, poet, professor at Princeton University and Pulitzer Prize nominee to... the aggressive, sweaty, violent, bloody bouts in the UFC. From the cultural, literary, serene setting at the Horchow Auditorium at the Dallas Museum of Art to the loud, multi television, testosterone fueled environment at the sports bar. Oh the things we do for love...

And what was the magical thing that my husband did for me that made me willing to stay out late after such a long day? He took the kids and got out of the house when I got back from the race just so I could take a NAP. Now that, my friends, is what love is all about. .

Have you made any special sacrifices for the one you love? What have you done for that special someone that you would never done on your own? Has anyone done something special for you in return?