Ice Ice Baby

So, as you have all heard or experienced, our area has received one of the worst ice storms that anyone can remember (or at least that is what everyone on the news says). We got something like 3 inches of ice starting on Monday afternoon and continuing all day non-stop Tuesday, followed by snow early Wednesday morning. Our power went out Tuesday morning, so we left the house and headed over to my sister's. We live in a more rural area, and it usually takes a day to restore power at the very least. We went ahead and spent the night so we wouldn't be stuck in our house if the power went out in the middle of the night. We finally made it home this afternoon after the sun came out and melted the mess enough for the truck to get us home. D has been super fussy today with some teeth that seem like they'll never come in plus he woke up at 4 a.m. ready to play.

We had fun at Steph's - playing with the kids and cooking dinner and breakfast together, but it was good to be home. Fortunately, the power was on, although it appeared to have gone off again sometime early this morning. Here's hoping it lasts through the night. :)

I'm pretty exhausted since I have been chasing D around all day to keep him from sticking a finger in a light socket, and of course the most amusing thing at Steph's were her stairs, and he had to go up and down and up and down them constantly. So tonight's dinner is wine, hummus and yogurt! Mikel is off in Colorado skiing with some guys from church, so I don't have to cook. I am hoping the gym is open tomorrow because I really need to work off all the snickerdoodle cookies I ate at Steph's.

Hope you are all safe and warm! It's so cold outside, even Charlie could only stay out there for an hour before begging to come in!

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Hello!

I painted the Go Red for Women logo as a part of my mom's club Purse-onality for their Feb 17th auction.

In our wagon at the park, after feeding the scary "Chinese Attack Geese"

He loves him some banana. Not so much with the avocado. He looked at me like "what are you feeding me woman?" And spit it out.

Look ma! One hand!

The baby toothbrush is constantly in his mouth lately. He likes chewing on it.

Hello all! Sorry we haven't posted anything in a while. I just haven't taken time to sit down and do it. Not a whole lot happening here. We took our house off the market. We had listed it for sale by owner last April, then listed it with a realtor in July. We had several showings - 6 or 7 - throughout the summer, but no offers. We finally decided that since we did not HAVE to move, just really wanted to see if we could find a bigger house at a good price, we took it off. It wasn't really worth the effort right now. Maybe in the near future. But that's good news for me since it means I can plan my Spring garden without worrying that I'll have to move in the middle of the season. I think I'll do serrano peppers, bell peppers, tomatoes and squash. I may do some cucumbers too. I have mint in the garden already and I really need to get out there today before the ice comes and get the spinach that has been ready for a month or so now. If you have any suggestions as to a crop I should plant, let me know! I'll do my usual greek oregano, basil, thyme et al herb garden in pots on the deck. I have mint already in the garden too. I love mint :)

On the running front, Mikel is determined to run a marathon in May. I hope he makes it because I'm not that crazy!

Here are some fun pics from the last few weeks. D has been cruising all over, standing some, babbling alot and doing some copy-catting. I swear he said "apple" the other day when I was telling him I was pouring him some apple juice! May have just been babbling, but it really sounded like it! He was probably just mimic-ing me, but that's how they learn right? Guess I really have to watch what I say now! :) He was also saying "boo" to me the other day when we were walking in to Wal-Mart. I opened the car door and said "boo" and he replied "boo!" It was cute. We've been to the park a few times in this insane weather. He is going to Kid's Time at church a day a week for two hours while I go to Bible study.

I'm really excited about this study. I've never done one in the 6 years I've gone to our church and it's a different type of study. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I think I'm going to enjoy the in depth look in to my life and the bonds I hope to share with the other ladies in it.

That is all! For now!!

Crafts

Red picture frame for my mom's club American Heart Association Purse-onality (charity auction)

Green frame for D's room

Just some crafties I've been working on.

Crash and Burn

I failed to mention my story about prepping for our 5k race in my previous post. I went down to the park the day before our race to run a mile to warm up. I was cruising along - making really good time, feeling really good - when BAM!!! I find myself on the ground, somewhat confused. I realized I had tripped over a too long shoelace loop. Undaunted, I continued. Then my phone flies out of my pocket and the roller ball and other parts that keep it in place flew out (it's a second hand Blackberry Pearl). I found them quickly and continued on. Not but 2 minutes later - and about 3/10's of the way from the end of my mile - I fell AGAIN. This time it felt like slow motion, complete with surprised look, hands up in the air, mouthing W....H.....OOOOO....AAAA... This time, it hurt. I managed to scrape up my shoulder and palm and bruise my right hip. I felt like I had broken my hand. I laid there for a while before picking myself up and walking back to my car. The best part - it was 5:00 p.m. and I fell in front of about 100 cars sitting in rush hour traffic. I hope they all had a good laugh at my expense! I still finished my mile in 10 minutes despite my injuries and would have finished in 8 had I taken the time to triple knot my laces...

Race Results

Today was Mikel and my 4th 5k race. We did the Tux on the Run through the Bentonville Square to benefit the local YMCA. It was COLD!!! 32 degrees with a windchill of 29. But after the first mile, my fingers and toes started to defrost and I felt pretty good. Mikel has been feeling like he's been trying to get sick these past few days, so his time was 27 minutes, down from his previous time. But I pulled out a 27:26, a 30 second improvement from my best previous time!
Now I think we're all getting sick :( But it was a good race!

12 Months Checkup

Yesterday was D's 12 months checkup with Dr. Foster. He was really fussy and not at all happy to be there because he was sleepy! We had a good streak of 3 weeks sleeping through the night and then Christmas and the birthday ruined that! He has some teeth trying to break through too, so that probably doesn't help, but I sure wish they would hurry it up because I got used to that sleep and I want it back!

His stats:

Head: 19 inches

Length: 30.5 "

Weight: 20 lbs 14 oz

The doc was a little concerned that his weight has gone DOWN four ounces from his 9 months checkup. This dropped him to the 25th percentile for his age and height. We dicussed it and we think it's a combo of the two double ear infections, his increased mobility and my decreased weight while continuing to breastfeed. I've been trying the sippy cup with him with no real success. I am going to keep trying more often now and started eating more fatty foods to increase my milk fat content and supply until he weans. I've also gotten on some herbal supplements that are supposed to help with that too. Guess it wouldn't hurt to gain a few pounds! That'll be a fun diet! I've lost about 6 pounds past my pre-pregnancy weight - a total of 56 pounds from my peak during pregnancy.

Here is a fun picture of all the breast milk we've stored over the past 6 months. I joke with Mikel that I could probably feed a third world country with it! Apparently there is a store in Amsterdam or somewhere in the Netherlands that serves ice cream made from breast milk. There is yogurt, cheese, all sorts of dairy products made from breast milk. PETA has approached Ben and Jerry's about making a line of ice cream made from breast milk. I am a big breastfeeding advocate, but I think this is going too far! We don't have the regulations in place to ensure that the milk is safe for public consumption. Breast milk is tailor made for your baby - not for Joe or Jane Smith! Besides, there is a psychological bodily fluid ick factor to it anyway. Plus can you imagine the human rights violation possibilities? I can just vision a warehouse of under paid, over worked females hooked up to a pump! Now I love animals and my dirty dog Charlie, but I value humans more!!

Ok, off my soap box now!

Dunning loves Charlie too....