Another one . . .

Conversation between Cameron and his mom today while cleaning the house:

Cameron - Mom, have you cleaned the toilets yet?

Mom - no, why?

Cameron - Good.

Mom - Why?

Cameron - I have to go really big and really bad and I'm warning you, it's gonna stink!

Mom - Where did I get you?

Cameron - Heaven (as he runs to the bathroom).

I'll Miss This

I bought Cameron a little pool to play in while I spend all day studying Biology (yuck). We were putting it together last night (aka blowing it up) and he hands me the instructions and says (yes, this is EXACTLY what he said):

Cameron: Mom, I just finished reading the constructions to the pool. You better read the constructions. I don't want a lopsided pool.

Mom: The constructions? (I'm a little slow - Biology on the brain)

Cameron: Yeah, you know, how to do stuff, the constructions (in his duh tone).

Yep, I will totally miss the days of his funny mixed-up words.

What Do You Do??

What do you do at the cabin when it rains the ENTIRE WEEKEND and there is so much mud you can't even get your car up to the cabin? You have grandpa meet you at the bottom on the four wheeler and haul all your stuff up through the mud (really enjoyed cleaning off all the food)
You hold baby Halle until she can't stand you anymore! (Seriously, the best baby I have ever seen! Niece Halle - Jill and Ben's latest miracle)

You play hair and make-up artist on grandma (the only person willing to let Taylor touch her hair AND makeup!)

You take a break from studying Biology (barf!) and make funny camera faces with the boy. It entertained him for at least 10 minutes - seriously!

You play Phase 10 and snack on everything until your eyes go cross-eyed and your stomach gurgles in protest.

You let Will and Cameron eat candy until they bounce so hard off the walls they pass out!

Another fun-filled, wet weekend at the cabin. In spite of the mud that clings to EVERYTHING (including the dog), we had a great time. Hope your Memorial Day Weekend was (dry) fun, too!

The Most Beautiful Beach

Is in Tulum, Mexico. The sand is pure white and so soft. The water is deep turquoise blue. You can see to the bottom of the ocean. Palm trees swaying in the ocean breeze. This is my heaven!

Corn

This post is for my friend, Carlin, who wanted to see the pictures of Corn I took in Cancun. Enjoy!

Chris bought Cameron this shirt. Of course, since the boy has taste, he won't wear it. (It says I Heart to Fart)

Here I am, sampling the local corn. "And that is where they have the best corn in the city" - Nacho Libre.

Woman eating corn - why we wanted to try it.

Chris loved the corn! (Not really.) If you are ever in Cancun, I suggest trying the corn. You only live once, right???

I Will Survive

I survived my first day of school! Thank you for all your words of encouragement. Those of you that offered help, I will probably put your phone numbers on speed dial!!

Life as I Know It

...Is over. I start school today. Math, Biology and a lab. I really, really wish I had done this a long time ago! Like when I was 18 . . .

Suggestions, Please???

Tried to clean my tile floor grout yesterday. I scrubbed and scrubbed, about two hours to be exact. The grout does not look any cleaner. The grout is so dirty I may have to move and startt over!! Any suggestions for how to clean tile grout? Please? Anyone??

Marathon Training Tip - Stretching

As I start my descent into madness, aka maraton training, I would like to share what I learn. The whole reason I created this blog was to chronicle my running experiences - mainly my marathon experience. Since this is my first time training for a marathon and I don't know what I am doing, I thought we could all learn together. So I will now include a weekly "Marathon Training" tip.

This weeks weekly tip is on Stretching. Go Here for some great tips on stretching.

Basically I learned this:

Stretch before and after each and every run to prevent injury. Stretching is important to enhance muscle effectiveness. It also lengthens your stride and improves your form.

Warm up muscles (walk or light jog for 5 or 10 minutes) before you stretch. Don't stretch cold (resting) muscles.

DO NOT wait 30 - 40 minutes after you run to stretch. Your muscles are too cooled down and you may cause injury.

Hold your stretch for 30 seconds min. and 60 seconds max.

Stretch all your major muscle groups.

If the stretch hurts, you are stretching too hard and may cause injury.

That's about it. Check out the link if you have any questions.

May all your "runs" be strong ones!

Happy Birthday Chris

My dear husband celebrates his birthday today. To celebrate we worked on the basement bathroom and then went to Sushi Yah (thanks for the referral Ammon!) and had sushi. Now he is off at meetings for the rest of the night. Oh well. It gives me time to blog about him!

Under a palapa in Cancun, Mexico (minus swine flu)

The only time Chris will EVER drive a minivan!

The beach at Tulum in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

Happy Birthday Chris!

Fun facts about Chris:

He is the oldest of 5 children.

He looks NOTHING like his brothers and sisters.

He has a fear of driving minivans. He has only driven one on vacation (see photo above).

He is not a fan of chocolate, but loves brownies (whatever!)

He only likes vanilla ice cream.

Apparently, the only sport he enjoys watching is women cage fighting (see post earlier this week).

Cameron says he smiles A LOT.

Happy Birthday, Chris!

St. George Marathon

Results are in. Michelle Birch and I both got in to run in the marathon. I am so excited and so nervous at the same time!

Struggling!!

As I am trying to drop some weight before my marathon training hits full gear (it's not going so well - I dont' know if I'm in until 5:00 PM TONIGHT) I'm trying to remember, TODAY IS YESTERDAY'S TOMORROW!

I think I'll start tomorrow...

Kids Say . . .

Real conversation between Cameron and Michelle Birch -

You know, sugar makes my mom fat. She can only eat sugar free stuff. You probably shouldn't give her those cookies. But sugar is okay for me.

Real conversation between Cameron and Jill Blanchard [his aunt] -

Jill - Cameron, do you watch sports with your dad?

Cameron - Not really.

Jill - Does your dad like sports?

Cameron - Well, he pretty much only likes watching women cage fighting.

Jill - Huh.

[Cameron came in one night while Chris and I were watching the women's lightweight world title boxing match on TV. I was joking about the women cage fighters. Be careful - you never know what your kids will interpret!]

Happy Mother's Day!

Courtney Seal sent this to me in an email. It made me leak a little, so I wanted to share it with all of my friends. Thanks, Courtney!!


Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control
of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into
teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy
over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break
into a million pieces when
I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I
could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love
being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling
of having my heart outside my body...
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between
a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up
in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes
to make sure all was okay.
I had never known
the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction
of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable
of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom.

Thank you to all you wonderful moms out there that have affected my life and the life of my children.

Happy Mother's Day!

That time of Year

My favorite time of year - boating season! It's time to get the boat out. Or as Cameron calls it, put the boat on.

I'M HOME!!

I love the US of A. So good to be back on American soil. Don't get me wrong, I love Mexico. I love the food. I love the beaches. I especially love the caribbean blue water. But there is nothing like being in the US. There are toilet seat covers in the airport!!

I am in quarantine for 48 hours. Chris and I have no symptoms, but we are being careful so as to not share any possible "souveniers" from Cancun.