Last night I asked her if she read Brown Bear in her class yesterday. I have never read the book, but her teacher uses it as a fun distraction when I leave in the morning. So I have heard the title. Last night over dinner:
Me: "Anna, did you read Brown Bear today?"
Anna: "Uh-huh! Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do I see? I see a puppy!"
Me, smiling, a little freaked: "What? What was that?"
Anna, head bobbing side to side, sing-songy: "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, what do I see? I see a MEOW!"
I repeated her but left the ends blank for her to fill in what she saw. She actually taught me a little song! What the hell? She taught me a new little song! All the way to school she had me doing Brown Bear, with her filling in the blanks for things she sees.
I wonder if this is related to the ride home last night, when she was telling me "I see a ball. I see a bicycle! I see a airplane!" I recognized she was using sentences to talk to me. Pretty darned cool. It must have started with Brown Bear.
When I got to her school this morning I told her teachers what she taught me. They laughed and pulled out the book. Sure enough, that's how the story starts and goes on to talk about different animals and stuff.
So dang, she's learning, isn't she?
************************************
Monday night:
Anna lets out an impressive stream of percussion from her diaper onto her booster seat at dinner. Paul and I look at each other from across the table, put our heads down, and giggle quietly. She picked up on this, ofcourse, and so put her head down to laugh, laugh, laugh along with us. Then she says "TOOT TOOT!" So we laugh some more, realizing this only encourages her. So she raises her hands to the sky, still in her booster seat, and dramatically yells: "TOOT TOOT! TOOT TOOT!" to the tune of "Stelllaaa, Stellllaaaa..."
Pretty dramatic and funny. She totally got the joke. And laughed right along with us, with our heads down, like some funny secret joke between the three of us.
She got the joke and she is growing up.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
NASA's Day of Remembrance
HQ Special: Message from the President on NASA's Day of Remembrance, Jan. 29, 2009:
The arrival of a new year reminds us that life is a journey, one that takes us on many unexpected paths. NASA's role is to pioneer journeys into the unknown for the benefit of humanity. Along the way, we sometimes experience tragedy instead of triumph.Today, we pause to reflect on those moments in exploration when things did not go as expected and we lost brave pioneers. But what sets us apart as Americans is our willingness to get up again and push the frontiers even further with an even stronger commitment and sense of purpose.On this Day of Remembrance, we remember the sacrifices of those who dared to dream and gave everything for the cause of exploration. We honor them with our ongoing commitment to excellence and an unwavering determination to continue the journey on the path to the future.
President Barack Obama
HQ Special: Message from the Acting Administrator - Day of Remembrance, Jan. 29, 2009
Today we honor the Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia crews, and all members of the NASA family who lost their lives in the exploration of space. We honor their commitment as well as the loss to their families and friends.
The last Thursday of each January, NASA's annual Day of Remembrance, obliges us to reflect not only on the sacrifices that have been made by our fallen friends and coworkers, but to also consider what each one of us can do in their honor to assure that NASA achieves its very difficult goals in as safe a manner as humanly possible by recalling and reflecting on our core values of safety, excellence, integrity and teamwork.
Spaceflight represents one of the most difficult endeavors that we as a people can undertake. Just as the rewards are great, so too are the challenges we must overcome to safely reach, operate in, and live in space. We will not always know what lies ahead of us; as we explore we learn more about the wonders outside of our planet, but also how unforgiving space can be.
While we all recognize these challenges, today is a good day to reflect on how we go about meeting them. We must challenge our assumptions, recognize our risks, and address each difficulty directly and openly so that we can operate more safely and more successfully than we did yesterday, or last month, or last year. We must always strive to be better, and to do better.
It's going to be a busy year for all of us, with missions that carry with them the considerable risk that is a part of our normal business. But they also carry great potential. We each have opportunities -- every day -- to remember through our actions, the courageous men and women who dedicated their lives to public service.
With each mission and every challenge, we build upon their technical achievements, benefit from their discoveries, and tap into their bravery and spirit. I am honored to remember these members of the NASA family, and to work side by side with those in NASA and in our communities, to fulfill the vision of these extraordinary people, of living and working in space.
Christopher J. Scolese
Acting Administrator
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
The Tank
Leather seats with butt warmers and the feeling of sinking into a soft pillow. Auto-up/down function on all windows. Touch screen radio, navigation, and climate control (all in French, if you'd prefer). Headroom. Legroom. Cargo space that could also seat up to 8 people. A video display from a little camera that shows what's behind you as you back up (for safety). Kick-ass sound system. Driver memory that remembers how I like my seat and mirrors positioned after Paul's driven it. Four-wheel drive at the touch of a button. Hill descent control and hydraulics to lower or raise the truck when you're getting in and out. And oh yeah, control the shocks at the turn of a knob so that your ride is either comfy or "sport".
This is not my 2002 Jeep Renegade. This is a 2005 Lexus GX470 I got to test drive this weekend. Like a financially-responsible good adult, I gave it back this morning. We can afford it. I just don't want to at this time. I am enjoying having money to pay off debt. Paying off debt is more fun for me than driving that clean, shiny, fully-capable machine that I can barely fit into my garage. It was an adult decision that just had to be made but it wasn't as hard as I'd have expected. That means I'm growing up, right? And that I'm not in love with material things, right?
So here's to sticking with my Jeep, which I lovingly refer to as the Tank (for obvious reasons). No, it wasn't my first choice when I needed something quickly as the engine was literally falling out of my paid-off, out-of-warranty Land Rover Freelander (which was supposed to be the final family truckster), but it was there, had low mileage, a warranty, clean history, and was cheap. In fact it was worth more than my highly-capable Freelander, even with its all-wheel drive, sport-shift, heated seats, and Land Rover name. I bought the Tank in October of 2007 when Anna was just around 8 months old. I only intended to keep it for a year and move onto a bigger, better vehicle (the GX470, for example). After all, those obviously over-done lights on top and the bolted-on square fenders are a little much for my personal taste. Even the color screams "I'M BAD-ASS AND MY TRUCK CAN BEAT UP YOUR TRUCK. Really, it's not a Tara-type vehicle.
The Tank's seats are ripped and therefore require seat covers. The left-over fur in the carpet that's impossible to remove indicates that the previous owner was a dog lover. There are bumps and bruises on the exterior that tell me how busy this truck has been, despite the low miles. Once during a sleepless Anna-ear-infection week, I knocked the dang side mirror right off the truck when backing out of the garage. The replacement mirror was only $30 and easily replaced by Paul. Another time, I backed into Paul's brand new Toyota truck about two weeks after he got it, and although his truck came out unscathed, the Tank has a neat little black gash on the bumper where its gold paint was removed. It has turned into the Toddler-Tank mobile, thanks to the presence of whichever toys Anna can load into her little arms on the way out the door each morning. Cracker crumbs, sippy cups, and Kleenex. I do my best to actually deny it's a Toddler-Tank mobile by keeping the trash out, sweeping out crumbs periodically, and taking her toys back out at least every other day. I don't really want to be one of "those moms" although, yes, on any given day I may look like one of "those moms". Once I had to move some Kleenex, antibiotics, and a sippy cup from the seat so my co-worker could join me for lunch. Slightly embarrassed from what appeared to be sick-toddler-chaos, I relaxed when I realized I was in the company of an empathetic father of three toddlers. But I think I'm digressing.
The point is, when I gave the Lexus back this morning, I felt really good about it. First and foremost is that thanks to Dave Ramsey and my financially-responsible friends ZC-M and CS, whose voices of fiscal responsibility kept nagging me: you don't need this Lexus. It's a whole lot of vehicle, when your Jeep is just fine. It's doing the job of transporting you and your little family where you need to go. Enjoy the lack of payments. Spend your money monthly on other things, like paying off debt. Wouldn't that be more fun? And you know it's the right thing to do....blahblahblah.
But the Tank doesn't even have 4-wheel drive. Or anti-lock breaks, for that matter!
The next reason I felt good about returning it is because it is just so much of a vehicle that I think I'm scared of the thing. I mean really, worrying about scratching this shiny, beautiful (though used) vehicle was too much for me. A little crumbs in the seat and Kleenex on the floor was all wrong. Family-friendly, the Lexus GX470 totally is. Toddler-Tank, however, it is not.
As I drove away from the dealership, leaving the GX470 behind, I finished up my yogurt drink and tossed the empty bottle carelessly (though temporarily) onto the black rubber floor mat of the passenger's side (they're the Land Rover's old floor mats, by the way). I turned up the music from the kick-ass stereo my mom and Paul just installed as my Christmas present.
The Tank will do just nicely for a little while longer.
This is not my 2002 Jeep Renegade. This is a 2005 Lexus GX470 I got to test drive this weekend. Like a financially-responsible good adult, I gave it back this morning. We can afford it. I just don't want to at this time. I am enjoying having money to pay off debt. Paying off debt is more fun for me than driving that clean, shiny, fully-capable machine that I can barely fit into my garage. It was an adult decision that just had to be made but it wasn't as hard as I'd have expected. That means I'm growing up, right? And that I'm not in love with material things, right?
So here's to sticking with my Jeep, which I lovingly refer to as the Tank (for obvious reasons). No, it wasn't my first choice when I needed something quickly as the engine was literally falling out of my paid-off, out-of-warranty Land Rover Freelander (which was supposed to be the final family truckster), but it was there, had low mileage, a warranty, clean history, and was cheap. In fact it was worth more than my highly-capable Freelander, even with its all-wheel drive, sport-shift, heated seats, and Land Rover name. I bought the Tank in October of 2007 when Anna was just around 8 months old. I only intended to keep it for a year and move onto a bigger, better vehicle (the GX470, for example). After all, those obviously over-done lights on top and the bolted-on square fenders are a little much for my personal taste. Even the color screams "I'M BAD-ASS AND MY TRUCK CAN BEAT UP YOUR TRUCK. Really, it's not a Tara-type vehicle.
The Tank's seats are ripped and therefore require seat covers. The left-over fur in the carpet that's impossible to remove indicates that the previous owner was a dog lover. There are bumps and bruises on the exterior that tell me how busy this truck has been, despite the low miles. Once during a sleepless Anna-ear-infection week, I knocked the dang side mirror right off the truck when backing out of the garage. The replacement mirror was only $30 and easily replaced by Paul. Another time, I backed into Paul's brand new Toyota truck about two weeks after he got it, and although his truck came out unscathed, the Tank has a neat little black gash on the bumper where its gold paint was removed. It has turned into the Toddler-Tank mobile, thanks to the presence of whichever toys Anna can load into her little arms on the way out the door each morning. Cracker crumbs, sippy cups, and Kleenex. I do my best to actually deny it's a Toddler-Tank mobile by keeping the trash out, sweeping out crumbs periodically, and taking her toys back out at least every other day. I don't really want to be one of "those moms" although, yes, on any given day I may look like one of "those moms". Once I had to move some Kleenex, antibiotics, and a sippy cup from the seat so my co-worker could join me for lunch. Slightly embarrassed from what appeared to be sick-toddler-chaos, I relaxed when I realized I was in the company of an empathetic father of three toddlers. But I think I'm digressing.
The point is, when I gave the Lexus back this morning, I felt really good about it. First and foremost is that thanks to Dave Ramsey and my financially-responsible friends ZC-M and CS, whose voices of fiscal responsibility kept nagging me: you don't need this Lexus. It's a whole lot of vehicle, when your Jeep is just fine. It's doing the job of transporting you and your little family where you need to go. Enjoy the lack of payments. Spend your money monthly on other things, like paying off debt. Wouldn't that be more fun? And you know it's the right thing to do....blahblahblah.
But the Tank doesn't even have 4-wheel drive. Or anti-lock breaks, for that matter!
The next reason I felt good about returning it is because it is just so much of a vehicle that I think I'm scared of the thing. I mean really, worrying about scratching this shiny, beautiful (though used) vehicle was too much for me. A little crumbs in the seat and Kleenex on the floor was all wrong. Family-friendly, the Lexus GX470 totally is. Toddler-Tank, however, it is not.
As I drove away from the dealership, leaving the GX470 behind, I finished up my yogurt drink and tossed the empty bottle carelessly (though temporarily) onto the black rubber floor mat of the passenger's side (they're the Land Rover's old floor mats, by the way). I turned up the music from the kick-ass stereo my mom and Paul just installed as my Christmas present.
The Tank will do just nicely for a little while longer.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Officially a professor
Oh yeah, my first class teaching undergraduate Human Physiology was Wednesday at UHCL. It's the only HP class offered this semester, and strangely, it's in the evenings 7-9:50pm. That goes past my bedtime, but I digress.
I had fun during the class. I knew the material but wasn't sure I could actually teach it without it sounding like a formal seminar. To me, teaching is supposed to be interactive. I needed to be sure the class was involved. It turned out I think it went well. The students had good questions and the teaching just flowed.
With that, a few of the students approached me telling me that they failed the class last semester, and they were supposed to have graduated. They blamed the previous professor, but let's face it: Human Physiology is tough material. It just is. So I told them not to let the fact that I'm a friendly, blonde female in a brightly-colored sweater fool them into thinking that this will be a cake-walk. Because the material is what it is! And I am following the previous instructor's lecture notes. Just presenting it a little differently.
Although I can empathize with them, I admit I really like being on this side of the teaching podium these days!
I had fun during the class. I knew the material but wasn't sure I could actually teach it without it sounding like a formal seminar. To me, teaching is supposed to be interactive. I needed to be sure the class was involved. It turned out I think it went well. The students had good questions and the teaching just flowed.
With that, a few of the students approached me telling me that they failed the class last semester, and they were supposed to have graduated. They blamed the previous professor, but let's face it: Human Physiology is tough material. It just is. So I told them not to let the fact that I'm a friendly, blonde female in a brightly-colored sweater fool them into thinking that this will be a cake-walk. Because the material is what it is! And I am following the previous instructor's lecture notes. Just presenting it a little differently.
Although I can empathize with them, I admit I really like being on this side of the teaching podium these days!
Things I don't want to forget
Why this is a journal...things I don't want to forget so I need to jot them down:
1. On the way to school on Wednesday, Anna was playing with a CD in the back seat. The way the sun shined down into the car reflected off of the CD such that it made pretty bright prisms on the roof of the truck. She noticed. And had a great time moving the CD around at different angles to make the prisms move all over the truck. She was in complete control over a spectacular little laser light show.
2. Before the laser light show, I noticed some happy activity from a crossguard at the stoplight near our house. Upon closer inspection, he was waving and smiling at my truck. When I turned around to look, Anna was waving and smiling back. The guy was tickled. Anna kept waving more and saying "hi!". When the light turned green, she yelled "bye bye!" and then "more?" All the way to school she would wave to people in the cars next to us. Some saw and some will never know they were being waved at by a 22-month-old that morning. If the cars pulled away, Anna would say "more?" and I'd have to tell her to wait till we found another car to wave at.
So cute. So fun.
Other than a pesky new cough, she's sleeping through the night again. She's backing off the paci again now that her teeth aren't bothering her as much. She doesn't ask unless she hurts herself or something. Then we can still usually distract her from the paci. So hopefully we'll get back to where we were with the paci before this teething started...just in time for the last 2 bottom molars to come in. But that's a bonus: WE ONLY HAVE TWO MORE TEETH TO GO AND THEN TEETHING WILL BE OVER. Yee-ha. The way I feel about teething is a whole separate post based around the fact that although Anna wasn't that bad as far as teething can go, it's just another variable to have to consider (ear infection? teething? sick? travel? oh my God, is this the terrible two's?, WTH?) when you're trying to figure out why yout usually good toddler becomes a defiant, cranky, pain-in-the-butt.
She's been asking for a pen, and by that she means she wants to draw. She will take the pen and scribble, then proclaim: "snowman!" I guess this is related to the many snowman drawings and art stuff they've been doing at school. She always wants to draw a snowman. She will sit there quietly with a pen and paper and just "draw". At the pedi's office earlier this week, I told her we were going to draw an "A". So I told her to hold the pen while I helped her draw an A. She loved it. The look on her face was: "WOW look what mommy can do, and look what she's teaching me to do! Mommy is so cool, and this is so cool!" I love it when she looks at me like that.
Yesterday when she woke from her nap, she just kept asking for Brody, TJ, and OM. So we had to go "see-um". Thankfully TJ didn't mind the drop in and we hung out for about an hour while TJ fed Anna chips and TJ, OM and MM put together a Christmas gift I brought over. It was a beautiful day and it was fun being off of work to hang out with friends and family. Priceless.
Last night she asked to ride on a boat. Unfortunately we live near water but don't own a boat. Then she asked for a choo-choo ride. She's flashing back to Disney, I think. I told her this weekend we will go to the zoo and ride the choo-choo. She looked up at me, again with that look of: "really mom?! I am so EXCITED! Are you gonna do that for me?" and said "CHOO-CHOO? RIDE!" And she just stood up straigh, excited, eyebrows up, like: "FOR REAL?" It's like foreshadowing to when she gets older: the look of "I promise to be really, really good, and I am so looking forward to this!!" All the way up the stairs to her bath she listed off animals at the zoo she wanted to see. Birds, elephant, hippo, giraffe, zebra. This morning she asked again. She's starting to not forget. I hear this can be dangerous. (Especially in this case if the weather got ad or something). So we're entering that zone of not making promises to do somethine ahead of time, in case it turns out you can't do it. But so help me, she is so adorable when she gets excited like that.
One last thing.
She's been saying "I love you" for months now. She will only give kisses after you chase her down, usually. Sometimes she'll give them when you ask, but it's very rare. She doesn't just give them away, usually. Last night I gave her a little kiss on her cheek after her bath, and she giggled and said, "I love you!" WTH? So she knows that kisses mean I love you. How sweet is this? Then I told her to go tell Daddy "I love you". So she found Paul, said, "I love you" and even gave him an un-initiated kiss. Ahhhh...I love a non-cuddly toddler who knows what love is.
1. On the way to school on Wednesday, Anna was playing with a CD in the back seat. The way the sun shined down into the car reflected off of the CD such that it made pretty bright prisms on the roof of the truck. She noticed. And had a great time moving the CD around at different angles to make the prisms move all over the truck. She was in complete control over a spectacular little laser light show.
2. Before the laser light show, I noticed some happy activity from a crossguard at the stoplight near our house. Upon closer inspection, he was waving and smiling at my truck. When I turned around to look, Anna was waving and smiling back. The guy was tickled. Anna kept waving more and saying "hi!". When the light turned green, she yelled "bye bye!" and then "more?" All the way to school she would wave to people in the cars next to us. Some saw and some will never know they were being waved at by a 22-month-old that morning. If the cars pulled away, Anna would say "more?" and I'd have to tell her to wait till we found another car to wave at.
So cute. So fun.
Other than a pesky new cough, she's sleeping through the night again. She's backing off the paci again now that her teeth aren't bothering her as much. She doesn't ask unless she hurts herself or something. Then we can still usually distract her from the paci. So hopefully we'll get back to where we were with the paci before this teething started...just in time for the last 2 bottom molars to come in. But that's a bonus: WE ONLY HAVE TWO MORE TEETH TO GO AND THEN TEETHING WILL BE OVER. Yee-ha. The way I feel about teething is a whole separate post based around the fact that although Anna wasn't that bad as far as teething can go, it's just another variable to have to consider (ear infection? teething? sick? travel? oh my God, is this the terrible two's?, WTH?) when you're trying to figure out why yout usually good toddler becomes a defiant, cranky, pain-in-the-butt.
She's been asking for a pen, and by that she means she wants to draw. She will take the pen and scribble, then proclaim: "snowman!" I guess this is related to the many snowman drawings and art stuff they've been doing at school. She always wants to draw a snowman. She will sit there quietly with a pen and paper and just "draw". At the pedi's office earlier this week, I told her we were going to draw an "A". So I told her to hold the pen while I helped her draw an A. She loved it. The look on her face was: "WOW look what mommy can do, and look what she's teaching me to do! Mommy is so cool, and this is so cool!" I love it when she looks at me like that.
Yesterday when she woke from her nap, she just kept asking for Brody, TJ, and OM. So we had to go "see-um". Thankfully TJ didn't mind the drop in and we hung out for about an hour while TJ fed Anna chips and TJ, OM and MM put together a Christmas gift I brought over. It was a beautiful day and it was fun being off of work to hang out with friends and family. Priceless.
Last night she asked to ride on a boat. Unfortunately we live near water but don't own a boat. Then she asked for a choo-choo ride. She's flashing back to Disney, I think. I told her this weekend we will go to the zoo and ride the choo-choo. She looked up at me, again with that look of: "really mom?! I am so EXCITED! Are you gonna do that for me?" and said "CHOO-CHOO? RIDE!" And she just stood up straigh, excited, eyebrows up, like: "FOR REAL?" It's like foreshadowing to when she gets older: the look of "I promise to be really, really good, and I am so looking forward to this!!" All the way up the stairs to her bath she listed off animals at the zoo she wanted to see. Birds, elephant, hippo, giraffe, zebra. This morning she asked again. She's starting to not forget. I hear this can be dangerous. (Especially in this case if the weather got ad or something). So we're entering that zone of not making promises to do somethine ahead of time, in case it turns out you can't do it. But so help me, she is so adorable when she gets excited like that.
One last thing.
She's been saying "I love you" for months now. She will only give kisses after you chase her down, usually. Sometimes she'll give them when you ask, but it's very rare. She doesn't just give them away, usually. Last night I gave her a little kiss on her cheek after her bath, and she giggled and said, "I love you!" WTH? So she knows that kisses mean I love you. How sweet is this? Then I told her to go tell Daddy "I love you". So she found Paul, said, "I love you" and even gave him an un-initiated kiss. Ahhhh...I love a non-cuddly toddler who knows what love is.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Mentors
I have been lucky to have had just a few mentors who have seen something in me that I knew was there but not sure I could pull it off. They brought out my potential and pushed me to meet challenges of increasing magnitude, which always then reset that potential to allow me to do bigger and better things. Before I know it, without even realizing it, I'm way at the top...a leader...a contributor...someone who has made an impact somewhere that day. That's how I think I've gotten this far. Good leaders have selected me based on the fact that I am capable and driven. Whether or not I have the self confidence to necessarily agree, it doesn't matter. I have learned that the good mentors have been around long enough to know that what they're doing is helping to shape a life. Either professionally or personally. So I have learned to trust them when they say, "you should do this" or "you can do this" on levels I would have never really considered for myself otherwise. They are fantastic mentors.
Haven't I been lucky?
I wrote this post from a career angle. But as I proofed it, I realize it's the role I am striving for as a mom, too.
Haven't I been lucky?
I wrote this post from a career angle. But as I proofed it, I realize it's the role I am striving for as a mom, too.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Starving Toddler survives (and mommy too)
Paul kept her up late last night and fed her again before bedtime to try to get her to sleep a little longer in the morning and not be hungry.
She slept till 7:20, so it partially worked. She asked for water, but I was told she couldn't have it (which I didn't understand...why no water if it's just glucose testing??). We actually did great at distracting her all morning at home, even though I had plans to head straight to the park (in the cold) and then to TJ's to play with the dog and M if we really needed the distraction. (Thank you TJ for calling and checking in this morning and being there for moral support so early in the morning...and even almost starving your own kid in an effort to save mine , LOL).
We were able to make it to the doc's office at 9am for her 9:20 appt. A little early because we could use all the distractions.
And we got PLENTY of distractions from that which was a pediatric MADHOUSE. She at least made new friends and only asked to eat a few times before I asked the front desk at 10am how much longer they think it'd be before my FASTING TODDLER would be able to EAT? Turns out she CAN HAVE WATER (like we suspected) so she gulped that down!! At 10:30 we finally saw the doc. Got the blood prick, and blood sugar was 91, which is normal.
The entire time, being hungry, paci-needy, and tired, Anna sucked that paci right in the doc's face, which earned me a lecture on how she should only get it at night.
This I KNOW, I tell her! I SWEAR this just started with those teeth that are coming in. Like just a week ago. Before that, it was during sleep ONLY.
Dang it, I hate that. I am such a rule-follower. Zero credit for the previous paci progress we made. But ultimately I left thinking what I went in thinking: when the teeth are done, so will be the paci. Till then, spare us all the misery. Even though it is getting a little easier and easier to yank it from her the past 24 hours.
The doc did see that she is teething her top two FIRST year molars. Apparently the SECOND year molars came in on the top when the FIRST year molars came in on the bottom way back when. The tops are so hard to really get a look at. We just figured all 4 first year molars were now in. WRONG.
So right now she's filling the last gaps in her top teeth by getting her first year molars. OUCH.
the up side to this visit is that:
1) her ears are clear
2) her throat is clear
3) her blood sugar looks good
4) teething confirmed.
Thus, the paci needs and water needs are probably comforting techniques. Whatever works, my baby. At least we know you're healthy.
At the doc's office she finally got to eat. But she was too upset from the poking/prodding/finger pricking/starvation to settle and eat. I had to give her the paci first and sing to her. She started to eat, then got worked up again. I guess she didn't like that urine collection bag stuck to her girlie parts in her diaper the whole time. Poor baby had to wear it home with the goal of providing enough pee that the doc could do one last round of glucose checks. When we got home, a glorious BM ruined the collection bag so now I'm stuck with the responsibility of going by the pedi's office, re-sticking a new one sometime when she's not at school, and bringing the urine by the doc's office.
I guess I'll get to that at some point. At least it's not as bad as stool collection in an inverse diaper.
We got home from the pedi's office in time to miss the actual inauguration but got some highlights and news coverage.
AWESOME.
Now I had better go review my own lecture notes and make sure I can teach them adequately to a group of wide-eyed undergrads. Look out, Human Physiology!
She slept till 7:20, so it partially worked. She asked for water, but I was told she couldn't have it (which I didn't understand...why no water if it's just glucose testing??). We actually did great at distracting her all morning at home, even though I had plans to head straight to the park (in the cold) and then to TJ's to play with the dog and M if we really needed the distraction. (Thank you TJ for calling and checking in this morning and being there for moral support so early in the morning...and even almost starving your own kid in an effort to save mine , LOL).
We were able to make it to the doc's office at 9am for her 9:20 appt. A little early because we could use all the distractions.
And we got PLENTY of distractions from that which was a pediatric MADHOUSE. She at least made new friends and only asked to eat a few times before I asked the front desk at 10am how much longer they think it'd be before my FASTING TODDLER would be able to EAT? Turns out she CAN HAVE WATER (like we suspected) so she gulped that down!! At 10:30 we finally saw the doc. Got the blood prick, and blood sugar was 91, which is normal.
The entire time, being hungry, paci-needy, and tired, Anna sucked that paci right in the doc's face, which earned me a lecture on how she should only get it at night.
This I KNOW, I tell her! I SWEAR this just started with those teeth that are coming in. Like just a week ago. Before that, it was during sleep ONLY.
Dang it, I hate that. I am such a rule-follower. Zero credit for the previous paci progress we made. But ultimately I left thinking what I went in thinking: when the teeth are done, so will be the paci. Till then, spare us all the misery. Even though it is getting a little easier and easier to yank it from her the past 24 hours.
The doc did see that she is teething her top two FIRST year molars. Apparently the SECOND year molars came in on the top when the FIRST year molars came in on the bottom way back when. The tops are so hard to really get a look at. We just figured all 4 first year molars were now in. WRONG.
So right now she's filling the last gaps in her top teeth by getting her first year molars. OUCH.
the up side to this visit is that:
1) her ears are clear
2) her throat is clear
3) her blood sugar looks good
4) teething confirmed.
Thus, the paci needs and water needs are probably comforting techniques. Whatever works, my baby. At least we know you're healthy.
At the doc's office she finally got to eat. But she was too upset from the poking/prodding/finger pricking/starvation to settle and eat. I had to give her the paci first and sing to her. She started to eat, then got worked up again. I guess she didn't like that urine collection bag stuck to her girlie parts in her diaper the whole time. Poor baby had to wear it home with the goal of providing enough pee that the doc could do one last round of glucose checks. When we got home, a glorious BM ruined the collection bag so now I'm stuck with the responsibility of going by the pedi's office, re-sticking a new one sometime when she's not at school, and bringing the urine by the doc's office.
I guess I'll get to that at some point. At least it's not as bad as stool collection in an inverse diaper.
We got home from the pedi's office in time to miss the actual inauguration but got some highlights and news coverage.
AWESOME.
Now I had better go review my own lecture notes and make sure I can teach them adequately to a group of wide-eyed undergrads. Look out, Human Physiology!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Starving the toddler
She's been drinking sooooo much water lately. I can't tell if she's trying to soothe her teething with it, or if something's up. I mean, she wakes in the middle of the night asking for it. She wakes in the morning soaked through her night-time diapers. She asks for it (and her paci) all day. Again, pain-related, growth-spurt, or something more serious?
To check it out, I get to take her to the doc tomorrow at 9:20AM in a FASTING STATE (including no water) to get her blood work checked for the obvious (diabetes, etc). For those of you who know Anna, you know you'll have to pray for me. The child wakes up at around 6:45am, demands her water, daddy, and waffles, in that order.
Daddy will be there but how am I going to get past the other 2? With the help of Daddy until he has to go to work, I guess.
6:45am till 9:20am is waayyyy toooooo long for this toddler to go with no food and drink. I may just show up early to the doc's office for moral support.
Earplugs.
Headache medicine.
Books.
Portable DVD player?
I think I'll be taking her to the playground immediately upon wake-up to buy us some time or something.
Help me.
To check it out, I get to take her to the doc tomorrow at 9:20AM in a FASTING STATE (including no water) to get her blood work checked for the obvious (diabetes, etc). For those of you who know Anna, you know you'll have to pray for me. The child wakes up at around 6:45am, demands her water, daddy, and waffles, in that order.
Daddy will be there but how am I going to get past the other 2? With the help of Daddy until he has to go to work, I guess.
6:45am till 9:20am is waayyyy toooooo long for this toddler to go with no food and drink. I may just show up early to the doc's office for moral support.
Earplugs.
Headache medicine.
Books.
Portable DVD player?
I think I'll be taking her to the playground immediately upon wake-up to buy us some time or something.
Help me.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Wise day-care teachers and self-sabotage
Paci-paci-paci, all day asking for paci. Well, I TOLD them, didn't I? Anna-Marie's day care teachers seem to think that suddenly Anna is just asking for the paci just to maybe get what she wants? In other words, they are accusing Anna of "playing us". One of her teachers, K, proceeded to tell me this morning how Anna can "turn it on and off" and that she thinks she's "playing us" for the paci at home.
Me: Oh, does she not ask for it here?
K: Well yes, but...
Me: Do you give it to her?
K: Well, we try to distract her
Me: Oh, great! Does that work for you?
K: Well, sometimes...
Me: And then you just give in?
K: She's pretty persistent.
Me: Look, I hear your thoughts on this, but this is the second most RECENT bout of teething we've been through with her. You've seen it for yourself for the past month: she doesn't usually even mention the paci. But with the teething, it's her comfort object. She outright asks for it, even during regular business hours. Whether she's "playing us" or not: I don't frankly care. Since I figure she won't be getting married with the paci in her mouth, I am obliged to not fight this battle until all 4 molars come in and all teeth are accounted for. Until then, I am in no rush. Though yes, I must admit to embarrassment by chronic paci-sucking 22-month-old in public...
You guys do what you gotta do here and I'll just do what I gotta do at home.
Besides, how is she "playing me" if I'm not even playing the game in the first place? Give the kid the paci, I am over resisting it. I know my daughter and she will give it up again when the teething stops.
Drooling, cranky, and whining and grabbing at her bottom right gums when eating are pretty good signs for me. But as a scientist/engineer, I need proof. Watch if I don't sneak up to her bed while she's sleeping in the next few minutes to pry her little mouth open and look for suspicious gums. I can't get a good look while she's awake. In the meantime tonight I gave her some Humphrey's teething strips. This homeopathic stuff didn't seem to work when she was a baby. Plus I heard some scary stuff about the Belladona (?) so I threw out her old Highland's in favor of Ibuprofen. But I tried Humphrey's tonight and lo and behold she was happy Anna (albeit with paci stuck to her mouth). It did seem to lighten her mood so yay for that!
*****
I am pretty happy with the direction my career is going here at NASA, but it doesn't hurt to keep an eye out for other potential positions that could be fun or different.
Several weeks ago I applied to a job within NASA that's way out of my league. In fact, after I applied, I realized it didn't even sound like something fun I'd want to do so I tried to pull my application back out. But the system didn't let me so I just left it and figured they wouldn't call me anyway, and went on with my life. As these things go, they called me Monday, and though I thought to tell the woman on the phone to not bother with me, I figured if I interviewed I may just learn something. Couldn't hurt at least. So I showed up, asked quesitons, and had a good time. I almost purposefully self-sabotaged myself and I didn't care: I asked stuff like- I have a toddler... how much travel is required (12 times a month, 2 of those international), what are the work hours like (40-50 hours a week), stress levels, etc. I even told her I was more the technical type and wasn't sure how I'd like management and high visibility. I even told her, "don't you think I'm a little too young for this job?" Her response was "No! I was 35 when I started, and I too had a 2 year-old". The woman was awesomely nice. It was more like a mentoring session than a job interview. So while I laid out all of my reserved thoughts on this job, (including statements like: "here's something else to think about, just in case you need a tie-breaker in making your hiring decision...[insert truth and not-exactly job-interview-promoting-material here]") she continued to counter with how that would be good assets for the job! She even gave me the names of the others she was hiring to round out her team. I don't know. She was either being a good mentor, or she was genuinely interested in hiring me. Who knows, it was still a cool meeting.
I left there thinking, ummmmm...I hope that they already have someone in mind (and this is a formality) or choose someone else because if they did actually offer me the job, it would be a tough choice to make. After a day of thinking about it, I would probably take it. It's not the path I have in mind for myself, but it's not THAT far off, either. It's just more responsibility and visibility that would require a new wardrobe to match the new salary. Not quite the fun I'm looking for, but actually I have kinda been-there-done-that-kind of NASA fun and so maybe growing up wouldn't be so bad. Maybe it IS time to move up. Besides, that kind of fun will come later anyway when I'm an astronaut.
One bummer thing is that it's kinda in line with what a psychic told me in October that I would be doing. It's a bummer because she also didn't see spaceflight in my future. And I was pretty intent on doing the opposite of what she said I'd be doing. Just to prove that you can change your own destiny.
Either way, I am good. I am still currently in a holding pattern in my current job position, and that suits me fine too because it's a great job. I have started to wrap some hope about actually getting this new position, wishing I'd tried a little harder to make her WANT to hire me (as what would usually happen during a job interview), but really, if I didn't get it, I'd be totally fine with it and I'm lucky to be in a position where I have good alternatives.
In fact, that's what I told her :)
Me: Oh, does she not ask for it here?
K: Well yes, but...
Me: Do you give it to her?
K: Well, we try to distract her
Me: Oh, great! Does that work for you?
K: Well, sometimes...
Me: And then you just give in?
K: She's pretty persistent.
Me: Look, I hear your thoughts on this, but this is the second most RECENT bout of teething we've been through with her. You've seen it for yourself for the past month: she doesn't usually even mention the paci. But with the teething, it's her comfort object. She outright asks for it, even during regular business hours. Whether she's "playing us" or not: I don't frankly care. Since I figure she won't be getting married with the paci in her mouth, I am obliged to not fight this battle until all 4 molars come in and all teeth are accounted for. Until then, I am in no rush. Though yes, I must admit to embarrassment by chronic paci-sucking 22-month-old in public...
You guys do what you gotta do here and I'll just do what I gotta do at home.
Besides, how is she "playing me" if I'm not even playing the game in the first place? Give the kid the paci, I am over resisting it. I know my daughter and she will give it up again when the teething stops.
Drooling, cranky, and whining and grabbing at her bottom right gums when eating are pretty good signs for me. But as a scientist/engineer, I need proof. Watch if I don't sneak up to her bed while she's sleeping in the next few minutes to pry her little mouth open and look for suspicious gums. I can't get a good look while she's awake. In the meantime tonight I gave her some Humphrey's teething strips. This homeopathic stuff didn't seem to work when she was a baby. Plus I heard some scary stuff about the Belladona (?) so I threw out her old Highland's in favor of Ibuprofen. But I tried Humphrey's tonight and lo and behold she was happy Anna (albeit with paci stuck to her mouth). It did seem to lighten her mood so yay for that!
*****
I am pretty happy with the direction my career is going here at NASA, but it doesn't hurt to keep an eye out for other potential positions that could be fun or different.
Several weeks ago I applied to a job within NASA that's way out of my league. In fact, after I applied, I realized it didn't even sound like something fun I'd want to do so I tried to pull my application back out. But the system didn't let me so I just left it and figured they wouldn't call me anyway, and went on with my life. As these things go, they called me Monday, and though I thought to tell the woman on the phone to not bother with me, I figured if I interviewed I may just learn something. Couldn't hurt at least. So I showed up, asked quesitons, and had a good time. I almost purposefully self-sabotaged myself and I didn't care: I asked stuff like- I have a toddler... how much travel is required (12 times a month, 2 of those international), what are the work hours like (40-50 hours a week), stress levels, etc. I even told her I was more the technical type and wasn't sure how I'd like management and high visibility. I even told her, "don't you think I'm a little too young for this job?" Her response was "No! I was 35 when I started, and I too had a 2 year-old". The woman was awesomely nice. It was more like a mentoring session than a job interview. So while I laid out all of my reserved thoughts on this job, (including statements like: "here's something else to think about, just in case you need a tie-breaker in making your hiring decision...[insert truth and not-exactly job-interview-promoting-material here]") she continued to counter with how that would be good assets for the job! She even gave me the names of the others she was hiring to round out her team. I don't know. She was either being a good mentor, or she was genuinely interested in hiring me. Who knows, it was still a cool meeting.
I left there thinking, ummmmm...I hope that they already have someone in mind (and this is a formality) or choose someone else because if they did actually offer me the job, it would be a tough choice to make. After a day of thinking about it, I would probably take it. It's not the path I have in mind for myself, but it's not THAT far off, either. It's just more responsibility and visibility that would require a new wardrobe to match the new salary. Not quite the fun I'm looking for, but actually I have kinda been-there-done-that-kind of NASA fun and so maybe growing up wouldn't be so bad. Maybe it IS time to move up. Besides, that kind of fun will come later anyway when I'm an astronaut.
One bummer thing is that it's kinda in line with what a psychic told me in October that I would be doing. It's a bummer because she also didn't see spaceflight in my future. And I was pretty intent on doing the opposite of what she said I'd be doing. Just to prove that you can change your own destiny.
Either way, I am good. I am still currently in a holding pattern in my current job position, and that suits me fine too because it's a great job. I have started to wrap some hope about actually getting this new position, wishing I'd tried a little harder to make her WANT to hire me (as what would usually happen during a job interview), but really, if I didn't get it, I'd be totally fine with it and I'm lucky to be in a position where I have good alternatives.
In fact, that's what I told her :)
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Bring on the teething
She slept all night, WOW.
But she was up early, as predicted. As goes with her teething style.
That's OK, I prefer up early than interrupted sleep.
But she's once again paci-paci-paci, mommy-mommy-mommy, cling-cling-cling, car-seat-cranky, and oppositional. Mixed with hints of smiles and happiness.
Crap, with 4 of these molars to go we will be going through this for like the next month or 2.
It sucks more than you know. Teething Anna is way less fun than normal Anna.
Can we just go back to Disney? It seemed to be a good distraction.
But she was up early, as predicted. As goes with her teething style.
That's OK, I prefer up early than interrupted sleep.
But she's once again paci-paci-paci, mommy-mommy-mommy, cling-cling-cling, car-seat-cranky, and oppositional. Mixed with hints of smiles and happiness.
Crap, with 4 of these molars to go we will be going through this for like the next month or 2.
It sucks more than you know. Teething Anna is way less fun than normal Anna.
Can we just go back to Disney? It seemed to be a good distraction.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Quick hits
On the night we got home:
Me: "Anna, guess who's coming to see you tonight?"
Anna: "See-Clause?"
Me: "Paul, did you hear that (laughing)"
Paul: Yeah (laughing)
Anna: laughing
Wow, where'd she get that? We didn't even play up the whole Santa-comes-to-your-house thing. She must have heard it all around her I guess.
Me: "No, baby. It's Annabel!"
Anna: WWwaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh and lots of carrying on
WOW.
****
Thanks to the seemingly never-ending eruption of toddler teeth, I can't remember the last night I have had a full night's sleep. Or even sleep in 6 hour chunks for that matter. Or 4 hour chunks. She just cries in her sleep and it wakes me up. I am on alert mode. Paul sleeps through it. It doesn't always require me to go to her. But at least once per night it does. The other 2 times she cries out wakes me up, and even though I don't have to go to her, I am up. Disrupted sleep.
And this is only the beginning of her first second year molar.
Upside: After this next torturous month, there will be no more discussion of teething.
****
A bit of a stressor: I'd better get started on my teaching materials for the Human Physiology class I start teaching next Wednesday. A little anxiety is building.
Me: "Anna, guess who's coming to see you tonight?"
Anna: "See-Clause?"
Me: "Paul, did you hear that (laughing)"
Paul: Yeah (laughing)
Anna: laughing
Wow, where'd she get that? We didn't even play up the whole Santa-comes-to-your-house thing. She must have heard it all around her I guess.
Me: "No, baby. It's Annabel!"
Anna: WWwaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh and lots of carrying on
WOW.
****
Thanks to the seemingly never-ending eruption of toddler teeth, I can't remember the last night I have had a full night's sleep. Or even sleep in 6 hour chunks for that matter. Or 4 hour chunks. She just cries in her sleep and it wakes me up. I am on alert mode. Paul sleeps through it. It doesn't always require me to go to her. But at least once per night it does. The other 2 times she cries out wakes me up, and even though I don't have to go to her, I am up. Disrupted sleep.
And this is only the beginning of her first second year molar.
Upside: After this next torturous month, there will be no more discussion of teething.
****
A bit of a stressor: I'd better get started on my teaching materials for the Human Physiology class I start teaching next Wednesday. A little anxiety is building.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Disney, the half marathon, and stuff
Good God.
Where do I start?
Backwards.
No more travel as far as I can see for the next few months. In the past 19 days, we have spent 11 nights away from home.
Remember this is my journal, so it will be long and you aren't committed to having to read the whole thing. Some of this stuff I just put down because I want to remember it. So if it bores you, don't feel obligated to read it!
We just pulled off a monumental feat, the greatness of which you'll probably never fully realize: navigated Orlando and the Disney Parks and resorts with my mom, sis, and niece and nephew, plus our own toddler in tow, pulled off the logistics of airline travel, map negotiating, rental car check-out, resort settling, transportation, kids' race packet pick-up, starting-line arrival, cheering, finish-line photos, half-marathon packet-pick up/expo, half-marathon completion, and sleeping/eating and nobody lost an eye. All in less than 72 hours. Blisters, expenses, and a couple of family tiffs were the worst of the carnage but I have to say that I think overall, the whirlwind gave us all a taste of Disney and we had a fabulous time.
Mickey is EVERYWHERE.
******
Why we came in the first place: The Disney Half Marathon and Kids' Races
Somewhere along the run, the dark became light. As we approached mile 10, I did some math and realized that if I really pushed these last 3.1 miles, there was a chance I could beat my personal best time of 2:57. Yes, it's still a snail pace, but it's not about speed for me. For me, my goal is always to just finish with as little walking as possible. To finish knowing I gave it all I had, and knowing I'm not a competitive athlete or serious runner. So I pushed through the last 3.1 miles, making a new goal: to beat my previous best time. Turned up my Eminem music, and pushed. At mile 11 I realized that in my previous two half marathons, by this point, my feet usually feel like painful blocks and my knees scream at me with every step while my body usually feels 20lbs heavier. But not so this time. There was some knee pain but all else was quiet. Even my feet were fine. I even ran up the long overpasses while the others walked. I pushed so much that my muscles could carry me, but my cardio was cursing me and threatening to make me vomit upon the poor spectators at Epcot's last 0.1 mile stretch. Paul made me slow down. My body went numb and all I could feel was nausea. I just couldn't see that damned finish line, even though I saw the sign that there was only 0.1 miles left to go. Paul said at this point we could walk it and still beat our best time. We ran around and through some walkers and I cursed them in my mind for just being in my way.
Overall, I'm a little sore but nothing compared to previous years. I think Paul is more sore than I am. I mean a half marathon on top of Disney Parks? I must be in better shape than I thought.
***********
Where do I start?
Backwards.
No more travel as far as I can see for the next few months. In the past 19 days, we have spent 11 nights away from home.
Remember this is my journal, so it will be long and you aren't committed to having to read the whole thing. Some of this stuff I just put down because I want to remember it. So if it bores you, don't feel obligated to read it!
We just pulled off a monumental feat, the greatness of which you'll probably never fully realize: navigated Orlando and the Disney Parks and resorts with my mom, sis, and niece and nephew, plus our own toddler in tow, pulled off the logistics of airline travel, map negotiating, rental car check-out, resort settling, transportation, kids' race packet pick-up, starting-line arrival, cheering, finish-line photos, half-marathon packet-pick up/expo, half-marathon completion, and sleeping/eating and nobody lost an eye. All in less than 72 hours. Blisters, expenses, and a couple of family tiffs were the worst of the carnage but I have to say that I think overall, the whirlwind gave us all a taste of Disney and we had a fabulous time.
Our big girl on the airport parking shuttle. Last time she was in a stroller.
Yesterday Anna's first words upon wake-up were:
"Nemo? Choo-choo? Boat?"
Me: "No baby, we're going home. Wanna ride on the airplane?"
Anna: "Uh-huh!"
We crammed in as much Disney magic we could in the Thurs afternoon-Sat night we were there. But it wasn't enough. We had a blast but still didn't get to see or do half of what we really wanted Anna to experience. We did ride Spaceship Earth, NEMO, and the Mexico ride at Epcot (and the rest of us minus Anna rode Test Track and Mission: Space. No time for our biggest regret: Soaring). Anna really loved the rides, and wasn't scared one bit. Thank goodness. I actually had no time to wonder if she even would be scared till we sat in our first ride: Spaceship Earth and it got dark. Then the thought crossed my mind but I looked at her little face that was full of wonder of what was going on all around her, and my thoughts passed. I guess at this age, she doesn't understand fear yet. So we had such a blast with her. I bet next year the Haunted Mansion wouldn't be the best idea. Our first night ended with spectacular fireworks at Epcot. For some strange reason, it made Anna so giddy, she offered hugs over and over again all around to her cousins, Nana, and Nanny Kristi. She seemed moved or something. My theory is that Disney knows how to put on a show such that it changes the hormone levels in kids' systems, with the end result being nothing but a feeling of peace on Earth and abundant love to their family, thus driving the parents to realize that they need to come back to Disney over and over again to enjoy such a wonderful Kodak moment. Seriously, I do believe there is a whole team at Disney designed to induce feelings that will bring families back over and over. It's choreography at its finest.
Shopping in Mexico. Did not buy the hat.
The pretty ones are always the booger-pickers.
Bummer, too short this time for Test Track.
Anyway, this year at the Magic Kingdom, she rode Haunted Mansion, Aladin's Flying Carpet, Pirates of the Carribean, It's a Small world, the Disney train, and saw a Disney Parade. Even in the off season, there were some crowds so we packed in as much as we could while still covering her nap times. On the last night we were there, we pushed her to a late nap with plans to wake her and go back to the park till it closed but it was clear by the fact that she was crying out in her sleep and couldn't exactly settle that we were pushing cognitive overload on her and thought that our plans to hit the Pooh and Dumbo rides plus meet Princess Aurora (her current fave) were probably more our desires than hers so the late nap turned into down for the night. That was a tough decision to make. We were so on the verge of waking her up to go back out there. But to top it off, that brief down time was just enough time to make our muscles sore and stiff from the half marathon we'd just run that morning. So we stayed in and let all those last 3 park hours go on without us. It felt like being at an all-you-can-eat buffet and getting full after just one plate! We considered staying one more day but the costs were just too much. It's true what they say: Disney is NOT CHEAP. It's amazing. We are seasoned travelers and Disney has been the greatest cost of all!
It's a Small World Afterall!
Mickey is EVERYWHERE.
Of course we let her have this. It's a Disney Vacation, people.
At one point in Epcot, we missed the last boat across to Morocco that would have saved some foot-pain. I jokingly shouted to my family "You suck!" as if I were telling off the boat captain. As was the intention, only my family heard this (he did not). It was apparent Anna heard this too as she went around the park for the next 15 minutes shouting from her stroller: "YOU SUCK!" to innocent park-goers. We giggled, amazed that we are now at that point where she'll repeat that kind of stuff and got her to change her shout-out to "PIZZA"! Then she proceeded to shout out "Waffles! Pasta! Ice Cream!" to park-goers all the way to Morocco. She's brilliant, isn't she?
We stayed at the Disney Fort Wilderness campground, in the cabins. They were roomy and clean and just overall super awesome. More than I expected. Plus the weather was "ARE YOU KIDDING ME" amazing. It felt like we were camping and it was so wonderful. The resort has a pool, lake, boats, arcade, playground, campfire sing-alongs, stables, petting zoo, restaurant, a store, and all kinds of stuff to do. Of course, in the limited time we were there, we took no advantage of these things. You also had to take a fun golf cart to get everywhere because there's no driving and parking allowed in regular vehicles. There's an extra cost for the golf carts, or you can instead take their bus system around. The golf carts were worth the money. And it was off-season so there were no real crowds. It was a quiet campground that had tons of trees and wildlife and the staff was great. We will be staying there again. You can take a boat right to the Magic Kingdom and drive to the other parks. We loved it. Again, it was like camping.
Next year we will be staying a full week to enjoy the resort and slow down through the parks so we don't have to rush. Paul and I had been before, and we took Anna there this past June when we were already there to watch a shuttle launch. Then, we had only visited the Animal Kingdom for one day, which was great fun, since she was really into animals back then.
Anna was great on the airplane rides to and from Orlando, which were a little over 2 hours each way. In fact, unlike our previous plane rides when she was younger, I knew her little personality had grown so I didn't even have anxiety about entertaining her all the way there for the threat of her causing a scream scene. Despite her great behavior, on the way home, she finally fussed herself to sleep from exhaustion and woke up 30 min later upon landing, pissed off and tired. So the other passengers got a good ear full of the sounds of a post-Disney 22 month old with cognitive overload and sleep deprivation. But God bless this child, she kept up with us at every step of the parks with no complaints. She was as ready for fun as we were at every turn. She was truly amazing and we were so grateful she was having as much fun as we were. She especially loved hanging out with the rest of the family. She had a real blast with them for sure. Plus she had a stroller and when she got tired of walking, she got to ride. Who wouldn't love that?
Here's a note to all: I will NEVER be going to Disney during the peak-seasons. Paul and I have been before Anna was born and it's way too hot and crowded. Now that we came during the off-season, we know there's just no reason to ever go during peak-season again. On that note, we did have fun when we came as single adults, but I do think it's a different kind of fun with Anna. In fact, I think I liked it much more this time. I was surprised at how much a 22 month old really could get into this stuff and she didn't even see half of the potential of Disney. We had fun partly because she had fun. And the rest of the family was enjoying themselves too, so we had lots of laughs and experiences. It was fun hanging out with the family and catching up.
Despite the costs, we have decided to make the Disney Marathon a yearly family event. Now I have a whole year to figure out how to cut costs and do it cheaper and stay longer. My friend Rachel gave me the best book ever by which to start my research. Thank you, Rachel for the book because it was a HUGE HELP during this year's trip. Now I'm going to use it to start planning for next year's trip.
But I have to slip this in: we are past the teething of all 4 canines and now onto her first 2nd year molar. God help us. I was hoping for a longer break to enjoy happy Anna. But I can see the teething cranky Anna is upon us in the last 24 hours, and the fact that she is now asking for her paci during regular business hours is another sure sign. The slobber and occasional hand to the back right bottom molar, along with: "ouch" is another sign. Disney and her family was a good distraction, but now I must face reality of what will probably be another 4 weeks of teething booger behavior. I am so glad these are the last 4 and then we are DONE.
******
Why we came in the first place: The Disney Half Marathon and Kids' Races
Despite the fact that she strangely woke with a fever of 101.4 the first morning at Disney, the ibuprofen brought it down and put her in a good enough mood to run her first formal race: The Disney Kids' 100m dash! After some motivational pump-ups from her cousins and some stretching with mommy, we ran it with her. At the finish line, she said "more? more?" and received her metal. She wanted to do it again, but it was time for the other kids' runs. My niece and nephew ran the Mickey Mouse 1 mile race and they got metals too! All the kids were tired by 1pm, which is when we finally made it back to the cabin for naps and food. Parks that afternoon. Paul and I were worried about our feet since we had to run 13.1 miles the next day...we braved the parks hoping for no foot pain. I even wore my running shoes, at risk of getting them ruined or something. It seemed to work. We got out with minimal foot pain and no blisters, ready for our first Disney half marathon (though I had some new calf soreness. Bummer.).
Stretching with Mommy before the 100m dash.
Getting motivationally-pumped up by her cousins and Nanny and Nana!
Oooh, pretty metal. You earned it, baby!
The next day was our half marathon. Paul hadn't really trained at all, and in my opinion, my training was only half-assed, though I did the best I could with the schedule I had. Despite that, after a 4:30am wake-up, sore calf muscles from park walking, fireworks, a two-mile walk to the starting line, and a 40 degree start under an amazing only-Disney-can-pull-this-off beautiful full moon, we finished the half marathon at our personal best times of 2:53 (previous best was 2:57 in 2006 in Houston). I felt amazingly great during the run. I had spurts of energy that can only be attributed to the Advocare gel shots we took along the run. Even up the blasted long-assed overpasses in the last 3 miles of the race. We ran through Magic Kingdom and you could stop along the way to take pictures with Disney characters but there were lines for this, and I knew if I stopped, my legs would not let me get started again. But I did get one snap in on my camera phone of Captain Jack Sparrow! But Blogger is giving me crap so I'll have to post it later.
Somewhere along the run, the dark became light. As we approached mile 10, I did some math and realized that if I really pushed these last 3.1 miles, there was a chance I could beat my personal best time of 2:57. Yes, it's still a snail pace, but it's not about speed for me. For me, my goal is always to just finish with as little walking as possible. To finish knowing I gave it all I had, and knowing I'm not a competitive athlete or serious runner. So I pushed through the last 3.1 miles, making a new goal: to beat my previous best time. Turned up my Eminem music, and pushed. At mile 11 I realized that in my previous two half marathons, by this point, my feet usually feel like painful blocks and my knees scream at me with every step while my body usually feels 20lbs heavier. But not so this time. There was some knee pain but all else was quiet. Even my feet were fine. I even ran up the long overpasses while the others walked. I pushed so much that my muscles could carry me, but my cardio was cursing me and threatening to make me vomit upon the poor spectators at Epcot's last 0.1 mile stretch. Paul made me slow down. My body went numb and all I could feel was nausea. I just couldn't see that damned finish line, even though I saw the sign that there was only 0.1 miles left to go. Paul said at this point we could walk it and still beat our best time. We ran around and through some walkers and I cursed them in my mind for just being in my way.
My brain: There's no walking near the finish line. I don't trust my own numbers. I don't want to risk it. Just push. You will survive.
FINALLY I could see the finish line. Still thought I might throw up, but I took the headphones off so I could hear the crowd's cheers, as Paul cranked his to full blast, and we crossed together. The large gold-plated Finisher's Donald Duck metals were cool to the touch so we pressed them against our faces to cool off. They were worthy and heavy around our necks. We beat our best previous times with a few minutes to spare! All this before 9am. Time to go home, clean up, and head to the Parks. Paul braved an ice water bath, but I wimped out right when my feet hit that water. I'd rather a slow stream of ibuprofen all day to muffle the muscle soreness than to suffer through 10 minutes of an ice bath!
Overall, I'm a little sore but nothing compared to previous years. I think Paul is more sore than I am. I mean a half marathon on top of Disney Parks? I must be in better shape than I thought.
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On the drive home from the airport in Houston, another Anna first.
From the back seat: "My Belly Hurts."
I shot Paul a look: "Did she just say that?"
Paul: "Uh, Yeah!"
Me to Anna: "what did you say, baby?"
Anna: "Belly hurts, belly hurts" while touching her belly.
Wow. Here we are. Paul freaked out because her belly hurt. But I was thinking: of course she's had stomach aches in the past but could only cry about it. Now she's actually telling us. Holy COW. Is that some kind of a toddler milestone or something? When we got home, she had a pretty impressive traveler-BM diaper that substantiated where the belly ache was coming from. Then a nice, long nap before her friend, AB came over to spend the night. Since C and JS were in the hospital welcoming their new baby, we kept AB overnight on our first night back home so it was good-bye Disney, hello toddler sleep-over.
With sleep deprivation, jet lag, sore muscles, and double-the-toddler fun (enough with the "mine! no!" already, ladies) Paul and I got everyone out the door by 8:30 this morning. Now I'm at work, writing this blog entry in pieces between last night and my lunch break.
I need a vacation from my vacation. For reals.
I need a vacation from my vacation. For reals.
I haven't even written about New Year's and Christmas really.
I will post all the pics of the holidays and Disney trip in Flickr shortly.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Out-takes and updates
Due to too much travel and limited internet capability at home, I haven't been keeping up with the blog like I should. I have tons of pictures from the holidays to post, and when I get back from the Disney Half Marathon (we leave Thurs, back on Sun), I'll try to post them all. Currently we are switching from DirecTV to AT&T Uverse and it requires a botch in home internet access till the end of Jan. So bear with me as I blog whenever I can...
In the meantime I did want to post these hilarious shots. At least I think they're funny. As this having been our second family photo shoot, I have first-hand experience behind what's involved. And so when I see all the cutsie family and toddler photo shots in Christmas cards and stuff, I think "yeah, there are some out-takes in there somewhere. No toddler can sit still and perfect for a full hour of flashing lights and props." Yes, after 125 pictures, we did have a few we kept. In the meantime, we got a CD of all 125 of them so I picked out a few out-takes to show you all. I figured you all should have an idea of what it's like behind the scenes, too.
And yes, I included some good ones in here too...my favorites. See if you can spot which is an out-take and which is a fave for real.
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