Thoughts from a half marathon

So many things go through your mind when you're hoofin' it through the mud for 13.1 miles.

• A mile takes SOOOOO much longer when you are walking up hill, in the mud, while it is pouring down rain, being careful not to have a sharp rock puncture through your shoe or step in cactus-all the while being mindful of snakes and possible bow hunters, than it does on the street. Lame.
• CLIF bars are magic. Like when Mario gets a mushroom and then he goes super fast. They do wear off though.
• I have always hated Gatorade, I discovered that I like the blue kind just a little bit though.
• Life can be so much like a trail run. You have to be careful where you step and who you follow. You also have to find the perfect balance between keeping your eyes on just what's in front of you and looking up to see a few or several steps ahead.
• My mom is awesome.
• My mom is hilarious.
• Having a baby who doesn't sleep through the night gives you amazing energy. I didn't truly realize how many "second winds" I get throughout the day until it was tested.
• My husband is great.
• Having people cheer you on really is helpful. We didn't have any of that.
• I love accomplishing things.
• Life can be like a trail run in other ways too. You can train and train and get into good habits and be as ready as possible, but still get stuck in the mud. Mud is hard to walk in, it's slippery and makes your body hurt and every single step takes more energy. Life gets muddy sometimes too and there's nothing you can do about it but trudge on.
• I secretly hated the guy who won the half marathon. It was sick how quickly he finished. Sick.
• I like to sing made up songs to energize and encourage people around me.
• I relieved myself in the bushes at about mile 10.
• My tight workout pants were wet (from rain) and after I relieved myself I heard someone coming. My pants would not come up! I ran while yanking at them and laughing like a crazy woman. It was the funniest thing that has happened to me in a while.
• We discussed the art in the Louvre around mile 9. I could not for the life of me figure out how to say Samothrace. I kept trying to figure out, Winged Victory of...Thermothace, Sermotha? My brain was all whacked out and it was driving me insane. It's Samothrace!!
• I'd be willing to do a flat half. You know, on a paved surface.
• I'm not sure my mom will ever do something adventurous with me again.
• I need to get the biggest ol' 13.1 sticker they make. Then I need to add, Trail Run, IN THE RAIN, More Mud Than You've Ever Seen Before to it.
• Why am I not skinnier than this? Seriously.
• It was a good thing we had waterproof mascara on.

13.1 in pictures...sort of.

Well, that was interesting...

I had a few more, but maxed out my Blogger photos...must figure out what to do...

Freaky Friday

Since randomness seems to be a fave among those that comment (on and off of Blogger), I may just make this a regular occurrence.

• It is officially FALL!!! Bring on the cooler weather, pumpkin coffee and being able to go on walks during the day! I'm still waiting for those last two...
• You can't trust a man in women's shoes. You just can't.
• I am very out of practice when it comes to making pizza dough from scratch. My second batch was better than the first though.
• I have seen the Mona Lisa in person. Underwhelming. Sad, but true.
• It took me THREE days to get all the ironing done this week. It's a good thing ironing is a man chore in this house.
• I'm good at keeping secrets. Like real good.
• I'm getting a little better at packing lunch for G on a regular basis, I've almost got it down to a system. I will not share what percentage of his lunch is carbs.
• I'm trying to define my MomStyle. I never want to be a schlepper or shroomer. Finding cute, (affordable) clothes that are nursing friendly and washable has been quite the task!
• We are still playing with M's Prilosec dosage. The poor kid. He is quite the trooper, but we are still working on finding a dose that controls the reflux without bothering his tummy. It's a very curious thing and can be frustrating. Praying he outgrows this quickly!
• I'm in love with MinuteClinic. I think it's the coolest, easiest thing ever.
• My sister just found out she's having a GIRL! I'm excited. M is excited that he remains King. ;)
• I've been wearing the same pair of contacts for way more than 30 days. Uh-oh.
• This week, we added Happy Thanksgiving, Curious George to our family library. I'm the most excited about it. Typical.
• G forwarded this NASTY e-mail about food imported from Asia- it included disgusting pictures of gigantic snakes that were being processed to pass as other food and lots of other disturbing things. Fish was what we bought from Asia. Let me tell you, it is SO HARD to find fish from the US!!
• G also sent that disgusting e-mail to the manager of our Sprouts, so maybe it will be easier to find US fish after all.
• We got an e-mail about the marathon tomorrow informing us of the weather conditions...as if we didn't know. (And in case you didn't know, it's supposed to rain heavily throughout tonight until about noon tomorrow.) It said that rain gear was recommended, including rain pants. What? There are rain pants?! I had no idea...that must be REI speak or something-not a part of my world.
• I do not have rain pants.
• I won't be buying rain pants.
• I will be a soaking wet rookie marathoner tomorrow.
• I made Kahlua brownies on Monday. Poor choice. It's Friday and I've eaten nearly half of the batch.

Counting Down...

Our HALF MARATHON is on Saturday!! Today is our last "training" before the big day! Tomorrow we get our race packets! We recently got an e-mail with more details about the event, here is my favorite paragraph of that e-mail:

Potential Hazards: We have done everything possible to minimize risks, but this is a trail-race event. As such, all races including the 5k will have significant technical challenges and potential hazards. Some of the potential hazards include but are not limited to: loose rock, difficult hills, cliffs, exposed roots, cactus, poisonous snakes, and exposure to the elements. There will also be other potential users on the trail including, mountain bikers, hikers, and bow hunters accessing the hunting area. We will have EMS on standby at Russell park, and first aid trained personnel at aid stations throughout the course, but it is still crucial for all runners to be aware of possible dangers and to exercise caution and good judgement at all times.

Bow hunters and poisonous snakes?! Oh, okay, no big. I'm cracking up....Mom may or may not be a weeee bit nervous. Did I mention it may rain on Saturday as well? This is going to be quite the event! I'm excited. I'm also remembering that what doesn't kill you makes a really great story. Here goes...

Busy, busy!

We've been busy with all sorts of things lately and I've been trying to be super productive, which means less time for blogging. So for now, here are some cute pics of Makafui!

An Apple A Day...

Makafui is still very resistant to new or thicker textures when it comes to spoon food. However, he had a pretty great time gnawing on an apple slice yesterday!

Cutie, cutie, cutie!! And in case you were confused, that's not a dangerous piece of trash next to him, it's a current favorite noise-maker and toy. :)

More Randomness

• I'm really trying to work on being gracious, especially when other people are not. It's not always easy.
• My neighbor's mother (both complete strangers) and I talked very briefly today. She managed to sneak, "You know vaccines are really bad for you." into the conversation. I wanted to respond with, "You know that Polio is worse." Instead, I tried that whole gracious thing and just smiled.
• I think a little discretion goes a looooong way.
• Makafui has discovered the golf course!! This is some serious entertainment for our little dude. Today, I drug the highchair onto the patio so he could see-total hit.
• Golfers have potty mouths.
• Golfers are also loud.
• I fear the F word could make it into M's vocab if he watches golf too much.
• Shea Moisture is my new obsession! We use it on Makafui's hair and it does wonders!! His curls are soft and defined and it smells amazing!! It's also a product with a conscience, next time you're in Target (you know, when you're perusing the Black Hair Care section), pick up a bottle and read it. :)
• Oxi-Clean will get prune juice out of grout.
• I love this weather!
• The toaster oven thing is a hit so far. I like the convenience and in the first week, our usage went down by $4. Pretty cool.
• Tiny Togbe has moved his bedtime up to about 9. It. Is. Wonderful.
• We had several playdates this past week, most of which went very well.
• Playing with Cuz Sophia was a different story. M was being so sweet and kept giving her kisses, then in the blink of an eye, he grabbed two handfuls of hair and yanked! Poor Sophia! He attacked out of nowhere...like an exotic animal in captivity.
• Everywhere we go people ooooh and aaaaaah over my baby. Yeah, he is gorgeous.
• I made my first batch of Pumpkin bread on Sunday, that must mean it's Fall!
• When people tell me how skinny or good I look, I find it so encouraging that I go eat chocolate. Maybe I should exercise instead.
• I'm so incredibly thankful for my family.
• I've been thinking a lot lately about not burying my 'Talent' and what that means for me. (Matt 25)
• I miss hanging out with my brother, Jon.
• I'm excited for the future...and for the present.

This Is The Life

Do you ever take a snap shot of your life and file it away as a significant time or memory?

I totally do and was reflecting over that this week. One quiet night as I sat and rocked Makafui, I thought back to a day teaching in Hohoe, Ghana.

I can remember the breezy skirt I had on, my long hair tied up, the leather flip flops I seemed to never take off and my white feet-a stark contrast to the reddish brown dirt floor of my classroom. I was trying to teach the concept of multiplication, rather than just memorization. I was totally on a roll and thought my students were beginning to grasp what I was teaching. I started to hear a few giggles, then more and more as I wrote on the board. I turned around and was shocked to see the cutest little fluffy goat hopping around. The classroom (including me) erupted in laughter! I stood back as some of my students tried to catch the goat and get it back outside. It was wonderfully chaotic. As I surveyed the classroom, I took a snap shot to file away and I thought to myself, this is the life. Not because it was fun and adventurous and I was making a difference, but because I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

As I remembered that day, I looked down at my sweet boy. I tried to memorize his cheeks, which have filled out to a fabulous chubby, his soft curly hair, his precious paw of a little hand holding on tight to me and the total peace he has. I took a snap shot and felt the exact same way I felt those years ago in Ghana, this is the life. Not because it is fun and adventurous and I'm making a difference, but because I am exactly where I'm supposed to be.

Life doesn't always work that way. In fact, the in-between can be excruciating. But for now, I have the peace and confidence of knowing that this is what I was made to do right here and now.

This is the life.

What a Year Can Bring

On this day last year, this is what we knew of our sweet little Cocoapuff...

I remember on that day how excited and nervous we were. I remember we didn't know how we would pay for the anatomy scan, but we didn't postpone it. God showed up for us and we were able to pay for that scan, on that day, cash. Then we learned our Cocoapuff was Makafui!

Here we are a year later. I never could have guessed that the baby in those fuzzy black and white pictures would be this AWESOME KID! I had no idea that he would be so full of love and personality and joy at such a young age. I had no idea what he would teach me about God, life, my husband and myself.

This day last year was a big day. We were half way through the pregnancy, our baby was now our son and we were living on a prayer...quite literally.

God showed up for us! Over and over and over again this past year, God showed up! It is so good to pause and take that in. We are so blessed and so thankful!

Who knows what the next year will hold?

 

 

Random Stuff

• My husband doesn't like to peel his own oranges because they make his hands smell like oranges. Someone gave us tangerine hand soap and he loves it....because it smells good. Like oranges, on. his. hands!
• I hate, hate, super hate politics. Hate. You will never see me write specifically about politics and I don't even think my own family members really know my political point of view. I think it's super divisive, really messy, HIGHLY subjective and just yuck. I wish I could fast forward the election, but nothing else about life.
• I'm bummed about all the people I see on Facebook sharing their political opinions. Please don't, because I still wanna be your friend.
• I got a box of chocolate Krave cereal and ate it all in 3 days. I'm not sure if the cereal was that good, or if I just really like chocolate and we didn't have anything else.
• We bought a toaster oven to use instead of the real oven. We aren't using the real oven for the entire month to see what it does to our electricity bill. Fun experiment.
• G insisted on getting me a bigger, nicer, more expensive toaster oven than the cheapy one I had picked. Sweet.
• I love being a Mama.
• Sometimes I wish there were a little more recognition for us full time moms. It is a hard job on many, many levels. People don't realize that or let us know. I need to get over that though, 'cuz it's just not gonna happen!!
• G got moved to another branch again. It is a wonderful promotion for him and I'm crazy proud!
• The downside of moving to another branch is that I now have to pack a lunch, which means using the creative part of my brain that has shriveled up in my sleep deprivation, this is a tough one for me.
• I cannot wait for it to cool down!! I am most looking forward to going on walks with M during the day! We have a University and hospital across the street from us, which means pretty campuses, lots of sidewalks and great people watching. Aaaaaand, cafeterias and nice bathrooms if needed. Score.
• Someone in my family unfriended me on Facebook and I keep wanting to ask them something, but it's such a drag because I can't just Facebook them. Geeez, what is this world coming to?
• I keep seeing books and toys that I want to get Makafui for Christmas. I really need to dial it back because my Makafui Christmas Wish List is insanely huge!
• I organized all of our closets this week. Yay me!
• All three of us got our flu shots 2 weeks ago and I still feel like super mom for making that happen. It's the little things.
• When I feel like insurance costs a lot (it doesn't really, but sometimes I feel that way) I look up what our benefits have afforded us. In August, insurance covered $1100 in care for 3 healthy people. Seriously?! That's wonderful and terrible all at the same time. I'm grateful nonetheless.
• G and I were in a large group recently where I knew a lot of people. I kind of worked the crowd, you know, just a little. G was surprised because he hasn't seen me like that in America. I used to be so outgoing. Now, not so much. I am much more protective of myself and my little family. I'm still mulling over this and trying to figure out if it's a good thing or a bad thing.
• My husband used my toothbrush. No, spouses don't share everything. I had to get a new one right away. I might put my name on the new one.
• I used to have pretty curly hair, since having M, it's mostly straight. Weird.
• I may or may not have hosed off my soiled baby in a park's public restroom sink mid-walk and then left him in a onesie sans diaper until we got back to the car. I may or may not need a mommy-patch on my vest for that.
• I super duper love coffee. A LOT.
• I don't want to own/adopt any animals at all, for a very long time. I do want to go to the zoo or on a safari pretty much every day. I think animals are great as long as they aren't in my home.
• The season premiere of Grey's Anatomy is written on my calendar. Loser-ville!
• My dad's mom (a.k.a. Nonnie) is coming to visit in October. We're pretty pumped around here!
• Shout out to Mermis! I love blog-stalking too!! ;)

7 MONTHS!!

This month has passed by so quickly!

Makafui is developing and learning things so fast, I feel like he does something new everyday.

In language he likes to mimic as much as possible. He especially likes to mimic laughing. He hasn't really added any new consonants to his repertoire, but he keeps trying out the ones he has mastered in different pitches and intensities. For instance, scream grunting da-da. Super cute.

He is still a great eater, but only if it's pureed. If the food is even thickened a little bit he makes a terrible face, keeps eating it, and then gags or something else totally dramatic. He has still not figured out that he can just spit it out or not open his mouth. I guess he's a rule follower like me. :)

He's got the pincer grasp down! He is pinching everything now, toys, clothes, his earlobe, my arm and Cheerios. But God forbid he actually eat the Cheerios, they are the one thing he WON'T put in his mouth! He did try a small piece of another cereal the other day though. He put it in his mouth and immediately burst into tears. He's pretty torn about this food thing. :)

Practicing his "pincer" on Daddy's glasses and mouth all at once. Poor Daddy.

He gets very proud of himself when he does something new or cool or just plain awesome. He scrunches up his face into a huge grin and breathes really heavily for a few seconds, looking around for more approval. It's pretty funny.

He naps pretty well during the day. We aren't talking about night time.

He is more than happy to sit and play with toys or observe things around him. He has very little, if any interest at all in crawling.

He is still quite the ladies man and very shy of men who aren't related to him.

He has been going with GiGi and me for our half marathon training and does well in the stroller for the most part. Every now and then we have to cut our mileage short or carry him, I'm hoping he does well tomorrow when we do 12 miles. Please baby, please!!

His hair is growing into a fro-hawk which is cute and funny, but it is really starting to need some styling. Since I am white and Makafui is not, and since G is black and Makafui is not, we have both found ourselves stumped on how exactly to do his hair. I've been doing research and asking around though and I'm learning a lot. We have a good routine down for now, but his hair is changing, so we'll see what happens in the future.

He hasn't gotten any more teeth, but I think he may be working on some.

His latest discovery is the tower fan in his room. He's also figuring out the oscillating thing, he knows the fan will come back and leans waaaaaay over to catch it. Like this...

Who knows what the next month will hold? I'm not sure, but I'm ready to find out, I'm loving this sweet and exhausting time with my boy!!

I might just be obsessed with this kid. :)

End of Summer?

I know Labor Day is kind of the unofficial end to summer, which I hate because it tricks those of us in hot, hot Texas into thinking that that hot is almost over. False. We've got at least another month of this.

So with that in mind, we decided to try out the splash park for the very first time to see what other fun we can have for the rest of the summer! It was a hit and I have a feeling that next year we'll be hitting up every single one in the area!

We found a great spot in the shade to park our stuff. We sure do love the quilt Nonnie made us.

Surveying the surroundings...

Holding on for dear life.

"I don't know about this, Daddy."

Hammin' it up after drying off.