correction

Sorry, 12 cm to go, not inches (thankfully)

Third Trimester!

12 weeks to go! 12 more inches on the tummy!

Ruth and Mommy

1. "Look what I got, Mom!" "Oooh, a My Little Pony." "No, it's MY Little Pony."

2. (playing the animal guessing game-like 20 questions) "Is it a cat again?" "No, it's bigger than a cat." "Is it a bigger cat?"..."No, but it likes getting dirty"  "I think pigs like getting dirty"(where did she learn that?)

3. "Ruthie, do you want to wake up and play? One of your friends came over to play." (groggily) "No, I want to go to the jumping place" (she asks about this about every hour, we're going tomorrow as a potty training reward) "We're going there tomorrow." "Mom, when is Claire coming out of your tummy?". (one of the other questions she asks about every hour). I love that these are the first 2 things out of her mouth after her nap!

Duathlon!

 So I wanted to participate in a local duathlon this past weekend, but decided that it wouldn't be worth the money when I wouldn't be able to really push myself and try. Plus, Spring was so late and wet this year that I got a late start with my bike riding.

Instead, I decided to plan a kids' duathlon for my housing community!

We had around 60 people (including parents) come.

 They followed a curvy chalk line, went through a funnoodle "wall" suspended across the road, rode through a sprinkler, turned around, rode through an archway, around some cones, and through another archway.

Then they hopped off their bikes (and in many cases kept their helmets on) and ran either 1/2 or 1 mile along the road (we had people directing traffic and me patrolling it on my bike to keep kids safe).

Some families even opted to buy Duathlon t-shirts (all the orange shirts you see in this pic) so we could really get into it.

At the end, everyone got popsicles!

It was a crazy couple hours for us! We had lots of lost keys as we passed them around. Ruth and James were just playing on the playground for all the time we were setting up, which resulted in some wet pants for Ruth after 4 consecutive dry days. Taking her inside to the bathroom was not at the front of my mind! We almost didn't find the key to our outdoor toy storage box in time to get our kids' bikes out for the race!

Fortunately, Grampy and Grammy were in town so Grampy could help Ruth while Dan accompanied James, and I helped with the event. James ran/walked the whole miles, Ruth did somewhere between 1/2 and 1 mile. She alternated between sprinting and stopping. So cute. Unfortunately, my point and shoot was out of batteries! I didn't want to take photos with my big camera while on a bike, so all these photos are of OTHER people's kids.

I love having our job as Graduate Community Assistants. It gives me the funds and other resources to plan, advertise, and execute these crazy ideas I get! I appreciate Dan's help with this too!

We used our only non-temple "date night" this month to shop for supplies for this event. I tend to get carried away with ideas and Dan gets to be the voice of practicality. I eventually had to stop him while we were shopping and tell him he was being TOO practical and he had to start offering ideas that WOULD work for everyone of my ideas he said would NOT work. To his credit, he got on board after that and really made the whole thing work better than it could have without him. We found some fun AND practical obstacles and we used our joint knowledge of craft, hardware, and discount stores to get everything we needed to make it a success.

Thanks to all the participants who made it a party!

2nd Trimester Exercise

It's almost my third trimester (this coming Wednesday). My aches and pains while exercising have varied in location and intensity at times making me wonder if its time to be done with parts of my routine. I was happy to have another (relatively) good week of exercise to finish off my 2nd trimester:

Monday: 30 minutes of swimming (didn't count laps, but did do some breaststroke)
Tuesday: 3.5 miles running
Wednesday: 10.5 miles biking
Thursday: 4 miles running
Friday: 30 minutes of swimming (didn't count laps, freestyle nonstop)
Saturday: 6.2 miles running

I stopped wearing the maternity support belt this week. It didn't seem to help, unfortunately. Maybe later in my pregnancy. I'm hoping to make it 4.5 more weeks running--we'll see how I feel!

Missing from this post is how much weight I've gained, because I think it's more than I had at this point in either pregnancy (definitely that with James' pregnancy), but I sure like baked goods and ice cream :)

Shuttle mission 2

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10...9...8...7...

6..5...4...3...2...1...BLAST OFF!

Two boosters in the house (for preschool carpool)=more shuttle expeditions. This is also inspired by the Magic Tree House book we are reading right now, Midnight on the Moon. In case you're interested, rocket ships also reach a cruising altitude at which kids can get up and move around. At least when the pilot is James.

You can tell this was right before bed, because they are giddy with the hilarity of it all. Today they are still playing this but have added wearing beanies as space suit helmets and are passing the time reading in their seats :) My camera just died, but I'll use my phone and send that one in.

My sweet kids

At the end of his dentist appointment yesterday, James was allowed to pick "a few" prizes from the prize box. After he picked 2 tattoos, they told him he could choose something for Ruth. He said, "I already did!". He had chosen 1 tattoo for himself and 1 for Ruth. So sweet! They were so impressed, they let him choose 2 more things. He chose a key chain for himself and a ring for Ruth. What a sweetheart.

A good friend of ours moved recently and, as a kind of joke, gave my kids her daughter's singing cheerleader doll. The doll had driven them crazy and my kids LOVE it! Fortunately, my kids don't make it sing that often, so I can tolerate it. Ruth insists on keeping it on the couch so its out and ready to "Give Claire when she comes out of your tummy."

3 More Months!

Today was another Dr's appointment. Because of an emergency in my Dr's family, I saw the nurse practitioner. She only spent about 5 minutes with me, but she was still much more thorough and friendly than my usual Dr :) She agreed with the kidney/bladder stones diagnosis though, so that was nice to hear.

This was the first time I had my stomach measured this pregnancy. They measure from the pubic bone up past the belly button, to the top of your belly and, amazingly, the measurement corresponds to how far along you are. So today I measured 27, which is right on. The NP let the kids each take a measuring tape and told them that when my belly was that big the baby would be ready to be born.

James held it up and marvelled that it was the same height as him (just about). That is a sobering thought. My belly is going to be THAT big!

Ruth is ready for the baby to come out too. She asks me everyday if Claire is grown up and ready to come out. She even hold her hands out and says, "is the baby this big? is that baby THIS big?" etc. We may have some practicing to do though. Last night, we found her laying on top of our 11 month old dinner guest "tickling" him. We explained about being gently with babies. She pointed her finger about an inch from his face and said, "but can I poke him?".

and some photos taken from a more flattering angle than James' approximately 40 inch height (thanks, Dan). My due date is exactly 3 months from tomorrow! Only 1 more week of my second trimester!

Quotables

Two notable quotes from the week.

Ruth: "I'M TALKING!!!"
I made the mistake of explaining to James this week that the rules about not interrupting apply to when Ruth is talking too. It didn't take long for her to figure out what "Ruth was talking, James" meant and is now quick to scream "I'M TALKING" or "I WAS TALKING" whenever interrupted. Which is a lot. Because they both talk a lot. Like me.

James: "You make me do EVERYTHING".
Definition of everything: getting dressed and putting away his own dirty clothes. Does not include the toilet/tub/bathroom scrubbing I was doing while he was simply getting dressed and putting his dirty clothes away. This refrain has been repeated since.

Although I laugh at his funny logic about how "hard" I make him work, I realize that I too often have this same attitude. I have been supporting Dan on his frequent late nights at work recently, because I am excited that he is feeling so motivated and it would be nice for him to reach some major milestones before baby #3 is born. On the other hand, I feel myself lamenting having to do what feels like EVERYTHING around the house and with the kids. I have to remember how hard he is working simultaneously and how much he really does still help out (even if it is less than my lazy self would like sometimes).

Today at church, I was thinking about how this applies to me in a gospel sense as well. We have a ward (congregation) with a lot of people in need. Dan and I both go through waves of being really ambitious and motivated to help the people we are assigned to and being totally burned out on what seem to be lost causes. I found myself this morning wishing that we could just have more simple callings (responsibilities) where Dan would not have meetings for so much of the day, and I would not feel the constant pressure of a seemingly impossible task. It occurred to me that there are so many people who do so much more than we do in the church and in serving others every day. Not to mention how much the Lord has done for us (not the least of which, His atonement) and does for us continually, yet all He asks is our simple best to help His other children. I need to remember that our callings are not about being successful and being the best at those particular jobs, but about doing our best to help and serve others regardless of how "successful" I feel about it.

When James complains about doing EVERYTHING I always tell him that we are all working hard and we are all just working together. I need to tell myself that when it comes to sharing family responsibilities and serving others in the church and community. Everyone is working hard and working together to accomplish our shared goals even if from our own perspective, our load seems difficult to bear at times.

Grandmas

For Mother's Day this year, I finally used an idea I first came up with a couple years ago, but that I think my kids were only old enough to effectively pull off this year.

We put painted handprints in cards and then listed 5 things they love about each of their grandmas, with one item written on each finger. The cards were one of the less artistic Mother's Day projects I've ever made, being just paper folded in half, but James made them himself and they both even painted their own hands before making the prints, so that makes up for it, right?

Anyway, I was so touched by how readily James and Ruth came up with things they love about or to do with each Grandma. I am so happy that my kids have personal relationships with their grandparents.

I should have written down all the things they said so I could blog them, but here are the high points.

Nana
For my mom, James immediately said, "She reads Magic  Tree House books with me", which was really sweet because my mom had bought that series and made a point of spending quality time reading with him each night while we were there. Ruth immediately said, "I love Max and I love Katie." They are my mom's dogs. They both also mentioned things like making pudding with my mom or making fresh squeezed orange juice (something they saw on a cartoon while there that my mom let them recreate). I thought this was especially sweet considering she also took them to Disneyland. Even though they had a blast at Disneyland and still talk about it a lot, the things that made the biggest impression on them were the everyday ones that she did with them while we were there. That's a lesson I can learn as a Mom.

Grammy
For Dan's mom, the kids remembered Grammy playing with them all the time and bringing them presents and candy (Easter). Ruth's first comment was about playing with a toy clock. I had no idea what she was talking about, but apparently Grammy has a little clock up in her room she let them play with. Ruth also mentioned knocking down the rabbits in a game they played where you stack up bunnies in a pyramid and use a carrot hook to pull them out one at a time. This made me laugh because Ruth even added, "but I kept knocking them down." I think Grammy may remember that game with more frustration than Ruth, who apparently thought it was awesome, despite her personal variation on the rules. James, of course, always remembers his regular overnights with Grammy at her and Grampy's hotel whenever they come to visit. That is one of his favorite things to do!

Grandma
For my step-mom, Dianne, I thought the kids' memories were so cute and so indicative of which holiday we spend each year with her in Michigan. They liked eating the yummy food, watching her make food, watching TV, playing games, and  I can't remember what else, but does that sound like anyone else's Thanksgiving? It was months ago, but apparently it stuck!

I am grateful for our wonderful moms and how much love and attention they give our kids. It's nice to see how grandparents interact with children because it reminds me of how cute and talented and wonderful my kids are, which I always know, but can need reminding of at the end of long days seemingly full of cleaning and disciplining!

An All American Weekend

at least that's how it feels!

Friday night Dan and James went on the annual Father/Son campout. Dan has a work meeting from 4-5 on Fridays (boo!), but managed to leave partway through. I had packed up most of the camping equipment, so they hopped in the car, picked up one of the boys in the city, and made it to the campsite around 6:30.

Ruth and I went to the museum of play together. Even though we only stayed for just shy of an hour, it was really fun to be able to give her my undivided attention and just soak up her adorable personality. After she went to bed, I finished some photos, ate lots of cinnamon raisin bread, and worked on cross stitching while watching a chick flick. The good life :)

James loves camping and insisted on going despite the rain. They were really only there long enough to set up the tent, cook hot dogs, and tell "silly stories" (instead of scary ones--a family camping tradition) but that works since those are James' 3 favorite parts about camping.

 They left the campsite by 7am to get back in time for the Run for Fun at James' preschool. James and Ruth have both been looking forward to it and even ran/walked 1.2 miles with me earlier this week as a practice! Unfortunately, the course was a little confusing for them. Instead of running around the loop 3 times, James ran around once and then went to the finish line. Ruth and Dan went around twice before finding James who had decided the first loop was long enough, so they stopped and played in the bounce house and with the other fun activities while they waited for me.

 I ran the 5k. I was proud to do it when 6 months pregnant, even if I run farther than that 3 times a week right now anyway :) I did run a 9:30 average pace, which is faster than my recent runs and it is always fun to be in the race atmosphere!

 The whole family. James looks upset, but is actually yelling "I did it!!!".

Our friends, the Sturgills running in. This was Kira's first 5k and she has come so far in just a short time of training. I was impressed. They had to make an emergency pit stop which pushed their time back. It happens to be one of the best "first race" stories I've heard, but I'll let them share it.

 Katie and I ran it together. I mean, what would a week be without at least 2 hours of running with Katie? We have run together 3 times a week for at least the past year, including all Winter long without missing a single run! There is definitely no way I would have been getting up at 6:15 to run 6-7 miles in single digit temperatures if I didn't have such a fun and dependable running partner!

She made a comment about me not looking like I'd just run, since I tend to not sweat much and she...well, does :) However, she is only 2.5 weeks behind me in pregnancy and you can hardly tell in this picture, so she wins!

Ha, I like that our numbers are consecutive. We have the same last name :)

After the race festivities, we came home and quickly got ready for the rest of the day. Dan and Ruth ran off to help one of his Young Men repair a bike and I did some cleaning, took James to a birthday party, and came home to do some photo sessions. Once that's all done, we were planning on heading to the Lilac Festival, but the rain is relentless today.

Stay tuned for the kids' duathlon next week! Dan and I are in charge of it, so let's hope it goes well and doesn't rain!

Baseball

The weather has been gorgeous here the last few days! James and I spent close to 2 hours today playing baseball. I was SO impressed with how well he could hit it when I threw the ball and how well he could throw too!

Ruthie was our amazing, stroller-pushing, trend-setting, out fielder. She decided to spin around and throw the ball for the picture. Then she fell. Awesome! I think the Phillies should consider this uniform. She hates the wind (maybe the horribly harsh Winter winds here have instilled fear?) and insists on having a jacket and a hat or hood to keep the wind from blowing on her or her hair.

Corsages,etc

I was spoiled for Mother's Day. We went to Panera on Saturday night. Dan made waffles Sunday morning, but I slept so long he ended up eating with the kids and I got a quiet breakfast later while the kids took a bath! He ordered a corsage for me and got a flower for me to use to make one for Ruth. After church, we made calzones (something I've been craving a lot)! Happy Mother's Day to me!

Glad I took this pic before church. When I picked her up from nursery, all that was left was the white ribbon. We couldn't even find the rest!

another bad picture of me, showcasing the weight that I am gaining in my face recently, but it shows my corsage!

A Mother's Day Scripture

I think I've shared this thought before, but I was reminded today of how much my mother and mothers everywhere do for us and what an eternally important and eternally rewarded role motherhood is.

Matthew 25
35For I was an ^ahungred, and ye ^bgave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink...

Countless meals planned, prepared, fed, cleaned up. 

Not to mention countless hours spent nursing babies, 

many during sleepless nights.

I was a ^cstranger, and ye took me in:

How drastically does a person's life change when they become a parent?

Literally welcoming a stranger into their lives and 

taking them into their homes and lives in every sense of the word. 

 36Naked, and ye clothed me: 

Diaper changes.

Getting dressed in the morning.

Changing after meals, diaper blow-outs, 

"accidents", and mud puddles. 

Endless piles of laundry.

I was sick, and ye ^avisited me: 

Another translation of the original Greek word for "visited" 

is "took care of, cared for".

Cleaning up vomit.

Comforting.

Worrying.

Doctor's visits.

Loss of sleep.

I was in ^bprison, and ye came unto me.

Maybe the child is not actually in prison.

But imprisoned by sadness?

Worry? Regret?

 40And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have ^adone it unto one of the ^bleast of these my ^cbrethren, 

And who is better described as "the least" 

than small, helpless, and innocent children?

ye have done it unto me.

Thank you to all the Mothers who have sacrificed and served (and continue to do so) in such a selfless way. I truly believe you will be rewarded by our Father in Heaven for the care you have given His children. 

Manipulator

I love how Ruthie's mind works.

1. We were given some left over OJ after an event. We don't normally have juice at home, so this was a big deal.
Ruth: "Mommy, can I have some more orange juice?"
Me: "Not now, Ruthie, you've had enough."
Ruth: "Mommy, I'm feeling sick."
Me: "Really?? What kind of sick?"
Ruth: "Like, I need some orange juice to make me feel better."

2. Me: "Ruthie, I don't know if you can have a cookie. You didn't stay dry!"
Ruth: "Can we just pretend I'm staying dry and then I can have a cookie?"

3. Ruth: "I am not going to cry at church today!"
Dad: "You aren't? Well that's good."
Ruth: "Yeah, so  how 'bout I don't need a nap before church since I'm going to be happy."

Strep!

James has strep! His symptoms were fever and fatigue this weekend then sores on his mouth that appeared Monday or Tuesday. No sore throat or anything.

I brought him to the Dr Wednesday after a neighbor with similar symptoms was diagnosed with strep. The nurse practitioner took a look at his mouth and did a swab. She said he was negative for strep and just had cold sores. He was ok to go back to school. Which he did yesterday. Then this morning I got a call from the dr's office saying the lab culture came back positive for strep.

So the reason I write this is for my local friends. I hope you don't get sick from us! Also, If your kids get a fever and are lethargic anytime soon, suspect strep even in the absence of a sore throat! Also, he will no longer be contagious tomorrow in the late morning (thank goodness for antibiotics) so don't think I'm horrible if you see him out playing with your kids!
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your baby

Ruth calls my big tummy "your baby". Today she stared at my stomach for a second and said,

"Is your baby all growed up yet?"

"Not yet"

She pats me on the tummy and says,

"I got your baby! and its name is Claire and he's coming out soon".

She's getting it a little :)