Cold Turkey

We ran the Turkey Trot this morning.  The pies are all filled and baked.  Pumpkin cookies are placed on plates.  The broccoli salad has been sitting in the fridge since yesterday.  The kids are bathed and dressed.  All that's left to do is  wait for a phone call from my parents that the turkey is done, and we'll head to the church for some Thanksgiving fun.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Just Keep Running, Just Keep Running, Running, Running, What Do We Do? We Run, Run

I did it!  Last night I went out running, and my goal was to run a 5k without walking, and you know what?  I did it!  I'm on a super high right now, even though it's already the next morning, just because I actually did it.

My brother told me about a site with free music mixes, where you choose music based on how many beats per minute it has.  Last night I listened to "World Cruise" at 155 BPM, and I really liked it.  My time isn't as good running the whole things as apposed to when I do intervals, so I'm going to pick a song with a higher BPM on Saturday to see what that does.

A lot of people in my family are signing up for the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning.  Mike, Tallia, Kim, Short Brian, me, Alyssa, Ethan, possibly Megan and Michael...It's going to be great!

Switch-Up

So I was just sitting here, minding my own business, pouring over a fashion blog, wondering how people can have the time, money, and energy to put into dressing themselves spectacularly each day - when I heard an excited voice behind me, "Mom, look at us!"  It was Alyssa.  I turned around, and this is what I saw:

Yes, Alyssa and Marcus had switched clothes.  First off, look how thin little skinny-minny is in her pajama turned capri pants.

And let's take a closer, fuzzy look at Marcus in Alyssa's glasses.  Check the kid out, he's adorable! If Brian checks his eyes and says he needs glasses, I will not be sad.  He'd be an intellectual three year old hunk!  It's better in person.  I couldn't stop laughing at the cuteness; the pictures are not even close to it.

When Marcus looked at this picture he said, "Dat me in Arilla dress!"

Happy Birthday, Dear Marcus!

Saturday was Marcus' birthday.  I started singing to him the minute he opened his eyes in the morning, and before they were all the way open, he had a huge grin on his face.  We had a pretty busy day: Brian's great uncle's funeral, visiting our newest nephew in the hospital (Erin and Phil's little boy, Calvin), and then his birthday party. 

The funeral was actually a good experience.  I love LDS funerals!  Yes, there are tears shed, but they're not really sad, because we know we'll be able to be with each other again.  We enjoyed seeing a lot of Brian's relatives, and the kids especially enjoyed running around the gym afterward with distant cousins.  Marcus even hug-tackled a little boy his age.  We've got to do something about that.  He's a tough lover!

I was visiting with Erin while Marcus was inspecting Calvin in Brian's arms,so I didn't get to witness it, but Brian said he was very interested in the newborn.  Calvin had a few small cuts on his head from the delivery, and Marcus was very concerned about those. 

And then came the birthday party.  We spent most of the day at the funeral, then rushed to the hospital, then rushed to Costco to pick up a cake to supplement the cupcakes and to Michael's Craft Store to replace my cupcake frosting tip I lost, then really rushed back home to straighten up the house and get things ready for the party.  We had just barely enough time.  I was just finishing placing the cupcakes on plates as Mike and Tallia rang the doorbell.

The party was great.  We had a full house with all the grand children running around.  Marcus was excited to eat his cupcakes, and he even sat at the table once everyone started arriving and told us he was ready to eat.  He got a lot of fun presents from everyone - present opening is chaos with fifteen kids crowded around, but it's also very exciting. 

Marcus is quite the guy.  He's like a 33 year-old stuck in a 3 year-old body.  He thinks he has the same rights, privilages, and kitchen pantry access that adults have.  He loves rocket ships, pirates, blocks, books, and cars.  He loves to wrestle, but he is also a very good cuddle-er, and he loves to give hugs and kisses.  He loves to bake!  Any time I go to the kitchen to make something, whether it's breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, or whatever, he'll be right beside me measuring ingredients and stirring things.  He's also started to get a great sense of humor and he likes to crack jokes or say funny things and wait for us to laugh.  He is such a sweet little boy, a real joy to have in our family!

Journal Entry

It is 8:03 and my kids are still asleep.  What's with that?  Don't worry; I'm taking full advantage of it.  I've frosted cookies we made yesterday that we're going to take to Brian's grandpa tonight, I've sent an email to someone on our activities committee, I've checked a few blogs, and now I'm doing a post of my own.

I used to not post to my blog unless I had an absolute definite topic to write about.  Now I find that a lot of my posts are just a conglomeration of everything that's happening in my life.  I guess my blog is turning into more of a journal, which is a good thing.

8:07 - kids still sleeping.

I've cut back on my running.  I've had a sore back for I-don't-know-how-long and last week I finally decided to do something about it.  One day while running last week, my back would just pinch and scream at me with each step I took, so I went home and called the chiropractor the minute their office opened.  It's helping, but I'm not quite fixed yet.  So with my back hurting, my mom offered to let us use their elliptical for a while, and Brian picked it up for me on Monday.  I'm doing that in the mornings, but I still have a run to prepare for (Thanksgiving Turkey Trot) so I'm planning on going running on Wednesday evenings and Saturday mornings.  Alyssa and Ethan want to run the one-miler, so they'll be coming with me.  I'm excited for that.

8:12 - kids still sleeping.  Crazy!

Brian and I were called two Sundays ago to be the Activity Committee Chairmen.  I'm super excited for that.  I'm a little sad to not be teaching Gospel Doctrine anymore (Never thought I'd say that!), but I'm glad to not have to prepare a lesson for this Sunday. Last night we had our first meeting to plan the ward Christmas party, and it's going to be awesome.

Alyssa's favorite song right now is Ray Steven's "The Mississippi Squirrel Revival."  Brian won an ipod nano at GWCO.  He put a bunch of songs on it and gave it to Alyssa.  She listens to it every chance she gets, and she discovered that song a couple of days ago.  Alyssa has been playing in the afternoons with Camilla, who lives across the street.  They're becoming great friends, and I'm glad of it.

8:19 - I took a bathroom break and discovered that Ethan's actually been awake for a little while.  He's just quiet.  Alyssa and Marcus are still down.

Ethan is just cute.  He goes to cousin preschool once a week.  (My sisters and I are taking turns hosting and teaching.)  He loves it! Yesterday at Tallia's they learned about the post office and mail.  They took turns sorting letters and made their own postcards.  Ethan has been building lots of things out of blocks.  Last night he made spiders while Brian and I were busy with our meeting.

Marcus is almost three!  His birthday is on Saturday, and I've got to get cracking on that.  I got some rocket ship cupcake wrappers and toppers at Williams and Sonoma (huge splurge!) while we were in Portland, and I'm so excited to see what he thinks of them.  He loves rocket ships!  His favorite shows right now are "Superwhy" and the cartoon "Iron Man."  He's taken a saying from Ethan, and I think it's so cute when he says it.  After he tells me something, he always asks, "Did ooh no dat?" which is obviously, "Did you know that?" 

8:28 - I don't know what Ethan is doing downstairs, but he's the kid that I basically trust, so I'm not worried.  Alyssa and Marcus: I haven't heard a sound from them.  They're still breathing, though. I checked.  I think it's time to get them up and moving.  For kids who are usually awake before 7:00, they are sure sleeping in.  Why can't they do this on a Saturday?  Oh well. I think I'm going to listen to the squirrel song really loud.  That should do the trick.  Plus, they'll wake up happy!

Edited to Add: Now she's discovered, "The Pirate Song."   We have got to get school started or we're not going to get anything done today!