POLAR BEAR SWIM

THIS IS WHAT MY KIDS TALKED ME INTO DOING TODAY. OLIVIA STARTED THE WHOLE THOUGHT PROCESS AND WE DECIDED TO TAKE THE PLUNGE. I HAD TO DO SOME FINAGLING WITH THE REC. DIRECTOR TO GET LINCOLN APPROVED SINCE THEY CHANGED THE MINIMUM AGE TO 10. THANKFULLY, BOB CAME THROUGH FOR US BECAUSE WE HAD A BLAST! IT WAS FREEZING COLD BUT WE ALL THINK WE'LL DO IT AGAIN. WANT TO JOIN US NEXT YEAR?

I MISS NAPTIME

I must be getting old. I remember the days where I could mange things in little bits because soon it would be naptime and I could have a respite. I could sit down, put my feet up, even close my peepers for a few minutes. No more. There is no rest for the weary here, there is only cars being driven along the walls, graham cracker crumbs all over the floor, kids yelling about having to pee, and so forth.

And I am tired.

I post this picture as evidence that the child once understood the concept.

It's cold. And dreary.

I'm trying not to care that it seems like no one reads my blog. It's silly. I started up again for an outlet. A way to manage and organize my brains in the midst of the busy-ness but for some reason I've begun to crave approval. And. I'm. Just. Not. Getting. It. I just read something on facebook about a friend of mine who said she was loving facebook too much and needed to log off in order to practice some self-mastery. I guess that needs to be my plan too. Practice self-mastery to fight the feelings of inadequecy. I will remind myself that I have practically everything...a house full of healthy, beautiful children. A thoughtful and supportive husband. A strong body that carries me as far as I choose to go. A tub of homemade peanut butter frosting in the fridge...I could go on.

Hmmm. Actually, self mastery is going to have to wait--until after I eat the frosting!

Reflections from a overly-tired mind.

My kids are awesome. Hard, and crazy, and busy, and stubborn, but awesome. While Olivia was at the pool for swim team the rest of the kids followed me over to pound out a few miles on the treadmill. I asked them if they just wanted to stay home and watch a movie...but no, they wanted to come work out with me. After each set of exercises they would flex and ask me if their muscles were bigger. "Of course they are!" I said. Which makes me think about life and the fact that we should pause sometimes to flex our muscles to see if our efforts are working out for us. If they aren't, we should try something else. Right?

My church teaches us about service. We are taught that when we are in the service of our fellow man we are in the service of our God. I believe in service. At least, I thought I did. I considered myself thoughtful and made efforts to serve others. But as I've learned more recently about how easy it is to REALLY serve those
who TRULY can't help themselves. I think it's time for me to flex my muscles, guage my progress, and try something new. I have an idea for a project. It's going to take a while and I pray that it works out and that I don't lose steam.

In this economy craziness I think it will be easy for me to get stressed over money and everyday things to the point that I can't think about others. I don't want that. There are financial complications all over the country but even that thought is too small right now. And I want to think bigger. And be bigger.

I have a friend named Lisa. She races for a charity called Aids Orphans Rising. She is amazing and she works hard to help these kids that are left alone in this world to fend for themselves and for their families. 10 year olds taking care of siblings, going to school, and working a farm, and just trying to get fed each day.

Service. I have learned a different meaning of the word (other than just a plate of cookies.) And it's time. Is it time for you too? Whatever we do, let's do it with heart and flex all our muscles to find out how strong we really are.

LINCOLN

I LOVE TY!!!

So yes, I grabbed the camera before I cleaned it up. Maybe that gives him the impression that this was o.k. but in my defense, you can totally hear the annoyance in my voice, right?

UPDATE:

I'm sorry I cut your cell phone charger in half with wire cutters.
I'm sorry I sliced your sheets.
I'm sorry I keep rhyming with words that sound like swear words.
I'm sorry I scream like a girl.
I'm sorry for body-slamming you.

I feel like it's prudent to mention that at this point he has given up apologizing, instead, he has embraced his inner hyperactive self and is just going with the flow.

It's a good thing he's so cute.

SUGAR BUGS, BE GONE!

POOR SAD IZZY

Is Buffy still a vampire slayer?

I had to run 14 miles today. Tonya and I opted for some seasonal-affective-disorder defense in the form of sunshine. That's right! We actually ran in the daylight hours and it was awesome. With the risk of sounding like a surfer, I dare say, it was totally awesome, dude! Loved it. Anyway, regardless of the vitamin D therapy one's brain still gets a little loopy when you run that far and the conversations can be pretty interesting. And poor Tonya... love her for putting up with me and my incessant sarcasm. Let me replay a convo we had today. On the heels of Tonya mentioning her daughter's reluctance to watch a certain movie because it was "old and in black and white" I stated my opinion about today's music. (Yes, I'm getting old! I can't even count the number of times I've yelled at my kids to "Turn that down!") Anyway, I suggested that while I, personally enjoy many of today's hits, I feel that in 5 years, most of it will be completely irrelevant. Then, Tonya countered with the name of a song that has the possibility of being more of a classic. I agreed, but stated that too many of these songs have trendy lyrics and phrases that won't withstand the test of time. In response, Tonya says....(insert drum roll here) "I know! Slay me! I totally agree with you!....." I couldn't make out the rest of her reply because I was laughing so hard. Of course, I had to point out the irony. and the timing. But lest you feel me insensitive for making fun of her attempts to sound like her teenage daughter I will tell you that she TRASHED me climbing the hill at the end of our route. She did, in fact SLAY me, if you will. So, I think we're even.

Vincent Van Gogh

I remembered something while I was running with TZ today. I feel like it's worth documenting in order for me to preserve this thought that has escaped me for years. We were talking about baby names and some of the horrendous choices we've heard lately and as the conversation evolved, I was reminded of the hours Jimmy and I spent trying to pick the perfect name for our first teeny girl. Then, things progressed down memory lane about the newborn and the pre-school-er when I remembered this scene...It was Olivia's turn to present a letter at pre-school and since she was assigned the letter V it was hard to come up with something she could retain. Finally, I found a book of artwork and a matchbox car shaped like a van and taught her this phrase......

VINCENT MAKES THE VAN GO!

She ran around for days singing about Vincent and Vans and who knew then that she would become so creative in the earliest of growing up years? She makes doll clothes out of rags and old towells. Yesterday, she brought me a 3-D display explaining all the details of something important to her and today she is making all kinds of pretty colors while barfing into the toilet. A real artist uses all kinds of mediums, you know.

I love Olivia and I'm so glad her name is not Apple or Helga or Jocelyn Arian Nation. It's Olivia! And it suits her perfectly.

The end.

Ty broke my camera!!!!

Ty broke my camera! AGGHH! I swear, I watch the kid. I keep a pretty good eye on him but occasionally my bladder needs some attention and well...you know. I took him to the gym day-care to play while I worked out today and he had to go to time-out there for being too rough with the toys. (By too rough I mean-kicking-the toys!) Only once though! As I'm typing I'm having to delete random letters because Ty keeps reaching his little grubbies over and slapping the keys. Right now, he's talking about his legs and how he wants the hair off of them. He's obsessed with razors and apparently everything else I tell him is off-limits. I used to feel like my kids thought the word "no" was merely a suggestion but to Ty it's a challenge.

I'll tell you right now...It's never boring around here.

I'm off to build some sort of structure involving Lego's and jenga blocks and because I have a feeling that Ty's construction interests involve mostly demolition...I'll grab a hard hat! Wish me luck.

Look at me!

Just like you, I have "Look at me!" children. (Halloween 2008)

They get excited and want to share the new things they have learned.

They run races.

And make yummy stuff.

They are always saying "MOM, come look at me!"

"Come look what I did!"

Ummm. Have you met my fifth child?

On another note: This fifth child went shopping and bought me some great clothes. More sweaters to feed my addiction and a couple nice shirts. He knows I won't buy anything for myself unless it involves extra-moisture wicking material so he spoiled me. (Thank goodness for our four seasons and clearance racks!) Thank you!

Blood Pressure Blowout!

I have a little friend named Owen. He and his mother were swimming last summer. (Actually, his mother was swimming while Owen watched from from his safe house, a nifty little tent that sits stationary on the deck of the pool) I had just gotten out of the lake from a training swim and thought I'd take the kids to the pool to let them splash around a bit. So I'm sitting there, on the edge, life-guarding my fish-ies and I notice this girl swimming laps. And I mean, swimming, with a purpose. Of course, this motivates me to ask her what she was training for. I wouldn't be me if I wasn't always in people's faces about running and multi-sport events, right? So, she tells me she's thinking about doing a triathlon but that she's a little afraid to actually do one because she might like it too much and then she'll want to keep doing them. "Hmmm", I thought to myself..."I better help her out and make sure she has a good experience." (I'm just pushy that way.) Anyway, long story short...I basically forced her to join me in some of my training. I bossed her around plenty for a couple of weeks and on race day she rocked the course and wants to continue racing. Yeah! But now, much to her husbands chagrin, I still try (where were you this morning Beth?)to make her workout with me even in the dead of winter... well before the crack of dawn and at all hours of the day. (Sometimes, we even do boring old pilates!) And this, my dear friends, brings us to the whole point of this long-winded dialogue...Sweet little Owen, who, apparently loves plants, found his way to my very fake ficus tree yesterday just after his mom and I got done riding our bikes. (Yes, I even made her bring her bike over and I hooked it up to the trainer and made her ride. I'm just mean that way.) So, I say to Owen, that he's not in for much of a tasty treat and maybe he should consider an alternate food source. To which he replies "Why, thank you, you kind and thoughtful angel. Perhaps you might offer me some tea and crumpets." Not really! He's only 13 months old and has chosen not to share much verbiage with me yet and I'm certain he doesn't have a British accent either but he did give me a very pensive look. But Ty, (I can always count on Ty) became very concerned for Owen's well-being, not concerned enough to stop snatching toys away, mind you, but he says to me with his hands waving in the air for emphasis "Oh no! If Owen eats that plant, he'll die and his blood pressure will go way out!"

It was funny, to say the least, but to that I say..."Huh?"

VIRGO

My horoscope for today says...Silly thoughts fill your head--record them for story and joke-telling. Nearly everyone you encounter agrees you are hilarious. Do not wait for more proof of your rare talent before giving yourself confidence to share it.

Hmmm. At least they got the first sentence right but I'm pretty much the only person that thinks I'm hilarious. (That's not true. My friend and running partner thinks I'm hilarious but who isn't at the giddy hour of 4:45 a.m?)

It also says not to wait to share so I'm sharing that according to the stars...YOU SHOULD think I'm funny. Does that count?

Check out my updated I'm sorry list at the bottom of my blog!

TRAINING FOR SALT LAKE MARATHON

A friend of mine is helping me out with my marathon training. She's such a nice, generous woman who spends her time racing for a charity that she believes in and training others. In 2008 she raised close to $600,000 through her running and biking for her AIDS ORPHANS charity. On top of that she is the toughest woman I have ever known or even heard about.

I don't know why I'm shocked that her training for me this week has jumped me from being a lazy slacker last week to running almost 40 miles this week along with weight training, swimming and biking. Ouch!

I apologize in advance for the inevitable zombie I'm sure to become...on the other hand, it may allow me to continue my habit of eating man-sized portions and carbs at all hours of the day and night. It just might be worth it!

I heart these guys!

I wish I had the next few photos in this series. They are of Ty taking a nose-dive into the sand and loving every second of it! We watched the Vegas New year's eve show of Robbie Madison's insane motorcyle jump. (I'd set up a link for those who missed it but there is an unedited swear word at the end of it. If you choose to, you can look it up on youtube or just google it.)

Ty says he wants to be Robbie Madison when he grows up. For some reason, I'm terrified to say, I believe him. Please pray for a return of his Tiger Woods obsession. Golf seems a bit safer than extreme motorcycle stunts.

Are you kidding me?!?!

You would not believe what Ty did last night. It is by far the most crazy thing he's done so far and completely surpasses all of the other kids combined. It's so shocking that I can't even tell you.

Just a little mid-life crisis!

For days I have been racking my brain to come up with something to blog about. Cute/crazy kid things. Swimming with the kids. Olivia's impressive engineering of the marble racetrack. Lincoln cleaning his room without being asked. Ty's questionable urinary habits.... I have experienced a teensy bit of anxiety after posting last feeling like maybe it was too personal so I wanted to post something light and fresh to distract people (mostly me) from the previous one. It's not that things have been quiet and boring, they never are, but nothing has piqued my creativity and kept me interested long enough. So, I've sat, reading and re-reading other blogs. I even read the newspaper. Well, I read the comics and my horrorscope. (yes, I did that on purpose.) It turns out that as a Virgo, I can "plan for my creativity to pay off later in the year because I started working on it now" When I read that, I thought "Hey, that actually sounds like me right now!" I got all excited thinking about the comments that I've heard about the stuff on my blog. Even the Jimmers was telling me he thinks I'm talented. I mean, he has to right? I wear his ring. But then I realized that these 1st draft ramblings can't possibly be considered writing. I don't even know. how. to! punctuate? correctly.! A friend told Jimmy recently that he dated/knew Stephanie Meyer waaaay before her massive-money-making Twilight venture. It seems like everyone is writing books these days. Bloggers, old college girlfriends, brothers (I hope), everyone is writing. They are writing and being creative and I'm seriously craving a creative outlet. After at least 20 pounds of fudge, truffles, and all the cream- cheesy concoctions of late my creative food well has run dry. I'm over it. I'm definitely not a writer, and even Jimmy wouldn't buy my work last time I played art gallery with the kids. Ring or not, the hubby found a 60 ounce soda more inspirational than my vases in charcoal. So, that's out. And I don't craft or stamp or design things and I only sew sort-of straight lines. I have considered designing work-out wear for serious athletes. Especially, when I saw a woman wearing a little matching outfit with unfortunately placed stripes across her hips. Great colors, but the effect of the stripes made it look like she had her stringy unmentionables sticking out of her pants. But even then, I couldn't figure out how I'd fix it so I guess I'll volunteer for product testing and pray that running in the snow gets a little less tedious and a lot more creative-thought provoking.