Shoot.

Expect a longer, catching up post soon. It's half-written, saved as a draft. Probably to be posted later this afternoon during naptime. This is a short update to say holy CRAP this child is close to walking.

We bought this little walker type push toy at a yard sale the other day and when we brought it home she just held on to it and stood there, bending her knees a little. Then last night she just took off, across the basement, walking and pushing the thing in front of herself like a pro. Today she basically RAN with it across the living room. Not that she can run by herself, but I was pretty impressed by her ability to keep up with the momentum of the toy.

Oh, hai. I am trubble. Hide your USB cables and charger cords.

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Theatre geekery

A few days ago, Nate and I were talking about drama and why it was so important to me in high school. I think I can boil it down to a couple pictures.

High school theatre was so important to me because it allowed this girl-
to disappear for at least a little while. It let that girl be this girl-

-at least for a few hours at a time. And yes, those pictures were taken on the same day. It helped me escape me. And really, it did so much more than that. It taught me to be more outgoing, to interact with more people, to not be afraid to get out there and make a fool of myself, to make people laugh, to make people cry, to try something new.

So there you have it. My love of the theatre boils down to the need to escape from those godawful glasses.

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Epic Fail.

It's a really good thing that this isn't like a real blog, one with followers and sponsors and crap like that. Cause I'd be so fired by now.

It is, however, supposed to be a great place to keep everyone caught up on the goings on in our household. Lately, however, I've been too preoccupied with actually going on to bother chronicling everything. So here's your recap of the past month.

Since the last time you heard from me, the following things have happened-

- I went to the podiatrist and she confirmed that yes, I had overstressed myself right into plantar fasciitis, and to take it easy for awhile.
- Fiona was baptized (huzzah, she's no longer a little heathen baby!) and we had a MASSIVE family party with guests from 5 different states. Note to self: get more chairs.
- Auntie Chrissy stayed with us for a week. We ate cake every day for breakfast, so it was a pretty good week.
- We drove up to MA the following weekend for a hectic, sacrament-filled couple of days. Nate and I became godparents to my cousin Isabella on Saturday, and then Mickey and Natalie both got confirmed on Sunday. That's three sacrament parties within a week. Which is, as it turns out, a LOT of cake.


- Somewhere in there we found out that our landlady sold her house to avoid foreclosure, and that she would be needing to move into the house we currently live in. So we started to look for a new place.
- Babygirl got two more teeth! Now she's got four!
- The mobility level of this child has just EXPLODED. She doesn't quite have the concept of crawling on only her hands and knees, but that DOES.NOT. slow her down. She moves around incredibly fast, and she pulls herself up on things- the bars of the crib (we've had to put the mattress to the lowest setting for fear that she would launch herself out over the railings), the couch, a laundry basket, the coffee table (which really doesn't work all that well- she bangs her head a lot), and of course, on the boxes that are everywhere in the house right now because


- We found a new place to live, we'll be moving this coming Friday. It's a little further from Nate's work, which is a bummer, but its really not that far. Only 5 miles. It's in a nice neighborhood, one I know well actually. I used to live there with roommates in a townhouse in the same developement. We'll have access to the community pool, there are several playgrounds, a couple lakes with jogging paths around them... its going to be good. I will post pics of the new place just as soon as I can.
- On a sad note: I found out that my drama teacher from high school passed away suddenly last weekend. It was completely unexpected and really shook me up more than I expected. Drama was a HUGE part of my life during high school, and the people involved in that, especially the teachers who supported and believed in me (even if I was only cast for my physical ability to play a 9-year-old) really shaped, in a big way, the person I am today. Doug was the kind of person that was larger than life, and one of those people that you just expect to be there for always, like as a part of the auditorium. Hearing he was gone hit me really hard, even though it's been years since I've seen or talked to him (outside of facebook, of course...) and I just really regret that I never told him how much he impacted my life just by doing his job as a teacher and a director.


- We attended (and I was a bridesmaid in!) a wedding. My dear dear friend Katie Walker (the original Katie Walker) has gone and changed her last name and it was a beautiful day.


- Fiona had her first pedicure. A girl's gotta look glam for a wedding.


- We celebrated Father's Day... started out with breakfast in bed, and Fiona had picked out a fabulous new watch for her daddy. She's got great taste, if I do say so myself. We basically just chilled out around the house all day, which was wonderfully relaxing. And very needed, as we head into this week of what will most likely be a hectic mix of packing and getting distracted.


That about brings us up to speed. I sort of regret not being better at this, I am missing all the little things, and those are the ones that I am going to forget. But today is Monday, and Mondays are for starting fresh.

So. Here's an entry. I will do my utmost to squeeze in at least one more before we pack up my computer and turn off the internet access.

ps. We've got tickets to the Sox/Nationals games on both tomorrow and Wednesday nights!!! I'm so stoked! Babygirl gets to attend her first MLB game!!!!!!!!!

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Just awesome.

In my last post I wrote all about how "Yay I ran a half-marathon even though I wasn't prepared but hey it still went well!"

Forget that nonsense.

Remember that foot pain I mentioned? How it kind of bothered me a little bit but I just ignored it and powered through the race and wow look how hardcore I am?

It hurt for like 5 days, and then felt fine and better. Then all of a sudden on Saturday morning it started hurting again. Now it hurts even more. And I've been told by my physical therapist friend that it looks to be plantar fasciitis. And to not run until its totally healed, and then some. Now I'm just barely hobbling around my damn house. Standing at the sink for 5 minutes to bathe the baby is excruciating.

This is yet another seriously depressing veggie in the crap stew that is my 2009.

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Ugh. And then ugh again.

On Sunday I ran a half-marathon.

Which I most definitely did not train properly for.

While the race itself went better than expected, actually, the recovery has been a bit unpleasant. Thankfully by this evening almost everything has gone back to normal. My back is still bugging me a bit, but that's nothing new. MY one foot is still feeling pretty messed up, though. Hurts to walk and all that. I think I did something to it when I went for a 4-mile run on Saturday like an idiot with a new running group. I thought they were going to be walking this week. I thought it would be a nice easy way to kind of warm-up for Sunday's race. But no. I pushed myself on Saturday morning. And it felt good.

Except for my foot. That hurt. And still hurt going into Sunday.

NONETHELESS. Amanda and I (yes, I am talking about two separate people) did well. We finished the half-marathon in a mere 2 hours and 53 minutes. Which is pretty good, considering I was planning to shoot for 4hrs and be thrilled with anything less that 3 1/2. It worked out well- I was the motivator for the first half (we RAN...well, okay, JOGGED the entire first half without any walk breaks at ALL so I think that's pretty amazing) and Amanda was the motivator for the second half, when I pretty much just wanted to walk the entire time. There were lots of little slopey hills, man.

But prepared or no, we managed to finish. And it was a good time.


In baby news- Fiona has very nearly mastered the art of sitting up. She can't like pull herself into a sitting position or anything, but if I set her down in a sitting fashion, she can stay there for a few to several minutes before she gets too too excited and ends up tipping herself over. She likes that too, though. I'm glad she's such a generally happy baby. Don't get me wrong, she definitely can pitch a fit with the best of them. But really, she's happy most of the time. Keep her fed, and keep her on a fairly consistent nap routine and she's good to go.


We've started her on foods. So far baby oatmeal, bananas, and squash. She likes it all very much. Although I do think I need to get some sort of high chair. The bumbo seat that she currently has... she's not the biggest fan of. She mainly likes to tip herself over backwards out of it and conk her head on the coffee table. Not that she did that or anything. Yesterday.

'Tis late. I should be sleeping. Cause baby is back to normal, waking up like every 3 or 4 hours to eat. Except now we usually get up for the day by 8am. I have grown accustomed to sleeping much later than that. But I have to admit- I kind of like this getting up at 7:30. Gives me a much better chance at accomplishing something before the midafternoon inertia sets in.

I am wasting precious sleep time.

I'm out.

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Six Months

Babygirl is six months old today.

Which, um... hello? Six months? How did that happen?

We went to the pediatrician today for her 6-month checkup and everything is looking good. Chickie's still holding at the 25th for height and the 10th for weight, so hurrah! She's all of 13lbs.9oz. now. And a whopping 25 inches long. She also had to get three shots, which makes her-


But the even BIGGER news is that last night she slept from 11:15pm until 6:15 this morning WITHOUT WAKING UP!!!!! Which was AMAZING!!!! Or, it would have been an amazing 7 solid hours of sleep if I hadn't woken up like 3 times and felt compelled to go into her room just to check that she was still breathing..which she was. Of course. Buuuuuut yeah. It was still a very good night.

I need good nights.

Other things about today that are awesome-

- I scored tickets to the Sox/Nationals game in June. I actually bought tickets for two nights in a row, because hey! It's Nationals Park and you can get $10 tickets! Whee!! Of course, I had to like enter a lottery to win the chance to purchase tickets (which I think was a crock of crap [see, I can not swear] because they have sent me three different emails, the first one said "sorry, you didnt win the chance to buy tickets. But you could still get tickets to teh game if you buy season passes!" and then the second one was like "oh now you did win the chance to buy them but you only have until tomorrow!" and the third was was basically the same as the second one but they sent it out again.) buuuuuuuuuut anyways I bought tickets and I'm excited and thrilled. Can't wait to take baby to her first Sox game.

-Coffee. I have had some.

-Nate came home for lunch and I made a delicious dish with chicken and spaghetti and cheese...mmm...

-Thats pretty much it.

The half-marathon is this Sunday. I incredibly unprepared, but I think with a combination of slow jogging and walk breaks I should be able to cross the finish line. Thank God they've got an open early-bird start, so theoretically I could be the slowest finisher without being the absolute last person to cross the finish line.

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I have not, in fact, quit everything.

So, it's been a month.

A month is a really long ass time. So many things have happened. Not all of them were awesome.

I'm thinking I may still be going through some sort of post-partumy, thyroidy type depressy stuff. Cause even though most days are great, and I'm finding myself able to get through most days without a nap, some days I sort of feel like life is drowning me, and could I please just sleep through it?

But then I have to look at baby, and just see how ridiculously cute she is. And how big! Last entry she had just started rolling over. Now she is a rolling FIEND and though she hasn't starting crawling or anything, she can definitely move herself around when she wants to using a combination of rolling and scooting on her back. Also, the kid has TEETH! Two of them! Well, not like full-on teeth. More like two little tooth nubbins. But you can feel both and sort of see one if the angle is right. She's had her first visit to the playground, first time in the swing, first taste of real food!

We also have TRAVELED extensively. We had planned a trip to St. Louis for Easter, and were very excited about that. It got extended into a 2-week Massachusetts to Poconos to Pittsburgh to St. Louis to Pittsburgh to home road trip... which was pretty exhausting. I started to blog about the reason for the trip, but I'm still having trouble verbalizing it all.

On Friday the 27th of March, I got a phone call. One of my best friends from high school had slipped into a coma. She has been ill for a long time, battling cystic fibrosis. Things were not looking good at all. I was able to say my goodbyes over the phone as her husband held a cell phone to her ear. She regained consciousness a few times, but there was really nothing else the doctors or the hospital could do. She was able to go home to be with her family, and on the following Tuesday I got the call that she had passed away during the night. We booked it on up to MA to be there for the burial and the memorial service later that week.

That's a hard thing to do, bury a friend. But at the same time, it was really nice to know that she is no longer in any pain. That she's no longer sick. That she can finally laugh- really laugh- without doubling over in coughs that wrack her entire body. That for somebody with cystic fibrosis, she had an incredible, full life-she got to grow up, go to college, get married. The service they had for her was called a "Celebration of Life" and it really was. As she requested, everyone wore purple and white and bright springtime colors. People read poems, sang songs, told stories of her life. As we sat there and I recalled my favorite memories, I quickly realized that none of them were appropriate. Everyone was getting up and saying things like "she was always so sweet" and "such a loving person" and all these lovely things... I didn't want to be the one to get up and say something like "I remember this time we all got up on a table at a dance and shook it to The Thong Song" or "There was this one time we stole some champagne from a party and brought it out to our friend's uncle's lake house" or... yeah. I just went over those things in my head and smiled. So here's to Lila. For all the good times.

The five of us girls in...2002? I think?

Lila and Luke on their wedding day in 2006.


The last time all of us were together- my wedding in 2007.

But yeah. Though the reason for the extended trip was not the best, it ended up being a very nice visit with all of the many many people we visited and stayed with.

The trip did, however, really throw me off. With all the driving, and the sleeping at other people's houses, and the not following naptime schedules... I am glad to be home, but this week has sort of been a struggle to get back into real life.

But back into real life I am. Today I cleaned out my email inboxes. That felt good. Tomorrow I plan to actually tackle answering emails that I received while I was gone. Tomorrow I will go for a run. (Half-marathon in 2 weeks? HAHA! That's rich. Should be... interesting... and AMANDA BOODEN YOU HAD BETTER NOT FINK OUT ON ME!!!) Tomorrow I have plans to transform the backyard into a much cooler place to be- clothesline, vegetable patch, baby swing, patio furniture. I've got big plans for this weekend.

Big plans.

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