A great gift

My parents gave me a lot of great gifts growing up. One of my favorites was a Dodge Colt that I literally drove till the transmission fell out (twice). I also loved the preemie Cabbage Patch doll that Scarlett now plays with. But those gifts pale in comparison to the best one they gave me. Thirty five years ago today, my parents got married. And today my mom made my father a meatloaf even though she doesn't like meatloaf. And my father probably wrote my mother a very romatic and sappy poem.
All my life they have shown me what is like to love someone--to be in love and to stay in love. Over the years, my siblings and I got to see how great marraige can be. We got to learn so many lessons about how to laugh together and have fun. We also got to see how two people work together when times are hard. I always felt secure that my parents loved me and each other and I am lucky for that.
On my wedding day, I hoped I would be as happy as they are.
And I am.

Thanks Mom and Poppa
Happy Anniversary

Iron Girl

So I have decided to do it...
In order to transform this wimpy body into that of an athlete's I have decided to sign up and train for the iron girl triatahlon in August.

0.62 mile swim
17.5 mile bike
3.4 mile run
stop laughing
A diligent reader of this blog may remember that I tried swimming before and it was not my best work. I am most nervous about the swimming part, but I am also nervous about doing that much physical activity in one day!! I am the kind of girl who loved being on the volleyball team because all of my friends were, but was horrified when we had to run up and down the bleachers at practice. Most of my exercise these days involves delivering laundry from one floor to another or carrying the double stroller in and out of the house.
I know it will not be easy to convince this puffy, creaky, old body to get to work
but that's ok. I am excited to take on this new challange-to have this huge seemingly insurmountable goal. It is a good thing that I have almost a year to train, because I am going to need it!!!

Weekends away

Grandma Kate and Lauren Elise

I swore that I was just going to stay home for a weekend after two weekends away.

That was until I got a call that Lane was having her baby. I was already packing my bag before we hung up. She was just so tiny and sweet, with the softest head of sweet-smelling baby hair. Was it really only 9 weeks ago that I had a little newborn like that?! Layla was at Mom's house so I got in some good auntie time and Scarlett was happy to have a buddy to play with. They even shared once or twice. And the highlight of the trip was looking at my sister's big smile when she talked about Lauren. It was such a celebration that I almost forgot the fact that I have yet another bag to unpack...
Maybe tomorrow..

Rebel without a nap

Today I had a lunch date with a friend and her baby. We went to a lovely restaurant and this was our first mistake. We went right before Scarlett's nap time and that was the second...
Scarlett threw the cookie the waitress brought her. She threw the crayons that I brought her. She told me no, the waitress no and my freind no. She even told her beloved Elmo no. The only thing she ate was a few pieces of my lettuce dipped in ketchup.
I couldn't distract her with anything fun. I couldn't give her any kind of consequence that would change things (although I did consider just for a moment putting her in the women's room for a timeout!) It was a horror-show.
THe waitress said, "Let me guess--almost two years old?" How did she know? Was it the scowl that Scarlett was giving her?
Sometimes I look at her rolling around on the floor kicking and screaming and wonder "what happened to my sweet little girl?" I know she is still in there somewhere and I can not wait to see her again!
When thinking about what I would be like as a parent, I thought I would be able to handle the whole discipline thing so much better. There are so many times I am just sitting there wondering what to do.
If this is any indication, it is going to be a long year!
(Meanwhile Ensley slept contentdly the whole time!!)

what a long strange trip

Last night we drove to Raleigh to visit Nate's sister. Scarlett has never been a fan of long drives--usually instead of falling asleep, she would scream and yell. Often the only thing that would soothe her was some kind of horribly punishing children's music that gets stuck in your head for days on end. But this trip was different...
We loaded her and Ensley in the car just after 6 pm and the baby promptly fell asleep. I woke him when we stopped for dinner and he ate and went back to sleep. He was so quiet that I wondered if he was alive. This kind of excellent behavior must have inspired Scarlett. She happily talked to us and sang made-up songs to her Elmo doll. She pleasently told us when she was hungry and then after telling us that she saw the moon ("Moon mama! Mama moon" times 100)she fell sound asleep. She woke when we were a few minutes from our destination.
Nate and I talked to eachother, listened to our own music and even imagined the days when the kids would be playing their video games on trips like these. I was even able to sleep for an hour.
I hope that this wasn't just a fluke--we are travelers at heart and don't last long before wanderlust sets in again. I don't know if it was night driving or positive peer pressure that made her so pleasant, but I'm happy. Where to next?

Our lil 'eers

This weekend we took our first big family trip. We took a pilgrimage to Morgantown to watch the football game (we won!) and also to celebrate the fact that 10 years ago this month, Nate and I started dating. We went out to eat at the same restaurant Nate took me on our first date (we were broke, so the restaurant was also a great place to take our family and another family with two kids--no one cared about the throwing of food!)It was quite a different experience to be in Morgantown as the parents of two small children rather than unfettered college students. On Saturday night, after I had bathed the kids and tucked them in and I setteled in to watch TV I wished for a few minutes that I was going out dancing with my friends instead. It can be so fun to have no responsibilities. But when it comes down to it, spending time with my kids has been the coolest and most important job I have ever done. The rewards far outweigh the fact that my Friday nights are not quite what they used to be... I mean, what could be better than this?