I gotta gooooo!!!

Last Wednesday Steve evaded a catastrophe once again. I was lying in bed trying to get more sleep when I heard Ethan and Luke go into the bathroom (the bathroom is next to the bedroom Steve and I are in) and tell their Dad they needed to go poo. Apparently their father was also using the bathroom. In my half-awake state I could hear the boys saying, I have to go!!! Hurry, I have to go!!! First Ethan got his turn then Luke followed and, surprisingly enough, there weren't any accidents. Phew. If only we had a second bathroom. I mean, we do have a second bathroom...on paper. This is what our second bathroom looks like at the moment.

We tore down the bathroom a few years ago. The plan was to extend the bathroom...until we ran out of money. Now it is used as a storage room. This is actually the master bathroom. I have dreams of moving into our master "suite" one day. One day we'll be grown ups and have our own living quarters apart from our children.

The finished product

I finally finished Sadie's stocking this morning. Here it is in all its splendor and glory...hehe. I think my mother-in-law did a wonderful job. Thank you so much, Elaine!

Here's a picture of all of our stockings hanging "by the chimney with care."

A few of my favorite things

Sadie is two months old today! She is such a good baby girl. She is really mellow, especially when her brothers are attacking her with kisses and hugs. Luke likes to test his limits with her. He'll blow in her face, tug her legs, jerk her arms. Sadie, he really does love you, I promise. She is getting so big so fast. This dress is already tight on her! And so is the onesie she's wearing beneath it and they are supposedly 0-3 month size. I think my little girl might be like her brother Luke, too big for her britches all the time. (Luke is already is 5T pants!!)

We got to go to our friend's the Sheldon's annual Gingerbread house and cookie decorating party again. This is our third year going. I love these parties. I love decorating gingerbread houses. The boys did a really good job of decorating this year. I let them fill their own bowls with candy and I was in charge of the royal icing. After I laid down the glue they topped it with their candies. Sadie slept nicely while we decorated. Then we headed inside the house to decorate a few cookies. It was a blast! Thank you Sheldon's for inviting us again.

Running Smoothly

Training has begun. Like spring training, but its winter. This is my second week of "training" to run the OC half marathon in May. Oh how different my body is since having my baby almost eight weeks ago. So much more different than after each of the boys. Each step I take is an effort, more so than its ever been before. Its not supposed to be this way. I exercised all through my pregnancy, mind you! I wasn't in stellar shape but I wasn't a lump on the log either. But you wouldn't be able to tell. Its a good thing this race is five months away! I'm not doing this alone though. I registerd for the training group too. It was expensive but its SO much more fun to run with a group than all by my lonesome, especially when we start running six, eight, and ten miles. I'm going to need the support of other crazies to get me through. Don't be fooled though, I really love it. I have silly dreams of actually breaking the 10 minute mile barrier (granted, I'm still hovering around 11:30 or 12). I subscribed to Runner's World and received my first issue a few weeks ago. I didn't want to put it down. Especially the article about why we all need a running partner. I have a love/hate relationship with running. Most of the time I hate taking the first few steps. I can talk myself out of doing my run almost every time. But you know what happens afterward? I come home a completely different person. I leave the house an inferior version of myself and when I get back, or when I finish my run on the treadmill, I've been upgraded. I am a better person. I handle stress better. I'm more patient. I'm more kind. I'm so much more fun to be around. I come back feeling like I could be on the cover of Runner's World....until I look in the mirror and am reminded I'm still me. I'm not going to lie and tell you that my motivation to run is for the love of running itself. I don't think you could even call what I do running, its more of a jog. I do it mostly just for the vanity and hope that I can drop some pounds and one day be a jaw dropper again....(haha). But it becomes so much more. Its my antidepressant, my therapy, my stress reliever, my trial of fire. My body is not running smoothly just yet but its running and I'm so thankful for that.

List

Grandma Rasmussen came to visit after Thanksgiving. She brought some fun teeth that Ethan and Luke experimented with. These are their "Arrrrgh" faces. She also brought a recipe for coconut cake. (She heard about my infatuation with coconut macadamia nut gelato and thought she would indulge the sweet tooth a little.) This thing was the real deal. She said she got the recipe from a Family Circle magazine. It had coconut milk in the batter and cream cheese frosting. She made the cake and I happily ate a piece every day, it was delicious! We also made strawberry freezer jam one day. That was delicious too.

She also went to work making a stocking for Sadie. It is gorgeous. Here she is ironing it. I would take a picture of the finished product but its not quite done. I need to embroider Sadie's name on it so I want you to have the full effect.

I love christmas cards. December rolls around and I anxiously await the mailman as though he were Santa Claus himself. I love opening the cards and seeing pictures of friends and family, reading letters or lists. I love how my little snow man card holder looks jam packed with cards from loved ones. I display the most recent card in the front until the next card comes to take its place. Here he is looking a little bare, christmas cards where are you?

Here is our first one!!! Ev, you get the prize for first Christmas card of the season...ding! ding! ding! Ahhh, I feel much better now that my snowman isn't so lonely anymore.

Do I stay or Do I go now?

So I know I've been MIA. I will be playing catch up shortly but I have a decision to make and I need some help making it. We have the opportunity to go on a trip to St. Martin January 14-17. I don't know if I want to go. Here is my pro/con list. PROS A free trip to St. Martin Yummy food I don't have to cook A spa treatment as long as I have someone to watch Sadie Staying at a cool resort (http://www.radisson.com/stmartin) Being able to hang out with Steve CONS Seven hour flight plus layover makes for a 12 hour travel time, two days in an airplane with a baby....ehhhhh Only two full days in St. Martin, is it worth the loooooong flights? Steve will be in meetings most of the day Can I work around Sadie or make her work around me? I have to get an expedited passport for Sade I am nowhere NEAR bathing suit ready (I shudder to think) What should I do? What would you do? Help me make up my mind.