why we own a pool you can heat

yes, it is ridiculous in a lot of ways to pay for and use gas to heat up the water just to be able to swim in march. though i think it was at least 75 out. HOWEVER, it was for rob's birthday, and really, who is gonna tell them no?

i wanna go out and swim!!

waterfall

waterbaby - rob and i know that fatty mcnatty is the reason we have a pool fence. she loves the water and probably if rob had let go, she would have just swam away!

babyhead getting the courage to trust her floaties!

and everyone swimming. i mean, come on, are YOU gonna tell them no?

it was awesome

in case anyone wanted to know, the cake was out of this world. and we ate all of it.

happy birthday rob!

i made a german chocolate cake for rob for his birthday, since it is his favorite. i used this recipe. yes, it is long but i am certain that it is gonna be awesome.

the only changes i made to the recipe, were i did not use any corn syrup, and i whipped the ganache and frosted the cake sides with it instead. and i used the coconut frosting on the top as well, just by putting less in the other layers.

i don't think i am going to serve this with the coconut whipped cream either, not because i don't want to make it, but because the cake is already so rich, i can't imagine adding more to it.

mothers little helper

ha ha, no not like that....

babyhead insisted on doing the dishes for me the other night. it was only a cookie sheet and a really cheap one we got at the grocery store so it's not like she would be able to mess it up... she shocked me. she actually WASHED THE BACK. huh, that never occurred to me.

"how did you learn how to do that?"

"cuz i do."

babyhead is getting so big too, she can reach the water dispensed on the fridge, so if i give her an empty cup, she can now get her own water...

happy 10 months fatty mcnatty!

yeah, as in DOUBLE digits... dang time has gone by fast.

what have you been up to since our last month check in? well, you are getting really good at cruising, and i swear will be walking any day now, but who really knows. you are completely fearless, and have mastered the you're-not-really-talking-to-me-with-that-tone-are-you-look, which i totally expected from a house full of girls but maybe in like 10 years from now. you also have no problem pulling out the big old fat crocodile tears when daddy says no and it's all we can do not to laugh at you. really. this ain't our first rodeo sweetie, and we are not falling for it. sorry...

you and i have begun the weaning process. it is actually a little harder on me then i would like to admit, but we will make it through. you now only nurse or get a bottle 4 times a day. and you are starting to "get" not just get the sippy cup. in fact you can pick it up and drink from it ALL BY YOURSELF THANKYOUVERYMUCH...

you like goldfish and cherrios. in fact yesterday, daddy had some goldfish in a bowl on the coffee table and you just stood yourself up and reached in there and took some like it was the most natural thing in the world. it was adorable. daddy laughed pretty hard at that. you also like to eat whatever we are having, and get pretty upset when you aren't eating breakfast with babyhead. a few more months, and you will be.

you have 4 teeth on top and still the 2 on the bottom, but i am pretty sure that you will be getting the other 2 on the bottom soon. i can't actually look in your mouth because you always think it is a game and try to bite me.

yesterday you had school pictures taken and when we get them back i will post that as your 10 month picture. i still can't believe that you have been here {only} 10 months. you have grown so much and i have a first birthday to plan. wow....

a few of my favorite things

ok, before someone throws something at their computer screen and starts mumbling profanities at me, i am only doing this because i thought someone out there might care...

over the past 2 weeks, i have had numerous comments both about how young i look, (i believe it was meant in a good way) and how nice my skin was. and while any woman out there knows, we as women are our worst critic, i still do not believe the "nice skin" comments, but i digress. so if you have ever wondered just how i work my magic, let me tell you, it is no easy feat...

to begin with, anyone who knows me or has ever worked with me can testify to the gallons and gallons of water i drink. seriously. i drink an average of about 140 oz a day. not including anything except water, and not including the water i drink while or after working out. which brings me to the second comment. i have probably spent more weeks of my life, over all, very actively than not actively. and not just my crazy ADHD spazzing always moving or bouncing kind of activity. as in i ran on a city track team from about 4th grade on, ran numerous races before that, grew up running around (literally) to my friends houses, to the grocery store, to school, and riding my bike where ever my feet wouldn't take me. i played basketball in middle school and freshman year. i rode horses for years, and i ran cross country and track in high school. i kept active in college too and have become much more of a runner in the past few years. all this to say that i firmly believe that activity helps cleanse your soul and your system, and i think it has help me stay "young".

i went to undergraduate in arizona, at arizona state, which brings me to my third point. i wear sunscreen and lotion RELIGIOUSLY. not just like "oh i don't want to burn i will put on sun screen" but as in when i get out of the shower, i put lotion on my face THAT HAS SUNSCREEN IN IT. EVERY DAY. i still get a tan with it, and i use spf 30. in fact here is where i start the plugs... i use aveeno daily sunscreen . i have also been using clinique all about eyes for as long as i can remember - like since high school at least. i don't know if it has made a difference in fine line and such for me but i can say that i don't have a lot of them, so it might just be working. i occasionally (as in maybe 1 time a month, maybe 2 depending on how my skin feels) will also use a night cream, either clinique or aveeno. the clinique is technically not a night cream but i have always used it like that. they make a night version as well but i have never used that one. the aveeno does tingle a bit, especially if you get it on chapped lips, but i really like the results. speaking of chapped lips, i use this from kiehl's. i slather it on at night and by morning even the most parched lips are soft again. and i use a stick moisturizer during the day, WITH SPF... (gee, your shocked, right?) one other thing i realize that is great, since i have a lot left over, is the lanolin i have from breast feeding. put that on your lips and it works wonders as well. and if you have a chapped nose from blowing it too much, slather that on your nose (or the kheils works well too!) and it will stop the peeling in its tracks! (which if you look at the ingredients for the kiehl's lip balm, it is basically petroleum jelly and lanolin...)

i do use mostly clinique makeup as well, however all my most recently received comments, i was wearing no makeup at all so that doesn't really matter...

the greatest thing i think i have noticed a difference with recently are two similar products from clean and clear. they have a facial scrub that i use every other day and the "off days" i use their daily facial wash. if i were totally honest i might admit that if you really wanted to try any of this stuff, that you ignore every other paragraph on here except this one and go try this. except that i think there is something to be said for all these products. and the water is a big deal too i think.

as long as we are talking about me being in the shower, let me give you the whole picture. i also have one of those puffy exfoliating things, you know exactly what i am talking about, and have recently found this body wash from kiehl's to be the best. but once again, i also put lotion on after i shower, so that helps my skin a lot too.

the last thing i would say that makes a difference is sleep, and that is what i am off to do now!

one small step for mom,

one giant leap for fatty mcnatty....

since next week she will be 10 months, we have begun the weaning process. she started getting a little goat milk mixed into her bottles that have breast milk, and she has stopped getting a morning bottle (at daycare)/nursing (at home) and is now getting just a sippy cup. while i am so so so so so ready to end the nursing, particularly because i have a cold AGAIN, and would give nearly anything to take some theraflu, or sudafed, or what have you, i know that i will miss it somewhat. babyhead just weaned herself at 11 months and never took a bottle, so it was a pretty easy transition. this i think will be much harder because there is the bottle switch to the sippy cup AND the stopping of nursing....

we'll see next week how she is doing.

i bet rob used to do this

so last weekend, babyhead decided that she wanted to play her v-tech video game that santa/daddy got her. so i got her all set up and surprisingly she did pretty well. it was hillarous watching her play though, because i bet rob used to do exactly the same thing. i never had a video game system growing up, so i can't compare her to me.

no really mom- it totally works like this. (it's a wireless system, so no really, it DOESN'T work like that)

maybe if i lean into it, it will work better

oh - so - tired - must - lay - down - while - i - exert - this - game - playing - energy

time to move

ok, i know i am gonna get skewered by all my true texans for posting basically the same exact thing on facebook, but what the hell is wrong with this state...

thomas jefferson removed from us history text books used in texas education?

and the accompanying movie

i took two videos, and they are both funny in their own way, but this one does the best job of describing exactly what went on that beautiful saturday in march...

exponential fun

so, when you have more then child, everything is not just 2x better/worse/harder, but exponentially so... or is that the same thing. anyway, you know what i am saying.

rob was gone all weekend fishing, so i had the 2 kids, to myself, while i was (and am still) sick. it was one of the more difficult weekends just because i was tired and wanted to sleep all day to get better but i couldn't. saturday lunch i made shells with spaghetti sauce. oh lord, was that the entertainment for the day...

(i gave up with the "no don't play with your food. no don't teach your sister to play with her food")

babyhead clapping spaghetti sauce EVERYWHERE

fatty mcnatty clapping spaghetti sauce EVERYWHERE

babyhead's mug shot after lunch

fatty mcnatty's mug shot. the picture really doesn't do much justice, since she jackson pollocked herself.

(sick) day

this is how we all spent out sick days when we were little right? doing makeover parties?

i mean, you can totally tell she is sick.... HA HA HA

babyhead had a fever and cough last monday and tuesday. she got over it quickly, while rob and i still have it. having a low-grade fever for a week is no fun, by the way.

npr & the nyt

NPR recent coverage

NYT NIH panel coverage

NYT repeat c/s article

wow, i think this thing might be really happening! the fact that i have friends whom i would consider a lot like me, and well versed in the world, and fairly into natural/"anti-doctor" living, who told me, "i thought once you had a c/s, you always had to have one" shows what the doctors are trying to do. not any more.

does this count as +2, +3 & +4?

i'll take that as a +1

jackass doctors that c/s section to get home for dinner = 0

vbac candidates and advocates = +1

proof here

yeah!

chicken salad and apple pie

yeah, that's right. that's what i ate when i got home :) the armadillo dash was this morning, and i did it in a new pr. of course, when i have only run 1 half marathon before, that's not really saying a lot, but i ran the 13.1 mile course in 2:03. yeah me!

finishers medal

me moments after the finish

me a little later, starting to look tired

bubbles

after planting the garden, bubbly fun was had by all

i'm a dancer

can't you tell?

pretty day in the garden

well it's not the garden we used to have, but it'll do for now. babyhead and daddy are planting potatoes!

dipping the cut potato buds in ash.

babyhead sneaking a look at the potato buds.