Football

Andrew came home from work last week with this Broncos football.

It now sits on Taylor's dresser (that is, when he's not playing with it!).  

While he was playing Bronco ball one afternoon, I asked Taylor if he knew about the "horse" on it.

"He's a mean horse," he said.

"Oh yeah?" I asked.

"Yeah.  The MEANEST horse in Africa!!"

Ha ha.  Where does he get this stuff??

Wildcat Mountain 10 Mile Trail Run

Another race completed!  This stuff is so much fun.  I think I'm hooked!

Donna and her outgoing friend Cindy joined me for this one.  If they could've seen the weather coming for our big day, I'm not sure that they would have...

...because it was the coldest day of the year so far.  By far.  Instead of checking out the race venue before we ran, we huddled in the car to keep warm.

The trail looked so wet and gloomy; we even talked to race officials and nearly switched to racing the 5 mile race instead.  But right at the bitter end, with only 20 seconds remaining until the 10 miler began, we changed our minds and went for it.  

I'm so glad we did.

We got to run on snow-covered dirt trail under foot, through foothills filled with scrub oak and light snow falling overhead.  The falling snow created an illusion of mist and fog all around, and a calm stillness that seemed to stop time.  Other runners were always near, but I felt alone and at peace.  

It was beautiful.  

Perfect.

Just under two hours later, I turned the last corner before the finish line to see...

...something I couldn't stop smiling for!

These guys!  

With big grins on their faces, cheering "Go Mommy!"  and the most handsome man I've ever seen (their dad), standing beside them taking pictures.

Ahhh.  They are what I live and die for!  

Cindy and I then waited for our comrade to cross the finish line, where Andrew was again prepared to capture the moment.  Way to go, Donna!

Finally stopped--the realization that our hands and faces were beginning to freeze, that our feet were sopping wet from running in mud and snow for hours, and that our bodies were exhausted--sank in.  It gave a feeling of relief to be finished, but mostly a sense of friendship, fun, and accomplishment.

I would do this again...

...in a heartbeat.

(snow and all). :)

I think I want to try my hand at my first 1/2 marathon now.  Anyone want in?

Telluride Part 3: The Gondola

View of Mountain Village from the Gondola

Exploring and playing together in Mountain Village 

It was a lot of fun.  And such a BEAUTIFUL place!  

Wow, getting these photos out again makes me nostalgic.  Wish I was there. 

Glimpses

It's been a little under a week since I've been here, but I feel fairly exhausted...more than just six days' worth.


Here are some glimpses of my recent past:

To celebrate our little Taylor's accomplishment in becoming a "big boy," we offered to either buy him a new special toy or take him on a family outing of his choice.  

On Thursday, we made this 3 year-old's dream of a perfect evening come true:

We ate Ramen Noodles and chocolate milk for dinner.

We went to the "inside pool."

It was such a fun evening for all of us.

But Big Boy was especially impressed--who since, hasn't failed to say a meal time or bed time prayer without remembering to thank his Heavenly Father for his "getting to go to the inside pool."  

What a sweet heart.

I'm only four days away from running my 10 mile trail race.  To prepare, I've been running nearly everyday, almost everywhere (it seems).  

My personal record breaking distance run on Friday took me nearly two hours, going 8.36 miles through neighborhoods and past parks--driving my little guys crazy with cabin fever and completely wearing them out.  I felt so cruel running past so many parks and not stopping to let them play at any of them!

So as soon as we got home, we got right back into the car and drove to one of the coveted parks to play.  

If any kids deserved park play that day, mine did.

Aunt Donna, her friend Cindy and I drove to Highlands Ranch on Saturday morning and tested a portion of the 10 mile trail we'll race on this weekend.

It. was. BRUTAL.

I was under the impression that "10 mile trail run" meant something like, "10 miles on a joint-supporting, flat, dirt surface."  Oh, boy, was I ever wrong!

For those who wonder the truth:

When you read "10 mile trail run" on a race website, what it actually means is that you run several miles UP UP UP a steep-grade hiking trail, and then DOWN DOWN DOWN another steep-grade trail for several more miles.  

Put simply, the downhill part is really nice.  But the uphill, well...

Later that same Saturday, I began watching one of my favorite church traditions on TV:

(Click above to hear Pres. Monson's Sunday morning talk)

General Conference.

It happens twice a year--when our church leaders share spiritual messages in five 2-hour sessions over a Saturday/Sunday weekend.

It's tough to choose my favorite talk from this recent conference...perhaps Elder Uchdorf's "Forget Me Not" talk, Elder Bednar's talk on the Spirit of Elijah, Sister Dalton's talk about raising daughters...

But I can say this for certain: 

More than anyone at conference time, I look forward to hearing from our sweet prophet, President Monson.  He is such a good, kind, charitable, happy, positive, genuine person.  He radiates love.  Every time I hear him speak, I learn so much and wish even more that I could be just like him. 

To me, there is no question that he is God's prophet.  

I love that man.

My little boy was another one of my teachers this week. 

He and I shared one of my favorite moments when together, we took some time to just be still... 

He led the way as we walked together and absorbed the perfect evening sunshine.

Holding hands.

Making "discoveries."

Picking flowers and making wishes.

And I remembered why I, amidst all the chaos-- the meals, laundry, cleaning, diapers, stressful disciplining...

...am more blessed than I know.

I love my family.

Taylor Is Trained & Russell Is Walking!

Let me begin by thanking everyone for the advice--I couldn't have made it through these six days of torture without you.  Some suggestions in particular helped my fiercely independent, morning-potty-king figure it out:

1.  Put Taylor in underwear at night.

2.  Give Taylor the control.  He should decide when he goes potty.

3.  Gradually work him into wearing pants. Bare bottom, underwear, fully clothed, in that order.

4.  Give him something to do, like read books (or play iPhone apps!) while he tries to poop.

5.  Insist on him cleaning up when he has accidents.

Taylor and I clashed many times during this potty training experience because he really needs to make his own choices, and I always fought to be in control.  (My dad once joked with me that if it were okay to parent like Satan, I probably would.  Sadly there's truth to that. :) )

Once I turned things over to Taylor, he shone.  We still have accidents here and there, but I think he's basically got being a "big boy" down.  Thank goodness!

I even feel comfortable enough to venture out of the house now.  Andrew and I took the kids out to Cold Stone yesterday for their "Make a Wish" ice cream social, and Taylor rocked it.  I also went to the mall today to let my boys play at the "inside park" and see the animals at the pet store.  Big Boy did awesome again.  

I finally feel free!

(Knock on wood)

Little boys looking at puppies in the pet store window at the mall

Taylor isn't the only kid around here who's been making big strides.  

For the past month, Russell has been trying to walk.  It's been off and on, but this week, he's decided that walking is his thing.  Even though this has been a gradual process, it's strange but fun to see him walk in-and-out of rooms on his own---doing his cute little baby thing.

Ruh-russ Stuffing his face with Ramen Noodles for Lunch

Russell's first steps just over three weeks ago...

...a few weeks after that...

...tonight.

What a little man!  Wasn't he just born yesterday? (I swear I was there...) 

He's growing up so quickly.

Running with Toddlers

I heard my kids wake up at 6:40 this morning.  I slowly rose and tried to pause for a peaceful moment of serenity before I went out to the trenches again--and for the first time this year, I noticed yellow leaves on the tree in front of my house.

I can't deny it (though sometimes I'd like to): Fall is in the air.  It was beautiful and calming to look at in those brief minutes.

Then I went to my sons' bedroom and was brought back to reality by the greetings of one singularly nasty Pull Up.

And a very upset toddler...that is, when he learned that he, (not me) would get to clean the grossness up.  That made for a slightly dramatic morning.

After that adventure, I decided that I didn't want to worry about cleaning up any more Pull Up messes today.  Or underwear messes.  That's right.  Taylor didn't wear anything from the waist down today....

...except when I went on my 7 mile run with the kids.  Then, I figured at least underwear was in order.

Has anyone out there gone running with restless toddlers before?  If not, I warn you, it can be a bit tricky.  My little boy questioned me endlessly, as follows:

Taylor: "Mom, I want to walk.  Can I get out?"

Me: (short of breath):  "No.  I....need...to...run...now."

Taylor: "Why?"

Me:  "Just because...I do."

Taylor: "But why do you have to?"

Me: "Because...I'm going... to run...another....race...soon."

Taylor: "Why??"

Me: "Let's just...be quiet for now."

*Brief pause*

Taylor: "When are we going to get to the Porta Potty?"

Me: "Does...the...pee...need to...come out?"

Taylor: "Yes!  It does!"

Me (coming to a screeching halt--pausing stroller, iTunes, making baby Russell fussy.):"Now?  Do you need to get out right now?"

Taylor: "Yes!  We do!"

Me: "Do you think you can wait until we get to the Porta Potty?"

Taylor: "But I need to get OUT!"

Me: "Because you need to go potty?"

Taylor: "No, I don't."

Great.  Thanks for that, little stinker.

It was start, stop.  Start, stop.  For my entire run.  There were questions, potty needs, several potty breaks and potty attempts (shown below), and by the time we were finished, 

I was finished.

When I say "finished," I mean super exhausted.  My mind and body had given just about everything it had to give for that run.  Talk about exhausting! I definitely felt very accomplished when I checked that task off my list.

I've pointed out some struggles of the day, but truly, today was a success.  Besides this morning's Pull Up of death, Taylor had no accidents and even got excited about sitting on the potty, thanks to this new (FREE) discovery:

I think he could pretend to make cupcakes all day if I'd let him. (Hey, maybe that's my ticket out of this...sitting my kid on the potty with "Easy Bake Oven" app all day long! Ha.)

We also decided to give it a try (thanks for your suggestions everyone): and put him in thick trainer underwear tonight.  I'm crossing my fingers!  Andrew had the idea to get him a night light to encourage waking up in the night for potty needs.  The two of them went to Target to choose one: 

        

Here's the winner (can you tell this is a night light?).  Taylor says Buzz will protect him if he get's too scared to go in the dark bathroom.  Cute.

Righteous/Lucious

My awesome hubby made today so much better than the last.

After the standard morning kid routine, he took over most of the potty training and played with the kids while I rested.  Then later he gave me a back rub.  

Ahhh, much better. 

Today had a couple great family moments that also made the day brighter: 

1.  Taylor asked Andrew if he could watch "The Righteous Brothers" this morning.  Andrew had no idea what he was talking about.  Taylor clarified, "You remember Dad, the one about the airplanes?" Oh yeah--The Wright Brothers.

2.  We FaceTimed my Dad and 17 year-old brother Devin tonight.  Devin has been dating a cute gal who has the kind of name that just itches for sibling pestilence: Lisa Amor.  I usually can't resist dropping some goofy comment his way when I ask him about how she's doing, and tonight he responded hillariously to my attempt to get his goat:  "So how's Miss La-la-L'Amour?" I say.  Devin smiled with an immediate response: "La-la-lucious!"  

Ha ha!  Too perfect.  Devin's a crack up.  

As I prepare to put on the armor of a potty trainer again tomorrow, I have a question to put out there:  

Pull Ups at night...yes or no?  I can't figure that one out.

One "Love It" to Go, Please

Today's end was the bringer of meltdowns.


I guess should have seen it coming when I cried yesterday while watching "Cinderella" with Taylor (it was just so sweet that she found love after all she'd been through, you know??).


I'm sure this is just your typical PMS, but I'm also thinking I may have overloaded my plate without realizing it.


First there's the potty training thing.  Did you know that Taylor had three accidents today?  Three accidents.  Three, that didn't seem to bother him in the least.  Sigh. 


And there's also the new race that I'm signed up for (did I mention that I'm training again?).  It's a running event in Highlands Ranch called the Wildcat Mountain--it's a 10 mile trail run.  That's right, TEN miles.  I thought about doing it after feeling so great after doing my tri, and Andrew encouraged me to take the challenge.  I am excited for sure, but I'm also wondering if I've bit off a little more than I can chew... 

Today began after I sent my husband off to work early (on a Saturday--total stink), I ran six miles with the kids in their stroller, followed by cleaning up poopy underwear a couple times, fighting to stay awake with Taylor and his potty needs, then got dinner ready for my family.  After dinner I dressed in my Sunday best and went to the Relief Society general broadcast.


The RS broadcast is an event I look forward to every year.  It's always so uplifiting and inspiring...and tonight was no exception.  But somehow this time I didn't leave feeling nearly as great as usual.  It actually took me some effort to get though the event--I was so distracted.  After it ended, I made chit chat with some of the gals in my ward, then drove straight to Cold Stone, where I ordered a big "Love it" of Oreo Cream ice cream and inhaled it while I window shopped at Southwest Plaza.  

Then I bought two shirts at the Gap.  Yeah, so much for the window shopping.  And if you know me, you know that spontaneously buying clothes so not a 'me' thing to do.  I love being cute and trendy, but I'm also a real penny pincher!  Hard to find the balance...Anyway, what's come over me?


I drove home, feeling buyers remorse and also feeling badly that I had left Andrew alone with the kids all night long.  I sat down to really talk with my husband for the first time all day and tears started to trickle down my face, through intermittent laughter.


I know I'm not the only mom who's busy, and so many moms out there have succeeded in potty training their kids too (multiple times even--I don't know how they do it)!  


But somehow all of it makes me a mess.  All I want to do right now is eat ice cream, and I don't know whether to laugh or cry!  


This is so ridiculous.

Potty Training Diaries: Day Three

Well, Taylor woke up with wet "Pull Up underwear" (as we call it) and had an accident after lunch time.  


That's the bad news.

Now for the good: 


Taylor POOPED in the potty today! (is it too alarming to put the word "pooped" in bold and all caps on my public blog?)


He performed for his dad, after holding it all day I am convinced.  Time, and using Andrew's new iPhone game, "Temple Run" as a distractor did the trick.  When he was done, Andrew asked him if it was a scary experience.  His response: "NO.  It was COOL!"

Temple Run

I think Taylor felt a hardy dose enthusiasm from his parents, as we were constantly hugging and praising him, rewarding him, and asking him questions like "What did you do today?" and "Are you a big boy?"

Taylor showing off his double dose of Spiderman fruit snacks, just before for having a special movie night with Mom and Dad.

Please don't mind the potty talk here...ADrew and I feel like shouting this exciting news to the rooftops!  We are super thrilled.  Getting our little guy to this point was no easy feat!

King Soopers

I hear opinions all the time that McDonalds has geared their marketing toward kids--Ronald McDonald and characters, their play areas, Happy Meals.  You know what I mean.  The idea that you hook 'em while they're young.

But I think King Soopers has really got it down.

My kids love the going to the grocery store more than any other place.

Seriously.  They BEG me to go.  

Even Russell hypes up when we drive by the store or when he hears the words "King Soopers."

I can't say that I blame them...

How can you beat riding in a two-seater car grocery cart,

In some cases, with Disney TV playing as Mommy shops?

Well, you can,

if you give each kid a free cookie from the bakery each time they visit,

and 1¢ pony rides as they exit the store.

And as far as I can tell, every King Soopers in the Denver metro area has these cool features for kids.  (What I want to know is, where on earth do they get all the penny horses??)

They're great.  I remember hating going grocery shopping with my mom at times as a kid.  King Soopers, you've definitely won the "Mommy Approved Store of the Year" award from me!