Welcome Home Daddy

I need to dedicate just a little bit of space here to my husband and tell you about his homecoming yesterday, but I promise I'll be brief.  Just until my water heats up for my tea...

Or maybe until I finish my tea...we'll see what kind of roll I get on. 

If you've followed us for very long, you know that my husband and I have a very close relationship and that I think he is the most wonderful daddy and provider and life partner that I could ever ask for.   So it's tough for us to spend a ton of time apart, even though early in our relationship, as two young college coaches, we often acted as strangers in the night...especially through November through April.  In fact, that's one of the reasons we decided to change professions after Elizabeth came along - it would just be tough to not only take a baby on the road with one of us but also leave the other at home.  

So anyway, we knew that these past few weeks would be challenging, with me taking the girls up to Mom and Dad's and then Scott having to leave for four days of training in Wisconsin.  As the girls have gotten older, they cling to him more and more...lately, especially Rachel.  Last weekend, after getting back from WV, if Scott was in the room, she wanted him and no one but him.  

Of course, I was the last person complaining on that one!

So all week, they asked about daddy.  Where was daddy?  When was he coming home?  Was he on the airplane?  How bout now?  Is he coming home now?

And I was a single mom.  Now, let me tell you...my hats go off to all single parents because I am flat worn out from this week.  And I include in this all who have loved ones in the military or have to travel to work all week...being on your own is flat tough, mentally and physically.  So I was ready to see my husband as well.  

Our phone calls went like most go on the run, with him being tired and in between meetings and me yelling at someone to stop hitting / kicking / biting or to pick up the books.  I did gather from him that he landed at 7 p.m. and that we should just plan on being there around 7:30 p.m. to pick him up outside of baggage claim.

Me, being the horrible listener that I am, rushed our children through dinner and out the door in order to surprise him in baggage claim at 7.  Now, let me pause and say that my children are not rushers.  In fact, I chuckle at that statement of if you want to hear God laugh, tell Him your plans because I think the same can be said for toddlers.

All day, I prepped them.  

12:00 p.m. "We're going to go to the Y and then come home and we are not going to take off our shoes and socks and eat dinner and then get back in the car and get daddy from the airport."

2:00  "No, today Elizabeth...Daddy is coming home today." 

4:00  "We are going to the Y.  DO NOT OPEN THE TOY BOX.  I need your shoes and socks.  YES, YOU HAVE TO GO!"  

5:30  "Get in the house, DO NOT TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF, wash your hands and get to the table.  WHY ARE YOU ON YOUR BIKE?!  DON'T YOU WANT TO GET DADDY?"

6:00  "STOP SINGING AT THE TABLE AND EAT!  DADDY IS ON THE AIRPLANE RIGHT NOW!"

Finally, with promises of getting ice cream on the way home, we made it out the door and successfully into the parking garage and then baggage claim.  I have to say, the girls were so good.  Wide eyed and curious, they gripped both of my hands strong and looked at all the conveyors and stairs and lit up signs.  We found the escalator that Scott would come down and waited, since the ticker said that he had landed.  

Squatting down beside my two girls, I strained my eyes to catch a glimpse of my husband and as soon as I saw him, I told them.  

"Do you see him?  Do you see Daddy?"  I asked Elizabeth.

It took her a couple seconds until she did, but then her eyes lit up and she yelled, "Yes!  I see him, Mama!  There's Daddy!"

I could see Rachel struggling with the whole concept and then all of a sudden, I saw the recognition in my youngest's eyes and heard her yell, "Dada!!" while her little feet started sprinting up and down in place.  It's a good thing he was almost at the bottom of the escalator at that point because I let them both go and they ran to him full force.  

My friends, this is yet another picture stamped on my heart that I'll live with forever.  Especially because I also got to see my husband's eyes as he was half way down the escalator and caught sight / heard us for the first time.  I saw him swim through the mixed emotions of surprise and love and missing and relief and then grab his little girls and pick them up and spin them around until they giggled.  

We both had tears in our eyes as we saw Elizabeth and Rachel clutching his shoulders and telling him how much they had missed him over the four days...as if it had been months or years. 

We had a great ride home, catching up with inserts from the backseat reminding us of the promise of ice cream.  We got the girls to bed and went about our usual routine of getting the house straightened up and catching up on emails and preparing for the final work day of the week.  

Climbing into bed, Scott put his arms around me and said, "I will never forget tonight as long as I live.  I will have the vision of you three at the bottom of the escalator forever in my heart.  Thank you."

Well worth not doing what you're told...welcome home, Daddy!

Ok, off to my tea.

Working out for two

But of course we're still going to the gym.  

Just the other day, I wasn't really feeling it but Elizabeth had been singing non-stop for three straight hours and I was seriously looking forward to an hour of peace and quiet.  I mean, if I could have downloaded the ocean onto my ipod and just had it running in a loop, I would have done it.  Anything than Wheels on the Bus or The ABC's or *shudder* Juno...

And while I readily admit that I am unable to perform at the same intensity as my before-pregnant self, I'm still able to go pretty strong in most areas...although I don't really have much of a belly yet, so I'm not that impeded.

At 13 weeks, I've already had to lower my running intensity - my max is now around a 7.0 and I can tell I'm going to need to lower that soon.  To make up for this, Scott's turned me onto the preset workouts in the treadmill that vary the incline and that really gives me a workout, although I can't run very fast.

With Elizabeth, I stopped running way too soon...close to 20 weeks almost and walked the rest.  Of course, I picked it back up around 38 weeks to try to get her to make an appearance...I'm sure my neighbor's enjoyed seeing the huge, pregnant woman sprinting (fast walking?) up and down the road in front of her house...

With Rachel, I ran to about 34 weeks at a steady, slow jog and then she wasn't having any more of it.  Walking was pretty painful with her at the end, although I made myself do it...  She, too, was a full-term baby.

Of course, my time is also thrown off from having to run to the bathroom at least twice during each cardio session!

The other big change for right now (of course) is abs.  While I don't feel comfortable anymore doing crunches or leg raises (actually, they make me want to puke), I can still do planks, which are also helping my lower back.  But I also know there will be an endpoint to these as well, as I tend to get huge in the belly area.  Although wouldn't that be a funny picture...

Lifting wise, I don't have any limitations, except to not exceed 40 lbs - which isn't really a problem for me anyway.  I can still press on a flat bench - I don't think I have to stop that until 20 weeks - so really I haven't had to alter much at all here.

It's just sometimes difficult to know your limitations, which happened to me the hard way a couple Saturdays ago with Scott.  We went through a pretty intensive workout, warming up on the Versa Climber and jumping rope and then doing the 300 Kettle bell workout, complete with mountain climbers and pushups.  

I walked in the door of the house and thought I was going to die.  I was down for the count for a good three hours, trying to recover.  So sometimes you figure things out the hard way...we'll save that one for the post-baby game plan.  :)

Nesting in the kitchen

Is it possible to nest in the kitchen?  I don't know what has gotten into me, but all of a sudden, I am preparing food like our very lives depend on it.  I mean, seriously...as if we were going to starve next week.

Plus, all this batch cooking talk has gotten into my head.

Plus, my husband is out of town.

And I tend to do crazy things when my husband is out of town...like cook and dust the ceiling fans and organize closets...  But anyway, we had all these tomatoes from the garden and I used a lot of them to make a batch of chili (which, by the way, was AMAZING with fresh tomatoes) but I still had quite a few left that needed used.

See?  Not enough to can and ground beef isn't on special this week to do spaghetti sauce.  And then I saw this link from Once a Month Mom, talking about freezing tomatoes.  So I decided to give it a go and it worked out great!  In fact, it only took me about an hour to get them all bagged up.  Now, I didn't chop them.  I called my resident expert (my mother in law) again and she recommended to just take off the skins and put the suckers in the bags whole (although I cut off the stem).  Once I got a few in a bag, I used my hands to smash them up so they'd lay down in a bag and then sealed them up.

I like having the juice when I'm doing sauce or chili, so I didn't want to lose all that by seeding and dicing them.  Of course, I did save a few...you know, for sandwiches... ;)

Ah...isn't that a thing of beauty...  And while I had the camera out, I found a couple hams at the table as well...

CHEESE!!!

DOUBLE CHEESE!!

So aside from the tomatoes, I've also been dreaming about mushrooms, mainly because I found packages of baby portobellos at the store on manager's special for $1!!  For six big ones!!   So I brought home three packages and have been planning a mess of cream of mushroom soup - which I love to make and bag up for roasts or rice or chicken...mmmmm...

Here was my proof...as if you didn't believe me...

So this morning, as the girls ate breakfast, I started on the soup and still had a ton of mushrooms left over (who knew those things produced so much?!) so I sauteed up the rest to bag and freeze.  I can see these over hamburgers or steaks or meatloaf or roasts...can you tell I'm ready for cold weather food?

Now, the problem then became my freezer...

It takes a strong woman to show her messy freezer, people, and my sudden case of nesting has resulted in a small avalanche every time you open the door.  So I needed to get to work.  I haven't tackled the deep freezer yet, but made some pretty good improvements in the kitchen.

Why yes, my name is Annie and I am anal.  These are long leftover containers that I had lost the lids to anyway and were just taking up space in my cabinets.  Problem solved!!  And don't you worry about where that big box of cookies went...you just calm your pretty head about that one...

In other news, we went to the doctor today - and by we, I mean my posse and myself.  I was just a little nervous about how they might act but they did great and were actually on their best behavior, which just shows that miracles DO exist.  We got to hear the little heart beat and that woosh woosh woosh sound got both of their attention and captured my heart. 

It's hard in these early stages before you can feel the little booger and I just wanted that heart beat as justification, I guess...you know, before it starts punching the mess out of my innards.

We are 13 weeks and yes, plan to find out the sex - mainly because I am the most impatient person in the world.  Plus, if it's a boy, we are in a mess of trouble in the clothes department! 

Hope you all are having a great day and let me know if you have begun experimenting with this batch cooking thing...and if you, too, are a freezer hoarder...maybe we could start a support group.  I'll bring cookies...  ;)

Craziness in pictures...

Only a crazy woman would get home from a rain-trodden beach trip and turn around to make an eight hour trip home with her two, wild children only days later...

And no, it doesn't NORMALLY take eight hours to get home, but when you stop FIVE times, each time averaging about a half hour, it takes a while...not that I didn't contribute to most of those stops, being a pregnant constant pee-machine myself.  

But anyway, to make a long story short, we spent the past week at my parent's house with my sister over her vacation and had a wonderful time visiting and a not so wonderful time battling a little stomach bug that chose to hit each of my kids for about 24 hours.  We arrived back home just in time for a non-stop weekend and to see Scott off at the airport this morning as he had to go out of town on business for a couple days.

Shew!

So, I for one, am looking forward to a little routine.  Well, I know I'm not the only one as my kids are thankful to be entering into our familiar rut as well...little routine babies that they are.  So...wanna see what my kids did at their Grandma's house?  (As if you really had a choice...)

Ok, the fact that my mother bought them a trampoline (albeit, mini) is hilarious, as she was famous for referring to them as "death traps" when my sisters and I BEGGED and begged for one growing up.  Just another example of how grandparenting is gloriously different than parenting, I suppose.  Anyway, the girls were obviously thrilled, especially Rachel, who felt her feet leave the ground for the first time in her little life.  Of course, they bounced each other off the thing and there were many instances of jumping on top of each other, but this little toy was a huge hit and this picture just makes me laugh...fuzzy and all.

Try as I might, I can't get my dad's feet cropped out of this shot...but this was yet another popular spot for my little musicians.  I didn't know if you knew that their beloved Juno plays the piano in her movies, but they enjoyed being Juno impersonators for several days.   Rachel also loved that she was now big enough to climb up on the stool all by herself.  Me = not so thrilled... ha!

When babies and puppies collide during a spirited game of tag...  Good thing Aunt Andrea and Courtney were there to help pick up the dog food, which was an innocent bystander in the whole mess.

Saturday, I brought the girls to the grocery store with me and thank God for Harris Teeter and their free cookies in the deli, which kept them occupied for most of the store.  Afterwards, they asked to ride in the dinosaur and I just couldn't resist.  Do you remember when every grocery store had these?   Does that really make me old?  Right next to the vending machine that had the chicken with the plastic eggs with toys in them?  REMEMBER??  Please tell me that wasn't just in WV...

Ok, and this site made me spit coffee out my nose on Sunday as their daddy was in charge of doing shoes and socks for church.  I overheard him say, "No honey, you are supposed to pull them up, like soccer socks."  Needless to say, she is precious either way, but I promptly pushed them down into place after the picture was taken for evidence... ;)

Hope you all survived your weekend and Monday...we'll catch up this week!

Beef Stew Makes Us Strong!

I'm not sure when my husband taught the girls to flex, but they were both showing off their muscles as they ate beef stew last night.  In fact, Elizabeth ate a whole bowl (with the help of a promise of peach cobbler if she finished).  Now, you may take a second glance at this picture and think the girls look topless.

And indeed, they have no shirts on.  We do no tops in this house for spaghetti, soups or anything especially messy because we have not yet mastered managing a spoon to our mouth on Rachel's part.

And Elizabeth just refuses to let her sister go topless alone...

Which worries me just a little...

:)  Have a great day!

Announcement and changes!

As if we didn't have enough babies around here...

We've decided to add one more little punkin to our brood and are looking forward to baby number 3's arrival towards the end of March!

Why yes...you HAVE done the math right...that would mean that, when the new baby gets here, we will have a 3 year old, a 2 year old, and a newborn...HOLY MAMA MOLY.  

Therefore, the blog theme may take a little bit of an interesting turn, but seriously, I have difficulties staying on topic anyway, so you are with me by now not because you are a weight loss fanatic, but simply because you enjoy being active and might be able to relate just slightly to our 3-ring-circus.  And boy, will I need you to stay with me with all this going on!

So...to answer your questions...

How did I find out?

Well, I took one of those handy dandy little tests that confirmed my suspicions.  I hadn't been feeling on the top of my game and I was starving...all the time...those are normally my big giveaways.

How did I tell Scott?

It was nap time and he was out mowing the grass.  So I walked out and he shut off the mower and I said, "I'm pregnant" and burst into an emotional mess of tears.  My loving husband answered me with, "Oh no...we're going to need a bigger house...and a mini van!"  And then he wrapped me in a sweaty hug and we laughed.

We used this picture to tell our parents when we found out we were pregnant with Elizabeth.

How did the girls take the news?

We asked Elizabeth at the dinner table one night what she would think if Mommy and Daddy had another baby.   She looked at us, cocked her head to the side, and said, "Well...we've got Rachel..."  And that was really all she had to say about that.  Rachel is a big fan of bA-beees (as she says) so I really don't anticipate any issues.  Well, unless her lap is taken...then there might be a rumble.  

See Mama, I will be a great big sister...I can walk the baby and carry it and change it's diaper...

How have I been feeling?

With the exception of a few queezy mornings, I've really felt pretty good.  I've been able to continue in my workouts and am fine with most foods...except for tuna fish...still the thought of it makes me turn green.

Oh, and I crave sandwiches...lots of them...

I mean, if I could afford a Jimmy John's in my house, it would be here pronto.

My husband, so far, has no complaints over this new food fetish.

Ok, that's it for now...thank you for staying with me through these twists and turns of life...I appreciate you!

 

The beach, at a glance...

Well, we made it to Gulf Shores, AL just before dinner time on Thursday...and just before Tropical Storm Lee arrived.

Party crasher...

I have to tell to you, it's difficult to admit defeat to a natural disaster - but not as easy as it is to admit defeat to my two small children, trapped in a condo for too long.  We made several good-hearted attempts to make it down to the sand, but the wind and the rough surf made it close to impossible for two little ones to get a grip of the ocean.  

I didn't even get to take any pictures...well, I lie...I took two on my phone.  

This was the view from the balcony when we arrived Thursday.

And this was the view Saturday morning...

But far more significant are the few I took in my mind...wanna humor me?

The first picture would take place the first evening we got there and Scott and I took the girls down to the beach for a quick walk in between rain showers.  It was cool, so we put them in cover-ups that were long sleeved and white and terry cloth.  They were hesitant and wide eyed...the storm made the ocean look angry and fierce and the sky was grey.  It wasn't the happy-go-lucky beach we had hoped would great them on our first trip to the sand.  But plow ahead they did and laughed and ran into the wind when their feet hit the grit.  The first time the water lapped up to hit their little toes, they shrieked and it was then that I knew my youngest was in love.  She laughed and looked at her daddy daringly, and then turned and sprinted to the water...which took my breath away, considering their was a very significant rip tide due to the storm.  Scott caught her and swung her up high in the air, laughing and protesting at the same time, promising that the swimming pool would be just as fun to our little girl. 

Friday morning, we poured over the local weather and decided it would be our best day to make anything out of the trip.  Scott had to be on several business calls and couldn't get away from the room until after lunch, so after watching the girls bounce off the walls (quite literally...it was a long condo and they would sprint and bounce themselves off the door and then run the entire length and bounce off the sliding glass doors, shrieking and laughing.  I'm surprised we weren't kicked out before it was time to leave!), I decided to try the beach with them by myself. 

Now, let me just give you a little background on myself here.  I am not crazy about the water, ocean or otherwise, but especially the ocean.  I remember very clearly being excited to get to the beach as a youngster and running out only to hit the water and have my legs pulled flat out from under me.  It was traumatic and I have always been hesitant to go out in too high waves that have any potential in going over my head. 

That being said, I was nervous about the rip tide and seeing my youngest run towards the water like it was the coolest thing since sliced bread so I gave them my best warning speech on the storm on the way down in the elevator.

"Now, we are going to the beach and the ocean is angry because there is a storm,"  I said.  "Most of the time, the ocean is happy and a good place for children, but we have to be careful today.  If you go in, you have to hold Mommy's hand..."

So we made our way out and found a spot to begin building our sandcastle (the main objective of the day, according to Elizabeth, who had never made a sandcastle) and set to work.  The sky was scary looking just down the beach, but I figured we had a half hour until it got to us and I really wasn't sure what the rest of the day would look like.  And I really wanted that sandcastle for my child.  

We started digging and turning over buckets of packed sand, which they both joyfully demolished.  And then I announced that I would go down and get us some water to make our sand easier to pack.  They both looked at me, concerned that I would venture to the angry ocean, and then followed on my heels.  I got Rachel's hand before the first wave hit our feet, but not Elizabeth's and the water was so strong that even the the action of rolling back into the sea pulled her down, and rolled her over, sending water and sand everywhere and giving me a strong sense of deja vu.  She came up coughing, crying, and applying a death grip to my leg swearing never to go in the angry ocean again.   Unfortunately, this is my second picture - angry, sand-covered, wet Elizabeth.

I bundled up my now two crying children (Rachel is a sympathy crier) and began our trek to the indoor pool, where we played as the storm made it's way down the beach and beat against the glass. 

Later that day, Scott got to make it down to the beach with us and I got my third picture.  The sun was trying it's best to come out and the rain had stopped, although the wind was still strong and made the air cool against the skin.  Elizabeth, still scarred from the morning, yelled at the ocean that she wasn't going near it and decided to go on sit-down strike in the sand, packing more buckets of sand, turning them over, and then playing Godzilla.  Rachel, on the other hand, was more than happy to be her daddy's side kick in the water and the two of them decided to battle the strong waves.  

My youngest is a daredevil and is fearless in the water.  So I have to admit to you that my heart really stopped beating the entire time they were playing, but the sight was so awesome of the two of them that I really couldn't complain.  The waves hit her and she would laugh...she'd fall to her butt and he'd pick her up and she'd laugh.  Only once did she really take a tumble that scared her, but even in her fear, she was wrenching to get down again.  And Scott laughed...I mean really laughed...the kind that come when seeing your child experience true joy and something new for the first time. 

I ended up dragging carrying Elizabeth down to the edge and holding her on my lap as the water came over our legs and she tolerated that for a little while, only to sprint back up to the buckets and shovels when I loosened my grip.  When their teeth started chattering, we made our way back up to the condo and I got my fourth picture.

Stephanie stopped by to visit and join us for dinner.  She was on my first pitching staff as a young college coach and to see her as a grown, happy woman, expecting her first little baby boy was such a blessing.  She and her husband live near Gulf Shores, so I let her know as soon as we had planned the trip and hoped we could meet up.  We chatted and caught up like time hadn't gone by and it hadn't been five years since we'd seen each other.  When she left, the girls gave her hugs and kisses and Elizabeth was very concerned about where she had gone and when we'd see her again.  

Coaching at the college level is such a challenging experience because you are dealing with young men and women at a very growing-up point in their lives.  They are out of the house for the first time and are truly becoming the people they're going to be...and you're a part of that.  Scott and I both miss the human component of that and the kids we were both close to...so to see them happy and successful on the other side just makes your heart smile.

My final picture came Friday night, after getting both girls to bed, as I settled into my husband's arms on the couch.  It was a very cushy couch and gave towards the middle, so it was easy to put my head on his shoulder and watch the first game of college football season and the storm roll in off the water.   I think it was Hurricane Floyd that came through while I was at Campbell and it was scary enough being inland - but seeing the wind come off the water was something else.  We felt so fortunate to have gotten the few moments that we did with the girls on the beach and to see their excitement, not to mention to even be able to afford a couple days away with the current economy.  

So packing up and heading out the next morning - a day early - left us a little heavy-hearted, but we didn't want to get trapped by the 15 inches of rain the weather man was predicting.  Waving goodbye to the ocean, Elizabeth called out, "Bye beach!  See you next time!" making our hearts swell once again and reminding us that we remain thankful that it is our family that brings us joy, and not necessarily the "extras" in life, like vacations...

Hope you and yours have a blessed Labor Day!