Vacation recap

I'm sitting here dragging out the evening and feeling borderline claustrophobic as I realize that one of my best vacations ever is coming to an end. I am SO SO happy that I decided not to rescind my vacation request when I realized that I would not be making multiple trips to the coast to shuttle the Bigs to and from Grandparentland. This week has been amazing. I read four books start to finish. I developed a crazy awesome tan. I spent HOURS in the gym (so much so that I'm involuntarily breaking into squat sets and planks, WTF?) I cooked real, delicious, thoughtful food after far too long living in drive-thru (Chipotle if we're fancy) or thrown together at the last minute meals.

The tan.

I went to Sephora to upgrade my blush and foundation (I'm working a piece at a time) and got the fancy tone match camera thingy for the foundation. When she brought it over I said hesitantly, "Um. That looks a little dark." To which she replied, "Do you have any idea how tan you are?" Yeah, it was a perfect match. Now that I've invested $35, I'm obligated to maintain this lovely, albeit hypocritical, skin tone.




Spent so much time with the Little. Without the Bigs, she became super talkative and animated. Like, cartoon character cute. I was worried that she'd quiet down when we picked up Eli and Sydney but she didn't. So now she's got her voice thrown in the mix. She's hilarious, by the way. Like, knee slapping funny.


We finished up the staycation by actually going to pick up Eli and Sydney from my folks and spending the weekend on the coast. It's a terrible place to have to visit.

The seem so big now!

Running the wunderdog on the beach, because he couldn't figure out how to play nice with other dogs.

These girls are my BFFs. We went to Sephora together and I let them sample all the things. They WURKED IT. And Syd with that hip cock? It kills me every time.

And last but not least, another awesome evening brought to you by local pro-wrestling. Now Syd loves it too, so we're officially obsessed.

The show started with a territory brawl that made Syd burst into tears with the injustice. Literally. And she still had make-up on from Sephora so her mascara smeared.

PBR. Let's pretend it was ironic.



Syd's favorite wrestler, The Pumpkin Queen. She switched teams since the last show and is now with "The Bad Guys" which has caused Syd to have a minor identity crisis. She's decided that this is actually The Pumpkin Queen's evil twin who is impersonating her. Yep. That's how into wrestling we are.

I feel like I hit the reset button. I won't go so far as to say that I'm ready to go back to work, but I'm definitely feeling more centered and balanced. And tan. Mostly tan.



Adventure Day

(I can't get my pictures aligned right and it's driving me nuts. Forgive my wonky alignment)

 

We took advantage of my being off on a school day to go up to Tahoe and hike without the masses. Because they make hikes and campgrounds VERY hard to find, we managed to make a 1.5 hour drive last 3 hours (including the half hour clean up after Averson puked up all of her croissant in her carseat and had to be cut out of her shirt because long hair + vomit covered shirt = nope). When we finally found our spot, we headed up for a 5 mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail. I've nearly convinced myself that I want to actually backpack the trail. Maybe someday...

I counted this as "Backpacking" on MyFitnessPal, which meant 3 pieces of pizza for dinner :)

 

The trail was amazing! There were meadows full of wildflowers and then we ended up at a gorgeous, almost deserted lake. I say "almost" because there were a few people that wandered by, including a French man that walked five feet past me, then dove in the lake butt-nekkid. C got to see him in all his body-confident glory :)



Yay Nature!!

Avery was such a trooper! She even walked a good portion of the trail. And she LOVED the lake. It was freezing cold, but she spent a good part of the day naked or in her diaper (no spare clothes after the puke incident, so couldn't risk a wet outfit) throwing rocks in and wading up to her knees.

We all jumped in together. So cold, but so fun!

C spent most of the day fishing. This is his happy place, and if we ever win the lottery he will be doing this all day, every day. He only caught a couple little ones so no fish dinner. I finally had to drag him away as the storm clouds gathered and I realized that it was going to possibly be a very cold, very wet three miles.

 

This is the only picture of Atticus I uploaded, but it should be mentioned that we have found this dog's element. He was amazing! We kept him off-leash for nearly the whole trip and he was a rockstar. He stayed with us, even when we passed other people and dogs. He didn't chase animals or disappear. When C and I walked separately, he ran back and forth between us. This dog should really live with a cowboy or a hippie...

Racing the storm. Still had to stop to take a picture though, because So Pretty!



 

We finished the day with more SHIELD and a Costco pizza, which is pretty much the perfect evening.

Lazy Day

I think I'm getting the hang of this "leisure time" thing. On Saturday we went to the gym for two hours, and then spent another couple hours in the pool. We made steak and watched TV, then had a family sleepover after the baby and the dog freaked the freak out about all the fireworks in my neighborhood. Sunday we did absolutely nothing. I read an entire book. I took a nap with Averson. We watched a couple of episodes of my new binge-watch show, S.H.I.E.L.D. (so good! I love all things superhero and I can't believe I haven't been watching this).

This one has a LOT to say when she's the only voice in the house. I miss the Bigs, but I'm loving the one on one time with the Little :)

Pretty sure the last time I napped with her, she was nursing

I laid out trying to tan (I know) my pasty legs. Until I realized my neighbor's adult grandson was watching me. Then it was awkward and I went inside. But lovely while it lasted!

All the screens. But also all the cuddles.

This is so weird

I just waved good-bye to Eli and Sydney as they headed off for a week with their grandparents. Eli does this every summer but this is Syd's first year. I took next week off, thinking that I was going to be making a 5 hour roadtrip four times but now I don't have to so I have a week of literal leisure time ahead of me. So leisurely that my dentist even cancelled my appointment. AND I just submitted final grades and won't be teaching for two months. It's been about an hour and I feel very disoriented. I'm assuming this is the "down time" people talk about? What does one do during down time? I've already made and eaten frozen grapes...
But really, I am so stupidly excited for next week. So excited that C is mocking me. So hive mind- weigh in. If you had a full week with no work and one kid, what would you do?

Almost Nine

Nine years ago, at this very moment, I was lying in bed trying to wrap my head around the idea that tomorrow I would be holding a tiny baby boy. And that perhaps I would have to somehow get that tiny baby boy out of me. I had gone in earlier in the day for my first non-stress test, given that I was near my due date and "high risk" (love that diabetes.) I laid there for over an hour waiting for the requisite number of kicks, watching not one but two sets of other moms come and go. During the heartbeat check the tech got very, very quiet and then left to get the ultrasound. That's when we found out that not only was he breech, he was also running seriously out of room. So they scheduled us for a version (btw, that was the one single thing I had hoped to avoid. I'm still traumatized by that episode of A Baby Story) and possible c-section.

(I may have also been thinking about the fact that I couldn't eat food. This was the pregnancy of all. the. foods. But more than that, I was facing the fact that in less than 24 hours I would be somebody's mother.)

The next morning we packed up and headed in, deciding on the way there on an arbitrary number that would dictate whether we tried the version or just went straight for the c-section. My surgeon, who I'd never met and who was also pregnant and very little, threw that exact number out as our chances of a successful natural birth. And thus began my legacy of zipper-method babies.

I remember the surgery being so fun. The anesthesiologist told jokes. It was so bright and everyone was so happy. And then! Then I had this amazing, beautiful little boy who was perfect. Well, except that no one told me that babies are hairy so I thought I may have birthed a monkey-boy. I remember, in my drug-assisted bliss, thinking to myself, "Even if he has a tail, he's absolutely perfect and I love him." (He doesn't have a tail, in case you were wondering. I was very relieved.)

This kid is amazing, and he has been since day one. He's funny and smart and so maddingly logical and quick. He picks a "thing" and will stick with it for YEARS. Thomas the Train, the Rodeo, then Power Rangers, and now WWE. He is sensitive and sweet and has this inner dialogue that blows me away whenever I get a glimpse of it. The last two years have been pretty rough for him. I think we're finally on the downhill slope, but throughout it all I have been blown away by his character and his resiliency.

Nine is weird, because he's solidly a tween. I look at him and it is no stretch at all to picture him at 13, 16, even 25 if I squint and the light hits him just right. We have actual conversations about things that are interesting to both of us (when he's not talking about WWE. I've tried, really.) I love that there are times when he's obviously still a kid, but then other times when he busts out a maturity and a sense that is so unexpected.

Tomorrow morning we're getting donuts and then we're celebrating with dinner and a cake on Wednesday, because I have to work and teach tomorrow (sometimes being a working mom really blows.) He asked for tortellini, steamed broccoli, and garlic bread. Done done and done. I'm also making a flourless chocolate cake with whipped cream and strawberries because I'm fancy. We're doing the day low-key because in August we're going to a live WWE show, where I expect that he will lose his everloving mind. It's going to be awesome!

So with all that said, Happy Birthday Eli! I love you (even if you have a tail)


   

Girls' Night

I underestimated the size of a "wine flight" but muscled through

The only appropriate shot from the rest of the evening

For the last few months, some friends and I have been trying to organize regular Girls' Nights. It's been awesome and I love it so much. This groups is so amazing.

 Last night we had good intentions of trying out a classy wine bar. Then it quickly devolved. We were loud and rowdy and my stomach hurts from how much I laughed. I stumbled home WAY later than I'd intended. Today I'm nursing my first hangover in a LONG time and I keep laughing about our debauchery. 

Let's get physical

So, I've come to a declaration. I'm officially done looking like a suburban mom of three. I've had a bit of a self-image crisis lately (possibly set off by being literally surrounded by tan, lean, everyday gym going moms or possibly because I'm neurotic and neuroses needs a target) and I am now publically declaring to get my shit together. I haven't lost much weight this year, though my inches are decreasing. I was upset about that until I measured out my coffee creamer this morning. Oops. Maybe that's why I'm not hitting my "If every day were like today you would weigh X in 5 weeks..." So here I go. It makes no sense whatsoever to keep complaining about something and doing nothing about it, because as much as I've tried, no one has stopped by my house to bring me magic skinny pills. Except that one guy, but he was kind of sketchy and the bottle said, "Crank." "One time I thought I could do meth, but then I thought, maybe not." Also, I want to get my belly done and I can't justify the money if I haven't done my part first. You know, aside from carrying the enormous babies and eating a lot of French fries.

So here's my plan. We belong to a gym (mostly for the pool) and I pay good, hard earned money for it every month. If I look at it by a cost-per-use calculation I need to go at least twice a week. I found a great strength training class that meets three times a week. At 5:30 in the morning. I love working out in the morning but Good Lord, that's early. But muscles! And they say that you can't lose weight if you don't strength train. I also am trying Spin. I'm convinced that there is a spin-friendly body shape and I don't have it. But it's at a good time and it's definitely sweaty. 

So I'm doing all that (or have good intentions to do that.) Plus, a friend of mine is training to be a barre instructor so I've been "helping" her by going to mock classes. That shit is no joke. Sometimes I look like I'm having a seizure I'm shaking so hard. I love it. And I can literally feel my booty shaping in a non-suburban-mom way. Now I just have to figure out how to justify multiple memberships...

So that's my public declaration. If I say it out loud, that makes it true, right? I'd love any tips or tricks, especially about staying motivated or strength training. Also, can we just whine for a second that My Fitness Pal gives you nothing for weight training?  

Only related because they're in a locker room