Sleeping in

Today was quite a day. DD went to bed about 2 hours late last night, then woke up at 6:30 to go to the bathroom. After she was done, I put her back in bed, because there's no reason for her, or me, to be up that early. We both went back to sleep, and I didn't wake up till 9 or 9:30, and DD was still asleep. She didn't wake up till 10:00! She has never slept in that late before. I guess she really needed it. Unfortunately, it threw the whole day off. I had planned on going for a nice long (10+ miles) bike ride, but by the time we ate breakfast and got dressed, DD was ready for lunch (maybe she's going through a growth spurt?), and then I cleaned and organized our room (it needed it really badly) and then tried to get her to take a nap. Unfortunately, she didn't fall asleep till almost 4, then didn't wake up till after 5. By the time I got her pottied and our stuff together and everything ready, it was 6. We did manage a 4.5 mile bike ride, though. Not as long as I wanted, but definitely better than nothing. DD took a long time going to sleep tonight, too, so if she sleeps in again, we'll have to tough it out and skip nap and just go to bed early.

Not a terribly productive day. I did get our room cleaned and laundry done, but that's about it. Of course, I did stay up last night reading till about 2:30. I don't know why I do this to myself, I'm always so tired the next day and have a tough time getting anything done. Yet it happens time and time again. Must work on self-control.

Car seat investigations

I went for a walk today. It was supposed to be 4 miles, but a mile into it I had to go to the bathroom (even though I went just before we left), so I turned around and headed home. Frustrating. It was a rather blah day for me, and I should have gone for a bike ride instead- that would have been a lot more successful, but I wanted the walking mileage, especially since I didn't walk/run much this week. I think in the future I'll listen to my body more and do what it wants rather than what my schedule says.

Ran some errands after that: tried to check out the Britax Frontier carseat for DD. I'd like to get her into a safer carseat than she's in, but wanted to see how she'd fit in it, since she's currently on the lower end of the height/weight limits. The store didn't have it in stock, but we were able to try out the Regent, which is similar in size, though not as cool looking, nor does it have the 'True side impact protection' wings at the head, which I definitely want. She fit in the carseat fine, so it's now just a matter of deciding when to get it. I'd like to have it for when we travel to some family reunions next month, but I've been spending a lot of money on the bathroom remodel, I need to buy the conex shipping container for storage, I need to purchase the furniture for my massage room, and I have to pay for gas for the trip. And all these expenses are within the next 3 weeks. So this week I'll sit down and figure out how our finances are doing, and make a decision from there. The great thing about this carseat is that it converts to a booster, and should be the only seat she needs from here on out. Technically her current carseat does as well, but it's not built as well, and I have my doubts about it's safety in an accident. I've also decided that if we have another baby, we'll start them out in a Britax Boulevard. It also has the 'True side impact protection' wings, as well as a body pillow for a better fit (especially important for the little ones). This is a convertible seat, and will last from newborn till we decide to switch to a Frontier. They are expensive, but I'd rather have my child be safe in an expensive carseat than not-so-safe in a cheaper seat.

Also stopped by Costco to get toilet paper and paper towels for our year's supply. It's been awhile since I last went to Costco, and it wasn't on a Saturday. This Costco is a ZOO! There was no parking- everyone kept circling, waiting for a spot to open up, and there were so many people inside it was hard to move without bumping into people. Though surprisingly, I sailed right through the checkout. I must have been in the right place at the right time.

Helped my dad with the pipes for the shower. I thought he'd finished them yesterday, but that was not the case.

I am what I am! That's a great thing to be!

Tonight I read "Happy Birthday to You!" by Dr. Seuss to DD. One particular passage caught my eye:

Today you are you! That is truer than true!
There is no one alive who is you-er than you!
Shout loud, "I am lucky to be what I am!
Thank goodness I'm not just a clam or a ham
Or a dusty old jar of sour gooseberry jam!
I am what I am! That's a great thing to be!"

I think sometimes we forget how blessed we are, and that we should be happy with what we do have.

Final day of babysitting

So today was the final day of babysitting, and not a full day of it, thank goodness. My MIL returned about 1, and we were able to leave and I put DD down for a nap in her bed, then went to the hardware store with my dad to get more things for the bathroom. Dad's been having lots of fun upgrading the pipes and figuring out how it will all fit together. Hopefully we can make some visible progress tomorrow, now that he's got the pipes done.

I'm trying to figure out how to get out of babysitting again, but I'm not sure quite how to do it. I have to watch them at least one more time. After that, I'm done. I am not one of those people who can calmly handle any behavior that comes out of the half dozen or so kids that are running around. Strange, when you consider the number of siblings I have. Or maybe it's because of the number of siblings I have. In any case, I really admire people who can do that, even if I'm not one of them.

So I really don't like having my mornings taken up. I wanted to go for a bike ride this afternoon sometime, but by the time I got back from the hardware store, and DD was in bed, it was, once again, too late to do anything. I think that's one of the things that's bothered me the most about having to babysit: not being able to keep to my regular schedule. Kind of selfish, but I need my schedule, and I need to exercise for my mental, emotional, and physical well-being. I need to get out and exercise first thing in the morning, since if I wait till later, there's always things that come up to keep me from following through.

While I've been typing, I've also been transferring the children's cds to my ipod, so that's one more thing to cross off my list. Slowly but surely getting things accomplished.

Almost done babysitting

No exercising again today. I had thought about going for a bike ride after I got DD into bed, but my SIL was later getting home today than she was on Tuesday, so by the time we ate and DD was in bed it was too dark to safely go for a ride. Tomorrow should only be a half day of babysitting (my MIL is supposed to get back around noon), unless my SIL doesn't have to go into work, which is a possibility that I'm really hoping for. I found myself yelling a lot today: mostly because the kids were in another room, doing something they weren't supposed to. I hate yelling, and don't want to be a mom that yells all the time. I rarely raise my voice when it's just DD, so there's still hope for me.

No babysitting today!

I was all set to go running this morning when I stopped to think about what day of the week it was, and realized I was supposed to go visiting teaching in 45 minutes. So instead of putting on workout clothes, I ran down to the nasty bathroom to take a shower. That took longer than it should of since I couldn't get the toggle thing that makes the water come out the shower head to work (mom claims she didn't have any problems), and then DD didn't want to get out of the tub (I'd brought her in with me). In fact, DD climbed back in the tub after I toweled her off- she was that insistent about staying in the tub!

After VT we ran some errands, then came home and ate lunch and DD went down for a nap. I waited for DH to send me an email, but his connection is so bad he couldn't even log onto his email provider. He's supposed to have an 8 week extension on his class, which would mean he's got till August to finish it, but his teacher emailed him today, saying that he had to have everything in by the 27th! So he emailed her back to remind her about the extension, but she hadn't responded yet. Very frustrating, especially since his schedule is such right now that he's got a lot of late nights and no free time, for school work or fun stuff.

I thought we'd get moving on the bathroom today, but dad had something come up that he had to take care of. So we ended up going to the hardware store after dinner tonight to get backer board and sheetrock, and that's all that got done. Tomorrow dad'll work on the pipes (putting larger ones in so we finally have decent water flow) and prepping for the sheetrock, backer board, and tile.

After DD's nap, we went for a run. I ran three miles and walked three miles. After the first half mile or so I didn't have any more twinges in my shins, and overall everything felt pretty good. My lungs definitely need more work, though. All the hills are pretty killer when you combine me (still not in shape) with a 27 pound toddler in a jogging stroller on a hot day. It was a good workout though, and I'm not too sore, either. I had only planned on walking two miles, but as I started the second mile I met a girl who lives down the street and we got talking and walking and instead of the half mile out that I had planned, we did a full mile out and then came back.

Yet another day of babysitting

I babysat my SIL's kids all day, so no exercising for me today. It wasn't the worst day of babysitting, but it sure wasn't the best, either. I really do not like the smell of formula or poopy formula diapers. It reeks!

My dad and brothers got the bathroom gutted today, tomorrow we start putting it all back together. I just gotta go for a run first thing and run into town to take care of a few errands. Aagh! There's just never enough time to get everything done. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

I'm Certified!

I went for a seven mile bike ride with DD this morning. It was a good workout, with lots of hills, some of them in the last mile. I finally stopped putting off some phone calls and got stuff taken care of. Still have some more to make (need to schedule dentist appointments for myself and DD and a checkup for me), but I'll worry about them tomorrow or Wednesday.

While DD took a nap this afternoon, I filled out and submitted my recertification paperwork. I was able to do the whole process online, which I wasn't expecting to be able to do. I thought it would take a couple weeks to process and get back to me, but an hour or so after sending in my stuff, I got an email saying my certification was now up-to-date! Yay me! Now all I have to do is get my insurance, remodel and set up my massage room, and I'm ready to go. Unfortunately, I won't have time to get the room done till the middle/end of July, so I won't actually start doing massages till then.

We started taking apart the upstairs bathroom today. Well, my dad and brothers did, since it's at the grunt-work stage. Now we just have to see how quickly we can get it finished. Unfortunately, I won't be a lot of help this week: I'm babysitting my SIL's kids two days, maybe three days, this week. My MIL usually watches them, but she's taking the YW to girls' camp this week, which leaves my SIL without a babysitter. I've gotta say, my MIL is a saint. She watches the three kids (4, 2, and 9 months) 12+ hours a day, 4 days a week, without pay. And she's been doing it for at least a year now, and there doesn't look to be an end in sight. That kind of schedule doesn't leave you much time to yourself or time to get stuff done. I don't know how she does it, I certainly couldn't do it.

More goals to add to the list

Some goals I'm adding to the list: read my scriptures every day, attend the temple at least monthly (more often if I can), read the Ensign cover to cover each month, have more meaningful prayers, read the Relief Society lesson each week, hold Family Home Evening each week.

These are all things I've been working on to one extent or another, but never wrote down. So, to make sure I'm making progress on them, I need to add them to the list. I was doing very good with reading every day, till we moved and my routine got thrown off. I do very well with a routine, and I need to learn how to get stuff done even when my routine is disturbed.

I haven't attended the temple since DH left for the simple reason that DD has severe separation anxiety (daddy's gone, what if mommy doesn't come back?). She still has issues, but I've been able to leave her with my mom for an hour or two at a time (usually I'll leave right at the beginning of naptime, and return as quickly as possible, with her being awake by the time I get back), so now I need to make Temple attendance more of a priority.

I was good about reading the Ensign before we moved, and like my scripture reading, it too has suffered. However, I sat down and read the June issue today, and was inspired and uplifted by it. There were a lot of really good articles; one was about military families and how they cope with separation, one sister shared ideas about FHE while her husband was gone, and another article talked about being born again spiritually and the process that goes along with it. The part that got me was that we must experience a change of heart. My recommend expires this month, and I've been thinking about the questions they ask in the interview, to make sure my life is in order. I realized that it's not quite: I have been harboring ill feelings towards my brother. A few months ago he wrote a very judgemental and hurtful letter to my husband and me. I've been allowing my feelings of ill-will to fester, when in reality I need to experience a change of heart and forgive my brother. While I had pretty much come to that conclusion already, reading that article reinforced in my mind the importance of doing so. If I don't forgive him and move on, I'm only hurting myself.

While I pray several times throughout the day, it's sometimes hard to find the time (and peace and quiet) with an active toddler running around to have a meaningful conversation with the Lord. I need to make more of an effort to set aside time where I can concentrate and not be disrupted.

Since I'm in Nursery every week, I miss out on the Relief Society lessons and the Sunday School lessons. I need to work on reading the assignments for both on my own, but I'm going to work on the Relief Society lessons first.

DH and I have never been real good about holding FHE. It was kind of hard to be motivated when it was just the two of us. When DD finally came along, her bedtime was so early, and she wouldn't understand anyway, so we continued to not have FHE. Now she's getting old enough to understand simple concepts, but DH is gone. However, I don't want to try to institute FHE when DH gets back (on top of all the other changes that will be going on then), so I need to start doing it myself. A couple months ago I started reading to her every night from the Book of Mormon reader, and her response has been quite interesting. She has a hard time sitting still when I'm reading other stories, but she'll usually sit fairly still when I get to the Book of Mormon stories (it's the last story we read each night). Sunday afternoons would be ideal for FHE, because of her early bedtime, but we go to the in-laws for dinner every Sunday and she usually gets to bed late, so I'll have to figure out a different time. Mondays are when FHE is traditionally held, and we will probably just aim for that.

Photos for Catching up (May 28th post) and Triathlon

Ok, so I'm a serious slacker in some things. I took these photos quite awhile ago, but never posted them. Here's the suitcase I bought for DD, before and after I picked out the embroidery.

And here's one of the blankets I picked the embroidery out of. They didn't turn out as well as the suitcase and other things I bought. Hopefully with washing the imprint will go away. This particular blanket also had a hole that I wasn't aware of until I picked out the embroidery, so that had to be fixed as well. The other blankets didn't have any holes.

Here's a photo from after the triathlon. I have some of me swimming, biking, and running, but I look pretty hideous, scary, or exhausted. And the photos show just how much weight I still need to lose. Rather depressing.

Renaissance fun

My shins were bugging me, so I didn't go for a run or walk today. Though that's not strictly true, since today my sister, DD, and I went to a Renaissance Festival. We walked around there for about 3 hours. I was going to bring my pedometer so I could measure how far I walked, but the battery was dead. We had a good time looking at all the shops with stuff for sale and watching the joust.

It was also quite interesting to watch the other people there. It's been about 8 years since the last time I've been to one of these. There's just something about Renaissance Festivals that brings out the weirdos or the weirdo-within. The outfits people wear! Some are quite nice: the elaborate clothing of the upper class and such. But others, oh my word. Why does everyone think that women dressed as sluts back then? Apparently the more skin on display, the better. Which means of course, that there's some women with some pretty nasty sunburns this evening.

Then there's the schizophrenic dressers, like the chick wearing fur leggings, a skirt made of strips of fabric, an animal tail pinned at the waist in back, and a black leather corset thing. Who/what was she trying to be?

And apparently all the Pirates of the Caribbean movies have released a lot of people's inner pirate, because there were a lot of pirates there, male and female. Their outfits weren't too bad, everyone was trying to channel Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swann. There was also some fairies, complete with wings and goofy way of walking (it's fine for an animated character to gambol around, but it's really odd to see someone try to do it in reality) and a few fairly authentic-looking Scottish outfits. I just love a guy in a kilt!

There was also a pipe and drum band that performed. They were quite good and reminded me of my long-held desire to learn to play the bagpipes. At one point I even bought a practice chanter so I could learn the fingerings. I never progressed very far though; there's a lot of memorization involved when it comes to learning and playing the music (how often have you seen a bagpiper with a music stand in front of them?) and I've never been real good at memorization. However, I think I'm going to add learning to play the bagpipes to my list of goals. Not immediately, but it is something I'd like to do, and it would be good for my brain to memorize things. If I can get the systemic yeast infection cleared up a bit more, I might actually have the brain power and mental clarity to succeed at learning the bagpipes.

One goal almost accomplished

This morning I swam laps (24 in 20 minutes), and tried to work on my technique as I swam. I could tell a difference, but it's going to take a lot more work before I can be consistent the entire time.

On the way home, we stopped by the library for a minute that turned out to be a lot longer than a minute. Since it was supposed to be in-and-out, DD and I stayed in the car, which was really hot. So my mood was already deteriorating, and then I heard my cell ringing, but by the time I got it out of my bag in the back, it had stopped. Of course, it was DH calling, and I missed it. Mom and my brother finally came out, and DH called again just as I was backing out of the parking spot. I normally never drive while on the cell, but since it was DH, I made an exception. Not the smartest thing I've ever done, since I then proceeded to pull out in front of a car I hadn't seen and almost got us hit. So I asked DH to call back in a little while, but he never did. I'm guessing everyone else was using the phone and he didn't get another chance. Whatever the reason, he didn't call, and my mood didn't improve.

Even though I was in a bad mood all day, I did manage to get a lot done. Last night I finished the second continuing ed class I'm taking, and today I finished the third one. So my classes are all done, now I have to send in my paperwork from the classes and pay my fees, and my certification will be up-to-date! Yay me! I do need to do some more practice massages to integrate the stuff I learned in the classes into my massages. Come the middle of July, once I've got my massage room furniture, I'll be in business.

This evening, I went to pick up a log bed I found on craigslist. It was a good price, so even though we won't be using it for a year or so at the earliest, I went ahead and bought it. I didn't realize till I was unloading the car just how tall it is. It's a twin bed, but the headboard is a couple inches taller than me (ok, I am short- 5'1" on a good day)! Hopefully by the time DD is using it she'll be able to stay in the bed (or I'll be buying those side rails that keep kids in bed).

After dropping the bed at the storage unit, I ran to the grocery store, and then headed home. As I left the store, the rain was pouring down. I haven't seen it rain that hard in a long time. As I was driving home, it looked like the rain was bouncing off the road, it was coming down so hard! There was some spectacular lightning, too.

An efficient morning

This morning we went for an 8 mile bike ride. I was hoping for a 10 mile ride, but we ran into some obstacles: namely that I was riding where I wasn't supposed to be! I was riding on some newly paved roads in a new subdivision, and they weren't too happy about me being back there because of the construction. There wasn't that much traffic, and there aren't any signs posted saying you can't go back there, so I didn't see it as an issue. Oh well. I was able to ride through the completed portions, but those roads aren't nearly as long, so I wasn't able to get my 10 miles. I think I'm just going to have to stick closer to home and do some up and downs on the paved roads that have less traffic. Not the ideal, and I may end up just driving into town and using the bike path. That's not ideal either, though, especially once you add in travel time. At least the new subdivision was only 5 minutes away. I'll have to think about it some more.

As I was unloading the bike and trailer from the car, DD got tangled in my bike and managed to tip the bike and herself over. When I picked her up, the kickstand was up her pant leg! I noticed this rip next to the pocket, but figured I could sew it up pretty easily.

Then I took her upstairs to change her pants, and noticed this tear:

After that, I decided that these pants are a wash, there's no way I can fix that tear! I still haven't figured out how exactly she managed to get the tear in the back. The front one I figure was from the kickstand. The back, who knows?

Later in the morning we went with my mom and picked out the tile for the bathroom that I think we're starting to demo tomorrow. We now have the expensive stuff bought and will add in the other stuff (drywall, paint, beadboard, etc) as we progress with the project.

I just looked at my calendar and realized we have 3 weeks to get two bathrooms remodeled- this'll be interesting! We have to have two bathrooms usable when everyone comes for the family reunion, and while the upstairs one should be finished, the bottom one may not be, and that's the nastiest one (the ones my younger brothers use- it's totally gross, no matter how much bleach is used). I avoid it as much as possible. Guess we'll have to work as fast as we can.

This morning I actually managed to get up and moving and hurried DD through breakfast and getting dressed, and we were out biking by 8:30 and home shortly after 9:30. This is something, since usually we're not even out the door till almost 10. I actually had time to get stuff done this morning and didn't feel rushed, which always decreases my productivity. Obviously I need to make it a habit to be more efficient with my time from the time I wake up. I can't have every morning completely shot by the time I'm done exercising (definitely what has been happening), I have too many things I've got to do.

Unfortunately, for all my efficiency this morning, I ruined it by spending the afternoon reading. I couldn't help myself, though. Janet Evanovich's newest book came out a few days ago, and I had requested it at the library, and I was able to pick it up on the way home from the tile store. Anytime one of my favorite authors comes out with something new I feel compelled to sit down and read it as quickly as possible. Her books are quick and easy to read and don't take long to get through, and at least I didn't stay up till 4 am like I did when I read The Host. Probably something else I should work on, but I always want to find out what happens, as quickly as possible. Who cares about sleeping when you're involved in someone else's life? Very escapist, I know, but sometimes you need to leave your life behind for awhile (as long as it's not long-term).

Trigger points

We went for a run this morning that was going to be 3 miles followed by a mile of walking, but ended up running just a mile and a half. My shins weren't feeling great, and my muscles weren't quite recovered from the hard ride last night, so I wussed out and walked two and a half miles, for a total of 4 miles. Best not to push things too far too fast this early in the game.

This afternoon my dad and I went and bought the sink and toilet for the first bathroom we're remodeling. Tomorrow my mom and I will buy the tile, and then on Friday we should be able to start demoing! Progress on that goal: check.

I've been reading the book for the Trigger Point class I'm taking for continuing ed hours, and it's quite interesting. Way more in-depth and detailed than the book we used when I was in massage school. In fact, I discovered that the pain in the arches of my feet could be caused by trigger points in my calf muscles. Who knew? I sure didn't realize that the referral pain could be located there. I originally signed up for this course so I could learn how to better help my brother who has scads of trigger points all up and down his legs because of some knee problems. But I can see how it will help me and some of my issues, and I've also seen several things I can do to help DH when he gets home. Definitely worth the time and money for this course. Progress on this goal: check.

I need to hurry up and get my continuing ed classes finished so I can concentrate on the remodels that we're going to be doing. I know they're going to take a lot of time and energy and I don't want to be splitting my efforts in too many directions. Plus I need to get my certification paperwork submitted as soon as possible so I can get have everything back by the time we're done with the remodels and I have the time and energy to work on building my massage practice.

I also pulled at my flute and played for about 20 minutes (all I had time for): a good start, but I need to keep it up and fit it in my schedule.