Yesssss

A bowl of roasted garlic.

Made it!

3 hour flight delay, then an "incident with the BART police" stopped us between our destination and the subway stop before it. Eventually te train backed up to Powell and we were able to get off just one stop early. Our hotel is super nice with a city view!

Now I must attend to my rumbling tummy. Good night!

Delayed

We are still sitting at the gate in Phoenix. Low clouds in SF are causing air traffic to only allow one plane to land at a time. So we are waiting for the go ahead to depart. 2 hours so far, 1-2 more they think. But they just put out boxes of water, "take as many as you want." Total win! At least we have nothing to hurry to get to. Just a garlicky dinner and a soft bed.

Phoenix

We have a quick layover in Phoenix, with a switch to a bigger plane. Walking up the jet-way was as much desert heat that I care to experience (sorry Kristin). Onward to chilly, foggy beaches!!

Family pics for Betty

Pit stop in Eagle

Over the river and though the woods

To grandparents house we'll go!

We'll drop off the boy

And get on a plane

That's bound for San Francisco-oh!

Slimming down

Ben and I went back on strict Atkins this week.  We stopped the "induction" phase with a 20 carb limit after two weeks and gradually worked back up to normal.  We stopped counting, but we were still eating less crap than before.  Then I started sneaking more goldfish crackers from Jack's stash and more spoonfuls of peanut butter with chocolate chips.  So I proposed we go back on a stint of low carb to recalibrate and slim a little before our vacation next week.  I'm only limiting to 30 carbs a day - dramatically easier than 20 but still takes a lot of effort and planning.

In three days I have pushed through my previous plateau.  Remember, I started at 162 pounds and got down to 155.  I maintained 155.5-157 all summer since then.  Today I was down to 153!  I'm so psyched.  I can't believe I've lost almost ten pounds this summer.  **Update 8/24: I hit 152.  I can't believe it!**

I'm still getting to Zumba class when I possible.  My favorite teacher has moved around, so now I go to the Golden Community Center for her.  Today it was closed for renovations. :-( I had Jack with me, planning to do child care during my class.  So I took him over the hill to a playground, figuring he could at least get some wiggles out before going home.

Lo and behold, Zumba was in the park!  Kris had a free class there because she's so awesome :-)  (She's in the pink tank top, bossing people around.) 

 

At first Jack was like:

 

Aw shucks.  Mommy is dancing instead of catering to my every whim and applauding every little move I make.  

And then Jack was like:



So good times were had all around.  I let him have half hour of playground time afterwards, then let him splash in all the puddles on the way back to the car, so I think that makes up for it.

PS: It's really hard to dance on uneven ground and videotape a toddler.  Thank goodness for Youtube's auto shake-remover. 
PPS: Yes, he is dancing to a song about mixed drinks, and my teacher says "I dare you to take your shirt off" to the group.  You should know Jack and I also dance zumba at home and are both closeted fans of Pitbull.

Just for Fun

June 2010

August 2012 

Tiny Town

A couple weeks ago we took Jack to Tiny Town, Colorado!  He was sick in that indestructible, two-year-old way that they drip snot and cough but are still hyper and demand entertainment.  That night I got sick, in the thirty-year-old way that I drip snot and cough but want nothing more than to hole up in the basement with Tylenol, a box of tissues, and season five of The West Wing for three days straight.  I even called in sick to work - I have to be REALLY worn out to do that.  I think I've only done that twice before in three years.  Then Ben got sick and I continued to have little energy and had to work for a whole week while Jack continued to ping around the house, a typical ball of chaos and fun-seeking boy-mass.  Jack watched a lot of Dinosaur Train that week. 

All of that is to excuse this very delayed post about Tiny Town.  Jack LOVED it.  Did not want to leave.  Wanted to ride the choo-choo all day.  You should have seen the reverence with which he gave the conductor his ticket for punching.  Oh, but you can! For I am posting pictures and video finally. (Credits to Amanda and Ben)

Tunnel!

Backpack!

Out of no where Jack started pointing out backpacks to us and calling them by name.   He's always been enamored with the body part "back," pronouncing it "baugh-ck" with much reverence while patting his.

I hardly ever buy Jack toys or clothes, but couldn't resist getting him his own. He picked out the puppy from the adorable Skip Hop line of animal designs.

It tickles me so to see my little guy trucking around in it. Especially because he gets off balance by the addition of one book. :-)

I also can't resist encouraging his verbal skills by these indulgences.  He seems to be on the slow end of normal.  Not delayed, consistently making progress, but behind most other two year olds we meet.  I kept waffling on whether to call Early Intervention for an evaluation, but he continued to make small steps on his own.  Looking back now I see that his vocabulary has vastly expanded this summer.  He's more willing to try to mimic a word when we break it down for him and it's not uncommon for him to say a two word phrase (with a little help). 

He said his first spontaneous sentence a few weeks ago.  We were at a playground all alone for an hour.  Some kids showed up and started climbing the tower-- HIS tower.  Jack stamped his foot and said "No! Play! Out!"  I was at once filled with pride that he spoke multiple linked words and disappointment that he didn't want to share.  Being a parent often gives me this strange mix of conflicting emotions. 

Still no purposeful "Mommy" since I posted he finally said it.  Once in a while he calls me "Bobby," but not often.  I theorize that he knows it's wrong so he doesn't call me anything most of the time.  Don't know why he can babble M-sounds but uses a B in words ("Bine!" is one such frequently used fervent and loud statement.)

Sunny start

I'm having a bad morning and it's only 9 am. So I made a good breakfast to try to fix it.

We were all hit with a bad cold last week. Still recovering too.

Ten Years Strong

 Today is our tenth anniversary!  Crazy. 

We plan to really celebrate in about a month, after Ben graduates.  We are taking a trip to San Francisco with a stopover in GJ to drop Jack off with the grands (or "grampkees" as he says).  It will be our first trip away from our little guy.  As much as we love him, I'm looking forward to being solo for a long weekend. 

So I didn't plan for our anniversary this week.  That's how I ended up working today, and it's the first of 3 shifts in a row (4.5 total for the week).  We got each other silly gifts in the morning.  Ben made sure to include daffodils and tin, the assigned gifts for tens year.

Tonight Ben picked up Fat Sully's pizza, our new favorite.  The guy gave us a free salad to celebrate!  We ate it while watching Seinfeld.  I was in the mood for some retro TV. 

 I love you, Ben!