Ragnar: Hot Cops

Here is my team at 7:30 am on Friday.  We were just about to start our first runner and it was freezing!  Literally.  30 degrees.

I thought this was great.  I'd say we were ragnasty by the time the race was over.

All geared up for my first leg--8.5 miles averaging 8:30 miles.  Since I didn't really train I didn't set time goals so I was happy with that pace.  My only goal for this race was to finish my legs, which I did!  This leg had hills and I realized that if run this race again I will have to train for hills--they are hard!  (That's a big IF!)

Getting the "baton" for the first exchange.  It was a slap bracelet.  

Action shot

Water break minus the break.

Here's kinda how the race goes.  2 vans with 6 girls each.  The runners in van 1 run their first legs first. Then the runners in van 2 run their first legs.  While your van isn't running, you can eat or sleep.  Sleeping is hard to do.  After my van ran our first legs it was van 2's turn to run their second legs, and so on.  

Here we are at about 2:00 am.  Van 1 just finished their second legs and van 2, my van, was just about to start our second legs.  My van had gotten dinner and slept while van 1 ran their second legs.  We got about 2 1/2 hours of sleep that night before we were up to run again.  That was not the fun part of the experience.  

While my van's first runner ran her 2nd leg, we got word that one of the runners had been hit by a car and killed.  Everyone couldn't believe it.  We were so sad for him and his family.  We were confused as to what they were going to do about the race.  They had everyone stop where they were and wait while they decided. After 2 hours of waiting we were told they were going to continue the race, but not where everyone left off.  We were to go to the exchange to start van 1's third legs.  This meant that all but the first runner in my van (since she finished hers right after we got this news) weren't going to run our second legs.  I'll admit, I was relieved when I realized I wouldn't be running my leg in the dark!  I was totally scared of that.  But, I was bummed I wouldn't be running three legs.  Some of the girls in van 1 were sick and couldn't run so those of us who had to skip our second legs picked up their third legs.  So, instead of my 6.5 mile night run in the dark, I split a 4.2 mile uphill run and ran 2.2 miles of that.  

We did find out later that the runner who was hit did not die.  He was alive, but in the ICU.

Here I am running my last leg (3.4 miles) down in the valley.  Devin got to see me on this leg.  He was so sweet.  He was really looking forward to going to a gun show that day, but he came to watch me finish instead.  He kept driving past me and whistling at me and cheering me on.  

Coming in on my last leg!  I was glad to be done!  My knees were really hurting by then.

It was a fun experience and I'm glad I did it.  I don't anticipate doing it again because running in the dark is pretty much terrifying for me.  But, if I do, it would only be with girls that I know because with all the down time, it would have been much more fun with friends.  There were 3 other girls who didn't know the group so luckily we had each other.  

There were 350 teams.  These are some of my favorite team names:

"Haulin Asphalt"

"Scrambled Legs & Achin'"

"Gently Rolling Hills My A$$..."

"Knights of the Buffet Table"

"Ragnar, huh...welp, see ya later."

"6 Sweaty Chicks & Their Disco Sticks"  (I'm assuming this was a team made up of couples.)

"Bros and Hose"  (This was a team of firefighters we cheered for because we saw them a lot and were keeping pace with them.)

"9 Dudes and 6 Boobs"

"Hot and Sweaty Cact-Asses"

"High Speed Fartleks"  (Fartleks are a running training drill.)

"My Third Leg is the Hardest"

Ragnar

So, I got a text on Sunday night from my aunt asking me if I wanted to "run in a relay called Ragnar" and I could "read about it online."  Of course I knew what Ragnar was!  I was going to run it, but we couldn't get enough girls for a team.  I was little relieved, but mostly bummed to not get to run this relay.  But, it looks like I'm going to be able to run it after all!

I've only run about 5 times since my marathon so I don't think I'm very prepared, though the marathon was only 6 weeks before Ragnar, so maybe it's better that I didn't run much so my muscles could recover.  I'll just tell myself to "keep going" like I did in the marathon.  It worked for that!  But, really, I am a little scared!

Here's what I'm up against:
I'm runner 11.
Running legs 11, 23, and 35.
Distances 8.5 miles, 6.4 miles, 3.5 miles for a total of 18.4 miles.

We are meeting at 4:00 am on Friday morning to drive up.  We start at 7:30 am on Friday and between 12 girls, we will run until sometime on Saturday afternoon/evening, depending on how fast we all run.  The course goes from Prescott to Tempe Marketplace.

Completing this race will mean I competed in a sprint triathlon, half marathon, marathon, and this relay within 5 months.  After that, it's time for a break.  Then, hopefully we can get pregnant and have a little baby girl!

Is It Over Yet?

That's how I felt yesterday at about noon.

Last Friday Jaxon went to the doctor and we were told he has pneumonia!  Then, Monday we took Henry to the doctor and he has an ear infection!  Poor little guys!  But, that's not what this post is about.  This post is about the events that happened today.

First, some background...

I have 2 kids, ages 3 1/2 and 18 months.  Five days a week I watch a 5 year old and his little sister who is 6 months.  Three days a week I watch a 5 month old little boy as well.  They were all here this morning.  Keep this in mind as you read about my day.

Now on with today's events...
Since Henry is doesn't feel well, he wants to be held ALL day.  I'm not exaggerating at all.  Usually I can put him up o the kitchen counter with me and he watches me as I do what I need to.  Well, he wasn't happy sitting on the counter.  He wanted to be sitting on my hip.  I just couldn't do what I needed while holding him so I put him down and he got upset.  He started to bang his head on the ground--the tile ground.  Devin says to ignore it, but I can only handle it so long so I put him in his room for a minute so I could finish and then I would hold him.  The whole time he was in his room, literally like 4 minutes, he banged his head on the door or walls.  Well, I guess he did stop for a minute or two to do this...

Looks like he's taking lessons from Jaxon.  

So, after a few minutes I got him out of his room and took him back into the kitchen with me.  There was dish water in the sink so he wanted to play in the bubbles.  (Notice the damage he had done to his forehead--yikes!)

He's happy!

Here's Jaxon in his Mr. Ray outfit.  He wanted in on the bubble playtime.  

I just let them put there feet in, but I guess that wasn't enough for Jaxon.  I left the room for a moment to change one of the babies diapers and when I came back this is what I saw.  He decided to get naked and climb in.  

Since Henry doesn't know how to take his clothes off yet, he just got in!  And he's pretty happy about it!

After they were all dried off and dressed Henry asked for a treat.  Well, he takes like 15 minutes to decide what he wants, so I put the bowl on the floor and let him mingle over his decision.  With how clingy being I was happy to leave him to himself for a minute so I could tend to some other things.  

I checked on him a few minutes later and I realized he was taking all the wrappers off the Kisses and putting them in the trash, only the Kisses that is.  He left the wrappers on the ground.  I took out the ones I could, there were 6, plus 2 he had sucked on before throwing away.  

I ate a few and saved a few.

This was Jaxon that afternoon.  I totally wanted to cuddle up right there with him, but I had a screaming toddler banging his head and 2 babies I had to deal with.  

BBL Pic

We had family pictures taken by Busy Bee Lauren.  We haven't gotten them back yet, but she posted this picture of Henry on her blog.  It's stinkin' cute!  I can't wait to see the rest of them!

Registered Mom Gear

"Is that what you're wearing?"

That's what Devin asked me when he got home Friday because we are actually going out to dinner for once.  He said I was in my "registered mom gear" shirt.

It actually made me laugh because he is totally right.  I have clothes, that I prefer not to go in public in (t-shirts, sports bra, jeans from high school) that I wear daily when I'm at home with the kids.  I don't wanna wear my nice clothes when I get food and boogers smeared on me.

So the answer to my question, after I got done laughing, was "Nope."  I got dressed in nice jeans and a real shirt and put make up on.  But, I was still sporting the pony tail with clipped back bangs!

Costume Party & Yelling

Spiderman
Peter Pan
Captain Hook
A Stingray (Mr. Ray from Nemo to be exact)
Santa Clause
Max (Wild Things)
Hercules

What do those all have in common?  Those are all the character outfits Jaxon had worn today before 10:47 am.  Seriously.

It is now 3:16 pm and he is in "day clothes."

The problem with wearing 25 outfits in one day, besides the laundry, is the fact that it takes 20 to 30 minutes to get the clothing on him just right with all the socks, belts, hats, masks, gloves, shirts, shorts, pants, and even matching underwear.  By the time we get all the details just the way he wants them, he decides he wants to be something else!

It drives me crazy sometimes!  But, of course, I am so blessed to have such a little cutie!


Oh, and we made a deal:  I won't yell at Jaxon if he won't yell at me.

Here's why:  My dad was a yeller, but not my mom.  And if she did yell, my brother and I knew things were serious!  Luckily, Devin's not a yeller.  I'm a yeller though, and I don't like it.

For one, since I yell often, when I really need to be serious, Jaxon doesn't know the difference because he's heard it before.  Does that make sense?  Like, what I was saying about how when my mom yelled, since it was so rare, it actually had an effect.

And two, Jaxon doesn't like it.  I mean like, it genuinely hurts his feelings.  It's not like he listens better when I yell either.  He just gets sad or mad about me raising my voice, not even about the words I actually said to him.  So, me raising my voice doesn't equate to any progress to the situation.  Sometimes if he yells at me and I catch myself before I yell at him, I'll ask him if he'd like it if I yelled at him and he very quickly realizes he doesn't want that so he will behave.  That's how much he doesn't like when I do it.

And for three, it's just not nice.  I believe yelling is parenting out of anger, not parenting with the guidance of the Spirit.

And four, I have rubbed off on Jaxon and he yells.  So, we made a deal this morning and so far, it has kept us both from yelling at times when we normally would have.  We'll see how long it lasts.

J-A-X-O-N

While brushing his teeth before bed...

"J-A-X-O-N. That spells Jaxon Judd Miller."

"No, that spells Jaxon."

"Jaxon is my first name.  My middle name is what?"

"Your middle name is Judd."

"My last name is what?"

"Your last name is Miller."

"My first name is Jaxon, my middle name is Judd, and my last name is Miller.  Jaxon Judd Miller.  I figured it out!  Let me give you a hug!"

Rolls, the Eating Kind

I made rolls!  Yep, all by myself.  They are half whole wheat too, not just white.  Here they are before going in the oven.

Here they are after being baked.  I know they look almost like they did before they went it, but if you look close, you'll be able to tell they are, in fact, baked.  Next time, I'll put them in for about 2 more minutes to darken the tops a little more.  I was afraid they'd be too dark on the bottom.

I followed Devin's recipe.  Or, at least I thought I did.  I thought it didn't make much dough, but was sure I had followed the directions.  So, when Devin got home that night he was surprised that the recipe didn't make more rolls.  He pulled out the recipe and we went over it.  He asked if I put the butter in--6 tablespoons of butter.  I told him I totally forgot that part!  They turned out so good and they didn't even have the butter.  Oops!  Maybe they don't need all that after all.  He said they would be fluffier and they would be more dough of course because if you add all that butter, you'd need to add more flour too.

But, he did say the first time he made rolls they looked like little golf balls, and were as hard as one too.  I had to brag a little since he is the "head chef" of the house.  Maybe we'll have a Roll Throwdown.  Um, no we won't because he would definitely win!

VNSA Used Book Sale

We went to this used book sale this weekend, and loved it!  We can't wait for it to come again next year!

Sleepy Nigh Nights

I consider one of our greatest successes as parents the fact that all that has to be done to put Henry to sleep at night or for his nap is to lie him down and he goes right to sleep on his own!  I know many kids do this, but Jaxon was never that easy so I really, really appreciate the fact that Henry does.  Often, we'll ask him, "Are you ready for sleepy nigh nights?"  And he'll nod his head or rub his tummy (the sign for please, indicating that he wants what was offered to him).  It is fabulous!

Spiderman, May He Rest in Peace

At one time, his whole torso split and all his limbs, including his head, were off.  Devin put him back together with some tape and the boys still loved him.  But, he really needed a full body cast if he truly wanted to recover.  I think there's no more denying it--he'll have to be thrown away.  Even though my boys have like ten other Spiderman action figures, they'll be heartbroken that this one is finally gone.

There's Still a Little More

I'm talking about the toothpaste here!  This is what a tube looks like before we throw it away.  Devin kept insisting he could get a little more out, and he would.  I wanted to get a new tube already because my thumbs would hurt every time I wanted to brush my teeth because I would have to squeeze it so hard.  

Is that what it's like at your house?

Valentine Date

Tonight the boys are spending the night at Nana and Papa's house so Devin and I can go on our Valentine's Day date.  We are very excited!  We get reservations at The Deli, which is fabulous!  We've only been there once, but we were SO impressed!  I am really looking forward to some yummy food I do not have to plan, prepare, or cleanup!

Then, we might stop by the ward party to see our friends there, and then come home and watch a Redbox movie.  Or, we might go to a movie.  I can't decide which one though.  It's a toss up between When in Rome or Valentine's Day.  Any suggestions?

And, maybe if Devin's lucky, I'll put something pretty on when we get home...


Update:  The dinner was DELICIOUS!  I'm telling you...go to The Deli.  You won't be sorry!

We didn't end up going to a movie.  We went to Borders book store and browsed around.  That's one of our favorite things to do.  Someday, I'm going to have a book published.

Then, we did some grocery shopping late at night like we used to do after our night classes when we were first married and lived in St. George.  We like doing that together.  We like doing pretty much everything together though.  :)

Crumbs

See those 3 little brown crumbs?  They're tiny!

Henry brought them to me pinched between his little fingers.  He found them on the couch and decided he needed to bring them to me and complain about it.  He was all grouchy about it like they were bothering him and he was so upset about it.  I told him to go throw them away and he did.  Wow, I hope he doesn't look to close around the rest of the house.  Heaven knows he'll find many more crumbs to complain about!

Barfing...Kinda Gross Post

Look how happy Henry is to have french fries!

Little did he know he's be barfing them up a few hours later.

Yeah, the french fries made me, Henry, and Jaxon sick.  We are positive we were sick from that.  It was both Henry and Jaxon's first time they've thrown up.

It was strange because Henry was sleeping in his car seat when all of a sudden he started making a weird coughing noise.  Well, he hasn't coughing, he was throwing up!  I pulled over and cleaned him all up and stuff.  It was sad and so gross to clean up!

That night, Jaxon came into our room and said, "Mommy, I threw up on my pillow."  I told him he didn't and just needed to go back to sleep.  I thought he was just faking because he had seen Henry get sick.  But, then I smelled it and knew he wasn't faking.  Poor kids.

Squat

The other night we were getting the boys ready for the bath.  I took Henry's clothes off and he started running around.  It was so cute because he would run across the kitchen, turn around and look at me, then run back to me and give me a big hug.  He did it like 5 times and then climbed up on the chair in the toy room and laughed and gave a huge smile.  I snapped the pic and turned around to put the camera away.  When I turned back, Henry was squatted down on the floor with this look of concentration and focus.  I knew it was not a good thing so as I went to pick him up, he pooped right there on the floor!  Aaaaaaaaaa!  No!  Not on my floor!!!

Good thing he's so cute!

Moral of the story...no matter how cute it is, don't let your kids run around without their diaper on!

The "Wild Things" are at my House

The first time Jaxon read Where the Wild Things Are, he wanted a "wolf suit" like Max.  I ordered some all white footed pj's online and he loved them.  But when my mom made feet, hands, and a hat, Jaxon loved it all even more.  

Here is the good Max.

Here is Max after being sent to his room for making mischief of one kind and another.

He overturned his table, the rocking chair footrest, and his book shelf.  Plus, he threw his blanket and some stuffed animals off his bed.  We've talked about not throwing furniture, and Devin and I certainly don't do things like that when we are upset, but Jaxon still does it.  Any ideas for what to do when he goes crazy like this?

Salad Dressing

I almost titled this post "Dressing" but then realized that might create unintentional assumptions about the nature of this post...

I have recently become a huge fan of green salad.  I wasn't really ever a huge lover of salads mostly because I didn't like any dressings.  (And who wants plain lettuce?  Um, no thank you.)  I just felt like I was eating pure fat if it was a creamy dressing and pure oil if it was an oil based dressing.  They were all just disgusting to me.  But, this sweet little creation is delicious on greens.  It says it's good on fresh strawberries, but I haven't tried it for that.  So, if you don't enjoy a crisp salad, try dressing it with this and you'll love it!

Oh, I Love You

Many times during each day I pick up Henry and usually when I do I usually give him a tight squeeze and say, "Oh, I love you."

Well, a few days ago I picked him up, hugged him, and said, "Oh, I love you."  I noticed he said something back.  I hugged him said it again and he said something back again.  I tried it a third time and really listened to what he was saying.  It sounded something like "Ooov you."  I realized he was trying to say, "I love you."  It was so sweet and the first time he tried to say those three little words.  My heart melted!  I love my sweet little guy!

PS...Notice the huge bruise on his forehead?  Whenever he gets mad, he bangs his head on purpose.  Usually he'll bend down and hit it on the floor, even if it's tile.  Sometimes he'll walk over and bang it on the wall or refrigerator.  If he wakes up from his nap and I don't get him quick enough, he'll hit it on his crib bars.  If there's nothing around to bang it on, he'll just hit himself on the forehead.  It's really frustrating to me because, obviously, I don't want him hurting himself!  But, at the same time, he does it for attention and kind of out of spite.  Devin used to do it when he was a baby and toddler, so maybe it's genetic!

The good news is, Jaxon never did anything like it.  Oh, wait, that was until he saw Henry doing it and so now Jaxon does it sometimes too.

5 Careers

I clicked on an article titled, 5 Careers You Can Start at Any Age just to skim it.  Since Devin teaches high school, I'm always interested in what articles say about teaching/teachers/education.  Here's what caught my eye...

3. Elementary School Teacher

If you have a passion for learning and enjoy working with kids, a career as an elementary school teacher may be a good fit. Elementary school teachers teach multiple subjects to students from kindergarten through sixth grade, emphasizing understanding, responsibility, and consideration. According to the BLS, elementary school teachers earned an average of $49,330 in 2008, and the field is expected to grow by 16 percent from 2008 to 2018.

To teach in public schools, elementary school teachers must earn a bachelor's degree and graduate from a teacher education program. With online classes available, it's never too late to return to school and qualify to become a teacher.

What?!  Yeah, right!  Where are they teaching?!  Teachers in Arizona certainly don't make that much and all I've heard about is teachers being laid off.  And, if that's what elementary school teachers earn, what would this source say that high school teachers earn?

Toms Shoes

Check out Toms Shoes.  My brother introduced them to us and Devin and I both have a pair.  We love them!  They are so comfortable and the best part about them is that for every pair that are purchased, Toms GIVES a pair to a child who doesn't own a single pair of shoes.  What a great cause!  Buy some!

These are the the pair I have.

These are what Devin's look like.

LG

Isn't the brand name LG great?  It stands for Life is Good and I think it's fabulous someone gave their products that name.

Anyway, in case you didn't know, life is good.  Yesterday was just so fabulous.  I did my reading before anyone else woke up and the days are always better when I'm sure to fit that in.  The day with the daycare kids went almost flawlessly.  They were picked up by 4:15 so I was able to go for a run while it was SO beautiful outside.  My boys rode in the stroller and had a little nap.  Oh it was wonderful!  I enjoy running so much!  I prefer to go without the stroller, but to do that, I would have had to go to the Y and I wanted to be outside this time.  I listened to this book on my iPod.  Dr. Lund is fun to listen to and I'm learning lots about how to be a good communicator, especially in marriage.

I had (a yummy and healthy) dinner ready when we got back from the run and Devin came home a few minutes after that.  We all ate together then did the boys' baths.  We all read and played for a few minutes until the boys went to bed.  Devin, Jaxon, and Henry sat on the couch as I read a little for Family Home Evening.  I just felt so much joy for the blessings in my life, particularly my husband and sweet boys.  All three were so cute.  Jaxon as he half-way listened to what I was reading, Henry as he climbed up and down and over the couch with a big grin on his face the whole time, and Devin as he guided Jaxon to pay attention and caught Henry so he wouldn't fall.  I constantly worry about bills and all the stresses of life, but in that moment, none of it mattered.  There are times when I wish we had this or that, but at that moment, I had it all.  I was there with them and everything else in the world was perfect.