Smitten

FINALLY! I finally got to meet Kyler. I think we're going to be good buds. In fact I'm pretty sure tonight before bed he asked his mom when his cool Auntie Heather was coming back...

I just loved going back to that mode... as soon as I got him, the bouncing and back rubbing began... I remember years ago being at the grocery store and hearing a baby and would unconsciously start swaying... I think I got called out by a couple moms too who would catch me in line rocking an invisible baby.

And oh! Rubbing and kissing his soft little fuzz head! If that isn't one of the sweetest things on earth...

Baby boys. Sigh. They're so delicious. 7 year old ones?

Not so much.

a new camer-rah!

While I sit here listening to the windows rattling from a epic thunderstorm outside, I'm playing with my new camera. I can't wait to put it through it's paces tomorrow evening when I finally meet Kyler. Danene is one of my favorite people.She cracks me up. And tomorrow I get to snuggle her little guy and love on him and hopefully catch up with her and let her be autonomous for a few moments.

But what did I run out and do straight after work once I confirmed tomorrows plans? Look for cute baby clothes, that's what! And I (eventually) found some.

Loved this one (but I was a sucker for baby tee's like these... Brady's "Rump Shaker" and Natalie's "Word to Big Bird") and the company name? House of Mongrel. Kewl.
I loved dressing my kids in this line... so comfy and sweet.
So I think I've decided that the new blog address will be http:waheather75.blogspot.com
I think. I won't move it until I know so... but if for some reason you show up here and I'm not here, check there. But that's the plan. Soon. Not today. Today people come back to work and log into their computers and then catch up on my ramblings... can't spring a move on someone on a Monday. I mean, what if they have a case of the Mondays? I couldn't do that to them.

Big Boy Shining

Brady's front teeth are beginning to take over his face. I mean, everyone has to go through this phase of life, but it still doesn't make any of us look less goofy. And he's only losing more teeth!
We went and saw Diary of a Wimpy Kid today... if you have a 7 year old boy I highly recommend it, it was right up his (and Natalie as a little sister to a 7 year old boy, she has the refined appreciation of boogers and various toilet talk) alley.
After dinner (Brady called my mom and invited her over, so cute) we walked over to the park to play a little bit in the dark, and explore the freshly delivered pile of mulch. Because who can resist a pile of wood chips to jump around on? Brady chased Natalie and I home and just as we got back to the house I found myself giggling like a goofball because Brady was hot on my heels and knew I was in for it if he caught me!


Oh, and not only was I painfully aware that Brady's stubborn streak is the "next generation" of mine (4G?), I also knew that he had a keen memory. But today I got some insight that his memory also rivals mine. We were talking about what theatre the movie was playing at and I told him where and he asked "the one by the Starbucks where we meet Aunt Tracy?" and I said "no", and he said "well, that's the one we saw Indiana Jones at." Yeah. We did see it there. Two years ago. But that's just a little nugget of stuff he remembers. No wonder we butt heads so much.

And now I miss his Indiana Jones phase... it was so cute. ***sigh***

The week that was...

This week? Meh. We did fun stuff, but still. Meh.

I'm starting to not like Wednesdays so much... they're not terrible, they're just not my favorite. It's the day the kids come back from their dads... and while the process is smooth, it seems that certain children think that every Wednesday is reason to celebrate with oh... I don't know... McDonalds for dinner? Or Red Robin? How about Billy McHales? Can you call Domino's and order pizza? Who can come over? Can we go to Sam and Zoe's? Can Grandma come over?

And Brady is growing or something, he is hungry (and this is the boy who won't eat anything of substance) from the moment I pick him up until I put him to bed (sometimes he goes to bed hungry). And now I'm playing phone tag with Children's Hospital, I have everything in order to get him an evaluation to help me help him with transitions and general bullshit, but they don't answer their phone (they even tell you "we're busy, you'll probably have to leave a message" which tells me that phone screening is NOT a priority) and they only have called me while I'm in the middle of classroom training. So I told my trainer "look, if my phone rings the magic number, I'm taking it. It's like the golden ticket" but of course since I said that did they call? Uh, no.

I am so looking forward to not setting my alarm for 5:15 tomorrow. Let the sun (please let there be sun tomorrow!) wake me, or my kids crawling into bed for some early morning snuggles stir me, but nothing else.

And I plan on moving my blog address on Monday. I've decided that's moving day. So everything will stay the same, I'm just going to change the URL, so if you've got me saved to your favorites (admit it, you totally do) that little link won't work anymore. I'll post the new address tomorrow. I think I will anyway. If I get out of bed, that is.

We went to Brady's school Thursday night and listened to a 1950's themed concert and drank root beer floats.
Tuesday night Kamikazes and delicious Greek food with my old co-workers Jackie and Julie.
The 12 year-old boy in me resurfaced at work the other day. There is a chip in one of the tiles in the hallway... guess what I think of every time I walk by it?
My 2nd pizza stone to die on me... and just when it was finally getting good and seasoned. 3 pieces, just like last time. Damnit.

P.S. I got my old camera back the other day, as soon as I install the software I hope to provide more quality (aka not so effing blurry) photos for this little blog. But my iphone is so handy but my hand just isn't steady enough nor am I patient enough to get a clear shot 9 times out of 10.

The Results are in

1: Michael Wallace 13:33
2: Darlene Shorey 16:36
3: John Ireton 16:47
4: Heather Allred 18:27
5: Jack Ireton 19:48

69 flights, 1311 steps, 788 feet of vertical elevation, One Common Cause

My team and fellow SW alumni: me, Darlene, Mike, Jack, and John.

Team huddle.

Registering to become potential bone marrow donors.

I've known this trouble maker 20 years... did I just admit to being old enough to know someone for that long? He took top honors on our team.

"Where's the cap?" (Isn't that a cool shirt?)

We all took turns signing the dedication wall...

The view from the top.

Darlene killed it on the stairs... what a rockstar.Discussing the ipod lineup I think. I dunno, I was clearly not paying attention.

Brother taking my picture without consent.

So proud of these guys.

Motivation. Incentive. Due reward. Whatever, it was good.

A pint each turned into a pitcher each ...

Today was the Big Climb to benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! It was so fun and hard and rewarding. Did I mention fun? I won't know climb times until later this week, but I climbed steady and maintained the pace I'd been training at, so I finished with no problem, from listening to my teammates I should have used the handrails to pull myself up the stairs (which probably would have improved my time) but if I do recall it's called the Big Climb not the Big Pull. But that's just me, a purist. Yeah, a purist.

One thing I was not prepared for (ok, two things) was the amount of puke on the stairs (glad our climb time wasn't the last in the queue, that's all I'll say about this subject as I'm sure the situation didn't improve as more climbers entered the stairwell) and I was not prepared to taste blood at the finish. I thought maybe I had bit my lip or something, so I kept licking them and stuff to check, but didn't see anything. Then a teammate noticed what I was doing and asked if I tasted blood... apparently I wasn't the only one. Weird.

But ohmygosh the 4 pitchers of Pyramid Hefeweizen at the alehouse afterwards... I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. My cheeks still hurt!

And... since I'm a forever dork: halfway home Darlene and I stopped at a rest stop and I noticed (now in my defense I got dressed at 530am in dim lighting and little sleep) that my pants were inside out. Yeah. I wore them ALL day like that. Now, they actually might be reversible, since the seam is the same on the legs inside as outside and they're tagless. Actually, that's a lie because there are certain design elements to these pants that make it very clear to me that I was wearing them inside out. I'm awesome.

And some fun facts for the geeks (like me):

*Tallest building by number of floors (76) west of the Mississippi River.

*Originally designed to be 1,005 feet tall. The FAA had it shortened because of a flight path to SeaTac Airport. The same number of floors was retained by shortening the floor-to-floor height by 6 inches.

*Number of windows: 8,816.

*Actual height of structure from main entrance (4th floor) on Fifth Avenue, due to elevation changes between Fourth and Fifth Avenues, is 882.5 feet.

*The rooftop is exactly 1,042.5 feet above sea level.

*Fourth Avenue entrance is 110 feet above sea level.

*Fifth Avenue entrance is 160 feet above sea level which includes a 12-foot rise in the plaza from Fifth Avenue's 148 feet elevation.

*Lowest elevation point of 106 feet above sea level is at corner of Fourth & Cherry making the overall height of building 936.5 feet.

Saturday... In the Park...

Fairhaven Park is by far my favorite park in Whatcom County. So this evening Erin and I piled the kids into the van and headed that direction (with a stop at Avellino for what? Mocha's, of course).
The kids played in the stream/creek/crick/watershed for at least an hour, never once complaining about the cold (it IS March) even though Natalie promptly filled her boots with water and Ashi soaked himself shooting a super soaker and Brady "falling" in to the water twice. No complaints. Erin and I marvelled more than once at this fact.
Once home, the kids and I made pizza from scratch (but I had soup) and they snuggled in to watch Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (I'm dreaming (I'm dreaming)... for the one I love... ... to find me (to find me)... today (today)... and I've been busy uploading songs to ipod (do you ever upload music you wouldn't necessarily admit to having on your playlist? Well I admit it freely that I uploaded the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever, but that's because I have no shame.)
Then I plan on snuggling into bed and watching NEW MOON (I have yet to see it...) before getting some rest before THE BIG CLIMB! It's here! One more sleep!
"A man's health can be judged by what he takes two at a time: pills or stairs." Well, I will take one at a time, but come tomorrow afternoon I will have climbed all 1,311 of them. And I will be toasting my teammates afterwards for their individual accomplishment as well as the big picture: raising money to help fight blood cancer!




Soaked...

Natalie's treasure map...

Walk softly and carry a big stick.

Boys in trees. With guns. As it should be.

And boys dragging branches of fallen trees to throw in moving water... good stuff.

*p.s. did anyone pick up on my post title reference? Can you name the band? Without bing or google, on just your pure musical prowess?

Title Nine

Natalie ate her mint chip gelato, saving all the chips for the end for one big bite of chocolaty goodness.

Brady eating his banana "like a monkey" (stem side down). Weird.

Yes, today I drove to Bellevue for one purpose. I needed a new running bra. And I wanted one that gave them impression that I have 2 boobs, instead of one flat uni-boob. I always felt like a cyclops. But I guess it's better than the alternative.

So the kids and I drove down to Title Nine, which is this really cool catalog (with a few store fronts) I get that has bras that promise to give you 2 boobs but still hold the girls in place. They have a barbell scoring system as to how much each bra can withstand. I walked out with a 4 barbell (the max) called "The 7 Wonders" bra. It's a doozy. I hope it lives up to it's name!

And I couldn't just drive the kids 90 minutes to take them bra shopping without some sort of payoff, so we headed over to one of my old high school friend's home to spend the day playing and shootin the shit. Our kids get along great, Dan and I are old pals that dish it out as much as we take it, and his wife Cindy is just terrific. I do have to shame Dan a bit, he knows I've got the climb in 6 days and he brought home 5 pints of gelato... dirty trick. I think maybe someone on my team paid him off to sabotage me or something. Highly suspicious behavior.

After we exhausted our welcome there, we stopped by my brothers new place to see him and Nicole and her son Aidan. We had a great but short visit, and I am still kicking myself for not coming up with Richard's nickname (on his video games) on my own. I was always distracted by calling him "little dicky" as it was demeaning and funny so I took great pleasure in calling him that for years. But then the name "Dickard" a hybrid of Richard and Dick... genius. Man I wish I could claim it as my own creation.

The kids almost made it to Stanwood before slumber took over, so I had double duty of hauling them upstairs and putting them to bed, which I secretly love because they are so peaceful and I sneak lots of kisses on their foreheads when I lay them down.

Richard, Aidan, and Brady entranced by the game Little Big World (or something like that).

Gabby missed me. Lots. In the middle picture Gabby knocked the sunglasses off my head and there is a blur on my chest, that's another dog: Cayanne.

I can't believe I'm posting this picture of me on the Internet.

Gabby, Natty, Mommy.

A baby Sugar Glider. Don't ask.

Tough Love

Oh, man! Derby was so fun tonight!

OK, I thought this picture was cuter on the little screen of the camera... not so much in real life...
The Jammers: Vicious Divalicious from Dockyard Dames, and Gladeye Ater from Bellinghams Tough Love.

The pack.

Enjoying a cup of Betties Blonde from Boundary Bay. Yes, we had a beer garden at the community college gym. That's how we roll in Bellingham.

Season Pass Holders!

Green Parade

Christian came banging on my door at 8am this morning to see if we wanted to go to a parade at noon. Um, the sun is shining, I love parades, the answer was of course YES!

We got downtown and waited a good 15 minutes for our Avellino mochas (yes, they are that good) and headed down to watch the parade. It was super fun and a nice break and got us in the spring spirit.

Tonight is the Betties bout... hopefully I'll come home with some good people-watching pics...

See?! I knew my birthday was a parade worthy event!

A found photo when I uploaded the camera... 7 year old boys are dirty and full of holes and are just gawky. And this is just the beginning...

Blood

Blood is kind of amazing... what it does for our bodies, how it reacts when it's outside our bodies (the whole clotting/coagulating thing), that we can give others our blood, that it is the thing that is essential to life, yet can also be what kills us. Blood is kind of amazing.

I had to go get a routine blood draw last week. I am notorious for being a hard "stick", and I never know if I should divulge this information. Am I being courteous in forewarning them that I'm difficult, or am I already defeating them and their abilities by giving them this information. I never know and usually don't say anything until they start searching... then they move to the other arm and continue searching... then I tell them. Then I end up getting poked on average 3 times. I think I maxed out at 6 once and then after that was told to go somewhere else. I've been turned away and told to find "other ways to contribute" when trying to donate at the blood bank. I couldn't even make $30 in college selling my plasma!

I was not super excited for my most recent blood draw: I was their last patient of the day and they were hot to trot... so as I'm waiting I'm vigorously rubbing my arms trying to get the blood flow going (luckily I drink water like I'm dying of thirst(remember the movie Big Fish? I'm the Dad/Big Fish), so hydration isn't the issue), and head back. The first tech looked at both arms, and used all her tricks to get a vein to rise. NOPE. But she didn't want to poke me at all. I even told her it was OK, I even offered her my hands (and hands hurt like a sumbitch, but at least it's only one time), but instead she called over the big guns and though she had to search high and low, and once she poked me had to poke around about 1/2 inch to find where the vein jumped to, she got it in one shot. Very impressed. I told her so too.

So anyway, those of you that have hung on and are still reading will now know that I got my results back from the 7 vials or so that doc likes to order.

1. My thyroid is on the fritz again. Now I'm over medicated again, and I always hate it when he lowers my dosage. I used to be at 225 and now a few months later he's dropping me once again, now to 150. I feel fine now, I don't wanna go lower, don't want to risk getting tired, getting sluggish, getting fat again. Not happy about the new dosage, I'm not going to start it until my current rx runs out, don't tell.

2. My Vitamin D level is now at a all time low. 14.6 Isn't that terrific? Seriously? A long weekend in Mazatlan really can't be prescribed? Because I could turn that number around real quick, I promise. According to the literature I got with my results that normal VitD range is 32-100, optimal is 50-80. And me, the pale underachiever is a 14.6. I am a sun worshiper, there just hasn't been any of the damn stuff to sustain me! So now I get to chug my sunshine.

Tonight I took the kids to the Ferndale High Schools production of Oliver! It was cute, the kids loved it, but they were starving so I ended up letting them raid the cookie tray at intermission and made a $3 donation, then promised them Sonic afterwards (gag). I'm thankful that they both seem to love musicals, the band geek in me can live on and I don't have mommy-guilt for dragging them along! They're geeks too!

Food! Glorious Food!

This is what I mean by my big mouth: I can't just do my workouts and enjoy them and my accomplishments. I have to snap a picture as sweat pours off of me and send it to my fellow alumni that I'll be climbing with. I have to let them know I'm coming after 'em (I did slow down a couple of times because I almost dropped my iphone again and to chat up a co-worker, I think I could shave another 20 seconds off). Watch me now have Karma kick me in the butt next Sunday and I'll be on the weekend news "A woman had to be hauled down in a stretcher Sunday while she foolishly tried to climb 1311 stairs. Apparently none of her teammates would help her as she started hyperventilating, but one of them did eventually call 911" And then there will be video of me being loaded into the ambulance and I'll flash my sequined glove at the camera letting you all know I'll be alright... somebody has to dvr the news for me that night.