Sunny 9 for 2008 October

So when I moved to TX, did I go into the office and turn in a title transfer form and get it all cleared up? No, I waited another 3 years to go through that hassle some more just because I am a masochist. It wasn't until this year that I made myself do it because I knew we were moving the next time around and it would be even worse.

Well, just like that case I have proved once again that I will put off inconvenience so long that I only change when it is either do or die. This time around it is the remote on the key less entry on my car. When Lily was a baby, letting her play with my keys was something I would give into when I was desperate to distract her. It always worked. She loved them (kids always love the real thing) and with everything else she put them in her mouth. To this day Lily still puts things in her mouth, just not as much. She is very oral like her dad. Aaron remembers going through the junk drawer growing up to look for something to suck on. Coins, rusty nails, you know, whatever. So Lily finally managed to ruin the remote and the spare remote. Yeah, I'm not very bright giving her another chance with the other one. What can I say, it was desperation.

These things broke like before I was even pregnant with Gunnar and he is turning 2 next month. SO, I finally call up the Mazda dealership and order another one and make an appt to go in and have it programed to my car. The part was $40 and the "labor"-yeah right, was over $40 and altogether cost me less than $90 and a relatively painless hour and a half of time. Half an hour of driving each way and about 20 minutes of waiting. All this is NOTHING compared to the extreme inconvenience of not having a remote. Picture this, anytime I had to lock the car in order to unlock it I would have to use the key (annoying when you have a kid on your hip and a purse on the other shoulder) and then I would immediately have to start the car in order to deactivate the car alarm. It only gave me about 20 seconds before the alarm would start blaring, while still holding said child and child then wanting to play with steering wheel and angrily screaming when pried away and taken to the car seat. This happened EVERY time I had to get in my car to start it. And getting the kids out of the car and locking it is almost as bad. I would first get Lily out and then get Gunnar and then go back to the driver's side of the car open my door again because by this time Lily has closed it, and lock the car from the switch inside. Such a hassle I know.

Why I waited this long I have no good answer for. This is just the sort of thing I do to inflict pain and torture on myself. I don't even want you to feel sorry for me because I deserve what I got. Almost 3 years of this vicious cycle. Alas, it's over now. It's nice to finally have a deadline on when we are going to move because it has lit a fire under me to get all these nuisances taken care of.

On another note, we found out that Aaron's Commissioned Officer Training is going to be June 30-July 31. I guess that means we are going to have to move in June. At least we can spend 4th of July in DC which I hear the fireworks outside the White House are awesome. Too bad Aaron won't be there with us. :( I am going to miss him for that whole month.

UPDATE:

It's now the day after and our company has left. Aaron's super fun, awesome cousin Kelly came down from Houston to run the race with me. She is the most amazing athlete, she puts all efforts to shame. It was so fun to hang out with her though, we need to do it more often. After the race and relaxation, we got a babysitter and went out to dinner with Kelly and Jake, and Jake and Erin. When I married Aaron I didn't really know that I had also married into such great family. Seriously, the SIL's and cousins that come from it are a dream. We went to Saltgrass Steak House. There is nothing like a big hunk of meat after a long run, that's what I say anyway. Then we walked to Borders and hung out while some looked around at books. Jake and Erin left and took the kids home and we went out for Cold Stone. I think I am going to have to get my favorite flavor (cake batter and brownie) every other time because sadly, I am getting a little tired of it. Kelly, Jake, and the girls left early this morning, and Aaron and I decided it was too short. We will have to get together more often.

Citius. Altius. Fortius. I read this article a couple months ago in the BYU magazine while the Summer Olympics were going on. It really inspired me while training for my half: "The three-part Olympic motto calls athletes to swifter, higher, and stronger feats. But what may be most significant about these Latin terms is what they don't say. The terms use the suffix ius, which means "more", not issimus, which mean "most"..."Better" leaves room for growth. It inspires improvement. It opens the door to the possibility that an athlete can be a little faster, a little higher, a little stronger."

I loved this article. It was so inspiring. I tend to be a perfectionist and I don't really want to try things unless I know I can do them perfect. Setting out at the beginning of this year with small goals, I had no idea that this one goal of completing a half marathon would be so achievable. Who knew I would be able to combine the words "marathon" and "fun" in the same sentence, let alone "love". It's true though, I ran a half marathon and I loved it. It was fun training for it. I had fun doing it. It is the best high. I am just really grateful that I was able to accomplish this goal and for my health in general. I feel really blessed, and it is easy to beat myself up about this like "I wish I could run like cousin Kelly who runs 10k's in a 6:55min/mile pace or a half in a 7:45min/mile pace." Or whoever in the race that smokes me and gets unbelievable times. It is easy to have the attitude that it is never enough, and I have to be the best to really feel good about myself, but it's simply not true. As long as it is my personal best, and that I get "more" swifter, higher, stronger, and that it is a personal growth, then it doesn't matter how I compare to others. I can be thrilled with just competing against myself and beating my own times.

I loved what Susie had to say a few days ago:

"We each do the best we can. My best may not be as good as your best, but it's my best. The fact is that we know when we are doing our best and when we are not. If we are not doing our best, it leaves us with a gnawing hunger and frustration. But when we do our level best, we experience a peace." - Marjorie Hinckley

And I liked this because in life in general I can't be the best and I can't want to do it all. I will never be happy if I set myself up like that. I can only work with what I am blessed with, and not other's strengths and talents. I don't have to have the cutest, most well-behaved kids, and know how to do all the handy work and crafts and have an awesome garden and clean house every time someone comes over and make the best meals for my family and perform service all the time. I can't do that, and it's okay. It's OK to be just me.

Sooo, hopefully, if all goes well, in Feb I will be able to say that I had "fun" running in the "marathon" and mean it. I am just happy that I now feel that goal is totally achievable. Ft Worth Cowtown Marathon Feb 09 or bust!

8 TV Show I Like to Watch:

1. Heroes

2. Lost

3. Battlestar Galatica

4. Biggest Loser

5. Amazing Race

6. The Office

7. Law and Order:SVU

8.Regis and Kelly

8 Things That Happened Yesterday:

1.Packed

2. Unpacked

3. Did a couple loads of laundry

4. Had dinner at mom’s house

5. Blogged

6. Watched part of Sleeping Beauty on the plane

7. Took a nap on the plane

8. Read books to my kids

8 Favorite Places to Eat:

1. Melting Pot

2. Carrabbas

3. Goro’s Sushi

4. Rudy’s BBQ

5. Pappasitos

6. Cold Stone

7. Outback- or any nicer steak house when we can afford it

8. Carino’s

8 Things I am Looking Forward To:

1. Going to bed

2. Spin class in the morning

3. Time Out For Women, and my girly sleepover in the hotel the night of with friends

4. Ashley’s Birthday Murder Mystery Party

5. Jenni coming to visit in Nov

6. Seeing Julie & Chuck when they come home for Christmas, and all my family

7. Thanksgiving with Aaron’s cousins and Aunt and Uncle at their ranch house.

8. My marathon in Feb

8 Things I am Passionate About:

1. Bed time for my kids

2. Family

3. fun stuff

4. Vacations

5. Improving

6. Cooking tasty and healthy dinners for my family

7. trying to be a good mama

8. getting as much stuff done during the day as I can handle.

Gunnar is talking tons now. My favorites right now is he will always say "ah bus-ssss" whenever he sees a bus, and he will say it as I leave to walk Lily up to the bus stop. He is usually eating lunch in his highchair watching "ah show...E-I-O". Everyday it is the same routine. We walk into the house after coming home from the gym- ("gym!!" is another he loves to exclaim when we drive into the parking lot) and he says "ah, show" and I ask which one and he says "E-I-O" every time. He is very into the Baby Einstein's like Lily was. It is ok for me to put on any one of them, because I think EIO just mean Baby Einstein.

He is getting assertive though, he insists "down" whenever I get him out of the car so he can walk. He is getting better with the rule of holding my hand. He no longer wants to sit in his highchair so I put him in his booster seat when i can't get him into the highchair. He refuses both when he is just wanting a "snack". Oh well. He swings on his belly by himself, and goes up and down the slide on his own as well. That was his favorite thing at Disney World, was this park that had huge slides. We had to drag him out of there. That and pushing the stroller. He was obsessed. It was so annoying because he was running into everything and everyone. And going s l o w.

It is funny whenever we go to my mom's house, right when we pull into the driveway he already launches into his orders for Rocky the boxer- "sit doggy, sit" as he waves his hand up and down. The boy is nuts about taking pills. If he sees me taking my vitamins, he always wants one. I have these soft gel ones that I give him but today I didn't feel like getting those out so when he saw me with the hard ones I just handed him one of those. I knew he wouldn't finish it so what could it hurt? He started chewing on it and then said "spicy" haha. I think a better term is bitter, but good job bud! I have never heard him use it before even though we have told him what things were spicy at the dinner table. He loves sauces and whenever we have ranch or lemon juice or Tabasco on the table for dinner, no matter what he will whine and point until we pour some on his plate including the Tabasco. He likes it kinda, he usually says "hot", but will eat it anyway. He is my good little eater.

The sweetest things he says is "I ruv u" at bedtime and he gives me huge hugs so tight he usually grunts and then a kiss and then he dives for his bed. He won't sleep without his blankey and there is a giraffe stitched on the corner and he will find it and hold it and look at it while he sucks him thumb to go to sleep. I like when he says "please" and "i sorry" as he rubs his hands around his belly. Too cute. When he gets mad at Lily he says "no ah dun nuh" whatever that means. He calls her "sissy" but if you ask him to say Lily he will say "Yeeye". We were looking for Aaron at Disney and I told him to say where are you. He goes "Er r eu". I kept making him say it because it was too cute. And he was saying "Mic Mouse" and "Dumbo" the whole time we were there. And when we were eating a late dinner at Ihop and he was starving I was walking around with him to calm him and he kept leaning towards people's tables saying "uh bite, uh bite, num num, uh bite" and doing the food sign. Poor guy was famished. I felt so bad.

I could go on and on about all the cute things he says like "my house" and points to his chest or "hands" and he will show me his hands, or outside, or eyes and mouth and he points to my eyes and mouth and pinches my cheeks "eecks", but I better start putting away my laundry before I know it Gunnar's awake and Lily is off the bus.