That THING we do - April 25, 2005 -
We did someTHING great this weekend. It was so satisfying, and left me exhausted.
No, it wasn’t sex, although we might have done that too…..not that that is any secret, given I chart and the entire internet is privy to that info.
No, that THING we did made me feel like jody2ms again.
But, I must give just a bit of history before I continue with that THING we did.
My marriage is, and always has been, a blast. It has always been an outdoorsy kind of marriage, because of my husband. He was an athlete. I was outdoorsy in a different sort of way. When I met him, I was a dolphin/sea lion/bird trainer, and spent most of my days outdoors. Dolphin training is great fun, but it is not just swimming with Flipper. They are huge animals, and require LOTS of food each day. Being an animal trainer involves all their care, including feeding and cleaning up after them. It is hauling Flippers big ass box of frozen herring and smelt out of the freezer, filling 15 buckets with said fish, hauling the buckets, each weighing around 10lbs, to the show side fridge, and hauling them all over the stage, as you plunge your hand into the icy fish brew each time you reward a behavior.
We did water behaviors with the animals, so we did get into a wet suit 2x each day, summer or winter. Winter was especially fun, as the water in the iced fish bucket was warmer than the temp outside.
Okay, okay, in spite of this, working with dolphins and sea lions was a BLAST!! It was amazing and I loved it. But, given the hard work it entailed, I could not consider myself a physically fit person. I was basically a partying, Yaga frequenting (you could say I almost lived there on my days off, and it is where I met Bill), get two hours sleep then head to work kind of girl. I had no time for endurance sports and such……until I met Bill.
Bill was a triathlete. He also raced sailboats, dirt bikes and surfed. I was infatuated immediately. He was very kind, fit, blond, and so much fun. He made me want to be a better person.
So, I learned everything there was to know about sailing. I crewed on boats with him every weekend, and I loved it. Those guys we sailed with became our family, and it was extreme sailing for sure. We raced in tropical storms, in the icy cold, and once even as a hurricane approached the coast. Totally insane!! I also started running for the first time in my life. Surfing became my love. Bill bought me my first board, and we would go out together when the surf was up.
When infatuation grew into love, and we moved in together, well, Bill got me addicted to extreme sports. Running became an obsession. 5, 10, 15+ mile runs were the norm. I got a road bike, and we started riding together…..which developed into a little sexy competition. We would ride 30, 40, 50, 100 miles, racing all the way, and when we got home, would shower and collapse in front of the T.V. together to watch the Ironman triathlon or the Tour de France.
After we got married, I started competitive swimming for the first time in my life. I got stronger on my bike, so, this led to buying a faster bike, which, in turn, led to my first triathlon. I am a slow runner (my fastest mile being 8min 30sec), but I kick rear on the bike. I could do a 30K in 51 minutes after 1 month of training. My swim is okay, but my bike rocks. Doing a triathlon and finishing it was such a rush. Having my husband there, shouting me on from the sidelines was amazing.
I am rambling, but, I guess my point is, our marriage had this competitive edge that was sooooooo much fun, and well, he was my best friend in the whole world.
Fast forward 15 years, 4 kids and 4 miscarriages later, and what you have is a jody2ms that rarely gets any exercise, and a marriage that has very little time to in fact, be a marriage. We are parents first, and any remaining time we can squeeze in to be just us, alone, together, is rare.
What we have in common now is our amazing family, and that is by far the most incredible thing we have done together. Our kids are everything to us. We do everything as a family now, which is great, don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t trade the life we have now for the life we had before kids for anything. NOT ANYTHING.
But, there is that missing element. That THING. That sexy competition. That common ground that was just ours.
So, a couple weeks ago Bill placed an order here for lots of stuff. Stuff that, this weekend, he installed on the long forgotten road bikes. He even waxed the frames on the bikes!
And, we did that THING we do……we rode our bikes. 13 miles on Saturday, and 20 miles on Sunday. We took turns, so no babysitters were involved…..and we timed ourselves……and, people, we compared our times in that sexy competitive way we used to. I loved it. 20 miles kicked my rear, and after wards, we sat on the kitchen floor, sweating and drinking water, talking about the ride and how great it felt. Talking. Together. About each other. With each other.
And we are going to do it again…..that THING…..and the next time, we might even get a sitter.
I love wildlife - April 21, 2005 -
Nature is great. I encourage my kids to get outside and explore, and they in turn, love it.
One of the things the younger kids like is finding snails and playing with them. They have snail races, make homes for them, and compare collections.
Today Quinn and a friend found the mother load of snails. Lots of shouting and shrieking ensued, as they ran in and got cups to collect them in.
They played with them for several hours, and during the latter part of this time, I joined them outside with Mia. She climbed on the little play yard that we have, and I chatted on the phone with a friend, all the while Quinn and his friend came in and out of the house.
When we finally went on in, I cleaned up the kitchen a bit, and went in the hall to get some laundry out of the hamper. Quinn walked past me and opened up the door to the bathroom and said "What the heck?!!!"
What follows is documentation of what happens when you bring a cup full of around 50 snails into the bathroom, place the cup on the sink to give the snails a bath, then forget about them.
Here they are, exploring their environment:
Lots, and lots and lots of snail slime…on the walls, the sink, the mirror, the shampoo bottles.
When I saw it, I was stunned, then had to stifle a laugh as I ran to get the camera.
I can tell you, it must be hard for the kids to take your reprimand seriously while you are smiling and snapping pictures.
Just a little spittle - April 20, 2005 -
I am an RN. I do labor and delivery. I also do med surg. I have done a few shifts in the ER. I see some really gross and disgusting things.
Hand me a finger in a cup on some ice that needs to be sewed back on? No problemo. Clean the laceration that involves a head that has been scalped in a car accident. Right-O, I got it!
Wanna know what really gets to me? Not the gore, not the poop, not the vomit, not the smells, not the 20" long lacerations…….
It is sputum. Oh man, people, I CANNOT DO SPUTUM. A doc needs a sputum sample? DON"T SEND ME!! I gag, I shutter, I shriek from the room. There is nothing that I loath more than sputum in a cup. I cannot handle sputum in a emesis basin, on a tissue, nor sputum in a tube as it is suctioned from a flaring nostril. It is at these times that I HATE being a nurse. I am known in the medical community for my sputum hating, saliva loathing touch of insanity.
So, as I am holding my daughter above me, letting her fly like an airplane, and a huge glob of saliva drops in slow-mo out of her mouth and stretches to 2 feet long as it plops into my open, laughing mouth, what do you think I did???????
I wiped my mouth, laughed, and resumed my "brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrommmm" airplane antics with her………
Now, THAT is love, people!!!!
Heaven on Earth - April 19, 2005 -
Spring is officially here! Yeah!!!
One of my favorite things about this house is the big row of windows that look out into our backyard. We have 6 huge pecan trees, and when I left last Thursday to go to see my mom in Ft Worth, they were just barely sprouting their leaves. When I returned yesterday, they were in full foliage!!
I love sitting here in my kitchen, sipping my cappuccino, gazing out at the vibrant green filling my backyard!! Ahhh!!!
I love sitting on the back porch in my white, wicker rocker as my kids play in the sunshine.
I love the smell of Mountain Laurels in full bloom, their grape aroma filling my senses.
I love the sight of my children running bare foot through the grass!
I love watching my husband walk in the back door after work, anxious to see his 2 youngest children after being away from them for 4 days.
I loved seeing his son run and jump into his arms.
I loved seeing his baby daughter run across the kitchen saying "Dada" and raising her arms to be lifted by her daddy.
I cherish seeing my husband wrap his arms around her, smile and sigh, breathing in her baby smell.
I loved my 2 big boys snuggling with me and telling me they missed me.
It is always nice to spend time with my mom and sister, but the comfort I feel when I walk into my house, my family all around me, is heaven!
I love being home.
Will the real milk please stand up…or run down - April 12, 2005 -
Oh, I have a blog?
Hello!
Everyone is over the stomach bug here. Quinn, Mia, Bill and I all got it. The 2 big boys escaped the wrath altogether. It manifested itself in me as intractable nausea for 2 solid weeks. I am so glad to be free of the constant desire, day and night, to hurl.
Quinn lost 5lbs. Mia weighed 19lb 12oz on February 2nd, and on April 2nd weighed 19lb 8oz. I, on the other hand, did not lose an ounce. Figures!
Now, I am still nursing Mia, and am so grateful for it, as she would have nothing to do with solids or any other type of fluid while she was sick. All she wanted was her beloved boobies. It was a boobie fest here. I am so proud that I was able to provide her with nourishing breast milk while she was sick. I feel that it really sustained her and cringe when I think what she would have lost without it.
So, when her fever would not abate, I took her in to see the doctor (not my usual one) and told him, with pride, that I was so glad she was able to nurse through her stomach bug, as she would have gotten so dehydrated if she hadn’t been. He asked me "Are you giving her milk or juice in a cup. She needs milk".
Well, yes, ahem, SHE IS GETTING MILK! WHAT THE SAM HELL DO YOU THINK BREAST MILK IS?????? ahem.
(insert image of me, shoulders sagging, head hanging in defeat, waving a war torn, battered, tattered little flag with "Breast is Best" emblazed on it, my face drawn into a frown)
Do you ever get the feeling that you are banging your head against wood with some people???
Me too.
On the same note, or not, this article proves that people will write about anything. In particular, this sentence intrigued me; "By definition, then, pain is a personal experience. Therefore, if patients say they are in pain - they are in pain." Hmm, pain is a personal experience. Imagine that. Not to mention that pain is, well, pain.
It reminds me of Cory’s motto, "If you do it, you will".
Oh, back to the boobies. I am sort of in uncharted territory in regards to nursing a toddler, as all my other kids weaned themselves or were weaned by 12 months of age. I have never had such a breast feeding purist before. Mia refuses anything other than her beloved boobies. Sippy cups are play things. She will drink from a straw, but rarely.
Honestly, I am fine with things the way they are. If it wasn’t for the pot shots I get from friends and well meaning strangers, I wouldn’t give it a second thought. I LOVE nursing her, and have no intention of weaning her until she is ready. I am just wondering if other nursing toddlers are still exclusively breast feeding for most or all of their liquids. All you veteran, toddler nursing mommies, please feel free to leave a comment and give me your 2 cents. If you are not a toddler nursing mommy, feel free to comment too!
My Easter bunny:
Day 3 - April 2, 2005 -
Today is re-lapse day in regards to barfing. Mia did not puke all day yesterday. She even ate a bit of broccoli for dinner. What the heck was I thinking, giving the kid broccoli!!
She lost the broccoli in bed around 3am. Then again at 8. Then again at 9.
Oh, and breast milk/broccoli diarrhea is amazing in its ability to explode out of every diaper edge.
I think we are on the upswing though. Ha, ha, ha, hahahahhahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahha ha ha ha….ha……..ha
I want to take this moment to let Chris know that the vision of her child shaking his head back and forth is forever etched into my memory in slow-mo. ;*) Blek!!!
Day 2 - April 1, 2005 -
Me, Rambo with engorgement, in the midst of germ warfare:
DH redeemed himself last night after our 4yo let loose his stomach contents in his bed…..on the top bunk…..with all his stuffed animals gathered ’round to watch. Bill gave said 4yo a bath, washed the sheets, pillows and observant stuffed animals, made a little bed for him on the floor of the bathroom, and proceeded to stay up with him all night as he threw up repeatedly in the toilet.
This morning, my lovely husband vacuumed, as usual, and MOPPED all the floors, cleaned the toilet, bathtub and sink, did the rest of the laundry, fed kids breakfast and went to work. All this while I tended a daughter with 104 degree fever, and cleaned a most hideous explosive poop diaper, and tried to get her to nurse and relieve the massive engorgement I am experiencing.
2 down, 4 to go. I can see our weekend coming!
