I have big dreams, just like J-LO

Inspired by my 4 year old, I am setting a goal of doing a triathlon next summer. Unfortunately, they won't let me run through the water like Gwen did, which means I have to learn how to swim! I figure if I want to be able to compete in a sprint-distance (these are the short ones, which - to be clear - will NOT involve any sprinting on my part!), I need to get started now! I took a swim clinic last week and am trying to work my way up. I started at 10 laps, stopping every LENGTH of the pool, alternating strokes b/c my arms were too tired, and doing kickboard laps in between. Today I did 18 laps (1/2 mile) with no kickboard laps, so that is good for me! To put it in perspective though, I go with a few women on Friday mornings and they do about 44 laps in the same amount of time : )

And to show how uncomfortable I am in the water, I will make a confession... Even though I KNOW I am in a pool, I get really nervous when I go by the deep end and can't see as well b/c I am scared of getting attacked by a shark. How ridiculous is that?????

Lilly - 6 months

Here is a shot of my niece, Lilly, at 6 months. I can't believe I will soon be taking 6 month pictures of Beckett!

Beautiful Places

I have really enjoyed living in a place where people come for vacation. You just feel grateful everyday that you get to be here all the time. But one thing that strikes me, talking to people who are from here, is that a lot of them have never been to the midwest. People don't really go to the midwest for vacation unless they have family there. THEY MISS OUT. I feel very fortunate to have lived in both Cincinnati and Fayetteville (neither one huge tourist attractions) b/c they are both such beautiful cities that most people will never get to see. There is nothing more beautiful than Cincinnati in the spring time ("mud season" out here), and Fayetteville in the fall is spectacular. I know this is hokey, but on my trip I was just so happy that I have gotten to experience the midwest. Makes me wonder how many more beautiful places there are - small towns that I would have no reason to visit - that are just as beautiful?

More on our Trip to Cinci...

All the stuff i had to transport

Our trip to Cincinnati was so busy, but so much fun! Here are a few of the highlights...

We had a shower for Aunt Christy - she is due on October 27. She is looking so cute and is in such good spirits!


It happened to be P&G weekend at King's Island, so my sister was able to snag us all tickets. It was HOT and Windy (see wind storm picture, next) and crowded in the kiddie land, but the girls had a great time. They didn't even know what a "ride" was, so they were super excited when we got there and they discovered the fun!


Cincinnati had its first ever hurricane, minus the water!!! The winds got up to 76 mph and 690,000 homes were left without power b/c of all the fallen trees. Christy's tree was one of the casualties. They lost power on Sunday, we left on Tuesday, and they didn't get power back until Weds night. What an adventure.


My book club, the best book club ever, changed its meeting so I could go and see everyone. It was so nice to be with such a great group of women. I miss them! My book club of retired ladies (all over 50) is very nice, but there is just something lacking ; )


We also went up to Dayton to see Dave/Poppi, saw my friend Erika and I got three fillings filled at the dentist ($750! Ouch!). It was a packed agenda and I still missed out on seeing my high school friends and our friends Matt & Katie, but NEXT TIME!

Made It Back Safe with Only a Bruised...

Ego.

So yesterday the kids and I returned from our visit to Cincinnati (more on that later). The trip home involved me driving all 3 kids 2 hours from Cinci to Indianapolis in a rental car, going to the rental car place and having to unload all of our suitcases, carry-ons, 3 carseats, 3 kids and a double stroller. Then loading it onto the shuttle, then off the shuttle, then from the curb into the airport (luckily, some very kind people on the shuttle helped me. It takes a village to get me on an airplane!). Then we went through security, took off 3 pairs of shoes, took Beckett out of the pumpkin seat, collapsed the stroller, loaded everything onto the conveyor belt, coaxed Darcy through the metal detector, put on 3 pairs of shoes... you get the idea. The flight was about 3 hours and I was feeling really good about my kids' behavior. Beckett, true to form, was an angel. Fell asleep at takeoff and woke up at landing. Gwen and Darcy were very good, and I actually got to read a book for most of the flight. Unbelievable! But THEN, as we were landing, Darcy started throwing one of her famed tantrums. She didn't want to be buckled anymore and that was that. I decided to let everyone off the plane first since Darcy was screaming b/c I figured she wouldn't walk down the aisle by herself and I couldn't carry her and Beckett and our 2 carry-ons. The line to get out of the plane was backed up and this lady was stuck right by us. She looked at me and said, loudly, "I hope you're not going to have any more kids since you obviously can't handle the ones you have". And she didn't just say it, she said it with rage and her eyes were just full of hate. I was shocked. I don't think I really replied, I just started shaking. Luckily, the guy in front of me piped in, "Why don't you just have her executed then?" and I think some other people might have said something, but I can't be sure b/c my ears were ringing. She said something else about me being unable to control my kids and rolled her eyes. It was such a shame too b/c I really felt good about the entire trip and especially the plane rides and this mean lady ruined it for me! Anyway, it was a good reminder to have a little empathy for people - not that she would have cared that we had no power since Sunday and we had been traveling since 8:30am (it was 6:30pm at the time), but I will try to keep it in mind the next time I see someone having a rough time! And I told Lance if he ever sees a lady traveling with kids on her own, he should be sure to help her, b/c some people went out of their way for me and I appreciated it so much! Mean people suck!

Finally, a word on Mr. Beckett

Or "Mr. B" as we like to call him...

If I haven't written much about Beckett, it is not because I don't love him. On the contrary, I am completely enamored with him - I think even more so because he is my last baby and because he is SO GOOD. Having three kids could have gone either way for us. If I was an emotional wreck like I was with Darcy, and he happened to be a fussy baby, it might have thrown us over the edge. But for some reason, my baby blues went the other way this time around and I have felt great, and he is a total angel. From the time he was about 3 months, he has been sleeping through the night almost EVERY night. In fact, I sometimes have to wake him up in the morning to feed him before I go running b/c he could sleep until 6:30!

Mr. B is 5 months today and we just started giving him baby food. I think he was ready. He ate 1/2 a banana on our first try. When we took the spoon away, he started crying (see below). When I brought the spoon back, he grabbed it and shoved it in his mouth. It was so cute! I forgot the adorable little cross-eyed look that babies make when they are trying to look at their spoon as it goes in their mouth. SO CUTE!!!

Back to School!

Is it that time of year again already? Gwen just started her second year of preschool on Tuesday. She went most of the summer, so it really wasn't a big deal this year, but still, I had to get the first day photos and Gwen was excited b/c she got to wear her new fall clothes. It is fun to look back on her first day from last year and see how much she has changed!

Not to be outdone, Darcy came out with her "lunchbox" and Gwen's shoes on backwards, saying that she was ready to go to school as well. She actually will start preschool in Granby once she turns 3 (next month), so she'll have her own first day of school photos to share.

WOO HOO

I would just like to take a second to brag that as of this morning I have lost all my baby weight!! I feel I can do this without being annoying b/c it took me about 1 1/2 years to lose it with Darcy and I have worked hard this time around. So, yea!!!