john's mom works

i'm not sure when this pic was taken, but john's facial expression so eloquently sums up how i was feeling this morning! this morning was not the best morning ever. there's nothing really wrong, actually, it was just one of those mornings when i couldn't quite seem to get myself together and going. i did get up and get john to school and me to the gym before work, so that's good, but it's been over a week since i last did my workout routine so it HURT. it was HARD. yuk. (and i know, it's supposed to be hard or it's not working, but today it was emotionally hard, ok?) and then i showered and got ready for work, and my clothes felt really frumpy and not nice. (and i know, it's because i've lost enough inches/pounds that they don't fit right, so that's a GOOD thing, but it's never a good thing to feel frumpy and unattractive for any reason. even if it's because you're on the path to health and sexiness.) and then ... god, ...

you know you are a working mom when: on your way out the door, your husband stops you and says, "you know your sweater is inside out," and you have to answer, honestly, "no, i didn't know. thanks." happy tuesday!

"don't worry, mommy, as long as you keep moving i won't use this stick." the weekend started a little early at our house - unfortunately john's antibiotics kicked his little intestines into gear and the daycare couldn't keep up (can't blame them) so they sent him home thursday afternoon and said "don't come back 'til monday!" so friday morning i did some work from home, then it was time to play. and one of the first things john and i did was take his first-ever walk. of course, he's been pushed in a stroller for walks before, but this time it was just john and me, hand-in-hand, walking through our neighborhood. some highlights: seeing the ups man delivering a package ("truck! mommy! big truck!") seeing the mailman delivering the mail finding a big stick to carry ("stick! mommy! stick!") hearing an airplaine ("airplane?") then seeing it and discovering it was actually a helicopter (i cannot possi...

in constant motion momentum: the impetus of a body as a result of its motion i have been contemplating momentum the past few days - what it is, the role it plays in my life, how to get it, how i lose it. three things i am not naturally very good at (among many others): 1. keeping a clean house 2. eating healthily 3. exercising frequently periodically, i get "on a roll" in one or several of these areas. while i am "on a roll," my dishes are done. my laundry is not just washed and folded, it's also put away. my floors are clean. my counters are clear. my shoes are in their places in my closet. my bed is made. i feel accomplished. or, i make good food choices. i politely decline the treats offered to me. i appreciatively TASTE the treats when someone is particularly determined in their generosity. i stick to my meal plans. i drink lots of water. i actually stop wanting processed, un-good-for-me crap. i feel clean. or, i am up every morning for the gym, lik...

 little zebra enjoying mardi gras with grandpa happy mardi gras! this post started out as a blow-by-blow of the past weekend's mardi gras celebrations, but it started to sound like an essay titled "my summer vacation" that the teacher wouldn't even really want to read! ("and then we went to the grand canyon, and then we went to the water park, and then we ate a watermelon!") so instead, some highlights: beautiful weather for the southdowns parade saturday night, where john figured out that if waved to the folks on the floats, he got pretty much everything he wanted horrible weather for the spanish town parade (that we ride in) on saturday - the parade was delayed several hours to avoid the worst of the storm. we finally rolled at 4pm and despite being rained on most of the way, krewe of the crooked crown had a fine time! (thanks to auntie p and uncle j for keeping the little bug while john's dad and mom rode in the parade!) if you didn't know...

what? i like animals. it is mind-boggling to see the different physical and character traits in john that i can attribute pretty directly to either my husband or myself. we were both tow-headed blonds at john's age. john's the spitting image of his daddy at that age, too. and there's no denying those blue eyes match mine. he's as determined and one-track-mind as his daddy is. he has his daddy's inability to focus on more than one thing at once, but he's also got his daddy's ability to do REALLY well at that thing he's focusing on. he's got his daddy's short fuse, too, but like daddy has, he'll learn to control it. he's got my stupid sense of humor. he has my goofiness and, it seems, the music that is so deeply ingrained in me is ingrained in him as well. he is stubborn - and like his mommy, he'll have to learn to use that for the power of good instead of evil. but the funniest thing he has in common with mom is her childhood fix...

we had a scare this morning. or more accurately, i guess i had a scare. i was in my bathroom, fixing my hair and doing my makeup, etc. john is old enough now that he can play in the living room or his room while i get ready; he doesn't have to be right by my side. when he's in the living room, i can hear him since it's right around the corner. when he's in his bedroom, i can hear him through the wall of the bathroom, which is also the wall of his room. about halfway through my makeup, i realized i didn't hear anything. nothing. silence. it's *never* silent in our house. so i called out to him. "john?" walked into the living room - nothing. "john?" walked into the kitchen - nothing. "baby? john?" walked into his bedroom - nothing. i've checked almost all of the house now. he's nowhere. he can't have gotten out. what if he's hurt? what if he knocked himself out somehow? what if - oh, the terrible what-ifs of a mo...