Seeking Heat

In many ways I'm a lot like my Dad. I love to read, I keep calm in emergencies, I like it when people thing I'm funny and I don't mind being the life of the party around my friends.
I also like to sleep with the windows open. I torture Matt for most of the year, making him sleep with the window open because I need air. I like the room to be chilly and to feel snug under my covers. I like to be able to hear the sound of the rain. Really hear it, not faintly but as if I am standing under it. When Matt complains that he's cold, I add another blanket to our bed, I turn on the heater in the early morning hours so that it won't be to cold when he wakes up, I make him a cup of tea.
When I was growing up our house was cold FREEZING. My Dad constantly refused to turn the heater on. He was more in favor of piling on layer after layer of precious Patagonia gear. I can remember vividly all of the times my sister and I complained that we were freezing, he would look at us, dressed in our socks, sweats, uggs, and sweatshirts, huddling under our down comforters and staring at our breath (that last part might be an exaggeration) and it was as if we were walking around in our swimsuits. "Put more clothes on!" he would say. As if every teenage girl is dying to catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror looking like she lives in an igloo. As a teenager I would sunbathe until I was so hot that I couldn't take it, then I would go inside to cool off. It almost as good as having a pool, the cold air would hit me and it was only a few minutes until I was back outside, seeking the warmth of the sun.
This weekend our house is being tented and we are staying at my parents while they're in Mammoth (a place my Dad love to turn the heat on). When I was packing up all of our stuff to come here there was a long list of things that couldn't stay in our house. Down comforters wasn't one of them but they were the first things I threw in the car. Every. Single. One. My kids were not going to freeze to death while at Grandma & Grandpas.
Guess what we did last night? Cranked up that heater! It sputtered and spewed like it wasn't sure what to do if it went past 60. I'm not going to lie, it was still cold. Apparently heaters that never get used don't work that well. Go figure. This morning we cranked it up even higher though and everyone was happy.
Sorry Dad. It's going to be a long weekend. You can send me the bill.

Wreck It Beck

Tonight we took Tully & Tessa to the drive in to see Wreck It Ralph. It was so fun to be cuddled up together under blankets, eating candy, and watching a movie with the chilly air all around us. At one point we talked about how this was a special big kid thing to do and that it is fun to have a date, just the 4 of sometimes.
Which got me thinking.
We are really in a season of Wreck It Beck.
This kid. This toddler. THIS baby, as we so often still call him. He is a run for our money.
The other day we had a check up for him at the pediatrician. At first everything was good, then the quick decline came. The pulling open of all drawers, the flinging of everything in them, the yelling "NNNN DONE" (all done), the peeing on the floor, the throwing off of his diaper, it went on and on and on. And I was RIGHT THERE. Always 2 seconds to late. I found myself telling our doctor, I know I had 2 kids 19 months apart but they were not nearly as......... crazy as Beck is.
Matt and I look at each other a hundred times a day, we laugh, shake our heads, sigh and then smile. Beck is a crack up. He is a runner. He manages to break at least 3 christmas ornaments a day and then exclaim "NO NO!" all the while smiling and shaking his finger. The child cannot be left alone for a second. He can most often be found these days in a diaper and my high heeled boots, still running around the house. He is a constant stealer of everyone else toothbrushes, he will throw anything into the toilet, and he has figured out the child locks on all the drawers that we only JUST installed.  Oh, this kid, this funny, smiling, happy baby. He is the light of ALL of our lives. Tully and Tessa carry him from his crib in the morning and feed him breakfast. They read him books. They hold his hand without being asked.
At the end of the day, I am just thankful. Thankful for this crazy baby, and thankful for my big kids.

Pebble Beach

We had such a fun time in Pebble a couple of weekends ago. We haven't been there for awhile because   Marv & Susan have been remodeling the house. They have done an amazing job! The house looks beautiful. I think PB is one of my top 5 favorite places. It is so beautiful there, I never get tired of going to the beach, taking walks and enjoying the view!
The kids had a great time, they have been missing spending time there. Tully was so excited to go to the aquarium again. Beck was in heaven with two sets of Grandparents there to entertain him, he spent the whole time transferring from Grandma to Ama, saying POPS! and ignoring,Grandpa. Oh well. With so many people to choose from we can't all be winners.

MUD RUN!!!

For some reason when my friend Patricia mentioned that she had always wanted to do a mud run, I got all fired up. All of the sudden I convinced myself that I had always want to do a mud run also. Fast forward a month later, and with an injured leg and all it happened! 

It was super fun. It was totally what I expected and totally not what I expected all at the same time. 

The kids helping me train before hand. They would run 2 miles with me, no problem! Great motivation :)

Halloween

Mama

Well, it's official. Beck has started calling Tessa "Mama". Yes, you  read that correctly, the last baby I will likely ever have is calling my 6 year old the one word that every mother longs to hear come out of their child's mouth. Mama.
I've suspected this for a little while but I thought it was confusion and probably had a little to do with the fact that he really doesn't talk that much yet.
Then yesterday happened. We went to pick up the kids at school and Beck does what he always does. Races over to Tessa's classroom, peaks in the door and scans the kids until he locks eyes with her. His face then lit up with the hugest smile, he pointed his chubby little finger at her and yelled "Mama!" (that part was new) with the joy of a toddler being reunited with his mother after a long separation. Oh my. I'm dying to hear what he might start calling me. At this point he usually looks at me and says "ROAR" so we're off to an interesting start.

Beck has also been my running partner this week. He is a little distracting.

We are working on Halloween costumes around here. Tully is going to be a baseball player and Tessa is dying to wear a purple dragon costume that is a size 3T. We are working on some alterations on that one. Beck on the other hand refuses to let me put anything on him. So, he will most likely be wearing his superman PJ's or his skeleton PJ's. It's that or having him go as a screaming, fit throwing, toddler.

Tully finally seems almost 100% recovered from his respiratory infection. Hoping that we don't have many more of those with cold and flu season just starting. Also really hoping that his asthma doesn't get worse!

Tessa asks about Kaya almost everyday. If she is as good a big cousin as she is a big sister than Kaya is in luck!!

Speaking of Kaya, be still my heart. Check her out in her Halloween costume. 

She looks like she misses her Auntie. 

8 months. Thats how long it's been since I last wrote a post on this blog.  I've missed all 3 kids having a birthday, summer vacations,the end of school,  the beginning of school, the start of soccer and a million other things. For a long time I was convinced that I wasn't going to write anything until I could catch up on everything. Um, yeah right. It's not going to happen. So, I decided to just get over it and start up again. Nobody is perfect.

Things that are happening right now. 

Soccer, Soccer and more Soccer. We are a soccer family and LOVE it! Even Beck wants to dribble the ball everywhere.

Colored skinny jeans. I have nothing more to say about that.

5k MUD RUN!!! I am running a 5k mud run with some friends on Nov 3rd. This is hilarious because if I run down the block I start having convulsions and feel like I need a day at the spa to recover  - but I'm pumped and I've been training and I can't wait for the sense of accomplishment I plan on feeling. Even if I come in last and they have to carry me home on a stretcher.

Playdates, MOPS, the Gathering and working in the classroom. I'm exhausted just typing that sentence.

Dave Ramsey. I love him. I want him to come and be my BFF. He is changing our life.

Pumpkin pie smoothies, pumpkin pie muffins, pumpkin pie pancakes, pumpkin pie cream cheese. Even though it is 80 outside WE WILL celebrate fall.

In & Out's burger, without meat, without cheese, extra everything else. Who knew? This is a game changer for me.

Happy to be back in the blogging world. Talk to you soon!