17 months old
This has been the month of change & transitions. It's like Logan is on the edge of new developments that he's about to start showing off any day now. The anticipation is exciting!

He has definitely transitioned to one nap a day now. He'll only take two if he wakes up too early (which is anytime before 7:00 or 8:00 am) or if he plays really hard & wears himself out. But typically, by that time the day's almost over & we're ready for dinner, bath & bedtime. His nap time is still unpredictable, varying between 11:00am & 1:00pm. It's close enough for me though, where I can plan the day accordingly (typically).

He has now become the pickiest of all eaters & is a strict vegetarian. This is where I really have to do my protein homework, because the boy won't even touch beans either. He'll eat cheese & drink milk (he really loves milk), but forget about eggs, beans or meat of any kind. It's really hard because dairy will cause his eczema to flare up if he has it on a pretty regular basis. I can't switch him to soy, because that was another food that caused him some problems when he was little (& I haven't tried again as he's grown older). So, no eggs, meat, beans, soy & occasional dairy. With all of my nutritional education, I'm stumped. I guess I could try goat products & see what happens. Then my next step is to study more on vegan diets (which I don't have a whole lot of experience with, only a little).

On the meal-time note, he still has yet to get the hang of using utensils.

His sign language is coming along, even if I'm being impatient & wish it was happening faster. He knows "eat", "more", "all done", "bye-bye", "bath" & as of today, "drink", "milk" (sometimes) & "help". He can point to pretty much all of his body parts (with a little help) & can do the same on me (or Bill). He can understand requests, like "go get (whatever item)", the only issue is if he wants to. This boy is amazingly stubborn, it drives me nuts. It also make me sympathize with my family in having to deal with me because I'm the person who happened to pass this lovely trait down. But, I also have a much better understanding on how to deal with it in Logan (if I remember at the time rather than get frustrated & freak out). One super cute thing he does is answer questions with a "yeah". If you ask him anything (do you want this, can we do that), he will answer "yeah". It's oh, so cute.

We started coloring this month & he absolutely loves it. He especially loves picking out the crayon color (because I'll only let him have one at a time). I think we'll start working on puzzles & see what happens there, as he hates it when I try to show him how to play with his other toys. I think play-doh might be fun too.

His activity is just as crazy as it's always been; jumping on the couch, climbing up & down & running all over the place. I think he might be growing because he's tripping a lot more lately. He learned how to walk on his knees (I don't know where he got this from), but he thinks it's pretty funny. He's also working on going down the stairs by himself, although he's very cautious about it & really wants to hold my hand. He's started to go down the slide at the park by himself & that is super fun.

His temper tantrums have been horrendous & he screams, screams, screams all day long. He's very good about time-out (after he screams at the top of his lungs for a minute), but he doesn't stop screaming. It's so embarrassing when he does this at playgroup (or in public in general). Our neighbors must think we live in a very loud house between Logan screaming, me yelling about the fireplace doors while I'm working across the way & then the two of us together. I'm halfway expecting a knock at the door any day now.

Logan is becoming the social butterfly in playgroup. He's great about sharing toys & has his favorite friends that he likes to run around with. I'm trying to decide on how to teach him manners since he's not very vocal. The other kids can apologize with "sorry" if they've done something to another kid. I've thought about making Logan give hugs, but he's not too keen on people getting in his personal space. Other than this, his social skills are awesome.

I think we're almost ready to get rid of his binky all together. He knows it's only for bed/nap time & automatically hands it over when I get him out of his crib. He still needs it to get to sleep right now, but I'm trying to figure out if this is something we even want to deal with at this time, or should I wait until he can communicate better. Really, I'm in no rush.

I really feel like next month is going to be completely different (it always is anyway). I think he's just going to grow into a little boy overnight. I just need to take more pictures & video so we don't miss it all.

I spoke too soon
I think I jinxed myself last night after I posted about how Logan was feeling better. No sooner than when I hit the "publish post" button, Logan threw up again. It was only once, but it was back in the bathtub for him while Bill cleaned up his crib & changed his sheets. Needless to say, we did not go to the picnic this morning & I did not get any cute pictures of Logan running around in the sand with his swim trunks on (there's a water feature at this particular park).

It's kind of weird that after three or four days of being able to keep food down (what little of it he ate), out of the blue he pukes again. If I remember correctly, this happened when he had The Christmas Flu too. I'm wondering if this is just his "sick pattern", good for a few days & then SURPRISE! Wonderful.

It's also been deceiving because other than the lack of appetite (which starts out pretty good in the morning & tapers off at dinner where he eats almost nothing) he runs around the living room, jumps up & down off from the couch, screams at me, turns the TV off & on, changes the channels, throws his toys, reads books, laughs when I tickle him & play "teddy bear puppet"; all of the things he would normally do.

Not only is it deceiving, but taking care of a little sicky who can't tell you what's wrong is frustrating. I've really been working hard on teaching Logan more signs, but he won't have it. He was happy to repeat the sign for "bath" but glared at me when I tried to teach him "sleep" so he could tell me when he's tired. And forget about "drink" & "pain". Those just cause him to melt down & scream in his frustrated-I'm not going to do what you tell me to-shriek.

Right now, the universal sign for everything is between "eat" & "more". He gets excited when he signs "eat" & I ask him if he wants to eat (insert meal here). But then I give him some food & he pushes it away or immediately starts throwing it on the floor if I turn my back. This is what happened at dinner tonight: He signed "eat", I asked him if he wanted dinner, he smiled & made his "I'm happy you understand what I'm saying" grunt, I gave him dinner, he pushed it away, I took him out of his highchair & we went back into the playroom. Repeat three times & then I was ready to bash my head against the wall. He ended up getting a bath & going to bed without dinner.

Between the miscommunication, the blatant disobedience with not shaking the glass fireplace doors today (which has been an on going battle for MONTHS) & being inside all day doing practically nothing, I'm ready for a drink. I feel like a totally crappy mom right now & have been feeling like this all week.

All better
Things are back to normal & A-OK again. Sort of. Logan's projectiles ala The Exorcist only lasted a few short hours on Monday. It was, fortunately, a 24 hour episode (or really, a 3 hour episode). Tuesday, he was still sick, but just slept All. Day. Long. Wednesday, same thing. Today being Thursday, he's back to his rambunctious toddler self, temper tantrums & all. Lovely.

The only thing is that his appetite is lacking. A lot. The kid is hardly eating. I was able to get a good amount of oatmeal, yogurt & blueberries in him this morning (about his usual serving size), but that was about it. A little milk here & there, a couple of bites of a cheese quesadilla, animal crackers (maybe?) & then a whole avocado for dinner (that was it! What kind of dinner is that?!). The good thing is that he has been well hydrated. Camel boy is ready for an excursion across the Sahara.

I worked out with my photographer friend this afternoon & brought Logan to the gym to hang out in the childcare there. He had a great time & was full of energy. Even though he's not eating as much as he used to (yet), he seems to be feeling a million times better. I think we'll even go out for the picnic with friends tomorrow (& I'll be sure to take A LOT of pictures).

On a side note: how convenient & oh, so comfortable for Logan...now that he's over his stomach bug, he has some teeth trying to come through. I was brushing his teeth & noticed a couple of swollen spots on his gums (upper molars, maybe?). Then as I was getting him dressed for bed, he had his fingers knuckle deep in both ears. Like he didn't want to hear me sing "Twinkle, twinkle little star", but I know he did because he clapped afterward. So it wasn't that bad that he had to plug his ears.

I need a bio-hazard suit
Last night was quite eventful. Logan & I hung out around the house after the cheesecake party. It was terribly hot again & I was incredibly grumpy. I felt like the wicked witch, muttering about how much I hate our house. Logan was whiny too, which didn't help.

I made him dinner & he threw most of it all over the floor. I had had it up to my eyeballs with the food throwing, so I told him that if he wasn't going to eat, then fine. He would go to bed without dinner. I gave him a bath & he went to sleep without resistance.

Bill came home an hour & a half later. Right about then, Logan was waking up, crying off & on for an hour. We thought he might have been too hot, so we took a fan from the kitchen & brought it up to his room, where he now had two. That didn't work. He still kept whining. Bill & I had a "discussion" about whether he was hungry or not. Frustrated, I told Bill that he could do whatever he wanted, he just had to brush Logan's teeth again before putting him back to bed.

Bill got Logan out of bed & made him a sippy cup of milk. It was 10:30pm & way past Logan's bed time. He sat on Bill's lap only taking a couple of sips of milk & mostly cuddling. A few minutes later, he jumped off Bill's lap & climbed up onto mine. Then, he turned green & puked all over me, the couch & the carpet. I jumped up & got him on the tile where he could continue to be sick. After a few more minutes, I got him upstairs & into the bath while Bill cleaned up the living room.

After getting Logan cleaned up, I wrapped him up in a towel & we cuddled in the bathroom (just in case he got sick again). You know when your toddler isn't feeling well by the quality of the cuddle. He was listless, snuggly & pale with heavy purple eyelids. The boy was downright ill.

We gave him a sip of pedialyte being worried about dehydration with the heat. He took a couple of sips & we cuddled some more to make sure it stayed down. After a few minutes, I got him back into bed, tucked him in & went back in the living room to help Bill clean up. Not more than a minute later, I was back upstairs cleaning Logan up, changing his sheets & freaking out because he was choking on his vomit. I had to turn him over onto his side. Twice.

It was getting close to midnight & Logan was still actively sick. I was very worried that I wouldn't be able to hear him over baby monitor with the constant hum of the many fans in the two bedrooms. Bill made a bed for me on Logan's floor & I had a sleepover in his room. It freaked me out that he had choked & I wanted to make sure I was right there if it happened again. Which it did.

This morning he woke up at the crack of dawn & feeling a little bit better. He doesn't have an appetite, but he is drinking quite a bit. He's also been sleeping for most of the day. I had to leave him home with Bill while I went to the gym to train & then I had a board meeting right after. Logan slept most of the 4 hours I was gone. I came home & he was still tired & has been sleeping for another 2 hours.

I hope that this is just some funky 24 hour virus & it doesn't last all week like the Christmas Flu we all experienced. I do not want us to be continually sick in the summer heat. YUCK.

C+
That's the grade I would have given my cheesecake if today was actually a competition day. I've made cheesecakes all month long & they've all turned out pretty good, except for today.

This afternoon was the cheesecake tasting party. I've been worried about it, mostly because we don't have air conditioning & it's been unbearably hot(100 degrees). I decided to tough it out & still have the party as planned, informing all of my friends of the circumstance & inviting them to bring their kids in swim suits to run around in the back yard sprinklers. I still bought some flowers to pot for the back deck & a couple more box fans.

We'll, yesterday I was the ultimate grump (as was Logan) because it was so hot. I had cleaning to do, but I couldn't even get motivated to put the laundry away, let alone scrub the kitchen floor, bathrooms, etc. It was even too hot to bake anything.

As I was making dinner, my friend E (Little L's 9 months pregnant mom) called & offered to host the party at her air conditioned house. I was so relieved. I kept thinking about how she & another 9 months pregnant mom were going to be so uncomfortable & my cheesecakes were going to melt too. E was the party saver.

Last night after the phone call, I started making the cakes so they could set in the refrigerator overnight. At 12:30 am, when I pulled them out from the oven, my jaw dropped. I immediately thought "What in the hell did I do to these?!" They were a total mess, bubbles, browning, pulling apart. It was awful. It was also too late to start over & make more. I decided that I would get up early & make another, taking the risk that it wouldn't have 8 hours to set.

So, this morning I get up & make another cake. I made a few changes (decreased the butter, used the blender to mix the cheese). It seemed to have turned out a whole lot better. I kept it in the refrigerator until the very last minute before I cut it up into little servings. That's where I ran into problems.

I forgot to grease the pan & I couldn't get the cake out. The crust had caramelized & cemented itself to the bottom of the pan. I just shrugged my shoulders, thinking that we would just eat cheesecake blobs with strawberry lime sauce rather than eat them in pretty little cake form. There was nothing I could do at this point.

The party was fun & even though the cake didn't turn out as I expected it to, it still tasted pretty good. The sauce was a hit, with people pouring it into their lemonaid. I told them to think about the flavor rather than texture & presentation. They still liked it anyhow.

I thought about what went wrong. There were a few mistakes (not greasing the pan, not having enough time to set), but overall the culprit was the heat. I had the oven temp as low as it would go, but the 100 degree weather really didn't help that much. I'm glad the party was still fun & I wasn't being judged in a real competition.

More training!
I'm starting to live at the gym again. Not that I mind, either. My workout partner, C & I just added another day to our weekly routine. Then, last week I got an email from another mom about working out with me.

M is from the Other Side. Right before I joined this chapter, they were so big that they split & sistered. Slowly, all parts of the club are becoming separate to the specific chapter. M is from the East Side & we've never met before, but the two chapters still share the same message board & a while back, I posted about how I was getting back into personal training again. And that's where she found out about my training program.

Bill's work schedule changed & he's now going in later in the morning or afternoon. This is great, because I don't have to drag Logan around everywhere with me. So, on Sundays I train both moms (one in the morning, the other later in the afternoon) & walk with the walking group (letting Logan run around at the park for a while afterward). I'm working out myself for a total of 5 or so hours on this day. The rest of the week is spread out a little more, with Bill taking over in the morning making breakfast & having a lot of play time with Logan.

It's kind of crazy with scheduling, but we're making it work. We're just lucky that Bill's schedule is so flexible. It's great to get a weekly paycheck & a little more time in the gym too.

Bed Head

Taking pictures of Logan while he's in his high chair is easy. Well, as long as he has some food. This is a picture of him with some crazy bed head signing for "eat".

Then, he got his food & who should show up? Buddha, of course. This is one of my favorite pictures.

It's a deal
When Logan was just a few months old, I felt like a prisoner in my own home. We had just moved into our new house & been there less than a year. I didn't know any other moms in the neighborhood, then with Bill's work schedule, I felt like a single parent on top of it all. I remember one afternoon Bill came home from work mentioning that he had stopped by the store on the way. I burst into tears because I had been left out of buying screws. Yeah. I cried over screws.

We moved to our "new" town to be closer to Bill's family (yeah, that's working out really great...) & to live in a smaller, friendlier community. Right away, Bill had plans to go to a concert with Uncle J. I was livid that once again, I was left at home all alone. Really, I was angry because he was going out but I had nowhere to go to. I couldn't get away even if I wanted to. That was the night where Bill said, "You need to make some friends" (which really pissed me off). That was the night I looked into joining MOMS Club.

Since joining The Club, Logan & I are always doing something. Baby showers, playgroups, meetings, walking groups, MOMS Night Out, the list goes on. It got to the point where the roles were reversed. Now, Bill was at home with nobody to hang out with.

Soon, he started making friends with some of the guys that he works with. Now they make plans for Dudes Night Out. This is the time where Bill goes to movies that I would never in a million years watch (like Grindhouse) or do "guy stuff". Their standard Dudes Night Out is going to Geeks Who Drink.

Now, we feel like there's a great balance without any resentment. I go to MOMS Night Out, have a beer or two & talk about Mom stuff with a bunch of friends; Bill goes to Dudes Night Out, has a few beers (& shots on top of that) & answers trivia questions (his absolute favorite) with The Guys.

It's an awesome "deal" that we've made with each other & I'm glad this is one part of life that we have balanced. Plus, it's fun!

The evolution of a business
Wow, oh, wow. I am excited. Wait, excited doesn't even describe it. I have butterflies. I'm that excited. I'm in the beginning stages of working with a few different people on ways to make the cyber-training business bigger & better. This is changing The Other Blog from an emergency- "I need a way to work from home & fast"- to a long term, productive & successful business. This is focusing on the big picture, creating a product & service that is unique.

This is something that I've been thinking about for a few weeks now. I've talked at length with my workout partner who owns her own business. I've received some great feed back from cyber-clients. What once started as a decision to upgrade the documents, has now turned into branding & creating a company identity, a possible new logo, web/blog design, email updates, & much, much more. It's amazing!

What's been difficult, is that Bill & I have been butting heads on the direction of the business. Remember the anniversary post where mentioned our differences at great length? How sometimes it compliments our life? Sometimes (more like all of the time) it's difficult for us to compromise or even be on the same page. There have been tears. There have been "discussions". There have been differing opinions. While I value his input, the ultimate vision, goal & decision is mine.

I know he takes it personally that I'm not doing things the way he would. This evening I told him about the latest developments & for the first time, he was supportive & excited, commenting on how we'll have to celebrate. That really helped me feel so much better, it was great.

It's going to take a lot of time & hard work to get the business where I envision it. I'm up for it, though. This is something that I'm going to be proud of having in the future. Man, there are the butterflies again.....

It's set in motion
I've finally set the date for the cheesecake tasting party! I made an announcement on the Club message board & have told a few of the moms that I see on a regular basis. For some reason, I was afraid that nobody would come. Sometimes, I'm a dork like that. BUT! I've had quite a few RSVP's & now I'm thinking that I'll have to make a whole lot of cheesecake.

We've spruced up the back deck a little, buying tiki torches & a new table cloth. I found some pots in the garage & I'm planning on planting some colorful flowers this weekend. I'm getting a little Martha Stewart over here.

So, Monday's the day & I hope to hear a lot of suggestions & opinions. After the party, I have a week to tweak things here & there with the recipe before the final submission on the 6th of July. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I have a winning recipe!

The special things
Bill is a wonderful Dad because of the special things he does for Logan. Dads always seem to have a completely different relationship with their kids, having fun, getting into trouble, being silly & doing all of the things that Moms don't or won't do.

We both enjoy our cuddly morning cartoon time with Logan, but Bill seems to beam with love, feeling extra special & privileged that Logan wants to sit on his lap to snuggle. On busy mornings where I have to get ready for the day, Bill will take over & make Logan's breakfast. He always makes sure to sprinkle his oatmeal with cinnamon to make it especially yummy, when I often forget. The two of them will hang out in the front yard watering plants (with Logan getting drenched), pointing at bugs & taking walks up & down the street while they wait for me to grab the diaper bag before we go out & about around town.

He remembers how much Logan loves to have his window down while riding in the car. They wrestle on the floor to play & he teaches Logan funny things like how to "roll" Dad across the room. They chase each other in the living room while I'm busy with work or laundry. I've often come home from an appointment to hear about the crazy things they did, like running through coupons littered across the floor. He lets Logan have mac & cheese for lunch, when I'd rather him have something more nutritious. The times that Bill is home early enough to give Logan a bath, he lets him splash & make huge messes in the bathroom. He is notorious for letting Logan bring his socks in the bath.

He is Logan's preferred book reader when all of us are home. He tries to teach Logan words like "poop" & gets a laugh out of it. Logan doesn't fuss or cry at all when Dad brushes his teeth. Bill will carry Logan on his shoulders, knowing how much fun his little boy has when they have to duck through doorways when we're shopping.

Logan loves his Dad so much, he already wants to be just like him. He follows him wherever he goes. If Bill is hammering nails to fix the backyard fence, Logan is right there hammering the fence with his little yellow plastic shovel. He knows that his dancing makes Dad laugh & smile, so he often busts a move at random times to get his attention. Logan even tries to speak like Bill, often yelling out "Ya-Ya" calling for him, or yelling with a specific tone. We laugh about this because he's trying to deepen his voice, but only knows how to control his volume.

Watching their special Father-Son relationship continue to grow is amazing. The love Logan has for his Dad is evident by the look on his face when he comes home from work. He gets so excited, yelling "Ya-Ya" & running over to him with his arms out waiting to be picked up for a welcome home hug. He's also quick to wave "bye-bye" to his Dad with both hands when it's time for him to leave for the day.

Happy Father's Day Bill! Thanks for being such a great Dad to you're little clone.

Feeling overwhelmed.
Today has just been a crazy, busy day. Everything that I've been trying to get taken care of has been complicated by a screaming for attention toddler. This is a day where I wish I could split myself into two.

This morning Logan & I went over to a friends house for a meeting. She's the MVP for The Club from the last term. I'm taking her place, so we needed to go over a few things. I have a million documents & other new stuff from this position, all of which I needed to update for this term. While we were there, Logan decided to have The Biggest Temper Tantrum Ever. He ended up screaming so hard (because I gave him his sippy cup) that he started gagging & choking. It wasn't pleasant.

Then we came home so he could take a much needed nap. While he napped, I worked on updating documents & sent out a million emails. Before I knew it, it was time to go to the gym to workout with my friend (which had already been pushed back for an hour later than usual).

We had a great workout, where I realized I'm not eating enough because I almost passed out after doing some lunges. Not only am I not getting enough calories in general (I'm about 200 short), I'm not getting enough protein because I've been slacking on making eggs in the morning. This is due to me being lazy because I'm (still) waiting for our new dishwasher to be installed & I'm trying my best to not wash dishes by hand. Yeah, I'm an idiot & I'm getting protein powder tomorrow.

While at the gym, Logan had his cranky pants on. He was able to hang for the entire workout, but he was not a happy camper when I picked him up. He refused to take a nap when we got home & has been getting into EVERYTHING. My patience is running thin right now.

Because he wouldn't take a nap & I still had work to do; I would play or read a book, then return an email. Play some more, then work for a second. I was back & forth, back & forth all evening. I'm in the process of working with one of my lovely cyber-clients, who offered to help me restructure my documents. This is awesome. Her examples look great & it will make everything easier for exercisers to understand. I've been considering a price increase for the program & I think this restructuring will justify it even more.

Oh. And my house is a mess. I totally need to take an entire day & scrub it from top to bottom. It has a general feeling of chaos, disorganization & mayhem. Obviously, this is not helping my current state of mind.

Days like today are just the typical work-at-home mom stuff. It's hard to find time to do everything & be everywhere all at once. I'm glad the day's almost over & tomorrow should be better.

Well, what do you know

An uber cute picture!

This afternoon Aunt Ju-Ju, Uncle J & Baby B came over for the kids picture time for Grandpa L's fathers day present. There were a few cute pictures. This is the one I liked the most, but cropped it so Baby B wasn't on the blog. I don't have permission to post his picture & Aunt Ju-Ju doesn't know about the blog (or so I think) & I'm not about to divulge that info.

I did, however, talk to my workout partner/photographer friend about the copyrights on her pictures & if I could post Logan's 15 month portraits. She's going to send me some digital pics with her logo, so hopefully I can get those up soon!

Motherhood 101: How to get your toddler to eat brussels sprouts

This may be a solution to any food aversion, not just brussels sprouts.

• First, make your self a huge bowl.
  
• Next, sit on the couch (it's important that you're not at the dinner table).
• Take a bite.
  
• Then, wait. It will take less than 2 seconds for your picky eater to decided that brussels sprouts are the best vegetable in the world. Because Mom is eating it & the kiddo doesn't have a bowl of their own, they will demand you share.

As you sit there sharing your nutritious bowl of brussels sprouts you'll have to snicker, because this is the vegetable that the minute your toddler tasted it, it would end up on the floor & automatically given to the dog. Now, they're acting like it's better than their favorite food, often screaming with impatience because you're not sharing fast enough. I guess the only downfall is if you don't like brussels sprouts, you'll be forced to eat them too.

It's a good thing I like them.

It's a bird! It's a plane!

No, it's pictures of Logan! Finally! His 15 month pictures haven't been posted because I don't have access to them yet. They're the studio pictures & I haven't asked my friend about the copyright & posting them online for the world to see. But! I was able to get some snap shots of him yesterday afternoon.

I was hoping to get some good pictures of him on Saturday while we were at the family day picnic with The Club. We ate some great food (I made a chicken pesto pasta that was one of the most flavorful dishes on the table) & rode on the kids train. Logan was cranky because he was in the midst of some serious teething. He didn't really enjoy the train ride because his fist was half way in his mouth. He was so upset that we had to leave the picnic early. So, no picture opportunities.

Sunday was super warm. After Logan woke up from another marathon nap (which he's been doing a lot of & I'm thinking he's in a growth spurt), I stripped off his diaper & let him run "free" in the backyard. I filled his kiddie pool up & brought out some toys. He had a great time. We spent most of the afternoon out there. After our fun in the sun, he ended up going to bed early due to teething again. We broke down & gave him some Tylenol (I don't like to give him medication unless nothing else is giving him relief) & that knocked him out. I hope for his sake (& mine) that his teeth pop up soon.
Frankly, I'm surprised I actually got pictures of Logan. It's been such a task. He won't look at the camera (as you can tell), he runs around & won't stay still (& I get a million blurry pics) & really, it's just getting next to impossible. I'll keep trying & keep my fingers crossed for some uber cute shots.

Random bullets can be fun
There's a mish-mash of stuff going on & it's so completely random.

• Yesterday morning was our workout time rather than in the afternoon (because we had stuff going on). There were a lot of trainers working their clients out & keeping an eye on me & my workout buddy. One of the trainers has a mowhawk & tattoo on his entire leg. We were commenting to each other about how we liked the tattoo. I mentioned this to Bill, saying that it looked brand new. Apparently, it looks new because it's on plastic. The dude has an artificial leg. I thought this was brilliant, because he will never be stuck with the same tattoo & will never have to consider laser removal or worry about fading.
• I'm getting dish pan hands because our dishwasher broke. I've been washing dishes by hand for the last few days. I hate it. Our landlord decided to buy a brand new dishwasher rather than trying to fix the old one. It's going to be installed in the middle of next week. I can't wait. The only fun thing about it was washing them last night with Bill. I washed, he helped dry & put them away. It's corny, but we had nice quality time together.
• I've been consistently getting honked & whistled at while on my walks with Logan. I feel conflicted about this. One one hand I think, Seriously? Wow. I guess the workouts are working out. Then on the other hand I think, Seriously? I'm pushing a stroller, you creep!
• This weekend we're going to a potluck family day picnic at the park with The Club. I'm supposed to bring a main dish. I have no idea what to make, considering it will have to be something that doesn't need to keep warm. I also realized after this "assignment" how much I really, really like making desserts.
• I'm considering asking my photographer friend to take head shots & other pictures for me for The Other Blog. It might be nice to have a face to a name (& a body shot for proof that the program works), but then again, I don't know. I kind of like the semi-anonymity.
• We've decided to try the milk delivery for a little while. Everyone we talk to just raves about it.
• Bill's mom told him that all his dad wants for Father's Day is a picture of Logan & Baby B together (insert eye rolling). Bill called his sister to see when we could all get together to get it done. Last time this was requested for Grandma L's birthday, I was told to stay home. This time we're sticking together. So if Grandpa L wants a picture of the kids, it's up to Aunt Ju-Ju to grow up, be an adult & stop this "cutting off" crap. We'll see if it actually happens.
  

8 years...
8 years ago, Bill & I said "I do". 8 years. It's hard to believe. Sometimes it feels like 20 years, other times it seems like we're still young newly weds.

On our anniversary, I always reflect on the years past & how we've grown, how our marriage has evolved. There have been some highs & some lows & we always seem to make out OK. We promised to be true in good times & bad, for better or worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness & health, until death do us part. We've kept our promise, even if at times quitting seemed like an option.

We've stood by each other when The Church & some of my family were against our union. We were together through all of the job losses & financial turmoil. Through many cross country relocations, through illnesses & through the attempted influences when Bill's family offered to pay for his school & housing if he left me.

This 8th year anniversary is a special one for me. It's the year where I feel like "we made it". At this point, our marriage has never been stronger, our relationship has never been better. I feel like nothing can break us now. We've pretty much been through it all & survived. We came out on top & became closer, even. We've worked very hard to get to this point.

Our dynamics are interesting. We have a very yin & yang relationship, where the term "opposites attract" ring true. He's the practical, concrete guy who likes to play it safe. He's logical. He has terrible eating habits & hates working out. He's patient, quiet, calm, holds his tongue & likes to read. I'm the adventurous, abstract gal who likes to take risks. I'm emotional. I'm neurotic about my eating habits & the gym is my second home. I'm impatient, loud, explosive & would rather climb a mountain than read a book. We couldn't be more different, but we are the perfect fit. We make it work. We are the opposites that make the whole.

While our differences can cause conflict, they also balance us. He keeps me grounded while I try to get him to think out of the box a little. Between the two of us, we get the best of both worlds. While we've grown to understand that without each other, our lives would still go on, it just wouldn't be complete. In our darkest moments, that's what's held us together. We can't imagine living life without the other.

On this anniversary, I feel like we've made it not only because we've successfully overcome trials & tribulations, but we've really learned (& continue to learn) about balance. How our extremes balance each other out, balance as husband & wife, mother & father, man & woman. This year, there is peace in this understanding.

Billy, there have been some rocky roads these last 8 years, but I wouldn't change it for the world. The bumps are what made it interesting & rewarding. It's nice to look back & say, "look at what we lived through!" I guess it's like climbing Everest. It can be absolutely hellish getting there & only the strong survive. But once you're at the top, it's the most beautiful, life changing experience ever imaginable.

I just got sold
Today has been an interesting day. Logan slept in until 9am. Then took a marathon nap where I had to wake him so we could make it to the gym on time. I don't know if he's going through a growth spurt or what, but he's one sleepy kiddo.

He was getting a little grumpy by the end of my workout. We came home & the minute I take off his shoes & hang up the diaper bag, the door bell rings. Now, I don't like answering the door. If I'm expecting someone, that's a different story. However, I'm paranoid. I'm paranoid about some crazy person trying to get into the house. A criminal potentially surveying the house to see when Bill's not home. A missionary, even. But I'm mostly afraid of door to door salesmen.

I hate listening to their sales pitch while I'm trying to get a word in edgewise to say "No Thank You". I hate saying no, because I know what it's like to sell. It's an uncomfortable experience. It's just such a pain in the butt dealing with this.

So, the door bell rings & it's a milk man. He had just been at our neighbors house across the street & saw me come home. He wanted to know if we wanted a free half gallon of milk. He offered to give Logan a little bit of chocolate milk (which he's never had before, until then). Free milk? A sippy cup of chocolate milk for Logan? Sure! Why not! The guy was nice & it turns out that he delivers the same milk we get from the grocery store. We like to buy from the local free range, no hormone, organic farms. He was pretty excited to hear that we buy this particular brand of milk.

The next thing I know, we're getting signed up for milk deliveries. I was so confused as to how this happened. One second, Logan's drinking chocolate milk, then the next, the milk man is handing me all of these forms saying that our milk will be delivered next week. What?! This is why I don't answer the door.

I talked to Bill later in the afternoon & tell him what happened. "What?!", he practically yelled. I told him that we can cancel the service before it even starts. I didn't hand over any cash. He seemed to feel better about that. When he got home, he looked at the forms, laughing at how I got sold. "He must have been pretty good", he chuckled.

I swear, I'm never answering the door again.

Pretty sweet
This morning Logan & I went to a baby shower where I had the chance to showcase my cheesecake making skills. I made mini cheesecakes in cupcake form. They were the hit of the shower. So much that everyone was asking for the recipe. They were low-cal (lower than typical cheesecake, anyway), low sugar & low fat. I was pretty proud of myself. Other than eating a bunch of food, the shower was fun, with kids running around like crazy hooligans.

Recently, I've been working really hard with Logan on sign language. He's a stubborn little guy, only signing when he wants to. However, he clearly knows the sign for "eat" & will demonstrate it when it's meal time. This afternoon, Bill mentioned the word "eat" while in the car & what do you know, Logan is in his car seat signing for "eat". I also tried working on "more", which he repeated once, but that was it.

The other really, really, really cute thing that he's done in the last couple of days is mimic Buddha. The other day, Buddha was in the kitchen panting. Logan was watching him, then laughed really hard & started panting along with him. It was the funniest thing I've ever seen. So now Logan randomly pants & sometime crawls around on the floor pretending he's like Buddha.

This afternoon after Logan woke up from his nap, I let him run around upstairs. We've been learning how to get down the stairs without parental help. Logan is a smart kid, hanging onto the railing & sliding down on his rear. This is something that he just did automatically, without my help. Well, while we were working on the stairs, he climbed back up to go to his room. He grabbed his shoes, brought them over to me & said "go". I was shocked! I asked him if he wanted to go somewhere & he repeated "go". This was not a fluke.

Between mini cheesecakes & Logan learning how to communicate, it's been a pretty sweet day!

The flip-flops killed it
This morning Bill suggested we go check out some yard sales around town. We unknowingly went on the biggest yard sale day of the year over here.

We got ready earlier than usual when we woke up. I made my smoothie & filled Logan's sippy cup up (& he really liked it, drinking it to the last drop), then we were off. The first sale wasn't great, but we found a super cute sweater for Logan this winter. For $1. I seriously would've paid $15 for full price & between $5-8 at the second hand boutique. This was a steal. We drove around checking out other neighborhood sales, picking up a few more shirts for Logan & a hand full of books for Bill.

And then we found the biggest yard sale in town. It was an entire neighborhood that participated together. Everyone was out on their driveway, many of them offering food & beverages. It was a blast walking around & checking out the goods, all the while eating breakfast burritos, cookies & drinking lemonade. I didn't intend to walk an entire neighborhood when I got ready this morning & I definitely wore the wrong shoes. By the end of the afternoon (4 hours later), I was walking around barefoot because my flip-flops were blistering my toes. Not fun.

I was pleasantly surprised at how many people were donating their proceeds to charity. One family was raising money to help rebuild someones home that was destroyed by hurricane Katrina. Another family was raising money to increase the awareness of melanoma. There were many families doing this, which was pretty cool.

We had such a fun time together & Logan was very cooperative, considering he skipped his morning nap. I was very happy with the stuff I found (mostly shirts for Logan, some that were never worn, for $1) & Bill is excited about his books. He even suggested we do this again next weekend. Next time, I'm wearing my workout clothes & leaving the flip-flops at home.

Dangerous but delicious
Last night I submitted my smoothie recipe. I was going to submit two, but ended up with the one. I started out creating a vanilla mint smoothie that turned into something completely different & to be honest, pretty creative. I called it the Jump starter, but really should have named it something spa related. It's crisp, clean, smooth & refreshing (& very green & very healthy). It reminds me of spring, a fresh summer morning, or the feeling you have at the spa after a massage in your white fluffy robe with cucumber slices on your eyes. If I don't win the competition, at least I had a whole lot of fun creating this recipe & I have a concoction completely original & mine.

This morning I checked the competition site to see what contests were up for June. Kid-friendly recipes & cheesecake. I grabbed my phone & sent Bill a text message. You know what the June contest is for? Cheesecake! A few minutes later he replied, That sounds dangerous but delicious! Isn't that the truth.

I'm really excited about this month because not only are the recipes for foods that are mouth watering (& the kid friendly foods? I'm a stay at home mom to a toddler. I'm a shoe in), but I have a whole month to work on these recipes, rather than a whole day. I'm not sure how I feel about cheesecake being in the house all month long, though.

Yesterday, I spilled the beans & told two of my friends that I'm entering the world of food competitions. They both readily volunteered to be taste testers. My photographer/workout friend & I started brainstorming on some ideas while busting out butts on the treadmill (with the incline at the max). It's a lot of fun having friends who are just as excited about this as I am. I'm probably going to set up a taste testing party for the end of the month, right before I have to submit my recipes (& I'm sure the entire club will be over to eat cheesecake. Who wouldn't!) This is going to be a really fun adventure.

***There is a great update on cyber-client results on The Other Blog that everyone should check out. And yes, I do see the irony in a personal trainer entering food competitions & making cheesecake.***