A message from society

sometimes things speak to you...this is one of those instances for me

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Happy Monday

Aunt Carrie took this gem - she said best ever, she may be a little biased...but she does have a good subject.

Happy Monday. It's the last week of summer, can you believe it?

Pig Roast '10

Thanks to all our friends and family who joined the sixth annual pig roast. It was voted our best crowd ever by event organizers :)

And a special shout out to those who travelled furtherest to enjoy in the festivities - Scotty (LA), Ade (San Fran), and Brad and Vicki (Shanghai and Houston)!

Enjoying City Living #2

We took advantage of an afternoon free in the middle of the week to check out the EYE exhibit downtown. Hubby has had this on his list for awhile given it's a GIANT EYEBALL and it seemed like the perfect opp.

Pretty interesting, though slightly random. What do you think?

While we were down there, and it was the most beautiful day, it seemed silly not to hit Grant Park and take in the sites a bit.

Ben loved the Metra station, a portion of which you can view from a bridge overhead. Lots of pointing and waving at the trains. We checked out mom's building. And then walked down to the "bean." Along the way we passed the BIGGEST LIONS EVER at the Art Museum, which was a pretty big hit.

Oveall just a perfect day and so nice to stop and take a minute to enjoy the amazing sites of our city that we mindless pass through day after day.

And of course to see it through his eyes, where everything is new and amazing. A refreshing perspective.

Enjoying City Living #1

After what seemed like weeks on end of travel between hubby and I, we relished a couple quiet, uncommitted weekends in the city. And actually embraced the resident-tourist role by taking in the airshow, and visiting a few Chicago landmarks.

Post 1/2 of our adventures...

These photos taken from Uncle John's rooftop where we watched the airshow. Ben's take? Equal parts facination and utter terror. He clamped on with a death grip as the planes roared overhead, only to immediately follow with an enthusiastic wave bye-bye.

The hot tub was a big bust, sadly. Any tips on how to get this kid loving the water as much as I'd like him to?!

Join Us for the Serber Classic!

The Ryan Serber 8K Classic is a fast out and back course including a 3.1 mile loop of scenic Ottawa Park. The race/walk starts and finishes at the University of Toledo Glass Bowl. The event is in memory of Ryan Serber, a local TV news reporter, who was an avid runner overtaken by brain cancer in 2006. A portion of the proceeds from the RS8K Classic will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northwest Ohio. Visit the Toledo Community Foundation to make your donation today. www.toledocf.org

Date: Sunday, September 12, 2010 @ 9:00 AM local time
Address: University of Toledo Glass Bowl, 2801 W. Bancroft

And be sure to check out my truly amazing sis talking about the race on FOX News this week, I'm so proud of you!

Sign up for the race here.

Big Bump

On the heels of patting myself on the back for my super running mileage in July, I thought it only appropriate to share that upon stepping on the scale at my latest OB check up I learned I'd gained 10 LBS since my last appointment.

My doctor peered curiously over the chart and asked "any idea what caused the big jump in weight?"

"Heavy shoes?" I suggested with a hopeful grin.

She didn't seem to take me seriously, perhaps because the sandals I had on weren't much more substantial than those you receive for a pedicure at the nail salon.

Once home I went back to the calendar to see if it hadn't in fact been 5 weeks since my last appointment, which would have somehow eased some of the sting.

Alas, I think it was less than four. Damn.

That said, I made a brilliant discovery this past weekend at blogher...MAMA SPANX! How about that stroke of genius. See you later 10 lbs. I barely look a day over 5 months with them on.

Thank you clever designers of Spanx. Those puppies be headed back to the OB with me in two weeks to see what miracles they may be able to perform on the scale :)

Nursery Art

I mentioned I found an artist I really liked while wandering around SoHo Saturday...here are a couple of the pictures I picked up for the nursery (see more of her things at www.edieart.com).

I love the whimsical, youthful simplicity of them. And her paintings are full of things Ben loves right now, like balloons and butterflies, giraffes and trees.

There are even more I like on her site...this may become my new favorite baby gift.

What do you think?

Afternoon Adventure

blogher wrapped up this afternoon and I found myself with a little extra time on my hands. With no agenda, I wandered out of the hotel headed towards Central Park, just a couple blocks away.

Hard to believe I ran through there FIVE years ago for the marathon...lots has changed since (!)

Truth be told, I checked flights to see if I couldn't find a cheap ticket over to Cleveland. Really miss hubby and the little guy, Stella too. But no luck.

So from Central Park, I hopped in a cab and headed down to SoHo, in search of a few good street vendors.

It ended up being a delightful diversion. It was a beautiful afternoon, and I managed to direct the cabbie to the exact location I wanted to end up. I hit a couple boutiques, found a wonderful artist and bought a few paintings for the nursery, even treated myself to some delicious street vendor food...and check out Ben's famous pizza place I stumbled upon (I thought Ray had all the famous pizza in NYC?)

I can't even remember the last time I had an afternoon to myself, free to shop and wander on my own. It was quite nice.

All packed and ready to go, hopefully with a restful night ahead of me and I'll see the crew in the morning.

It will be nice to be home.

Close Call

We had a pretty good scare today - Ben, Stella and I - while out for our morning run.

I wrote the story, but decided not to share. No need to recreate the visual. In brief, we had a very close encounter with a car and it's nothing short of a miracle that we all walked away completely in tact.

Which we did. Thank God.

I share for a couple reasons...my immediate reaction really surprised me, as did the events of the rest of the day.

First, I FREAKED on the guy. Like crazy lady, out-of-body-experience freaked out. F bombs all over the place, arms flailing, insane. Ordinarily I hate conflict and find myself apologizing for things I haven't even done.

In this case, I was like one of those mother birds on National Geographic when a predator approaches the nest - wings fully spread, feathers puffed out, going bonkers, squawking.

Second, it wasn't until we were all home and settled down that I actually started processing what had occurred. And my mind shifted from wonderment and gratitude to really terrible what-ifs. Then I cried and started giving Ben life-threatening hugs every 5 minutes.

And as the morning went on, I found myself drowing in worry (my dear old friend worry). I was so consumed by it and couldn't turn it off.

I contemplated designs for a full-body rubber suit for him to start wearing every day. I wondered if we could successfully abandon the world and become recluse. Seriously.

It is so easy (for me) to see how one could literally go insane with worry.

Thankfully I think my mind is finally ready to stop running through all the potential scenarios, but man, everything is just so different now. I can almost guarentee if the same thing had happened while I was out alone I would have been pissed for 5 minutes, and then never thought of it again.

Master of the obvious, I know. But these little people change everything.

Blah, blah, blah

Ben's little guy vocabulary is expanding, and while recognizeable to only a select few (hubby, Paula and me), we're having a great time practicing our favorites.

Below is a list of his frequently used words and phrases:

ball
dad
Stella
dog
water
bus
uh oh
airplane
mickey (mouse) -- ok, he's only said this once, but it was clear as day
and of course the lion/bear growl

As an aside, there is a house a couple blocks away with two lion statues outside. Never fails, within a block of our approach he starts growling in his stroller, in anticipation of passing them. And it's funny every single time...

Where is "mom" in our list above, you might be wondering?? How does "bus" make the list before the ever-attentive lady tirelessly practicing every sound and picture association?

It's a thankless job my friends, a thankless job.

But the best is listening to him talk to himself...blah, blah, blah. Each morning in his crib, while we run, when he is playing. Blah, blah, blah. It's non-stop.

He obviously get the extreme chattiness from his father...

Waddle On

As a follow up to my post a few weeks ago regarding running, I'm thrilled to share that the our little morning circus (Ben, Stella and me) logged more than 80 miles in July!

I must admit, I'm pretty surprised. Given we are running just 3 or 4 miles, it really isn't much, but we've been out almost every day and it does add up over time.

And of course it's not like I look any different, as expected I'm bigger than a month ago, but so much happier to start my day this way. So. Much. Happier.

In fact, everyone seems happier. Stella has lost a few lbs and eagerly waits by the back door most mornings. Ben is a complete riot and seems to genuinely enjoy it - we pass the Metra AND the el tracks so on a good day we see 4-5 trains; he puts his milk and cereal dispenser-gadget out on the tray in front of him so he has snacks and refreshments; and once finished with his breakfast appetizer, he moves on to his books or calling out sights along our route and waving to everyone we pass.

Who knows how long we'll keep it up. I already feel myself slowing down. But it is so awesome to have the option back, and restore a little of my mental balance.