Earrings

She told me several months back that she wanted her ears pierced.  I told her what to expect.  She decided to wait a little while. I know her enough to not push her to do something she is not ready to do.  And then this last Friday night, she told me she wanted her ears pierced again.  I told her to think about it overnight.  She couldn't sleep all night and kept waking up to say she wanted her ears pierced in the morning. 

When this first came up a few months ago, I had done lots of research.  I checked out all the places that I could take her to get it done.  My first choice - our pediatrician's office - didn't do it.  Regardless of where I took her, I knew I wanted both ears done at the same time.  And what do they say about the best laid plans?

So on Saturday morning she woke up and said she was ready.  She couldn't think of anything else.  And she wanted to do it before we spent the day swimming at my sister's pool.  So off to a local, highly recommended chain store to get her ears pierced. There was only one lady working, and another one didn't come in for a few hours.  My spirited girl just couldn't wait. I explained to her what this meant.  I explained that it meant she would feel one big pinch, and then another one shortly after that instead of two pinches at the same exact time.  She said it was okay and she didn't want to wait until later in the day.  And again, I know when she makes up her mind, there is no changing it.  So I held one of her hands and my sister held her other hand, and her little sister watched and kept saying "ears, ears". 

They had so many more earring choices for ear piercings than I remember. My only restriction in her choice was that she picked her starter earrings from the grouping that had 14k gold posts versus other metals. I was hoping she would go with the traditional studs with her birthstone (like I had done many years ago), but she chose some very cute pink flowers.  They were perfect for her, and she picked them on her own.

I was so proud of her!  She did awesome. As she tells it, she only had one tear fall from her eye.  I could see the pain in her face, but she remained strong.  She was so very excited, and shows everyone that she meets and says "I just go my ears pierced!"

I was seven when I first got my ears pierced.  I would have liked her to wait a little longer, but realized a few years wouldn't really make that big of a difference.  She was ready.  She's been helping with the cleaning and does the turning several times a day. She's so "grown up" and it makes me feel that happy-sad feeling that I've felt several times over the last five years.  I love being her mom, but I am reminded all too often how fast this is happening.

First Day - June 2012

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Another Post on Running - With Lists

This past weekend, I finished up Week 5 of my training schedule.  I'm working on a 15 week schedule for running another half marathon in July.  It will be my fourth "official" half marathon. 

Whenever The Little One sees my Nike running shirts, she touches the Swoosh and says "Airplane!"  Not sure why she thinks it's an airplane, but it's cute.

With each training run, I keep asking myself why I signed up for this. I can't wait for the training to become less of a chore.  And I wonder if it will ever move into the "enjoyable" category this time around. 

I've realized that over the years with running and not running and running again and not running again, I truly do have a love/hate relationship with it.  Add two kids, an extra thirty pounds, being several years older, and a major life event to the mix, and I'm a sketchy runner at best.

A little history for my own records.

1. January 2006 - PF Chang's Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon, Phoenix, AZ (Chip Time 2:06:17, Bib 45542)
2. April 2006 - Rock 'n Roll Marathon, Nashville, TN (Chip Time 4:54:41, Bib 5278)
3. April 2009 - Big D Half Marathon, Dallas, TX (Chip Time 1:55:25, Bib 3313)
4. October 2011 - Free Press Half Marathon, Detroit, MI (Chip Time 3:03:57, Bib 11079 - Silly me did NO training)
5. July 2012 - Half Marathon, Chicago, IL (Time TBD)
6. October 2012 - Free Press Half Marathon, Detroit, MI (Time TBD)

Some of my "dislike" things this time around with running....

1. I am thirty pounds heaver than I was during any of my other training stints.
2. My hip has been hurting me with each run (see #1 above).
3. My pace sucks (see #1 above)*. 
4. Running with two kids in a double jogger (a little over 80lbs to push)**. 

Some of the "love" things about running.....

1. My pace may be off and I may weigh quite a bit more, but I'm getting out and exercising.
2. I'm taking much needed "me" time.
3. I'm hopefully setting a good example for my girls that taking care of yourself and exercising are important.  The Older One always asks me at the end of a run "Are you happy yet?" because I told her that running makes me happy and I need it :)

Sweaty after an 8 mile early morning run.

Now, I need some good running play list suggestions!  I had play lists that helped me through my runs in the past. This time around I've been too lazy to create new ones.  I've simply been listening to my S!rius radio through my phone, but I'm super bored with it.  I'm open for song/play list suggestions!



* In the past, I had a decent pace going for me, but I never really monitored my pace and just noted it after a run was complete. When I've trained in the past, it was me, a heart rate monitor, and an iPod. Now that I have a plethora of running apps available to me on my phone, there are a million and one things that are tracked with each run. I had to shut off the coaching that tells me my pace every half mile. My pace has always been all over the place, and continues to be random. But listening to some lady tell me my pace is awful really plays mind games with me.

** In the past, I could run whenever I needed to, knowing there was a significant other there to watch the kid. This time around, I either have to push kids in or inconvenience my sisters or the neighbor to watch them. I had hoped it might be some extra "bonding" time between the kids and I, but they whine most the time or pick on one another and I end up putting my headphones in my ears so as not to listen to them say "Mama, she's touching me" or ask "Are we almost home yet?" over and over again.

First Day - May 2012

Looking forward to the first of the month falling on a weekend again. Life is a little more colorful then.

Thanks Instagram for all the help this month!

I'm linking up with Nicole on the first of every month. What a wonderful, easy way to capture normal, every day happenings on the first of each month.  This is life. Captured.

Bye, Bye Binky

I never used a pacifier with The Older One.  She's a thumb-sucker.  I was really rather snobby when it came to pacifiers and didn't want my kids using them, no matter how many times I heard "It's easier to get rid of a pacifier than a thumb".  Then The Little One came along.  She had colic.  I had a few life events.  She got a pacifier.  And we were all so happy. 

Like many babies, she came to rely on the "binky" whole-heartily.  She needed it to soothe herself all the time.  When she wanted it, she would tap her lips twice and say "bink-binks".  And I gladly gave it to her. After months and months and months, I knew I'd need to start considering weaning her off it it.  So this past week,bat twenty months of age and much later than I ever thought I would let her keep it, I decided to simply throw all her pacifiers in the trash.  There was no binky-fairy.  There was no binky tree.  There was simply a question "Can I throw your binkies away?" to which an answer was emphatically returned "Noooooooo!".  I threw them away nonetheless while she watched me, she cried a bit, I gave her a sucker, and the rest is {hopefully} history.

I actually pulled the pacifiers out of the garbage and threw them in a cupboard "just in case".  I also didn't want her digging through the garbage looking for them.  She's asked for her "bink-binks" several times over the past four days, but I gently remind her we threw them away and then say "Yay, Little One!  You are such a big girl!"  If someone asks her what happened to her pacifier, she says "Bye, bye."  Then she fakes a cry and says "sucker".  Smart little kid!

Fingers crossed that we've made it through the rough part!  I don't want to go back to the land of bink-binks!

One of her favorite binkies.

Future Photographer

A little bike ride around the neighborhood with my old point-and-shoot, and T had to stop every few driveways and snap pictures.  (She picked out her own outfit today too).

First Day - April 2012

I remembered to take photos on the first of the month, yet I didn't do an extremely diligent job towards the end of the day.  I was tired and grumpy, and the little kiddos started to mimic me :)  It was a typical Sunday for us filled with running errands, a birthday party, and visiting with family. 

 

 

 

 

 

 I'm linking up with Nicole on the first of every month. What a wonderful, easy way to capture normal, every day happenings on the first of each month.  This is life. Captured.