The Arch

Both of the kids loved the penguins.
This popsicle was bigger than he was. It was hard for him to hold on to it!
So sticky.
The giraffes were in this little cage inside. I felt sorry for them but it was really cool to see them up so close.
After the zoo M fell asleep immediately in the car. We decided to make the quick trip downtown and go to the arch. B could never remember being there so he was pretty excited.
Riding in the tiny elevator to get to the top. M was not impressed.
Outside I tried to get some cool pics.
Looking like a white trash kid....that hair is awful.
B
Daddy and his irritated kids.
So cute. They fight all the time but they absolutely LOVE each other. It's really cute. They don't really like to be apart and get really happy when they are reunited. G gives her the cutest night time kisses and hugs.
Mommy and kiddos!

More for Monday

There are a few more but this is all I had time for tonight.
Carousel. M loves it. G was sleeping.
G LOVED the penguins. He laughed and laughed. They would show off and swim up and splash. so fun!
Popsicle treat!
M got to see the penguins too. she thought they were pretty funny as well.
On a bug.
Fish! Actually this was the hippo exhibit.
No one would pose with me.
G was so irritated. He's not a fan of being carried on shoulders.
M has loved zebras since she has ever known animals. They have ALWAYS been her favorites. She'll tell you- the zebras were her fav part.
Asleep- he was so tired! He actually slept about an hour in the stroller- amazing.

Saint Louis!

We traveled to Saint Louis on Thursday afternoon for a quick family getaway. It's taking forever to upload pictures and I'm tired, so this is just a teaser. We stayed 2 nights in a hotel, swam in the freezing weather outside and went to the Zoo and the Arch. The STL zoo was awesome!!! They have a children's zoo where the kids can pet SO MANY animals and the others were up really close. They also had play equipment and such. The rest of the zoo was just as good- all of the animals were easily visible and it was a GREAT day. We got there at about 9 am and stayed until 3! Here are just a few pics from the children's zoo portion. More to come!

G is such a climber.
She was really open to petting the animals- it surprised me because she can be afraid of so many things.
G tried to throw the guinea pigs.
M was SO GENTLE petting the guinea pigs!
Otters.

In the hippo.
down the slide!
silly

Sandwich Saturday

Ok, another menu suggestion. I made this and it is SUPERB. At least as good as any chicken or turkey salad sandwich I have EVER had at a restaurant. Jennie-O turkey pieces were on sale at our Price Chopper so I picked some up.

Cruchy Turkey Salad
1 cup cooked cubed turkey meat
2 stalks of celery chopped
2 granny smith or other tart apples cubed
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup fat free sour cream
1/4 cup light miracle whip or mayonnaise
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp lemon juice
Dried cranberries to taste
salt and pepper to taste

WOW. It's so good. I added the cranberries because I love them. This can be eaten on pita bread, regular bread, croissants, as a lettuce wrap, a tortilla, etc. It's awesome! A pain to make, but well worth it. Try it out!

Friday Fun!

My original plan for this job was that on my day off I would be doing chores, grocery shopping, etc etc, but I really felt that after the week my kids just needed some fun time with me with nothing to pay attention to except them. I think my new plan is to spend that day doing something fun just for us. I called my friend Andrea who just got a fabulous new pool and we headed to STJ. My mom was working there so we met her and a friend Amy for lunch and then went to swim! The kids had a BLAST.
Andrea's is great because I can wear a bikini and no one can see me. ;) Mira swam for nearly 3 hours BY HERSELF. She did NOT want anyone to touch her.
G has to be held, but he is a monkey, climing all over and loves when you throw him around and spin him. He'd put his head in the water, start coughing, and then look at you like, "Why did you do that."
Here she is- so sweet. She's getting good at blowing bubbles with her mouth too. She was all over the pool like this just kicking around. There was a time when she had gotten out and wanted to get back in. At this point she was so confident in her ability that she didn't want to put her wings back on but she also didn't want us to help her. I had to show her a few times that she would drown otherwise. It was a hard lesson.
Her swim suits didn't fit very well- she has a long torso and actually needs a 3 T suit, but IU don't want to buy anymore right now, so as Andrea said, "It's my house and I say you can do whatever you want! You don't need a suit!"
So naked swim time it was.
After swimming we were hungry!
And REALLY tired. G was asleep by the time we pulled away from the house and M was asleep by the time we got to 229 hwy. They both slept the entire way home and then kept sleeping after we got them out of the car! Crazy. We each held one of them for about 45 mins while they slept. M was a complete mess all evening, but the fun was worth it! Thanks Andrea!

Ok sorry...

These pics are from our doctors adventures today. Never leave home without a cracker.

After screaming bloody murder with his measurements. This kid HATES to be weighed and measured. You'd think he'd be used to it!

Ok so most of these updates are about Griffin. A lot has happened in the last week or so... We went to the Doctor last week for a weight check. We are supposed to go once a month, but I was tired of them saying, oh only a couple of ounces, so I decided to wait longer so it would be a bigger jump. Sounds good, right? Not so right. At the appointment last week he weighed 19 lbs 11 oz. Not a SINGLE ounce from the appointment before. Woops. Dr M decided we needed to see GI specialists to see where all of his calories are going. He still isn't eating too many solids, but he's drinking enough carnation that he should be a fat baby. He is eating between 4 and 6 jars of baby food a day and yogurt and lots of crackers and cereal. He gets between 800 and 1200 calories a day- if you don't know what that means, generally an Adult has to cut calories back to about 1200 to loose weight....so what he's getting could sustain you or I. Hmmmm... So today we go to GI clinic. They put him on the scale and say.... 21 lbs 1 oz- does that sound right? Um, NO. So we weighed him 3 times. So we saw the doctor and they basically told me he's just small and that they see no reason to run tests on him- he's appropriate developmentally and his poop looks fine and he doesn't vomit. He's the 3rd percentile according to their measurements and he's proportional for weight and height. Ok great, all that for nothing. That sounds fine, but I really was skeptical that his weight would be that much better in 1 week so we left CMH and went straight to Liberty to be weighed on his regular scale for a comparison. After a good poop he still weighed 20 lbs 11 oz on Dr M's scale. Well, I'll be....he really did gain 1 lb in a week. Strange. For all you skeptics- his last appointment was in the afternoon too, so that had nothing to do with it. Oh well, at least no more tests for now. I'm tired of proving to everyone that my child is NORMAL (with an eating variation, heh).

I did decide to do another Triathlon- it's the 23rd of August. Problem? My feet HURT. I am pretty sure I have tendocalcaneal bursitis (a fluid sac at the back of my heel that HURTS). There isn't much to do except rest it.....uh, ok. My feet are also swollen back from my little toes and they hurt like crazy. It kills me to bend my little toes at all. I am seeing a foot specialist on Friday and ceasing all running until then. I am biking and swimming nearly every day until the race. I LOVE the races. I am really really bummed about them. I am trying to do weight watchers a little bit better since I have had to cut back on my workout intensity. So far, so good most of the time.

Mira is doing ok. She is going through the terrific threes- and no, she's not 3 yet. Does this mean they'll be over sooner???

Me- "Let's go upstairs."
Mira- "No no no. I'm not going."

Me- "Time for dinner."
Mira- "No no no. I'm not hungry."
Me- "Well, we're having pork chops."
Mira- "No no no. I want corn dogs."

This is EVERY SINGLE response. No no no.....AH! Every single thing has to be an argument.
Bedtime is still a struggle but it's much LESS of a struggle. For that, I am quite thankful. She is sleeping by herself now and it only takes 20 mins tops to get her to sleep with us standing in the doorway periodically. Whew.

My job is going well. I think I am happy. heh. I do for the most part like the people I am working with. There is one girl that still doesn't acknowledge my presence. Strange. I am finally back with my team after 2 weeks with general stuff. That two weeks was really hard to get through- I had to work all 5 days and I hated the work. I really do like the routine of things and the kids are doing very well at Pepper's. I do feel like there are absolutely not enough hours in the days though. Bummer. Well, that's enough for now.

Win 4 KC August 1st

So the Triathlon has come and gone. Yesterday morning my sister and I arrived at Smithville Lake at about 545 am. It was rainy, cool, and pitch black, but all was a GO! We got out, headed to the skin marking station, picked up my timing chip, and took all my stuff in to the transition area. There was a lot of waiting around, but I was glad we got there so early. About the time of this picture there were a TON of people arriving and even though it was very organized, it seemed like chaos and it would have been very overwhelming to arrive then. By ab out 615 it was done raining. Brooks brought both of the kids and my sister was in town for the race. My mom also came with Charlie. I was surprised at how well I was able to see them at each transition. I expected them to just be out there in the crowd somewhere. G was soooo tired.
Here we are getting ready for the swim (the first part). They lined us all up according to number and we started every 3 seconds. There were 700 people signed up for the race- about 650 showed up.
Talking to G and Daddy in the crowd.

Swimming out there somewhere!!
"Where's Mama," daddy??
You can see me running out of the lake up the hill in this picture. I don't know how they could find me!
Headed out to bike.
And back in 36 minutes later!
Out for the run making faces at Mira. Feeling pretty good at this point but knowing there were 3 miles ahead of me...
Coming in for the finish. I was able to run the entire time! At the end I started sprinting to keep my time under 30 minutes for the run portion. I seriously felt like I was about to die at this point.
Wow.
All done.
This race was an amazing accomplishment for me. I have never done ANY sort of competitive or otherwise race of any sort. I feel really good about my ability to do it. I was 38/88 in my age group. My goal was to be in the top 1/2 so I definitely made it. 216 th over all. The only area I didn't meet my goal in was the swim portion. I under estimated my swim time and they start you according to it, so I was around people who were slower than me and didn't really have a solid stroke. It was pretty tough and I struggled a bit.

Final times:
Swim- 11:48 (goal was 10 mins)
Bike- 36:45 (goal was 45 mins)
Run- 29:32 (goal was 30 mins)

I am definitely pumped up and excited for what's next. My sister, mom, and I are doing a 5 K in September in NC. I would like to see if I am able to improve my times! In October I will be doing a 10 K race just to see if I can go farther. I want to be able to do this race next year, but we'll have to see what the year brings! Thanks, everyone, for your support!