Things I like:

*When playing with her cars, instead of saying vroom, Emma says "Verm Verm!"

*My ENT finally solved the mystery of my ears. It's an antiobiotic-resistant super bug. And now I've got the right drugs to treat it. Hooah.

*Tonight my mother-in-law was holding Izzy and asked her where her mommy was. She smiled really big, then pointed to me!

*Our sump pump is holding out, and keeping our basement dry. I really, really like this.

*We live pretty much right in between the Swatty in Hershey (down Rt. 39 to the East) and the Susquehanna River downtown (down Rt. 39 to the West). We are so lucky in our location right now.

*My sister Chrysta moved to the DC area, and we've already seen them three times in just over a month. Heading down to see her again next week.

*While we're there, my brother Scott will be at Pax River with his plane (he's a navy pilot) and we'll get a tour!

*When Izzy makes this face, with her little baby dino spikes! And she's rash free!


*When Emma makes this face. It's her "I'm a star" face.

*When my little girls cuddle up to Franklin, our new five foot teddy bear, that daddy brought home.

*I think we've found the true secret to Izzy's hair-do.

Photo Shoot

Ok, so before you go thinking I've jumped on the "update blog format" bandwagon, let me tell ya's something. I have been planning on updating my blog for a while now. I mean, the picture for my header was taken 5.5 years ago on our honeymoon in Hawaii. And the other pictures were of Emma when she was 9 weeks old. So, we're overdue for a change. BUT. I wanted to wait to update my blog until we had our family photos taken! Which happened in July!! Soooooo now I have lovely pics to highlight here. So don't go thinking I stole the idea from you!

ANYWAY. My friend Dani happens to be married to Matt who happens to be an amazing Sports photographer. He's had photos in Sports Illustrated, among other things. Oh, and he also done family portraits now! WOOT WOOT for connections! So Matt did our photos and they are amazing. I was totally nervous, because I thought Izzy was going to be a wreck. The shoot was right smack dab in the middle of when she'd normally be napping. But, surprisingly, she was alllllllll smiiiiiiiiiiles for the entire shoot. Emma, on the other hand... well she was her usual wild self.

At first she was pretending to be shy for Matt. Then she got all weird and actually MADE HERSELF SAD for real. Like, crying, tears-running-down-the-cheeks sad. But Matt wooed her with his camera and some high fives, and then she was down for it. For about 30 minutes. After that she started trying to eat sticks, ran away various times, and nearly jumped into a pond. But I digress.

Moral of the story, Matt (and Dani, who joined us later) were awesome and got some great photos of the family and especially of the girls. They were so lovely, in fact, that afterwards at lunch, Emma asked us why "cousins" Matt and Dani didn't come with us:)

So if you're in the area, and you need photos, Matthew O'Haren Photography is the way to go. Here's a peek at a few of my favorite pictures!!

My favorite family portrait

My three most absolute favorite people in the universe



My lovely ladies and I

Emma, pre-stick eating

My hammy little Izz-bot

Life as Muppets

Recently, I've been reflecting on my family. I have been thinking about the unique characteristics of each of us, and the unique qualities we bring to the family. We are definitely an interesting bunch. And the thought occurred to me that with the whackos we are, everyday life is like an episode of The Muppet Show. Waka waka. So, without further ado, let me introduce my Muppet Family.

Alyssa, as Janice.

Free loving, guitar slingin', leader of the crew. Tries to go with the flow, and keep the people happy. Known to have a fondness for side ponies.

Mike, as Waldorf and Statler.

He's one man providing the crotchetyness of two muppets. Ever the outward grump, full of sarcasm and dry wit. But although he may seem like a grump on the outside, on the inside he's really more like

Fozzie Bear
Just loveable, cuddly, and ever the comedian.

Emma, as Animal.

Self explanatory, but for those who've never met her, I'll explain.

Wild, with a proclivity towards turning every item in a room into a drum. She bounces off walls and shouts at the top of her lungs in a barbaric, primal tone. Looks, and is, a little bit crazy. Ok, a lot crazy.

Isabella, as Beaker.

Known for high pitched, unintelligible mutterings. Due to circumstances beyond her control, she is often luckless and forlorn. But no fear, each day is a new chance to "meep meep" her way to happiness and success. Also, the hair.

And there you have my Muppets.

Touchy

I am about to vent. Feel free to disregard.

There are a lot of things going through my head right now. Over the last two years there have been a lot of negative experiences piling up, and they are just getting to me. For example, almost as soon as I had Emma, I learned that perfect strangers will feel completely comfortable giving me unsolicited advice, criticizing my actions or inaction, giving dirty looks or glares, making rude comments in that kind of whisper that is meant for you to hear, scolding my children, or PUTTING FOOD DIRECTLY INTO THEIR MOUTH. And the list goes on. I've just learned that there are crazies out there with no filter, no sense of proper social etiquette, no concern for the feelings of others. It was hard at first not to take these encounters personally. It was hard to realize that these people were making snap judgments based on minimal observation, and that they REALLY had no clue what they were talking about. But slowly, I've gotten better at letting those harsh encounters roll off my back. I still get upset sometimes, (like when a woman scolded me in the parking lot of Target for changing izzy, who'd had a blow out, in the back of my car instead of taking her inside where "they have stations for that...") but generally I'm able to take it for what it is.

But more recently, I've picked up on an undertone coming from people who aren't just strangers. People who I consider friends. People who know me, and know my kids, and know about our life. People who I thought would be understanding. The first part of this that bothers me is the "you're JUST a stay at home mom" attitude. I chose this path. My husband works very hard to make it possible. And I think I do important work. I don't like it when others minimize that.

The second part of this is the small little digs people make about my kids or my parenting. Emma is hyper and out of control sometimes. I know that. It is only exacerbated around large groups of kids/people. She is just so happy to be out and about, and she really has unbounded energy. She has gotten much better about controlling it, and about knowing how to behave, but for heaven's sake, she's 2! Isn't that part of what being 2 is about? Being wild and crazy and running and playing and jumping and singing and being all spunky and stuff? And yet, two different people made the comment to me that if their oldest was like Emma, they'd be an only child. Adding "haha" to the end of that statement does not make it any less insulting.

And Izzy. Poor Izzy. First the stomach problems, and now teething. She's having a hard time, and she cries. A lot. I'm sorry if it bothers you, but telling me to just "nurture more" because you "nurture" your baby and he hasn't had any problems with teething, well that's not really helpful. And obviously it means you think I don't nurture my kids! OF COURSE I DO!

Ugh. So stupid. I wish these types of comments were coming from people that I could just blow off. Or from people that I could just tell off. But these comments come from people that I never expected. And it hurts.

So I've just been asking myself why I let it get to me. And the honest answer is that its because I'm insecure. People aren't saying anything that I haven't already worried about in the back of my head. I worry about Emma. I worry about whether or not she'll be able to slow down and thrive in a school environment. I worry about Izzy, and if I'm doing enough to comfort her. But I know deep down that I am doing the best that I can. I know we all can't be perfect. And I don't expect perfection from myself. But goshdarnit I hate hate hate when others feel the need to put me down to elevate themselves. Worst of all, coming from my friends. And its just made me realize that a purge is necessary. No more room for haters.

Blahhhhhhhhh.

BOMBARDO MAXIMA!

You are about to be bombarded. With pictures and videos. Of cuteness. Of Cuteness SO CUTE, that your ovaries will explode. If you do not possess ovaries, these pictures and videos will cause your body to spontaneously generate them, and THEN they will explode. You're Welcome.

Playing Peekaboo

Seriously, Izzy LOVES peekaboo

Her blankie was in the wash...

It's normal for kids to dress up like a lady bug on a typical saturday afternoon, Right?

Izzy loves a nice tubby

Beauty and the Beast

Lately, we've been watching Beauty and the Beast a lot. And there are a few things I need to say.

First, in the beginning sequence the narrator tells us that there was this Prince who had everything he wanted, and he was spoiled and all that. He couldn't see the beauty in the haggard old lady, so she cursed him and gave him a rose that would wither away over time. If he didn't learn to love before the last petal fell, on his 21st birthday, he'd be a beast forever.

Later, in the song Be Our Guest, it makes reference to the fact that they've been in this enchanted state for 10 years.

Now, using my powers of deductive reasoning, my skill in extrapolation, my interest in inference, this tells me that when the prince was turned into a beast, he was 10 years old.

REALLY??? 10??? What ten year old isn't at least a little bit spoiled? And a prince, at that. A 10 year old prince will be spoiled. Do you know many ten year olds who, when approached by a strange, hunchbacked, hideous old woman, wouldn't at least give her a weird look?? I mean come on, those are pretty high expectations for a ten year old.

Also. He was ten. Where were his parents?? Even if you were far off traveling, don't you think you'd send communications every once in a while to check on your pre-teen son? Maybe they were dead or something, but wouldn't that then make the "Prince" the King instead?

ALSO. If he was a prince, how come nobody in the whole flipping country knew their prince had been turned into a beast FOR TEN YEARS??? Aren't royalty expected to make decisions, or at least public appearances? And nobody notices when the prince goes missing?? It's not like the royal staff could make appearances on his behalf, because they were turned into flippin' candlesticks, clocks, teapots and armoires... And even if the small villages didn't know about the prince, how did they all find the castle so easily, huh?

I mean, Belle's dad stumbled upon it, but then Phillipe (the horse) was able to take Belle right to the gates even though he wasn't actually there when the old man found the castle in the first place. And then, later, the angry mob was able to march straight to the castle, even though they'd never heard of the beast before, and even though Belle and her father, the only two people who supposedly knew about the castle, were locked in the cellar.

The pieces don't add up, people. They just don't add up.

Warrior Dash

Muddy
Bird, Also too muddy

This was the "shower". A fire truck with hoses.

A much belated post on the warrior dash...

So. Bird and I ran a Warrior Dash! It was just over a month ago, and it was awesome. We had to drive out to the middle of nowhere, because the races generally take place in the middles of nowheres. It was a fun drive, and included Bird needing to pee, so she got out of the drivers seat and I got in, she ran back to a restaurant, and was forced to buy a gatorade to be able to use the restroom, and then she ran back to the car, which had only moved about 400 yards while she was gone. That was fun.

Also, the parking lot was a mud pit, and it was questionable if my little Civic was going to make it out alive. But it did. As did Bird and I.

Ok, so the race. It was awesome. Started out with roaring flames carrying us into the wooded path where the race took place. We had to crawl through a dark maze, climb over 5' walls, crawl under barbed wire, run through knee deep mud, cut through a lake, more mud, climb over a 20' wall, climb over a 15' cargo net, run over 5 or 6 junkyard cars, run through tires, crawl through tunnels, jump over flames, and crawl under another 20 yards of barbed wire, in the mud, to get to the finish line.

You know, easy peasy.

It was really intense. After just the first few obstacles, I kind of thought I was toast, and was questioning whether or not I'd even be able to finish. But that's always my problem with running. Once I get past the three mile mark, I can run and run forever, I just hit my stride, catch my breath, and my legs just go on autopilot. So, when I'm running a race that's only 3.5 miles, and adds in the obstacles... well let's just say I never really felt like I hit my stride. The mud is really what held me back. Trail running isn't my forte, and it had rained heavily the whole week prior to the race, so even the parts that weren't "mud pits" were pretty much covered in a thick layer of slime that made it difficult to get my footing.

But anyway, long story short, it was hard. But MAN OH MAN was it fun! I really enjoy pushing myself, and this was great. I had a goal of finishing in under an hour, but I had no idea if that was realistic in terms of the course, or just how much the obstacles would slow me down. In the end, I finished in 48 minutes and some odd seconds. But what I'm most proud of is that I finished 76th out of almost 800 women in my age group. Booyah:)