Hasta La Vista January!

I pretty much hate January. I feel like it is such a letdown of a month after the Christmas season ends. It is cold, gray, and ugly. There are no holidays (except MLK day, and Adam doesn't even get that off of work, so it doesn't really count), and it just seems so LONG! Needless to say, I am glad that tomorrow is February. Not that I expect a sudden change in the weather or anything, but it is just mental for me. January is behind us for another whole year!

Besides the BLAH factor of the year's first month, this last week has just been horrendous. Both my kids have been sick. McKay has been running a fever since Wednesday night, along with a snotty nose. He has been super whiny and clingy, so I have to hold him constantly. Ty has picked up the nasty nose, too, and has a bad cough. NOT FUN. Hopefully we are on the up swing, and this next week will be better!

To dissipate my negativity, there have been two great things that have happened this month. 1. NO BUSY SEASON!!! Do I need to say more? We have actually seen Adam this month! 2. Ty is potty trained! We entered the month in diapers, and are exiting it completely potty trained, even at night! I could not be happier about this!

And, of course, no post would be complete without some cute pictures!

"I'm a basketball player, Mommy!" (Never mind that his shoes are 15 sizes too big and on the wrong feet!)

Ty has been way into PlayDough lately. I am not a huge fan. It is so messy! Adam has been so kind to play it with him (and clean it up!) every night for the past several days.

Sleep Talker

Ty says some funny things in his sleep. Those of you who are former roommates of mine know that he totally inherited this from me! Usually what happens with Ty is that he lets out a ridiculous scream and then starts talking like crazy. He generally repeats the same phrase over and over while he cries. His eyes don't open; he is never awake. Some of my recent favorites:

"The Scream", followed by, "I want to finish my noodles!" This was repeated over and over until I assured him he could finish his noodles in the morning!

Again, bawling like crazy, "Pluto's lost Mommy! I can't find Pluto anywhere!" What a nightmare, huh?

And my favorite of all, recently Ty jumped into bed with us in the early morning hours before we were up. He fell asleep in between us, and then woke us up crying with his legs stuck literally straight up in the air. He was screaming, "I can't wear 'em! I can't wear 'em!" I tried to get him to put his legs down, and he just fought me and screamed louder. Whatever, little man.

And speaking of crazy sleepers, yesterday Mac woke up with a handprint marked so deep into his face that you could see the outline of his fingernails. Could that have possibly been comfortable?

Ahh, I love these little boys! They are my greatest source of both entertainment and exasperation!

Reflections on Running Shoes

I have a history of terrible shin splints. During track season my senior year, I got the worst shin splints of my life--nightmarish pain comparable to un-drugged labor pains. No kidding. I remember sitting with my legs in an ice bath with my best friend Jill and just screaming because it hurt so badly. Miserable. That's all I can say.

Then I discovered Asics. They literally changed my life! I still get shin splints if I run in a lower-end model, but I can not say enough about how much I love these running shoes! I have owned probably 8-10 different pairs of them, and have been (almost) shin-splint free ever since I started wearing them.

That being said, I have always wanted, but never owned, a pair of Asics Kayanos. Even way back when I worked at Foot Locker in high school, they had a price tag of over $100, which was just out of the question.

Last week, I found some Kayanos for half price at Sports Authority. What?! Adam gave me the ok, and I bought them! I called FIVE different stores before I found the pink ones in my size, because even though the blue ones would have been amazing, too, let's be honest--who wouldn't prefer the pink?

So, now I am wearing these beauties to the gym every morning as I train for (gulp!) a half marathon in June. I am a sprinter, not a distance runner, so this is HUGE for me. I am actually worried out of my mind that I won't be able to do it. I feel like this post commits me more seriously though, because now all of you know my plans!

And, as a side note, the past couple of mornings I have run a 5K (0n the treadmill) in my new shoes and my shins feel great! Thank you Asics!

Success!

I decided to try round two of the potty training with Ty. If you recall, it didn't go so well the first time around. Apparently, an extra four or five months is all he needed! We put him in underwear yesterday for the first time since early September, and he kept them dry! Today he had a couple of accidents, but he went in the toilet more times than he did in his pants. Hey, I will take what I can get! I am really proud of my Ty Guy! That being said, I am totally drained and pretty much ready for bed...

The Obligatory Christmas Post

Yep, I am just now downloading and posting pictures from our trip to Utah. For your viewing enjoyment:

Adam's family always does a talent show on Christmas Eve. This year's was pretty rockin'! Adam represented our family by singing a song.

Grandpa Marchant shared a Christmas story with all the grandkids

We all got spoiled silly on Christmas morning

We took advantage of Grammie and Tooge's new basement gym

Ty showed us how to pump iron!

Happy New Year! The boys on New Year's Eve

They went to bed at their normal time, but I got pictures of them in their jammies anyway!

And now we are back and glad to be home!

Just because I think he's darn cute...

Utah pictures will follow soon!