for the love of Graham Crackers

So, this is Charlotte's favorite new snack, and my new favorite thing to entertain her while I work on the computer. One 1/4 of a cracker usually can take her 5 minutes to eat giving me 5 minutes to play. I am only interrupted by occasional gagging when she shoves them in too far. I have perfectly placed the high chair right next to the computer.

She ends up pretty messy, but it is soooo worth it.

This is an excellent example of super parenting. ha ha ha

After a fun little weekend in Vegas, I am feeling motivated to do a little post. (aka i don't want to get back to real life yet.) I have to figure out how to post video because I have a funny one of Charlotte enjoying some ice cream on Dan's birthday. there is something to look forward to. :-)

Bootylicious

This is what we call an angry elf. she looks like this whenever she isn't sleeping or eating. Super Fun!
Grandma Harward got these cutie pie booties for baby Charlotte and we all think she gives a new meaning to "bootylicious"

Ohno, flying tomato & Vonn

So, I just can't get enough of the Olympics this year! We- Reagan, Dan, Abbie, and I, have our nightly ritual of getting our Olympics fix. Reagan cheers and asks "who do we want to win?" and "who do we hope loses?" the other night she was even chanting USA! USA! when Apollo won the short track Gold and the Koreans went sliding across the ice. It was a proud moment for me. Abbie calls them the "columpics" It is pretty cute. We of course have our favorites just like everyone else.

Lindsey Vonn

Aside from her injuries - apparently she is quite accident prone- I just can't get enough of the raw speed she has! She just sailed down the mountain in terrible conditions while everyone was crashing to win the gold. It is pretty awesome! Of course, if you watch, she does crash too. that is the name of the sport- which is what makes it so fetching cool. I really, really like the crashes... and the wins.

Sean white

This is an easy one. He just plain rocks! I love the air he gets on the half pipe and the cocky, in your face way he does it. His style is captivating and even his wipe-outs are intense. You don't see this kind of adrenaline in the biathalon (cross-country skiing and shooting...) Thank you sean for giving us all the "White Snake" when you didn't even have to.

Apollo Ohno

okay, he is a true rock star of the winter olympics. there is no pretending that this guy shies away from the media or even a little partying. I am totally cool with that. If he got caught smoking something.... I am sure he would just say "yeah, so what." that is what is so cool. His athleticism is amazing and the way he plays the sport makes it impossible not to get caught up in. I love the nudging, pushing, and aggressive nature of short-track speed skating! That is a high intensity race! You could go down at any minute, or sneak in to win the gold. truly awesome.

So, yes, I am a fan. I think I even like the winter Olympics better than the summer. There is so much more intensity, adrenaline and risk taking. These athletes are of a different breed. They thrive on danger, pushing the limits and riding the edge to get a breath-taking run. There are so many variables to account for. Weather, conditions of the track, injuries, new techniques, higher & younger competitors. The competition is so fierce that Sean white has to have a secret half pipe somewhere in park city to develop new tricks. Most of the athletes have only run a certain course a few times. And as we all know, the courses can be more dangerous - even lead to death. I was amazed by micheal phelps, but how often does a swimmer miss out on a gold medal because of choppy or cold water conditions in the pool? does the mat in gymnastics get ruts from the other gymnasts? no, I think not. So set the DVR and spend some time enjoying the rock-star athletes of the 2010 winter olympics. I promise you'll enjoy it.

A new year, a new post

Reagan's first REAL pimple- she hated me taking this picture and it didn't even turn out. I wanted to keep trying but she was getting really ticked! awww girls can be so touchy!
Thank you Nintendo DS for babysitting my kids while I take a nap. Don't worry, we have fire alarms. We all wear pj's these days, and pants are completely optional.

I think that getting pregnant really took it out of me! I realized that I posted a comment right before I got that way. So here I am about 33 weeks later bursting with child, still tired, achy, heart-burny and swollen, and I thought it might be fun to get back on-line and update my blog.

After watching Julie & Julia I felt a little narcissistic thinking that people actually cared about what I was thinking or what I liked doing, so I quit posting. I feel like that still, but I also don't want my blog to go into history ending with facts about peeing in the shower and how much feces is in our underwear. I guess until I can think of a better way to end, I might just keep posting here and there.

It also seems that after 33 weeks we have some interesting things happening in our little family.

• Dan is on track to finish his thesis this month and graduate in May
• A new baby girl (yet to be named) will arrive next month
• We bought a house!
• Reagan will be getting baptized
• Abbie will be starting kindergarten in the Fall

Yikes! we really know how to pack it in! I will end with a cute picture and hope that no one thinks that I am narcissistic.

Summer Education

Thanks to my subscription to Glamour magazine I have been getting a "proper" summer education. Since some of you might be too busy frolicking in the sun and vacationing at the beach, I will pass along some insightful tidbits to you. Enjoy!

1. 75% of women pee in the shower. According to a Glamour survey, and it is perfectly OK! flushing the toilet accounts for 27% of indoor water use. So cool,go green, or yellow rather, save water and pee in the shower. Urine is sterile and non-toxic, after all, that guy Bear Grills drinks his pee all the time. Some people even believe it can help athletes foot. Just don't do it when you are not alone in the shower.

2. 85% of women wear dirty clothes. Yeah, I think we have all done that, who wants to waste water cleaning something you just wore to church. But here is the gross part... there is about 1/10th of a gram of fecal matter in worn undies ( that is not true for kids undies... that is like 3 grams) that has all kinds of bacteria. This bacteria can transfer to other clothes in your hamper and make you sick if you are rooting around in the clothes. So if you are a regular hamper digger, be sure to wash your hands. If you are like me and your worn clothes end up on your floor long before they ever think of going into the wash, pick 'em up and wear 'em again, just try not to see the same people.

3. 32% of women go barefoot at the gym. okay... this apparently is NOT good. there is lots of stuff in hot sweaty, steamy areas that can cause plantar warts and athletes foot. Or if the places between your toes doesn't get dry, infection can grow and grow. So by the advice of Glamour mag, splurge on a pair of $1.99 flip-flops for your gym bag.

Kate winslet is the #1 most glamorous woman. Michelle Obama is a close 3rd, Angelina Jolie 4th. Okay. Apparently they have never met me or my friends... Not a fair judgement. For a shout out for the plus size girls... Queen Latifa made it on the list, barely at #46. 3 spots lower than actual queen Rania of Jordan. Thankfully Megan fox (transformers) made it, I was beginning to doubt the credibility.

Now, for the moral education section:

Things you can think, but not say

* Zorro?! you named your baby Zorro?

*Didn't I tell you not to marry him, you fool?

*Whew. Another successful regifting.

*I am not sorry and I was right.

For those of you that are feeling conflicted about cheating... Glamour gives us some standards to refer too:

80% say it is cheating to exchange steamy Facebook messages.

37% say it is not cheating to kiss another girl. Now, if it happens more than once... the number jumps to 72%. So for those of you contemplating a girl-girl kiss... 28% think that it is OK and keep doing it, a lot if you want.

So you know what is OK...

it is OK... to have a whole bathing suit collection (tankinis, bikinis, string-inis ?!?) but always wear the same old black one piece.

...to pick up change off the ground as part of your personal financial recovery plan.

... to bury the price tags in the trash.

... to not know what to say sometimes.

...to kiss him just because he looks hot with his shirt off. ( or looks cute, or took the trash out, or let you sleep in) wait! That is more than OK - its awesome ( and might get you more of the same!)

Next time I will give some valuable relationship tips from OK! Magazine.

There you go. That should get you by for a week or so.

Confession

Okay, maybe a blog is not the place to "confess" but where else right???

So in the last month or two I have been having a big I mean BIG problem with jealousy. I have never considered myself a jealous person, but I do know that when it sprouts, it can really take hold. You know like the ivy that begins at the base of a beautiful brick house, then years later all you can see is a large house-shaped ivy bush... well that has been me. Barely visible under a mass of jealousy.

It seemed like everyone else had something I didn't. My friend who was living with family (like myself) bought a house. My friend who was running (like myself) was losing weight and  looked great. Another person's kid plays baseball perfectly, someone else's husband makes more money. It was always something, her legs are longer, her hair is shinier, her kid dances better, and yadda yadda yadda. I was beginning to make myself annoyed from hearing the "it's not fair" voice in my head all the time.

No wonder I couldn't find anything to blog about. Thank goodness for my superb acting skills, or people would NOT have wanted to hang out with me.

You know what, life is NOT fair. And she will always have longer legs than me. Some things you can't do anything about. Some things you can. 

So, I am going to try to shut off that whiney voice and do something about it. I have seen that it could always be worse. There is always something worse, than dry hair or love handles. I still have to convince myself of this one.  So starting today, I am going to find 5 positive things to think about me and my life each day. 5 is going to be tricky for me, baby steps, baby steps.

1. I have hair! not shiny, but not falling out.

2. Abbie makes me laugh. not always at a good moment, but laughing at all is good.

3. Reagan will give me  snuggle whenever I want it. 

4. Dan works hard for us (really hard)

5. I ran 92 miles last month. So I must be sort of tough. right?