Where Does the Time Go?

It is amazing how quickly time passes when you have a kid.  People used to tell me that when I was pregnant and I never really understood it.  Time is a constant, right?  Wrong!  Disagree?  Have a kid then tell me your thoughts on time.

The past couple of months have been a whirlwind of activity.  Here are a few milestones. 

1. First there was Halloween.  B moves too darn fast for my phone camera to keep up.  She enjoyed taking handfulls of candy from strangers.  By the end of the night she had forgotten all about the candy, and we ended up giving it away because we ran out.

I don't care if I can't eat it, getting it is the fun part!

2. Then there was the B's 2 year birthday party.  I don't have any pictures because I was too busy getting everything set up.  This is the only photo I have because I'm lame like that.  I made bumblebee cake pops and the B was desperate for one.  Since having a toddler run around a newly cleaned house with a chocolate covered ball of cake sounded like a bad idea, my mom shoved a chopstick into a lemon and I sharpied on stripes and a face.  B probably would have taken it with her to nap time, but the lemon fell off the chopstick and a lemon with a hole in it is just not as much fun. 

There's something wrong with this "bee"...

Because I'm awesome, I didn't get a photo of the B in the birthday dress I made her.  The party was Winnie the Pooh themed and she fit right in.  I slightly modified the wonderful Peplum Dress tutorial Ana sent me.  This was my first experience with installing a zipper and I loved the result.  I did put it on backwards at first but it was easy to rip off and fix.  Turns out zippers aren't that hard.

One of the B's most favorite birthday gift was this fun tea set from her babysitter.  The teapot makes pouring noises when it is tilted.  I seem to have an ability to ignore it, however it drives Jason crazy when she leaves it tilted on the floor.

Would you like some more tea, it will drive my daddy nuts.

3.  The B is potty training!  She's gotten fairly good at pee but pooping is still a struggle.  We tried over Thanksgiving the first time but that was a huge disaster.  The experience dissolved into tears.  "Whose tears?", you might ask.  "Mostly mine", I will answer.  A week later she had a terrible diaper rash.  Probably the worst she's ever had, and I decided to put on her underwear to let her poor butt get some air.  The thought was that I would just change underwear and pants instead of diapers.  Three accidents later, she got a hang of the idea.  Or else she just got tired of having pee run down her legs and getting hosed down in the bathtub.

This isn't a milestone, but Jason and I registered for another half marathon.  This one is in January.  Even though it is only 5 weeks away, I'm not motivated to train because:

A.) It's next year which feels like a long time away

B.) Jason is getting faster than me, and that annoys me

C.) It's cold, dark, and foggy at 5am

It is fairly likely that this is my last post of the year, so I'll leave you with a favorite 2012 photo.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A, B, or C

I have 2ish weeks until the B's 2nd birthday.  For her first birthday I was so overwhelmed with just keeping her alive, it was really just a gathering of people.  This year, I'm determined to make it a themed birthday party.  This idea is causing me a huge headache.  I'm pretty sure at the end I'll be so overwhelmed, it'll just be me putting a cake on her plate, sticking it with 2 candles, and calling it a day.

However, if I can get my act together, the party is going to be Winnie the Pooh themed.  Winnie the Pooh is the B's current obsession.  If you even say Winnie, Pooh, or honey she flies into a tizzy.  Out of necessity my husband has coined the acronym WTP.  The B has not caught on, yet.

For the party, I really want to make her a dress in the same theme.  The pattern that I've fallen in love with was created by An at StraightGrain.  I'm not yet sure of the colors I want to use yet.  If you'll please excuse the bad art work, these are the 3 ideas I have:

Artwork on A would be painted bees.

Do you like A, B, or C?

Also, need some help with food ideas.  This is my list of what I have so far:

1. Tigger tails (cookies/pretzels with drizzled stripes of chocolate)
2. Rabbit's Garden (veggies to dip)
3. Honey Hive cake

Can you think of any ideas for Pooh themed entrees?

Game ideas for the 12 or so kids ranging from the age of 1 year to 4 include:

1. Pin the tail on Eeyore
2. Bee-Bag toss (shoot, I have to make these soon!)
3. Treasure hunt (water table filled with rice and stick toys inside)
4. Window Painting

We can't fit a bounce house at our home so I'm lost for other ideas to burn toddler energy.  Did I mention that most of the kids are boys!  Yikes.

Any toddler boy energy busters that you know of?  (preferably games that are not so destructive of themselves, their friends, or my house.)

Now that my panic is out of the way, let's talk racing!  The LA Rock N' Roll is coming up fast.  It is this Sunday and I'm more excited than nervous this time.  I'm not even worried about pooping my pants.  It may be because it's the 2nd time around, I'm running with Jason, and or I'm not shooting for a time. 

I'm certainly not prepared this time (shame on me), but it's meant to be more focused on running with Jason.  The longest distance he's cover so far is now 8.9 miles.  Which is fantastic for him!  In fact, I don't think he's ever run that far before.  Since I'm ever the brilliant one, I decided to run 12.1 miles on Saturday just to make sure I can finish the half.  It's good to know that I have not lost my base, but I sure was slow.  Whatever, I read somewhere that a half marathon doesn't need a taper.

Pumpkin Picking Poto Pomb

Last weekend was a wonderful blur.  I know this is post is outdated but little things like parenting, sleep, and my job get in the way.  At any rate here's my list of wonderful blurs:

1. My college friend came to visit from Malaysia

           We've talked on the phone and over email but have not seen each other since 2006.  It was so exciting to spend some time with her.  It's crazy that she doesn't look any different from the last time I saw her.  We were able to catch up some more and she got to see the B for the first time.  She said, "she looks smaller than I thought.  Maybe it's because you put her in those huge hats."  She's right, the B does live in huge hats because she's so fair and burns in the sun like her dad. 

2. My parents surprised me at the park
       
           Monday was my birthday so my parents drove down from SF to surprise me.  They showed up when we were at the park.  I was just chatting with a friend and this dog came running up between us.  My first thought was, what a rude owner.  Don't they know this is a park with kids?!  The next thought was, this dog looks just like my mom's dog.  Then when I saw my mom I realized that it was indeed my mom's dog.

3. Everybody stayed at our house

           It's so fun to have a full house bustling with activity.  The B seems to really enjoy it too and is much less whiny.  I think it's because she's getting so much attention.  If we have another kid, she is going to be in for one rude surprise. 

4. 7 mile run with the husband

          The race is next weekend and neither of us are prepared.  I've only run 7 times this month and the furthest I've covered is 7 miles.  *gulp*  We are in for a world of pain.  I foresee a lot of walking.  At least we'll be doing it together.
 
5. Pumpkin farm visit

           The farm was a 1.5 hour drive from our house.  The B watched the Winnie the Pooh movie on my iPad during the drive so it wasn't too bad.  They had a petting zoo and the B had a great time even though it was during her nap time.  I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story.

Pumpkin Picking Photo bomb!

(Does it count as an alliteration if the first letters don't sound the same?  I'm sure the internet will tell me but I'm too lazy to look it up.  For now just do me a favor and say "Pumpkin Picking Poto" out loud.)

My little beauty

Now see here, you need to get back in line with the rest of your friends Mr. Pumpkin.

OMG!  He's so big and FLUFFY!

Can I have both of these?

Nevermind, this is the one I want. 
Yes, I know he is not a pumpkin.   But you said I could pick out something to take home
 and you didn't specify that it couldn't be a goat.

Sorry kid, I'm not taking that kid home.  Haha, get it?  Kid.  I crack myself up.  (My apologies, as it turns out, 5 hours of sleep plus a 5 mile run at 5am makes me more crazy than usual.)