Elements of a Good Weekend

A good book to read.

Quesadillas at El Tapatio. 

Cute new shoes from the clearance section.

Running until my legs are sore.

Sleeping until 7:40 on Saturday morning.  7:40 people, that is a BIG deal!

Visits with Mara & Sara.

Cuddling with Asher.

Dog walking in the sunshine.

All in all,

A good weekend!

Bonus:  going into work after 9:00 this Monday

and Tuesday too!

Much better than the usual 7:30.



I can just hear Asher's noisy babbling in this picture.  Not sure what Chris is looking at!




Asher & Rambler both vying for Daddy's attention.




So focused on his play.



The Week in Review

I haven't had too much time for blogging this week due to sinking into the couch and doing nothing in the evenings.  Here's a recap of the events of the week. 

Chris wins big at the school raffle.  He’s now the proud owner of...a new vacuum! 

He was extremely excited.  (Rambler really wanted to be in the photo too.)



So far said vacuum has not made it out of the box.

Was winning a vacuum the highlight of our week? 

I sincerely hope not!  

It's what I can think of right now though.

Asher learns to clap. 

We think waving goodbye might be next, but whenever we wave at him, he just gives us a weird look. 

I think our technique of wild arms flailing scares him a bit.  Perhaps we should try to teach him a more refined wave a la Queen Elizabeth. 

Or I might teach him raise the roof.  That would be awesome!

Check out the new necklace I made this week. 

Hopefully I'm looking "like snazzy" as one of my students said this week.

Running to Key West

Hello.  Here we are today.  Actually this picture is from yesterday when it was warm & breezy & wonderful, and we were so happy to be home "celebrating" President's Day. 

Today we were back to scraping the ice from our windshields and back to work.  I didn't take any photos because we probably would have all been grimacing in them! 

Okay, we've started moving along in our run to Key West.

Maybe I can create a visual to track where we are along the way.  I think I'll wait on that until we've at least gotten out of central Virginia though!

Miles we've Run          Miles to Go

  48                           1125

Once we get to Key West, we'll be happier than this...

In other news, Asher is working on learning to drink from a sippy cup.  He's very interested in the cup but hasn't figured it out yet.  He finds it much easier & more fun to drink bath water out of a cup in the tub though.  By the way, those are just green beans under his nose!

And here he is using the "no hands" technique.  It's not really working for him! 

Moving in a new direction

At first Asher was only able to crawl backwards, which usually resulted in him backing into the couch or into a corner.  

But now he can crawl FORWARD!!

 This video shows him chasing after Cricket.  She escapes from our little crawler by sneaking through the kitty door, which leads to the basement.  Asher discovers the kitty door, and if you look carefully, you'll see Cricket's paw batting at Asher as he reaches through the door!  

A Boy & His Dog

Here's a photo of Asher & Rambler having a little conversation this morning.  I wish I knew what Asher was saying to Rambler!  Rambler has mixed feelings about Asher.  He thinks his tiny baby socks make delicious snacks, but other than that he doesn't see what all the fuss is about.  Asher on the other hand thinks Rambler is pretty neat.  He likes to grab his feet, climb onto his bed, grab his bone, and is really looking forward to the day when he can make it to the doggie bowls without me noticing!  Hopefully in a few years these two will be best buds.

CJ is actually Asher's favorite pet.  He lights up with a big grin whenever he spots CJ across the room.  No photos to show of the two of them together though because CJ prefers to watch Asher from afar!

Running to Key West

If you haven't heard, my family is Running to Key West.  We're collectively running the number of miles from home to Key West, and rewarding ourselves with a trip there. 

It looks like we're off to a slow start, and I must confess that I've had a cold and haven't contributed any miles to the total this week! 

Here's where we stand.

Miles we've Run         Miles to Go

      17                        1156

At this rate, we'll be hitting the beach in 194 weeks! 

I believe that's in October 2014. 

Time to stop blogging and go for a run!

My Favorite Days of the Year

My top 5 days of the year...

5. The last day of school.  (If my position would change to become a 10 month position instead of a 12 month position, this one would rocket to a permanent position at #1!)

4.  Thanksgiving

3.  Daylight Savings Time begins

2.  Christmas

1.  The first day I can wear flip flops

Guess which day today was...

Hooray for flip flops & bare feet!! 

Bring on springtime!

Here are some more pictures from our photoshoot in the backyard.  Asher refused to smile the whole time we were outside.  He's just not that impressed by nature.  That or the howling wind scared him.

A No Sew Bunting

Here's the new bunting I made for Asher's room.  It was inspired by the tutorial over at Bright & Blythe.  http://brightandblithe.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/no-sew-fabric-bunting/ 

It was seriously easy and fun to make.  No sewing required - just cutting & gluing.  I'm envisioning these buntings popping up all over my house now!

Pom Pom Bib Necklace

Okay, so one of my goals is to start doing a little more crafting and creating.  If I'm going to be self employed working in a sunny little studio making things one day, I better get started seeing what I can make!  I'll share my projects with you here.  

Here's the pom pom bib necklace I made last night.  I used the tutorial over at Little Miss Momma's blog.   http://littlemissmomma.blogspot.com/2010/12/pom-pom-bib-necklace-tutorial-lmm.html 

I really had fun breaking out the old glue gun!  It was super easy, and I think it turned out pretty fab.  So far it has withstood grabby baby hands too.  I didn't have any fabric on hand, but it turned out to be a great way to recycle an old teal shirt that was just taking up space in my closet!

Running to Key West

I'm dusting off my running shoes and becoming a runner again.  It's been just over a year since I've run with any sort of regularity or enthusiasm, and that's sad.  At first I had some legitimate excuses...snowmageddon, feet too swollen to fit into any shoes, taking care of a newborn...but then it just became a habit not to run.  So today I get back on track and reclaim my identity as a runner.  I'm excited about getting fit and being healthy, but I also need a little extra motivation, which is why I'll be using travel as an incentive.

I'm running to Key West!! 

No, not all at once or even all by myself.  My mom, sister, Chris, and I are going to add up all the miles we run until they total the distance from home to Key West.  Then we'll reward ourselves with a flight there!  In case you're curious, it's 1173 miles.  Yikes!  Did I mention that is is a long term goal?  I'm envisioning Key West being especially delightful in January or February.  Sooner than that would be great too!  Here's where we stand so far.

Miles We've Run               Miles to Go

                                                               11                                1162

Funny Things Kids Say

Kindergartener:  "How old are you?"
Me:  "Old"
Kindergartener:  "One hundred fifty-five?"
Me:  "No, not that old!"
Kindergartener:  "One hundred fifty-ten?"
Me:  "No, younger than that"
Kindergartener:  "Do you know Dios?"
Me:  "Who?"
Kindergartener: "Dios, who lives up in the sky."
Me:  "Oh, ok."
Kindergartener:  "Are you as old as Dios?"
Me:  "No, I don't think so!"

Oh Happy Day

Lunch for two at Bodos - free with giftcard from one of Chris' students

A bag full of books & a vintage napkin holder from the SPCA thrift shop - $8

Two mochas at Shenandoah Joe's - free with giftcard from another one of Chris' students

Asher falling asleep on the drive home and continuing to sleep in his carseat for 2 hours & 45 minutes - priceless!

Yes, it's true...he took a long nap somewhere other than my lap! This hasn't happened since October. 

What a great day!

Best Things

Best things about today:

Jason & Sara came over to visit.

They brought spaghetti bolognese.

It tastes so much better when you call it spaghetti bolognese than when you just call it spaghetti!

We got to hear about Jason's fencing class.  He is the only adult in the class!  It's just him and a bunch of 12 year olds.  Actually now the class has dwindled to just him and one 12 year old.  He is that scary!  I would really like to have a picture of them sparring, but so far I haven't gotten invited to watch any of the classes.

8 Months

Can Asher really be 8 months old already?  I had to count the months three times because it just doesn't seem possible!  Here's what he's up to at 8 months.

Weight - 19 pounds+
Favorite Toy - The remote control.  We rarely let him have it, but he's always looking for the chance to grab it and give it a lick!
Favorite Foods - apple mango, peas, avocado, squash, banana, carrots, tofu, cottage cheese, sweet potato... 
Least Favorite Food - mashed potatoes.  It's inexplicable.
Bedtime - 7:00 PM
Favorite Pasttimes - sticking out his tongue, listening to himself "talk," creeping around on his stomach, scooting backwards, trying to roll off of the changing table, jumping in the jumparoo or in someone's arms, sitting on the floor playing with lots of toys, and getting tickled.
Number of Teeth - 0