Pancakes make everything better.

Mateo has the flu. I have the flu. We're praying Rafi doesn't get it. Mateo also has double ear infections. That said, he's still playing with his trains and is relatively happy. I, on the other hand, haven't been. I'm still functional, but this thing has been dragging me down. I'm sure not being able to call in sick to my job of motherhood might have something to do with it. I think, though, that the worst is behind us. Mateo is on antibiotics for his ears, and I've been trying to rest in between meal making, cleaning, changing diapers, etc.

Due to our illnesses we missed the Shrove Tuesday pancake breakfast at Mateo's school. I had planned to volunteer to cook, but I assumed most people would prefer not to have a sicky hacking over their breakfast. Instead, I made pancakes for dinner - with sprinkles, which made Mateo very happy. Here he is "helping" me make them:

I can't believe my baby turns 3 years old in five days. Ack!

Chuck Norris.

Hello, readers. It's me, Sickly. You know, the sneezing and coughing one who drivels on and on about nothing and then posts photos about said nothingness. Well today, my friends, I've got another nothingness post for you. First, I'll gross you out by telling you I'm carrying with me a box of tissues and a grocery sack. Why the sack? For the used ones, of course. My nose glows so brightly I could guide a sleigh. Rest assured it's just a bad cold and not the flu. I'll get better with time. And Z-pak. I hope. Please pray for me.* I know you will.

And now on to the fun part of my post: Rafi's new t-shirt acquisition. Check it out. I hear it was a hit at the office.
*Footnote: I say this in a joking matter. If you are the praying type, please use your power of prayer for something greater than the easing of my pitiful suffering, like world peace, food for the poor, or my winning lotto ticket.

P90X Update.

I'm a little slow in posting this, but we have completed the first 30 days of P90X. Have we followed the program to a T? No. Have we eaten the way we should eat every day? No. Yet somehow we've managed to lose a little (and I do mean little) amount of weight. Between P90X and my morning boot camp workouts I am definitely feeling more fit. Right now I'm feeling motivated to keep pushing through and finish the 90 day program. Hopefully the next 30 to 60 days will bring greater improvements. I know it's all up to ourselves to, in the words of Tony Horton, "bring it."

Shaping up...

The year started off with so much promise. On January 2nd I ran the Resolution 5k. I completed the race. I resolved. Unfortunately I didn't do much more than that. I did, however, complete my first duathlon in mid March. My friend/neighbor Deanna and I finished the Tough Cookies Duathlon in Copperas Cove. It was a 2k run, 10 mile bike, and another 2k run. I really did not train at all, so the fact that I finished 35th out of 75 with a 1:19:27 time was very pleasing to me. The bike course was much hillier than I expected, but thankfully I had borrowed my other neighbor's road bike. My mountain bike would've been.... disasterous. I doubt I would've finished. My biking time was really great, but my running time was pretty sorry. I'm way out of shape.

So now that I've publicly established I'm out of shape, I guess that means I should do something about it. But I'm not that motivated. Yet. Hopefully the coming warm weather will help.

Mat's Casting

Mateo had his casting done today for his Dynamic Orthotic Cranioplasty, or DOC, band. He did really well! They start with putting a stocking net over his whole head, cut out a hole for the mouth, and then mark the eyebrows and ears with a pencil. Then while he was still on his back, they began to layer the plaster strips over the front part of his head. He drank from a bottle during this part (I had timed it well so he'd be hungry) and did quite well.

After this front part set after a few minutes, he had to sit up so they could start layering plaster on the back. This didn't go as well. The pacifier helped for a while, but I'm sure he thought the chirping monkey I held in his face was mocking him! Rafi did a great job at holding his shoulders down. (I, on the other hand, did a great job taking photos!) The plaster was quite heavy, so I think he was most uncomfortable just due to the weight on his head.

After this set, they took off the two halves of plaster, and voila - a happy baby!! Okay, so he was a bit worn out, but he has always calmed down fairly quickly. So into the bath he went, off the plaster bits came, and a fresh baby got to go home. (We'll be back to the orthotist next Tuesday for the fitting of the band, so stay tuned!)

Just an hour later we packed back into the car and went to our first Mother Goose Lapsit at the library. We read a book with two other little girls, sang some songs (he HATED "I'm a Little Teapot"), and played with some toys. Then we went with his friend Amelie (and my friend Renee, the librarian at my school) to Barnes and Noble to look for some bilingual books.

After a day of excitement, we went home and took a much needed nap. :-)

First trip to the doctor

Mateo went to the doctor for the first time today. Since he is still a little jaundiced, they took some blood from his heel - he did NOT like that. But he is home now doing just fine. :)

Click HERE to watch a video of the trauma.

A few photos

Having my mom in town has been wonderful - not only does she help with the baby so I can rest and take care of dinner, but she is right on top of getting photos! :) Here's a link to Mateo's first bath photos. Mom also completed the baby blanket. It's really pretty, AND it stands up to machine washing and drying - always a plus. She has been working on it almost throughout my entire pregnancy.
So far Mateo has been a pretty easy baby (hate to jinx myself by typing this). He sleeps so much that I have to wake him up for feedings. One thing that has really helped was something I saw on Oprah about baby language. (The Dunstan Baby Language teaches five distinct infant sounds that have specific meanings each and every time they are made.) I can't believe how accurate this has been. It has saved us much trial and error I'm sure.
As for me, I'm slowly recuperating from my bronchitis, but I'm definitely getting better. I've been getting a little more sore lately, though, so I need to remind myself to take it easy. I'm also having a really hard time convincing myself that I'm actually NOT going back to work for a while. That seems so insane! I do miss my students and regret not having been able to say goodbye to them.
We've also enjoyed watching the dogs' reactions to the new baby. Marley has a new nickname - "Nervous Nana." She seems so concerned with the noises the baby makes and runs to my mom to "fix it." Pixel has really surprised us with how calm and accepting he is of the baby. He really seems to know that he's a person and not a plaything or other dog. As with grown people, he really likes to "clean" Mateo's bare feet. :)

Spring Break Wrapup

Well, Spring Break has come and gone. I fully expected school to be torturous on Monday - you know, 'cause going back to any job after a vacation seems torturous - but it wasn't! :) In fact, the day just flew by. Perhaps it's the knowledge that I'm leaving for another mini-vacation (ski trip) this Saturday. Or perhaps it's the fact that I have so much prep to do for the next nine weeks of school. I'd rather think, though, that it's because this job is the best job for me. :) Monday was great - my Spanish flowed like no other day, the kids were happy, and many were absent! HA!
Anyhow, on to the wrapup of my spring break. Friday through Tuesday my mom visited because it was her spring break, too. We cleaned, we ate, we spent too much money at the mall - you know, the usual. We were gone so much during the day zooming around town that I'm sure the dogs thought I got an extra job in the evenings. Thursday I met up with three friends and each of their tiny tots. It's so amazing to see such cute little people! Since I was the only one with no child, I was asked twice where mine was. I should've said "Oh no! I lost him!"
The rest of the week I continued doing the fun stuff - laundry, building desks for our new office downstairs, cleaning out closets, getting ski equipment ready, etc. I also finally renewed my car registration and had the brakes checked out and fixed. Not too adventurous. I did go to a WW meeting with a couple friends, though. I'm thinking of joining for 6 weeks just to get these post-marathon pounds (5 of them) off plus maybe an extra 5 for good measure. It's hard to have good motivation during times of vacation.
Qué más, qué más... ah yes, a group of us saw "V For Vendetta." I really liked it. It had some interesting political viewpoints and overtones as well as pointed metaphors. Natalie Portman did a great job, and the soundtrack was most enjoyable.
Bueno pues. The end.

Jodi - DNF

I am very sorry to report that I received my FIRST ever DNF (Did Not Finish) this weekend. :( I hadn't been feeling too swell anyway, but I was really excited to finally get to run a 10k with my friend Amanda, so I tied on the timing chip, pinned on my number, and laced up my shoes anyway. By the first mile marker I knew I had made a mistake. Before the second mile marker I had two different policemen come ask me if I needed EMS!! Yep, if you had been driving or running by you would have seen me - navy shorts, green tank, #128 - sitting on the curb just trying to keep my breakfast in. I was pretty bummed, needless to say, but I walked my aching body to the halfway mark with two really nice ladies who kept reassuring me "not to worry - 3 miles is a long way to go!" :) Of course I had to sort of let it slip that I have run a marathon before and that this wasn't really a case of "didn't train enough." They were really talkative and funny, and at their relay exchange (the halfway point) they encouraged me to run in with them. So I did - only to have a recurrence of illness. :( But still they gave me a ride back to the starting point where I got to see Amanda finishing the whole 10k. She kept a great pace and looked great coming in! Good job, Amanda!!! On the other hand, I waited around to congratulate her and chat for a bit and then headed home where I spent the rest of the day .... um.... indisposed. ;)
So, Amanda, if you are reading, I owe you another race. Sorry things didn't go how I expected, but for sure we'll do another one. As for now, I'll sign off the way the results pages list you when you don't finish: Jodi - DNF.

Seriously? Seriously!

Team "Seriously" (Deanna and I) completed the 3M Half-Marathon relay this last weekend with flying colors and minimal soreness! In preparation, we carb-loaded with pasta, bought matching singlets (vitally important for us gals), and compared the contents of our race packets (TONS of 3M products like those nifty wristlet tape dispensers, Post-Its, and various kinds of tape). After a 5 a.m. wakeup call, Deanna, Rafi, and I ate some bagels and were out the door.

Talk about some chilly weather! Deanna, being from Minnesota, seemed like a fish in water, whereas Rafi and I felt like we were going to lose our toes from frostbite. The start was a bit uneventful as the sound system was down, but still Deanna took off with her own theme song coming through her earphones and her special daisy socks on her feet. From there Rafi and I walked to the two mile marker to cheer her on. She looked great and smiled the whole time!

Afterwards, Rafi and I made the long trek back to the car and downtown to the relay exchange point. I was getting paranoid that I would miss it, so I ended up jogging some to the meeting place because we had to park so far away. This is probably not a recommended thing to do - you know, run before you run... But I made it with plenty of time for Deanna to slap the wristband on me and send me on my way.

My half of the run was somewhat uneventful though enjoyable. Several cool bands (surf rock, mariachi, carribean, and "guy with harmonica") were my entertainment. Aside from the slight 4 mile slump I usually get, my run was good, sun-shiny weather and all. The ending was even better as it meant I could stop! HA! As I ran through the chute I could hear Rafi and Deanna above everyone yelling out my name. Our team finished with 2:10:51, but accomodating for the extra time to get through the starting gate means our time was closer to 2:09 or so. And most impressive, we got medals! And yes, we did wear them. :)

Other stats according to Deanna:
Team average pace: 9:59/mile
Place - Relay "Open Female": 17 out of 25
Place - Relay Overall: 69 out of 98

By the way, if you are interested in the origin of our team name, watch Grey's Anatomy! :) Seriously!

3M Half-Marathon Relay

Go, Team, Go!! If you happen to be in Austin and are interested in cheering on my team "Seriously!" (consisting of Deanna and myself) on this Sunday, January 29th, check out this website: 3M Half-Marathon Relay. It would be great to see some familiar faces. We haven't exactly trained much for this one, so it'll be on more of a "let's finish" basis, but surely we won't be last, right? :) Deanna is getting us a headstart and I'm bringing it home. After this one's over, we'll make a decision about running the full upcoming Freescale Half-Marathon in February. (If you will recall, the Freescale Marathon is what I ran last year.)
So wish us luck!!