Sleep is not overrated

Logan has been waking up a lot at night again. :-( He's been up 3-4 times a night for the past week. It's like having a newborn all over again. At least he goes back to sleep quickly, but I don't know what's going on. Growth spurt? Brian thinks maybe his feet are cold since I've been putting him in footless jammies. I just bought 3 new cute ones, so that's probably it and they'll be a complete waste of money. We'll try him in some footed ones tonight and see if it makes a difference. He hates socks, so would just take those off if I tried. I just tried to make a new paragraph. It looks fine while I'm typing, but as soon as I publish it's like there are no spaces. Maybe it's an iPad glitch with Blogger? Isabel had a tough day yesterday. She was just whiney and grouchy. In addition to over an hour at My Gym we hit up the big neighborhood park for over an hour. Logan spent at least 20 minutes in the swing. When it was finally time to go I took him out and he screamed and flailed around and tried to hit me. I love carrying a toddler to the car who's having a tantrum. It's like the walk of shame for a mom. Anyway, so we had a busy day yesterday. Isabel was obviously tired and just being a typical overtired almost 3 year old. As Brian was gettign their bath ready I hear a smack and then Logan cry. She slapped him across the face. That ended her night pretty quickly. She didn't put up much of a fight when I told her after bath she was going to bed. No movie night for her. Unfortunatly one of the bad things about putting her to bed an hour early is that she's up an hour earlier this morning.

It's Friday, Friday!

Phew, (almost) made it! Last night sleep was horrible. Brian had something he needed to file with the PTO before midnight EST and I could't sleep. Logan was up a lot and Izzy leaked. The alarm for my 5:30am spin class made for a short night. Coffee is my best friend. Isabel was begging to go to My Gym again today, so we went out right when they opened and had the place to ourselves for a bit. Then a group of moms came and were increadibly high energy and chatty. I just didn't have the energy to make adult conversation today, so after an hour we headed to Target. They have these double seat things attached to regular carts at Target to me them really long, but otherwise you can only fit 1 kid in the regular carts. There was only 1 'kid cart' on the side where we entered. I was seriously day dreaming about the coffee I was about to get at the Starbucks in Target. I looked down an noticed puddles on each of the seats in the cart. I was like, wow, that's a lot of water left over from the rain we had 2 days ago. I tried to wipe it up with a baby wipe, but it was too much. The lady at customer service saw me and brought over some paper towels. We were cleaning up the water while I was trying to keep Logan out of it, when I realized that it smelled funny. I took a big whip and yep, it was pee. I almost vomited. For real. I gagged. I think the Target worker did the same. I took off for the restroom to scrub my hands and Logan and Isabel. After that stellar start to the shopping trip I was expecting nothing but disaster and quickly headed to get my coffee. With my grande coffee in hand I started flying through the store grabbing what I needed like one of those contestants on a timed grocery run. After a few minutes I realized that it was quiet in the store. No one was screaming. That meant MY kids weren't screaming! AWESOME trip!

The New Alamo

I saw The Hunger Games at the new Alamo Drafthouse last night! The theater was really really nice. The tables were in 2's instead of a long bench, so you didn't have to crawl over everyone or crawl under the bench to get out if you needed to use the bathroom. The seats were nice leather/vinyl and the picture and sound in our theater was amazing. Ok, I think I'm the only one in America who didn't LOOOOOOOVE this movie. I thought it was great, but not the most awesome movie ever. I really really loved the books and I have been looking forward to this movie for so long that I think I just expected it to be 8 hours of awesome or something. I think I was most disappointed with the arena. For some reason I expected it to be different. But don't get me wrong, I did love the movie and will probably see it again with Brian. The acting was very good, especially Elizabeth Banks, Jennifer Lawrance, Woody Harrelson (brillian casting), and Lenny Kravitz is just pretty to look at. Now that I think about it, it was a pretty darn good movie. I just don't want to marry it. Maybe have a long term relationship with it. Not much to report on the kid front. This week we've gone to My Gym twice already since we had class Monday and yesterday Isabel really wanted to go. She played the whole time with a little 4 year old boy who was the sweetest thing ever. They actually went into a 'cave' and read books for a while. It was so cute. His mom came up to me and said he really prefers playing with girls and has always been like that. Apparently his 7 year old brother is the same way. I wish I could have taken them home and had their calmness rub off on Logan some. Logan has been having a good week. He's still not talking too much, but he's started to say a few more words/sounds. He loves to say 'ummmhummmm' for yes. "Logan, should we go get Izzy?" "ummmmhummmm" He's had a little ingrown toe/hangnail thing on his big toe that I've been soaking and putting antibacterial cream on. His eye has been looking a little red and slightly goopy. It's just on the brink of being 'uh oh, pink eye' but it's still looking like it might be allergies. The pollen is out of control right now. If it looks worse this morning I'll take him in to the pediatrian. Isabel has still been a rock star with potty training. No accidents at all. I don't have to remind her to go potty all the time. She's been so easy to potty train. I'm sure I'll have my work cut out for me with Logan though. When he needs a diaper change he'll grab his crotch and go 'poopoo' It's actually quite helpful. Today I'm going to attempt to go shopping at the mall if Logan's toe/eye are looking ok. I need to go to exactly 1 store. But I'll have to try on things, so hopefully Logan will be cooperative.

Daddy is Beating Us!

A friend came over tonight and as we were sitting on the couch chatting Isabel screams "Daddy is beating us!" I said "Honey, I'm sure Daddy isn't beating you." Brian was in charge of bath/jammies tonight. It turns out Isabel was talking about the speed competition we have after bath time when we race to get our jammies on. Logan and Dad vs Izzy and Mom. Haha. Lovely. Isabel has been a little challenging the past couple of days when interacting with Logan. She's slapped him a couple of times. Oye. I told her preschool teacher about it as a warning today. When I went to pick her up she told me they had figured out what one of Isabel's triggers is. Apparently she doesn't like to share her friends. She has a best bud at school (Isabel thinks they're besties, but I don't know if the girl knows this) whom she adores. She talks about her constantly. It's funny because I've heard other Moms talk about how their son/daughter talks about Isabel non stop and Izzy doesn't mention them. It must be the same thing reversed with this little girl. So there is a new girl in town. She just stated in the classroom a couple of weeks ago. She's trying to be friends with Izzy's bestie. Izzy is having none of this. D.R.A.M.A. Isabel's solution is a slap across the face. Not such a great solution. So Isabel's bestest friend says to me today "fuuuuuuuck" I was like 'huh?' She says it again "fuuuuuck." I was like uh, are you trying to say F for (girls name starts with an F)? She just looks at me like "No, I'm trying to tell you to fuck off." Nothing like getting schooled by a 3 year old.

Sunday Funday

Yesterday we worked. Today we get to play! Everyone woke up late yesterday morning. Hooray! I was planning on running to the gym and then taking BodyPump, but didn't have time for the run. Barely made it to class and then did a quick and easy 3 miles on the treadmill. After I got home I headed out to do yardwork. The pollen is ridiculous right now and Brian's allergies just make it misearble for him to be outside, so I was going to tackle the yard myself while Brian took the kids. They went to Toys R Us, Buy Buy Baby, Walmart (gross) and Chipotle. I would never attempt 3 stores in one day, so he was brave. I spend 3+ hours in the yard. It was hard work, but the weather was really gorgeous. I had a quick shower and headed to my spa afternoon. I had a great massage, body wrap, sauna time and mint green tea. Also, I'm going to start putting cucumbers in water. It's so easy and tastes so good. Especially while in a sauna. I wish I could afford to do this weekly, or monthly, or even quarterly, but it's expensive and was a special Christmas present. While I was gone Logan and Isabel had a nap. The usual, except when I got home I noticed that they were both in their PJ's already. Apparently Brian didn't know that Isabel needs a diaper or pull up for naps. She and her bed were covered in piss. I guess when I told him that she woke up from her nap dry a couple of times that meant that she could wear undies to sleep. Fail. After the kids went to bed Brian went out to get us Pho. Pho is basically a giant sodium bomb, but oh so good. We used to get it all the time when Brian was in law school and we lived on Stonehollow. We found that the place we used to go to opened another location near our house. Yum! Too bad we can't take Isabel their or eat the food when she's around. I won't bring the peanut sauce in the house now, but that stuff was so good. Today we're attempting to take some wildflower pictures. Yeah, we'll see. I also told Izzy we could go to the party store to pick out stuff for her party. I have a feeling it will involve pink and princesses. Still not sure how I'm going to do the cake. It's another beautiful day out. Perfect for margaritas on a patio somewhere. Anyone wanna come watch the kids so we can go out?! Logan has been suprisingly pleasant for the past 2 days. Promise!

Hunger Games!

I am so excited for the movie! I want to read the books again. I'm going with the moms club next week AND we're seeing it at the new Alamo that's a mile from my house! Win. Win. Win. Not a win? Isabel waking up and crying approximately 10 times last night. One the reason was because her 'covers were crooked'. She's sleeping in this morning, probably because she only got 3 hours of sleep last night. It was so bad that I skipped spin class this morning to get more sleep. If you know me you know I DO NOT skip spin. Now I'll be obsessing about how/when I can get a workout in today. Glad I did BodyPump and Zumba last night. I was 3 seconds from bailing on Zumba due to a headache, but stayed and got my booty shaking on. I love Zumba, but I cringe when our instructor tells the class that we just burned 800 to 1000 calories. Uh, no we didn't. Today is going to be a good day. We have a my gym makeup class and I 'have' to go to target to buy dog food. I scheduled my spa day for tomorrow. It was my christmas present from Brian. My massage is scheduled with a dude named Moongu or Moongoo. In other shocking news Whitney Houston had cocaine in her system.

Oh Logan

My little Logan.  Where do I start?  I had a few friends tell me that going from 0 to 1 child is a huge change (obviously) and that going from 1 to 2 children is an even bigger challenge.  Brian and I have parented 3 children through infancy into toddlerhood.  Vivian and Isabel presented their own challenges, but I must say that both of them combined didn't present 1/2 the challenge we've had with Logan.  We had the luxury of  parenting Vivian by herself for 2 years.  It was certainly challenging at times, but definitely manageable and loads of fun.  Isabel had been the most mellow, easiest child to parent hands down.  She is a huge helper and is very very in tune to my feelings and moods.  I'm pretty sure she has inherited my 6th sense when assessing others.  Logan, on the other hand, oh my.  He had been a HUGE challenge.  He can be incredibly cuddly and warm and loving, but he can also bash his head into things and scream like he's being stabbed for no reason other than he can't see me or that I'm not holding him.  My Mom got a glimpse into the daily life of Allyson, Logan and Isabel today.  I'm pretty sure she won't be coming back anytime soon.  Kidding!  In all seriousness though, I'm sort of at a loss as to what to do and how to handle Logan.  After Gramma left today and I was debating on going to Costco by myself or just going home Isabel said to me 'Mama, I'm really sorry Logan is so upset.  He's ok though.  Sometimes he just get mad.'

Logan will say Mama and Dada, but not unprompted.  He can say ball and milk, but he will only say milk unprompted.  Vivian and Isabel were both later talkers, so this wouldn't necessarily bother me, but combined with other things, I'm beginning to get a little worried.  His complete freak outs while in the car are not only tiresome for me and Brian, but I'm afraid that they're harmful to Logan.  He thrashes and hits himself in the face repeatedly.  On the last trip back to Austin from Houston he only screamed for an hour, but he hit himself and slammed his head into his car seat.

I took Logan to the doctor a couple of weeks ago because he was just miserable and would.not.stop.crying.  For real.  Usually I just hold him all day and he's ok, but for that week he was just inconsolable.  The doctor (not his usual doctor) didn't find anything wrong with him and of course he was super friendly and happy while we were there.  He's a tricky one.  I'm anxious to take him to our regular doctor for his 2 year check up.  I should probably warn his nurse to block off half the day for us.

I'm still thinking about something I overheard a few months ago.  Someone made a comment 'oh (so and so) is such a happy baby' and the parent said 'well, we try to keep (baby) that way.'  I found it incredibly offensive.  My baby is not 'such a happy baby' but we tried our damn hardest to make him that way.  It was the inference that since our baby isn't happy that we just don't try that really pissed me the fuck off.  I guarantee you that we try 100x's harder BECAUSE our baby isn't a happy, jovial one.  You, my friend, are luckily doing the minimum because you have an 'easy' baby.  Ugh.  That sounds so militant and hostile.  I guess I'm just militant and hostile these days.  It's too easy to become that way when you have a tough cookie.

I sometimes dream about just saying 'eff this' and going back to work.  But but but...I know I have a privileged lot in life to be able to raise my babies all day.  I'm very very thankful that I have an amazing partner who takes on more than his fair share of responsibilities around the house and with the kids.  He recognizes how difficult it is to raise 2 toddlers all day every day and respects the sacrifices my sanity has taken to do this.  If I didn't have Brian along with me every step of the way I'm not sure what I would do.  He never bats an eye that the laundry isn't folded, dinner isn't on the table or that I'm usually in my PJ's with a glass of wine in hand by the time he gets home.  He just does what he can and rarely complains.

So yes, my friends, it is WAY harder to raise 2 kids at a time than 1.  Way way way harder.

Seabrook Marathon

I had a huge long post and it was lost when the stupid internet went out.  Grrr.  Anyway, I ran the Seabrook Marathon last weekend.  I started out with the walkers at 5:30am.  Yes, 5:30am.  My Dad was nice enough to get up at 3:20am to drive me down to Seabrook so that I didn't have to venture onto the Gulf Freeway the early morning after St. Patrick's Day on my own.  Thanks Dad!  I started with the walkers at 5:30 because I could barely walk on my right foot Monday and Tuesday.  I was nervous that I was going to have to walk a good portion of the race.  I walked the first loop (6.5 miles) with the walker gang and then took off.  I ran the 2nd loop pretty fast (for me) and the 3rd loop was slightly above average pace for me.  So I had a delima with the 4th and final loop.  Do I run it and finish in under 5 hours or do I slow way down and walk some to push my time closer to the 5:30 range?  Since the race director made it clear that the 5:30am start was for walkers and those finishing >6 hours, I decided to walk.  Since I walked the 1st loop anyway I figured that I might as well.  I think I finished at 5 hours 20 minutes, but I'm not sure since my stats aren't on the website.  I've emailed the race director, but Brian says I'm blackballed from racing since I 'abused' the early start.  I would like to state that I made sure I wasn't the fist early starter to finish.  There was a woman in front of my that I stayed with almost the entire race and then when I decided to walk the 2 miles on the last loop let her go ahead.  I'm sure she finished at least 10 minutes ahead of me.

I was very aware that had I ran the 1st loop I would have blown my PR out of the water.  That was very surprising.  I was really not expecting to feel as good as I did this race.  It was a really nice course and I got to see the Bay at sunrise.  I stopped to chat with volunteers and tried to encourage as many runners/walkers as I could.  It was fun seeing everyone 8 times (literally) since it was an out and back loop course.  The only down side was the humidity.  I'm not used to running in Houston's humidity and my sweat just would not evaporate.  I was dripping the entire time.

After the marathon we headed to the Kemah boardwalk for lunch.  I was starving.  Logan and Isabel were on their best behavior.  I very very rare occurrence. I was especially proud of Logan.

Potty trained! And Logan cannot fly.

Yes! One kid out of diapers during the day! Isabel clicked with potty training and just decided she was ready last week. So glad I didn't stress about it and force the issue. Just one accident the first day and one at school, but besides that she's been a rock star.

I'm sick yet again. Not sure what's going on. My eyeballs hurt and it hurt and it hurts when I move my head. I'm just about sick of being sick. This cough is also lots of fun. So annoying.

I had to make a super quick stop to Target today. Logan was flipping out-as usual. I got the usual, 'oh, he must be tired/hungry/not happy with the cart/sick/crazy' etc etc comments, but then I hear an 'excuse me'. 'excuse me!'. So I turn around and this woman goes 'are those shoes comforatable?'. Keep in mind that logan is tripping out and izzy is telling me she has to go potty. I was like 'uh, yeah, they're very comforatable' and try to leave. This woman is clearly high because she tries to talk to me again about my damn shoes. At least some people are oblivious to my crazy kids.

In more fun news we got to visit with gramma, grampa, rich, joanne, Lucas and Ethan over the weekend. Ethan is so sweet and cuddly! Lucas is hilarious with his 'oh no' over and over again. Will miss those dudes.