Summertime!

While I'm on this amazing roll of posting a blog once a month, I better squeeze in a July post before the month ends in a few days.

We have had an amazing summer vacation so far! After both teaching summer school for the month of June, Chris and I have really enjoyed having time off with no pressure or nasty homework that has plagued our lives for the past four and a half years.

Our biggest goal for this summer? Get back to Normal. 

We weren't sure we would remember what Normal was like, or how to do it, but turns out it is like riding a bike. After a week or so of "what should we be doing again?" we quickly settled into our daily routine of waking up when JJ wants, eating, playing, eating, playing, eating, relaxing, and then going to bed. Throw in some climbing and running for Chris, some spinning/yoga/kickboxing classes for me, and lots of visits from out of town family, and that pretty much sums up our summer break.

We did squeeze in some outdoor adventures by getting J up to 14,000 ft when Chris's dad and brother were in town, and we hope to take him up another 14er or two before going back to school. He loved riding in the backpack and we were able to get some baseline data on our new pulse-ox meter to make sure he is handling the altitude well (kid will never let on when he's not feeling well, the smiles and giggles rarely stop).

What's up next for Moddlerhood?  Well, lots of big changes for the Toddler as he transitions from baby to big boy which makes for some good stories. Luckily with the Olympics playing, I have plenty of desire to sit here on the couch every evening so hopefully I can get a few of the stories out into the blog-o-sphere soon. Might I actually be able to squeeze out TWO July posts?  Ah the suspense...

Back For Seconds

Flatirons are numbered from right to left -- 1st, 2nd, 3rd...

On May 29, 2009, Chris and I tried to complete my Flatirons trifecta by doing the relatively easy 2nd Flatiron. It was a great climb, we were having a great time, but about 2/3 of the way up the climb the clouds moved in quickly, rain started pouring, and lightning started flashing. We bailed before climbing up onto the Pullman Car, which is visible from town and a pretty awesome looking structure at the top of the Flatiron, and ran for our lives back to the car in some time that I'm sure I will never come close to touching again. When we got back to the car we were soaking wet but happy to not have become lightning kabobs.

Wet, but we made it back safely!

Fast forward to, coincidentally, May 30, 2012... almost exactly three years later. With one whole day off between the end of the regular school year and the beginning of the ELA Summer Academy that Chris and I would both be working, we looked for something that we could do together. You see, this whole teaching residency program that Chris is in has left very little time for, well, maintaining a normal relationship. But, there's a whole blog post of its own on that coming up very soon.

Anyway.

I've climbed very little in the last year, and frankly I climbed more often 7+ months pregnant than I have lately. Any climbing I have done has been on our home garage wall but even that has been embarassingly little considering it is actually in my garage. But still, for the last three years, this unfinished Flatiron has been on my mind and this seemed like a good opportunity to get 'er done.

My wonderful parents gave up their own day off from watching JJ to come up and watch JJ. Have I mentioned how incredibly spoiled I am to have them around?  They are absolutely amazing...but again, a topic for another blog post...

Long story a little bit shorter, we got that 2nd Flatiron ticked off my bucket list and now I can look at the skyline driving into Boulder and know I've successfully made it to the top of the three major Flatirons. The best part of the whole climb was the part we had fly through in our rush to reach a bailout the first time, and the second best part was what we had to skip all together. I managed to surprise both myself and Chris by successfully navigating the one "tricky" section of getting up onto the Pullman Car.

I didn't even freak out on the rock despite days of leading up to the climb whining to Chris about how "scary" it was going to be and how I felt horrible going to do something "dangerous" together now that we have a kid  (despite roping up on a climb that MANY people "run" up without a rope). I felt better climbing that day than I ever did leading up to my not-so-brief-hiatus from multipitch climbing.

Something about wanting to keep moving so I could go home and see my wonderful son, combined with the euphoria of ACTUALLY GETTING OUT without him, made for a great experience. I sat at one belay and watched two crows soar in the wind playfully right below me. I laughed to myself at what a great time they seemed to be having and how they must've had a babysitter for the morning as well. Chris and I were gittily happy at each belay, just enjoying each other's company and feeling like the old us... only new and improved with funny things to yell at each other like "allez Daddy, comon! Top it out!" (one of JJ's favorite sayings from watching climbing videos with Daddy).

Note to self though...when going a fun outing where you want to take pictures to prove to yourself that you really did "top it out", remember to put the memory card in the camera.

Thank goodness for the camera on Chris's ghetto phone which actually took an amazingly good picture (considering it is probably one of the original camera phones :) ). 



Who's Your Daddy?

(Yeah, I still have not posted my story about the verrrry interesting spin instructor I had a few weeks ago, but frankly I lost steam as the days went on and I have a 90% completed post sitting in my drafts just waiting for me to take two minutes to finish. We'll see when that happens... one day...)

Every couple who has conceived a child through a fertility process where everything isn't completely in your own... ahem..."hands" has a fear, spoken or not, that the hospital/clinic/doctor will screw up and somehow the child that comes out of you will not exactly be, well, fully related.

Chris and I joked about this throughout our IUI experience, saying we'd love the child no matter what, but if he came out Chinese, Kaiser was going to be paying big time. We were joking, yes, but I think that there was that tiny silent twinge of "oh no, I don't want to be on Dateline" hiding in the background. At least for me.

Now, the moment JJ came out looking like a miniature clone of his father, all fears were quickly erased. 

JJ's personality is so similar to Chris's that it's almost frightening. Brilliant, can't sit still, etc all seem to run in the paternal blood stream.

But today on the way home from work, as I asked JJ how he managed to get out of crib at Grandma and Grandpa's house after his nap, he nonchalantly answered "Climbing! JJ top it out!"

Oh boy.

Lord give me the strength to deal with these wonderful boys in my life.

Now here's a good example...

So I've had a post started since last night about the spin instructor from... well... you know where.

I needed to bring my computer home from work to do the final edits since my iPad seems to format blogger very weird.

Anyway. 

Looking forward to getting the blog done after JJ goes to sleep tonight (Hubs is at a late class until 9), I am now sitting here experiencing the true joy of Moddlerhood.

The Bedtime Standoff.

JJ has been in his crib for an hour and a half begging and pleading for one more kiss, one more hug, one more "pat pat". 

I am really bad about giving in a few times, usually resulting in a sleeping toddler and not-guilty-feeling-mommy.

But tonight.

Oh tonight.

There are sobbing, heaving, pleas coming from upstairs and a breaking but oh so exhausted and under-patient mommy dowstairs.

I am clearly losing The Standoff here.

One more kiss won't hurt anyone, I find myself saying as I walk upstairs to calm him down.

Damnit, why did you give in?, I find myself saying as I leave the room to an even bigger tantrum than I walked into initially.

Rinse.

Repeat.

Even Turbo has his head buried in the couch downstairs to ward off the noise.

Ah, the joys of Moddlerhood.

Can he make it to two hours? 

We're closing in...

Edit: Dare I say I think the Sleep Monster has finally won The Standoff.  It did take me going in yet another time to keep him from vomiting all over his crib by crying so hard. But I did not give in to his constant pleas of "Chair!  PLEEEEEASE!".  I did not rock him, just gave him a kiss and stood there with my hand on his chest while he finally passed out mid-"pleeeeee...".  Ah, silencio.  'Tis an adventure some days, that's fo sho.

New Beginnings/Beginning Anew

Hello Blog World.

It has been far too long.

But here I am, bound and determined to resurface into the great world of blogging.

Why come back into the dying world of writing paragraphs when everyone (including myself)seems to be perfectly content summing up their lives on status updates?

Well. I miss it.

I absolutely love wasting hours going back through the wonderful adventures and mundane, but funny, moments on the Hmmm? blog. It makes me a little sad to think I have no great way of going back over the last two years and seeing what went on. Despite the futile attempts at getting back into writing that blog, or JJ's blog, I never liked splitting my stories and pictures and random thoughts between two blogs. I am not good at spreading the writing love around.

So, with a little (okay, a big) twinge of sadness, I have closed the virtual door on the Hmmm? blog. I like to think of it as twisting the big creaky circular handle on a bank safe and locking inside my most treasured memories. My life has changed...a lot...since I began that blog back in March of 2006. Finishing up my first year of teaching? Aww, I was so cute :)

I tried, really hard, to convince myself to just keep writing on that blog. But in the end, I felt far too confined by the life of outdoors adventure-iness (take THAT autocorrect) that built that blog from nothing into something I now really treasure. My life isn't all that any more. It is not just the hikes and rides and climbs that shaped my personality, confidence, and outlook on adult life. It is not just my funny Kindergarten students. It is a new journey, a new adventure. This is my attempt at melding all of that and a whole lot more (can we give a shout out to toddler teething anyone?).

Moddlerhood.

Surviving modern toddlerhood. Teaching in 'da hood. Being a mom. Redefining adventure with a very adventurous, and still wonderful as ever, husband.

Hope you enjoy the ride!

 (oh, and a quick note to me, who eventually feels too confined by this title or this blog...I am THAT adorable and naive at 30. 'Tis good stuff. And typing an entire blog via an iPad 1 is slooooow.)