Swimming

Today was a big day for Camden - - his first swimming lesson at the YMCA. This was also the first time he'd ever been in a swimming pool, as evident in this photo! He was pretty timid at first, but he had a wonderful teacher (in the flowered swim cap) and before long, she had coaxed him into the water. He's been chattering about swimming ever since, so I think he'll be just fine. I was so proud of him. After class was over with, we headed to Target so that he could pick out a special beach towel (he picked Spider man, of course) to have especially for swimming lessons. I'm feeling thankful, yet again, that I get to be a stay-at-home mom - - I'd always meant to sign Camden up for swimming but didn't, because I was working, and since we live so far from Boise (and only have one car), I could never muster up the ambition to stay late in Boise two nights per week to do it. At the end of this swim session, I will sign Camden up for the next one, and Griffin and I will sign up for the "Mommy and Me" swim class, which is held at the same time and in the same pool as Camden's lessons. I want to get Griffin right in the water so that he won't have to feel fearful of it, like Camden has.

Inmates at the Zoo

Steve worked a half-day today, so the boys and I picked him up at work and headed over to Zoo Boise. It just so happened that every elementary school in the Treasure Valley went to the zoo today, too. More interesting to note, however, was that there was a sizable work detail from the Ada County Jail present as well. Seriously. Call me crazy, but I found it a bit odd that the zoo would have a bunch of inmates in blaze orange vests, working at the zoo. Odd.

I spent the day agonizing over the fact that I was probably going to miss my running club this weekend. Steve is leaving at the crack of dawn for a business trip, so I would need to take the boys with me. I just couldn't justify getting the boys up early, and then finding a smooth way to feed, dress, load them in the car, then drive for an hour, then have to reassemble my double-jogger, so that I could run for 30 minutes - - all by 7 a.m.. Luckily, my wise husband talked some sense into me and reminded me that as long as I ran, it didn't matter where I did it. So, I'll either be hitting the treadmill, or pushing the Jogger somewhere around town.

I recently realized that I haven't bought any new running shorts in over 7 years, so I think it is high time I treat myself to some new gear. After poking around on the internet, and visiting a local running store, I noticed there is a new item called the "running skirt". Have you seen this? It is basically a short skirt over a pair of compression shorts. Sounds a little strange to me, but I have to admit, it sounds comfortable. I may have to try one out: http://www.newbalance.com/running/apparel/WRSK7001/

I cannot for the life of me figure out how to include links in my post in a neat and orderly fashion (such as, just being able to type "running skirt" and be able to click on that to go to the link, rather than the mess I have above. So, if anyone out there (ahem...Kirsten...Lisa?) can tell me how to do that, I'd be eternally grateful.

Last but not least, here is Camden on his new bike, per my mother's request.

7 Months Old

I can't believe my little Griffin Peter will be 7 months old tomorrow. Time is flying by much too quickly, it seems. I find myself feeling slightly guilty that my heart aches constantly that Griffin is growing so fast, and I am home with him every day, where as I worked full-time when Camden was this age, and I don't remember feeling that way at all. I think it mostly has to do with the fact that Griffin is most likely my last baby, and I am struggling to accept that fact right now. For some reason I always thought I would have three children, but the other half of the baby-making equation tells me that we are done, so I am trying to come to grips with that.

If you are wondering what Griffin is wearing, it is called a "wool soaker". This particular wool soaker was made with love by Griffin's Great Aunt Jean. Believe it or not, when lanolized, wool is waterproof, and it does not absorb odor. I really found that hard to believe, but I can tell you that it is true. This is why wool makes a great cloth diaper cover. It is also very breathable, and stays cool in the summer and warm in the winter. As you can probably deduce, I am still using cloth - - no, I did not give up after a week. I cannot believe how much I like it, and how easy it is. I'm so glad I decided to give it a try.

Last weekend, our local fire department had an open house, so we took the boys down to check out the fire engines. I think Camden was pretty excited to see all of the fire engines up close. Griffin slept through it all, for the most part. Other excitement over the weekend was that Camden got his first "big boy" bicycle. I'll have to get some pictures of him riding it. Steve and I get a good chuckle out of him because he'll put on his bike helmet so he can ride his bike, but then will continue to play out in the yard and keep his helmet on the whole time. We've wondered if the neighbors are wondering why our son wears a crash helmet all the time.

Running is going really well, I'm happy to report. The race is in 17 days, and I'm actually starting to think I'll be able to run the whole thing. I've been enjoying my Saturday morning runs in Boise, and have already learned a lot from the two trainers for my running group. It feels so good to be exercising again!

I just found out that Martina McBride is coming to Boise in August. That is one concert I have always wanted to see. I think I'll try to get tickets on Friday.

Happy Birthday, Mum!

Today is my mother's birthday, and we wish we could be with her! Camden called his Nana when we woke up today, so that we could sing to her. I'm afraid I hijacked this photo from an email that my mom sent to me today, and I think my Aunt Jean took the picture - - that's Mum with my niece, Violet (Kevin & Rachel's daughter). I love this picture!

I can't believe it is Friday again, already. I feel like a bad blogger lately. It seems the days keep escaping me, and I rarely get time to really sit down at the computer. I'll work on that.

To recap the week, Camden and I had a great time on our date this past Sunday. I'm pretty sure that Sonic met all of Camden's expectations, and the performance of The Velveteen Rabbit was really great. When we arrived at the Fulton Street Theater, Camden was handed a big glass of milk and a giant bunny cookie, which of course, he thought was great. The performance was an hour and a half long, which is pretty long for a little guy. I gave him the option of leaving during intermission, but he wanted to stay, and was engrossed the entire time. It was nice to have some quality time with him, and I'm already looking forward to our next date.

Cloth diapering is going great! I'm starting to think something is wrong with me, because I find it rather fun. I'm glad I ordered a sampling of different types of diapers because it really helped me decide what I wanted to stock up on. Here's a cute diaper that we tried out yesterday - - no leaks, so it's a keeper. Hopefully before long, I'll have enough diapers to get through the whole day.

The boys and I have some odds and ends to do today. I probably ought to get myself pulled together and head out for some errands before too long. The weather is perking up again, after a week or so of rain. Yesterday, Camden and I spend quite a bit of time outside, while Griffin was napping. We played quite a bit, but also got some yard work done. Hoping to head to the nursery soon for some plants and flowers.

Easy Tag Blanket

Griffin's a rather tactile young lad - - if you give him a stuffed animal, he immediately finds the tag and proceeds to finger it. He loves tags. So, like I do whenever I want to know something, I Googled "tag blanket" and found some simple instructions so that I could make him one. I dusted off my sewing machine and about 30 minutes later, Griffin had more tags to finger than his little hands could keep up with.

First, cut two 12" squares of fleece. Then, cut approximately 12 pieces of ribbon, 6" in length each. Use different colors and textures of ribbon, too. Then, fold each piece of ribbon in half, and pin to the right side of one of the pieces of fleece, so that the looped end of each ribbon piece are facing into the center of the blanket. Then, pin the other piece of fabric, right side facing in, to the piece with the ribbons, sew up all the sides, leaving a 3" space on the last side, so that you can turn the blanket right side out. Remove all of the pins, and then whip-stitch the opening. Voila!

Here's Griffin, testing out his new blanket. So far, so good - - he seems to love it.

In other news, I'm in the process of transitioning to cloth diapers and I'm so excited! I had thought about it quite a bit when I was pregnant with Griffin, but am just now feeling like the time is right. I should be getting a package in the mail within the next couple of days, with a bunch of samples of different types of diapers. In the meantime, we've been "test driving" a diaper made by a woman in Boise, and I love it! Maybe it will turn out that I'll just order all of my diapers from her.

I'm pretty sure Steve is sick of hearing me yammer on about cloth diapers, and probably you will be, too, by the time this week is out. I'm just very excited about it though, mostly because of the money it will save, along with the fact that I won't be contributing to the hundreds and hundreds of disposable diapers in the landfills anymore. Besides that, cloth diapers are just darn cute.

Camden and I have a "date" this afternoon - - I am taking him to Boise to see the actors from the Idaho Shakespeare Festival perform a reading of The Velveteen Rabbit. I asked him to choose a place for us to have lunch, and he chose Sonic, so we'll go there first. I haven't spent any "alone" time with Camden since before Griffin was born, so I think this will be great for the two of us, and I plan to make it a monthly occurrence. We're hoping to go and see "Shrek the Third" for our next date.

Mumma's a Mama

This morning, my friend Terri called to let me know that she thought her goat, Susie (more affectionately known as "Mumma") was in labor. We've been on "baby watch" for about three weeks now - - the poor goat has looked like she was about to explode for that long. So, she told me to stand by, and she'd call later in the day to let me know how Mumma was progressing. Well, about five minutes later she called again and said we'd better hurry up and get to her house. I'm happy to say that Camden and I were lucky enough to witness Mumma give birth to two beautiful babies, one boy and one girl. Camden promptly told Terri that he thought they should name the boy goat Camden. I love this picture of the kids watching Mumma labor. That's Terri's son Brenden, Camden, Terri's other son Hayden, and her neighbor's niece, Sydney: I had never seen any animal give birth before, so it was a new experience for both Camden and I. Right before the first baby was born, Mumma did some pretty loud screaming, which kind of freaked Camden out, but all in all he thought it was pretty neat. Griffin was there, too, but he didn't have much to say about the morning's events. Camden spent so much time worrying about Mumma this afternoon, that I had to take him back to Terri's so he could check on her! He was full of questions, as I am sure he will be for days to come.

Mumma, not looking too comfortable

With her first baby, a girl

And her second baby, a boy

Easter Photos

We spent Easter Sunday at my sister-in-law Kasey's mother's and stepfather's house in Weiser, and we had such a nice time. That's Kasey and Banzer, with me and Griffin, on the porch swing. Candy (Kasey's mom) hid a ton of eggs in her back yard for Camden, and he had so much fun. Dinner was delicious, and it was nice to be able to spend time with all of them. I was so happy that Camden recovered from a quick bout with the stomach flu in time to enjoy the Easter Bunny. This week we are staying pretty close to home, and starting on a bit of spring cleaning. The weather has suddenly gotten cold again, but hopefully we'll be seeing 70 degrees again before long.

No Guts, No Glory

I told my good friend Lisa last week that I had a secret. A secret that I wasn't going to tell anyone else, until the event involved had passed. My reasoning was that I couldn't handle the pressure of having other people know about it. However, over the weekend, I changed my mind. You may recall a few months back, I wrote a post about running, and for some reason I felt compelled to make a comment about possibly entering a road race in March. Well, as you can gather, since I never mentioned it again, I didn't enter a race, nor did I start running. I barely exercised, for that matter. I don't know what happened exactly - - I guess I just wasn't ready to make the commitment that I needed to make, for it to happen. Well, I recently entered the Boise Komen Race for the Cure. As a runner. I took it a little further than that, and joined a women's running club in Boise. We met for the first time this past Saturday. It was absolutely wonderful. As I was driving to Boise on Saturday, I suddenly started to feel really intimidated, wondering what made me think that I was going to get my flabby, out-of-shape, post-partum body moving, much less, running. When I arrived at the designated meeting place, I felt even worse. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to run- -that I would pant, gasp, and make a fool of myself. When everyone arrived, I was thrilled to see a great group of women, in a variety of ages, shapes, sizes, and fitness levels. We found out that we all had the same goal, which was to simply be able to run the entire race (3.1 miles). Our trainer told us that it was completely achievable, but that we had some work to do over the next six weeks. I'm happy to report that the first training session was wonderful. I didn't pass out, throw up, trip and fall, or otherwise embarrass myself. I could actually run, and it felt good. I already can't wait for this coming Saturday. Steve has a dentist appointment in town this morning, so I was able to go running when I got up today. I'm even starting to believe that I'll be able to run 3.1 miles on May 12th, without keeling over.