I cannot even handle the cuteness!

After bathtime tonight, Elise grabbed her diaper and started to smooth it open on the floor and then proceeded to try and sit on top of it, totally trying to put on her own diaper! It was soooo funny and had us in stitches!
When I grabbed the camera for this video, of course she didn't repeat her antics, but I still thought the video was pretty cute.

And yes, I know now that I shouldn't turn the camera around next time. ooops.

trying not to freak out....

So, Dan went to the doctor today to see if his hand was maybe broken since it's been pretty sore and swollen after injuring it playing softball 2 weeks ago. The doctor says his hand is just bruised, but sends him to cardiology immediately for an EKG. He is concerned about his heart rate being significantly slower than it should be. We don't know what the results of the EKG are, but he is supposed to go in Monday morning for bloodwork and to pick up a heart monitor that he will wear for 24 hours. The dr says he suspects some artery clogging going on.

It's weird because Dan is pretty athletic and healthy, I would say. He's been working out quite regularly since I've ever known him (13 years now) and he eats pretty well. He runs at least 15 miles a week and lifts weights the other days. Throw in regular Friday night softball games too....
It's really bugging me that he is not willing to slow down, just a little until after the tests. I'm really afraid that something will happen while we are out running. We ran 4 miles tonight, instead of our usual 5 and he struggled...even at one point saying that he was feeling queasy. Grrrr. Men. He insists there's no problem because a) heart disease at a young age doesn't happen in his family and b) the doctor didn't say anything about slowing down.
Maybe not, but I'd really prefer he didn't push himself so hard...

My baby's all "growns up" ....sniff...

So, last night we went to have dinner at Dan's father & stepmother's house. The kids are not as close to this set of grandparents as they are to their other grandma (Dan's mom), mostly because we don't see them very often. And since it was clear, since Lola was a baby, that they disagreed with my style of parenting, it may have affected our relationship. We used to see them a lot more often before we had kids...Anyway, I digress. Last night went really well and Lola bonded really well with her grandparents. To the point that, when it was time to leave, Lola didn't want to go. So Dan's stepmom asked if it was ok that Lola sleep over. I asked Lola if that's what she wanted and she said yes. We explained that it meant Mommy and Daddy wouldn't be there when she woke up and that we were leaving her there. She said she understood, but still wanted to sleep over. We decided to let her.
Dan was visibly shaken when we got in the car to leave. He just kept saying over and over "I can't believe she's having her first sleepover" and "I can't believe you're fine with this". This was a real jolt to him...his baby is growing up.
Dan's father had to come over this morning at 5:30 to pick Dan up for golf, so the plan was that he would bring Lola with him. When he dropped Lola off, she was still very tired so she came into bed with me and Elise and proceeded to sleep until 9 AM! She NEVER has ever slept that late! Course, I had to get up at 6:30 with Elise....
I couldn't wait to ask Lola all about her night last night. Apparently, she and gramma went swimming in their hottub after we left, then went to bed. She slept with gramma in her bed, while Dan's dad slept in their guest room. (sorry grandpa!). She said she woke up, but wasn't upset because gramma was right there. In the morning, gramma got her dressed and gave her some toast for breakfast. She was very happy! She called gramma this morning to ask if she could sleep over again!

*sniff*

Finally, on the mend!

My lip has finally started to look like it's getting better. I won't post the photos from yesterday or the day before....eeesh! They look pretty gruesome. But today there was finally some decrease in swelling and I managed to wrestle off some of the scab (I know that's bad), which so engulfed the entire area that you couldn't even see the stitches anymore. It was soooo gross.
Today was my first time out in the real world....we went for a run at the lake. We stopped at a park, where a little boy asked me what the big owie on my lip was. I told him what happened and his mom was standing close by, listening. I'm so paranoid that people are thinking "oh poor girl, probably got slugged by her husband", that I want to wear a big sign on me saying, "it was a softball, OK?????? And, no, it's not herpes!!!!".
Haha!

Tonight, we are babysitting my BIL's little baby boy (our nephew), who is 6 weeks old, while his mommy and daddy go catch a movie. It was a little hairy for a while when our 2 kids needed to go to bed, but Cecil was really fussy and crying a lot. At one point, I was down on the floor, nursing Elise and giving Cecil his bottle at the same time. All the kids are asleep now....
Ommmmmmmmmm!

I'm FINE, really!

Tonight we went to play softball with some friends, but there wasn't really space to get a real game going so we just kinda tossed the ball to each other. We decided it would be fun to bat a little also, so I pitched a few balls to my friend. She made contact with that ball and, holy shit, I barely even saw it coming! I think I had some kind of thought process in my head before it hit me in the face, but not enough time to react!
I remember my reaction was something right out of the movies. Very dramatic! I covered my face up with my hands, fell to my knees, then looked down at my hands to see the blood on them.
I felt one by one for all my teeth and thank god, they were all there! It didn't really hurt and I remember even chuckling a little (because, really, it was pretty funny if you think about it!).
When I showed the people around me, I got a lot "Oh shit, yah, that's gonna need stitches". My heart sank a little because I really don't like stitches, but oh well. We got over to the E.R. and I was totally done in about 2 hours. I just sat there on a hospital bed texting and calling people while I waited.

On the plus side, I'm looking a little Angelina Jolie-ish, no??

Just say yes. Humor me.

Change of Scenery

I thought my blog was desperate for a new "look" so this is how I wasted my afternoon.
Fun stuff!

A glum day in the Duncan household...

Dan is quite ill today and is too paranoid to be out of 'running to the bathroom' range so we have had a very dull day today. We barely left the house, except to go to Sports Authority, looking for new running kicks. Dan felt the...er....urge...to leave there pretty quickly (not before I purchased my first ever trail running shoes that are so super cute, I want to wear them to bed tonight!).
He's been sleeping most of the day and I've been trying to take care of him and the kids too.
Lola and I got some alone time when Dan and Elise took naps this afternoon. We just went to Target and Jamba Juice, but we stayed a long time and hung out in the hair accessories aisle, just being goofy and trying on different "looks". Lola is total ham. I love it when I get to be alone with her and really focus on her fun qualities.

The evening didn't fare much better here. Dan is grumpy and got frustrated with Lola a lot tonight. There were many tears (Lola too!) and me having to smooth over the little scuffles between them. Then, while changing Elise's diaper, I accidentally dropped a dollop of Dr. Bronner's soap on a beautiful, big, blue EYE. Let me tell you, that stuff stings like an SOB. I felt so bad! She cried a bunch and I kept hugging her and telling her how sorry I was. In the end, a boob fixed it all. I really do appreciate nursing for that reason! Where would I be without that???

Here's to a good night's sleep and, hopefully, a better tomorrow!

posting my first video....

Ok this wasn't very tricky at all. I admit it only seemed so because I get really intimidated by things I've never done before.

Anyway. It's cute. Watch it.

Mother's Day and all that good stuff...

This was a nice weekend. Saturday, Dan and I took the kids over to Lake Murray and did a 4.5 mile run, with a break at the playground at the halfway point. I have to say, it's really nice running with Dan. It's the first time that we've really done anything athletic together. For the first few years of dating, we always went to the gym together, but never worked out together. We've done a bit of biking, but that's really it. I like running with him, because, alone, I never really push myself past that 3 mile mark, but he motivates me to go farther.

ahem....mostly because I don't want to wimp out in front of him.

Later on, the UPS guy showed up at my door with this huge, heavy box. What could it be??? Well, let me tell you! My BFF, Jessica, sent me 6 bottles of Syrah from Orfila, a winery close by that we used to visit quite often before her move overseas. We have lots of fun memories from our trips there. I was really happy to get that box!

So, apparently there's some trick to uploading video...I don't know how yet, but I will soon be uploading Lola's rendition of "You are my sunshine", which she sang for me at her school for our Mother's Day luncheon. It was supercute. Anyway, to keep you happy while you wait, here's a picture of Elise doing my favorite little goofy grin. I'm a very lucky woman!

Lola cut her hair. Again.

I really thought she would have learned her lesson from the last time this happened. When I was pregnant with Elise, she gave herself a "Farrah Fawcett meets Jeff Foxworthy" hairdo.

This morning I trimmed her bangs just a tad, then put the scissors down to do something else. A few minutes later, she presents me with a fistful of her hair, proudly exclaiming how she didn't hurt herself with the scissors!

I had to try to fix it, but now her hair is SHORT. My friend Sara is on her way over as I write this to try and fix it. She was a hairdresser in a former life so, hopefully, this can be salvaged. These photos above are how her hair looks right now. I should have taken a "before" shot that showed the big chunk of hair missing from the right side of her head!

Gazpacho rocks.

And it's sooo easy to make. Really great on a summer day, if this weather ever gets warm again, which we know will happen soon enough.
Anyway, Spanish affecionados will insist that you must soak chunks of a baguette to provide the "body" for this chilled soup, but yesterday, I proved them wrong and just blended a can of canellini beans into the soup instead. Way more nutritious than white bread, me thinks.

On with the recipe: 5-6 roma tomatoes, 3 cloves garlic, 1 seeded red bell pepper, 1 peeled and seeded cuke, 1 can of canellini beans, drained and rinsed, a big handful of fresh basil from my CSA, some olive oil and balsamic or red wine vinegar to taste. Blend it all in your blender in batches. Chill. Enjoy!

FYI, our Spanish friends, who showed us how to make this, recommend that the gazpacho be well-chilled first, then served as an aperatif in a wine glass, no spoon.

Personally, I love it so much, I would chug it straight from the blender like a frat boy with a beer bong.

Running Club

Dan and I joined a casual running club that meets up to 6 days a week for runs. We can't make most of the runs since they are way far away and at awkward times of the day. But twice a week, they meet at Balboa Park, so we tried it out for the first time last night.
The club is organized by this guy who started running for the first time when he was in his early 30's. Now he does regular marathons and is approaching 50.
I'm inspired by his story because I feel like at (almost) 35 yrs old, I am in better shape now than I was in my 20's, (even though I was way "thinner" back then...I didn't eat healthfully or work out).
So, we thought we were just going out there to run for 3-4 miles, but we missed the point where the group split up and so, somehow, we ended up running for 5-6 miles. Actually, we walked much of the last 2 miles since the whole thing just kicked our asses really badly. I was really ok up until the uphill canyon trail portion...
The scenery was beautiful though and we're anxious to do it again.

Photos to show future boyfriends.....

You can be certain we'll be whipping these gems out to show any crushes that Elise brings home for us to meet one day.

MS Walk!

Better late than never, right? I'm so behind! This event was over a week ago and I'm just blogging about it now! The problem with that is the nuances of the day are all forgotten in my mommy-brain (or lack of, I should say!) so this isn't going to be nearly as descriptive as it could have been had I written that day. Oh well. I do remember though, that it was bloody hot as hell and, even at 8:30 a.m., the sun was absolutely baking us! It was very nice to walk with a friend and get to know each other better, while enjoying a beautiful side of San Diego that I don't get to see too often. For future walks, though, I will be leaving Lola home with Dan. I really don't know what I was thinking there! I do want to try this again next year, but get a lot more people out there and maybe even raise some decent money!

Girls bedroom is almost done!

Just a couple of things needed and this room will finally be done. Definitely some kind of window covering...this room gets pretty bright early in the morning and we don't want that!
A nightstand or dresser and a small bookcase.
Finally, I know a girl through a mutual friend who makes mosaics of star constellations...she is doing a mosaic of the night for each of the girls birthdays. I can't wait to see what they look like!

Excuse me while I brag about my kid for a moment...

I have a couple of other things that I've been waiting to blog about, but I just had to write this post really quick since it just happened and I'm still in shock...the good kind!
We just got home from playgroup and Lola wanted lunch. She asked for a peanut butter, chard and banana sandwich! um, yuck! whatever, I didn't say anything, except to tell her we were out of chard. She looked so disapointed, I suggested spinach instead and she agreed. She is now munching on her peanut butter, spinach and banana sandwich. I thought it would be gross, but I tasted it myself and...not bad! I think we've hit on a cool combination here. Try it!