My left ring finger feels naked....

Last night I did my C25K (I switched my days this week to T/Th/Sat) and my fingers were really hot and swelling a little bit, so I took off my wedding rings and forgot to put them back on after my shower.... and left for work this morning with no rings. It feels very strange as I can't ever remember not wearing my rings. I always have them on unless I'm about to dip my hands in sticky lotion or getting a manicure or something. I also have no ring tan lines on my finger, which I find odd. I guess I don't get that much sun!

Good news about Baby S! He is no longer going to occupational therapy! The OT is thrilled (and completely amazed) by his development and since he is at the 9 month level as far as development, she won't see him again until our checkup at the end of June. He is crawling, and has just started pulling himself up. He'll be 6 months old on Easter Sunday. He is truly an amazing little boy, and I am just so darned proud of the little cutie. He endured all my therapy workouts for the first couple of months and it has paid off big time. We have an appointment with the neurologist next month to determine if we can start decreasing his anti-seizure medications. I really hope that two years from now, everything we went through is just a blip on the radar and it causes no further issues down the road. Above all else though, I'm just hugely grateful he's alive! God must have big plans for you on this earth, little fella. He sure has taught me a lot because of you.

I am expecting a bunch of packages today.... so exciting. I just love getting mail. I remember going to check the mailbox as a little girl and hoping one of my grandparents or my best friend had sent me a letter. When they did, I would read and re-read it and save it in my letter box and then carefully craft a reply. Now, most of the mail I get is bills (welcome to adulthood, right?) and junk mail... but sometimes a letter does come... and I enjoy it every bit as much as I did when I was a child. Anyway, the packages are from Old Navy, Polka Dot Designs, and Zappos. Old Navy is just a few more of the long-length shirts that I decided to stock up on since they were on sale and I needed them for summer. Polka Dot Designs are my invitations for a party I am throwing in June (it's a secret, so I won't be posting about it here until after said event). Zappos is not shoes this time around... it's a few pairs of jeans. I love Zappos because of their free overnight shipping AND free return shipping. Zero sales tax doesn't hurt either... and the privacy of my home as a dressing room cannot be beat.

My parents arrive tomorrow night.... I can't wait. Still trying to finalize the menu for when they're here but I think I may wait for mom and then come up with something. She is always fun in the kitchen, and so is dad. It's an excuse to take them to the international farmer's market too! I'm thinking mussels in white wine sauce, pork loin, rack of lamb, and steak will be on the menu (not all at once, on different nights of course!)... just have to make sure they like all that stuff!

And I'm out!

The end is in sight...

This morning I registered Ethan for his fall semester at GSU.... his last semester there before he graduates in December! Words cannot describe how happy I am that this is finally coming to an end. I am so incredibly proud of my husband for how hard he works. I don't know many people who could handle 6 classes, a full time job as a police officer, two extra side jobs, and being a devoted and loving husband all at the same time. It has required a lot of sacrifice from him since he hasn't had the time to do the things he loves. His fall semester only requires him to be in class on Monday evenings, and the rest of the time is his... I am so happy for him because he definitely deserves to have some time to himself after the hectic pace of the last three years! I am also happy that we'll be able to have a more "normal" existence in the fall (ie: have dinner together every night). Once he graduates... wow, there are just so many options and so much freedom I don't even know where to begin! Let's just say all the hard work will be worth it.

This week is a short 4 day week for me due to Friday being a paid holiday. My parents are coming to visit and arrive late Thursday night. I am so excited to have them here for a few days and to not have any other obligations whatsoever this weekend. It's a nice change in pace. Even if it will be short-lived. Things will return to their normal craziness until Memorial Day weekend. Such is my life!

One of the many reasons I love my job....

Baby S is ALWAYS laughing and smiling.

Party in my cabana....

I went to get a pedicure after getting off of work today and decided to pick a color that was a little brighter than I usually go for...hence the title of my post, which is the name of the OPI polish color I chose. Since I wouldn't want to see a photo of someone else's toes (unless said toes were in a pair of fabulous shoes they wanted me to see) I will not post a photo of mine. Rest assured that I think they're fabulous. I love my pedicure place... $16 for a great pedicure that lasts 3-4 weeks! The polish and topcoat they use is practically bulletproof. If you're ever visiting me in Atlanta and you want one....just say the word. :)

This weekend I don't have much going on. I'm working all day tomorrow as usual and spending the night, but my Saturday is pretty much free other than working 7:30-11:30 on Saturday night. So I am going to go to Old Navy to return the one dress that didn't work and catch "Alice in Wonderland". I've wanted to see it for a while, and while I think Tim Burton's films are rather weird, I really loved his "Big Fish". So I'm willing to give it a chance. I've really gotten into the going to movies by myself thing. I used to NEVER see movies alone. I would only go with Ethan or a friend, and as a result, I sometimes didn't get to see the movies I really wanted to see due to lack of interest of the other party. I can't remember when I finally sucked it up and went to go see a movie by myself, or which movie it was... but I do remember thinking "Hey, this wasn't so bad!" So, now I actually enjoy it. It's an escape for a couple of hours with my popcorn sprinkled with m&m's and some Coke to drink (yes, dad... I know it's highway robbery...) and nowhere else to be.

I know this was a short post, but I'm going to relax and enjoy this rainy and gray afternoon by snuggling up with a book, which has also been something I haven't been able to do in a while!

Clothes for tall people and other stuff....

So, I am enjoying a rare quiet moment with my hot cup of Earl Grey Twinings tea. I know I have never been a tea person, but I have a cough and the tea helps. So maybe I'm converting...we'll see if I still want to drink it once the cold/cough passes.

F is in school, and both little ones are napping...this hardly ever happens. I usually have at least one child that is awake the entire time I am here until around 7:30 PM if I stay later than that. This week I'm going home at 5:30 every day because our second nanny isn't in school so she has a more flexible schedule. It's definitely been a nice thing!

Anyway, the temperatures are getting warmer and I decided I "needed" some new summer and spring clothes. When you're a governess or a mom, you want clothes that (a) are comfortable, (b) don't ride up when you're chasing your munchkins, and (c) don't cost an arm and a leg because by the time summer is over they will most likely be worn out from the multiple washings due to baby spit-up, spilled juice, you fill in the blank. Oh, and (d) they must be cute. My biggest issue with clothing is finding clothes that are long enough for me! Jeans aren't such a problem anymore because even though I'm six feet tall without shoes, my inseam is just under 33 inches and they tend to make the leg length of jeans super long these days. My length is from my extremely long torso...which makes finding shirts quite the challenge! Well... no more! I was looking on Old Navy's website and noticed that they had tall sizes! I never knew this before because they don't carry the tall sizes in the stores. I immediately ordered a bunch of stuff and waited patiently for it to arrive.... and it came last night at 6:45 PM. I tried everything on and much to my delight, everything worked except one dress that literally looked like I had put on a paper bag. Can't win them all.... I will be stylin' this summer.... and I have declared this summer "the summer of the skirt". See sample outfit below and just imagine me in it with a pair of flip flops, dangly earrings, and some sort of bracelet. (the skirt is right above the knee, and I have it in three different colors: the color shown, black, and dark brown)

So voila, my summer wardrobe is finito! Oh, and here's a tip... if you want 20% off your online order, be sure to sign up on the mailing list and they'll email you a coupon code for 20% off. Can't really beat that, especially if they have a sale going on!

Couch to 5 K is still going well... I completed day one of week 4 yesterday. My legs and feet felt like lead by the end... but I gritted my teeth and refused to slow down to a walk and made it through. It probably didn't help that I'm not feeling so great with the cough/cold thing but it's not making me feel bad enough to cop out of exercising. I can't believe that after tomorrow I'll be past the halfway point to finishing the 9 weeks! I still have no idea how I am going to run for thirty minutes without stopping but I think I need to stop worrying about it and just trust the process.

And there's my update for now....

The one where the lock gets stuck...

This morning I left work at 10:30 AM when our babysitter arrived and headed straight to the YMCA for my workout. I went to the locker room and put my stuff in a locker, and for some reason I could not get my lock through the latch. I was puzzled because last night I had no problems at all with the lock going in through the latch. I decided to see if the lock would fit into the locker next to mine and it slipped right in. "Okay, I'll just move my stuff to this locker and my problems are solved."

Think again, Wilkie.

The lock would NOT come off of the latch. I was doing everything I could do to get the lock to unhook from the latch and nothing I was doing worked. To make matters worse, there was a locker room rush from all these ladies that had finished their workouts ... and every single one of them happened to have lockers in the same section as mine. Oh, and all of them were naked. Some of them were not exactly covered with a towel, and being 12 inches away from a naked stranger is a just a tiny bit disconcerting to me. Maybe other people are cool with that, but I am not. After THIRTY minutes of trying to get the lock out and coming close to kicking the locker and sobbing like an emotionally disturbed two year old, I snatched my stuff out of the other locker and just took it with me to the workout room. It could have been worse.... I could have put my things into that locker initially and been unable to get into it to get my keys, wallet, etc and been stuck there at the YMCA all day! I was annoyed and frustrated, but I just channeled it into my workout and finished week 3 of Couch to 5K.

I ran errands after the YMCA, and am now pretty tired... it's 9:51 PM and I don't get off of work until tomorrow at 11 PM, and I work Sunday from 9-3. One day at a time... I can make it through the weekend....

The answer is yes.

Yes, I woke up at 6:20 AM and worked out again.

No, I won't be doing that tomorrow because I'm spending the night here at work. I have a babysitter coming from 9-12 so I will be going and completing day 2 of week 3 during that timeframe.

The sitter came today from 3-5:30 and I ran some errands and then went home to do another workout (I am working out twice per day for the rest of the month). I decided to see how long I could run without stopping while catching up on Desperate Housewives. I am proud to report that I made it... ELEVEN MINUTES. I then walked for two minutes... and then ran for EIGHT.... walked for three minutes....and then ran for SEVEN... it was an awesome feeling to be able to run for more than sixty seconds without feeling like I was going to die.

Running for twenty-five minutes straight no longer seems like the impossible dream! I can't wait to get to that point and be able to be one of those girls I've always admired who hop on the treadmill and runs for forty-five minutes with ease.

I ordered new Mizunos since my current ones are getting worn out... can't wait for them to arrive sometime at the end of this week or early next!