Feeling discouraged

Well, it appears that my running days are going to be put on hold for a while.  I went to the doctor today after almost 2 consecutive weeks of extreme groin and upper thigh pain.  The doctor suspects that I have a femoral stress fracture or a partially torn muscle. Nothing can be confirmed until I see an orthopedic specialist and have x-rays and/or an MRI.  I'm hoping for the best but figure that I'll be out of commission for at least 8 more weeks.  I should know more next week.

I'm extremely discouraged by all of the injuries I've had over the past 5 months.  I'm beginning to think that my body is telling me that running is not the best way for ME to keep in shape.  I'm really going to miss the way it helped with my self esteem and gave me a better body image. Hopefully, I'll be back to running this fall...

Sleep tight...

...don't let the lobster bite.  Most kids like to sleep with a stuffed animal or something cuddly at night, right?  Not my child.  THIS is what she sleeps with.

It's a wind-up, hard, plastic, bath toy.  She will NOT go to sleep with out it!

"H"

Hannah can official write her very first letter..."H"!  For months, she's been very interested in writing her name any time she picks up a crayon or marker.  Of course, we have to hold her hand and "help" her write it.  This week while making a birthday card for her Nana, she made her very first letter all by herself!  It was amazing how clearly it was written.  Also, on her Nana's card, she made her very first smiley face.  I wish I had taken a picture of the card...so many firsts!

Now we're working on the letter "a".  Fortunately, Hannah's name only has 3 different letters :)

Mommy & Daddy

Just more evidence that my little girl is growing up...we are no longer known as Mama & Dada.  Until this week, Hannah had no interest in calling us Mommy and Daddy. Every time I would try to get her to say Mommy or Daddy, she would reply with a "Mama" or "Dada".  But something changed on Wednesday and she hasn't turned back.  She just sounds so grown up.  It's cute but also a little sad at the same time.  I'm not ready for her to grow up.

A quick vent session

Ok, so I'm not a dog owner and maybe I just don't understand, but if you are going to let your dog outside for an extended period of time, shouldn't it be on a leash or a run or SOMETHING??? Electric fences are wonderful things, too.

It seems that the people in my neighborhood do not abide by leash laws. There are dogs wondering aimlessly all over the place. I find this irresponsible for two reasons, 1) your dog may get hurt, or 2) your dog may hurt someone else.

I've always been a little nervous around big dogs. And after an incident that occurred a few weeks ago, I'm VERY leery of animals I don't know. I run in my neighborhood 3-4 times a week. One morning I ran by a house with a large pit bull/boxer mix roaming around outside. The owner had her miniature poodle on a leash so why wouldn't she put her other dog on a leash? About 10 yards past the house, the dog charged at me and knocked me down. I seriously thought he had bitten me. Fortunately, my leg was just scratched up and three weeks later, I'm still sporting the bruises he inflicted on me. The owner witnessed the whole thing and had no apologies for me. I was FURIOUS! Not so much that he had hurt me, but that it scared the SNOT out of me. And what if that dog had run after a small child? I can't even think about it...

This week while running, I came across 5 dogs on two separate occasions. None on leashes or within the boundaries of an electric fence. No owner around either. They were just walking aimlessly around. One was even limping with an injured leg. After a couple of the dogs started running after me (fortunately not showing any signs of aggression), I came to the conclusion that I just do not feel safe running in my neighborhood.

Mark says I need to start running with a stick...maybe I will!

Okay...vent session over!

Absent

Blogging has been put on the back burner this month.  I have gotten completely wrapped up in a new obsession...the Twilight Saga!  For the two of you who don't know what this is, it is a series of 4 books about a teenage vampire love triangle.  I know...sounds WEIRD!  For the past couple years, many of my friends have been talking about how awesome the books are.  I just didn't get it...AT ALL!  Until I saw the movie.  That convinced me that I needed to read the books.  As is usually the case, the first book was better than the movie.  Now I have to patiently wait until November 20th for the second movie to come out.  I should be done with the last book in a few days...then I'll have lots of new things to share.  But first, I think I need to focus on the housework I've also neglected over the past couple of weeks...

You may also notice I've added music to our blog again. Yes, it is from the Twilight movie!  Can you say OBSESSED!

Mother's Day and some new pics

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend with both my family and Mark's family.  I feel so lucky that both of our families can hang out TOGETHER and get along with everyone. And we all go on vacation together every year, too.  We absolutely cannot wait till June for our beach trip!

Mark and Hannah surprised me with a beautiful white gold charm bracelet.  The idea is that each year, the kids (yes, I hope to have another one...soon!) will pick out a new charm to add to the bracelet.  I know it will be something I'll treasure forever and can one day pass down to my children or grandchildren.

Hannah painted some pots for both her Nana and Grammy. Here are a few pictures of the painting process.  I knew it would be messy so I took off all her clothes.  Of course, Hannah didn't mind!  She would run around naked all day if she could!

***Let me add that Hannah is NOT potty trained (but oh how I wish she was).  We were just experimenting to see if she could keep her big girl underpants dry. She tee-teed in the potty when she needed to and was successful at keeping them dry!

Swimming at Grammy & Pappy's house.

Hanging out with Nana & Granddaddy.

When mom forgets...

...Hannah will remember!  So, we all sat down for dinner tonight. Mark and I were both a bit preoccupied with some other things we have going on, so as soon as we sat down we dug into our food. Hannah kindly reminded us that we forgot to say the blessing! OH NO!  She NEVER forgets. She just folded her hands, bowed her head, and waited for us to realize what we forgot. Leave it to Hannah to keep us on the straight and narrow!