happy day

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The girls and I had a very mellow Thanksgiving. We had the big day with Mark's family on Tuesday, and we are celebrating with my family when we get to Florida, so we had the whole day to ourselves. It was actually really nice. I had originally planned to run the Turkey Trot 10k in the morning. But it started so early that, between nursing and then getting the girls to my inlaws, I would have needed to wake up at 5am. And seeing as how I'll need to wake up that early tomorrow to catch our flight, it didn't seem exactly sane. So I ended up trying to hoof my own 10k pushing the jogger stroller at a more reasonable hour. I made it about 5 miles - and I added a new thing to be thankful for: a husband who watches my kids while I run.

It was such a beautiful day, and as the girls and I sat there and played in the sand, I really did have a little moment of immense gratitude for my life and my family. I am so fortunate. Truly.

*Oh, and case you didn't notice - Karis has some new bling on the helmet. That's an original Andrea Reece she's wearing. I am so thrilled my friend Andrea (who is a legit artist) was willing to decorate her helmet. And besides, someday when Andrea is world-famous, I expect this little piece of "found art" to fetch me a pretty penny at Sotheby's. But for now, Karis is rocking a cute look and getting all sorts of compliments.

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thankful

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married to best friend

three beautiful and hilarious children

getting out of IBESR

flexible jobs

supportive friends

a home I love

awesome neighbors

living by the beach

cars that run

Glee

online adoption buddies

running on the river trail

smoothies

RockHarbor Church

preschool teachers who adore my kids

Michael and Jodie adopting!

laughter

NPR

my new navigational gadget

free childcare at the YMCA

the nannies and missionaries caring for Keanan

Memphis happy hour + kids menu

three new nieces

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divide and conquer

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I dropped Mark and Jafta off at LAX this morning. They are en route to Haiti, and the house is calm and quiet. It was really, really nice for about an hour. Now, it's just eery. The girls and I leaving for Florida on Friday, to spend a few days with my family and meet my new nieces.

Being separated as a family wasn't exactly how I wanted to spend the holidays. I couldn't afford to fly all five of us to Haiti, but we want to be visiting more so it makes sense to take separate trips when Mark has time off. It's one of those moments where you just throw your hands up and say, IT IS WHAT IT IS. Kind of like premature graying, or having an odd-numbered house on the even side of the street. You just learn to deal with what you are dealt. It becomes the new normal. Until one day you take a trip to Haiti, or you notice your eyebrows are white, or the UPS driver sends the new Nike+ system back because he can't find your house and then you continue to have no way of monitoring your pace when you run. And then suddenly you think, "This is SO not cool".

So yeah. Back to Haiti. I think I'm a bit melancholy about this particular trip because it was two years ago on Thanksgiving that we visited for the first time knowing that Keanan was to be our son. We had met him before, but we didn't know we were officially matched until a couple months later. Our adoption has taken so long that I have kind of stopped counting how many months/years it has taken. But this Thanksgiving there is no denying that we are well into two years and some months of waiting. That is hitting me hard today.

At the same time, there is some excitement because we've heard that we have finally exited IBESR - and Mark will be filing our I600 while he is there, which is the first step in getting permission from the US side of things. We've been wanting to do this for a long, long time. It doesn't mean he's coming home soon, but we will celebrate any forward movement we get at this point.

If you are a praying person, we would love your prayers that Mark can file this paperwork without a hitch. And while you are at it, throw up a prayer for my cross-country flight with The Screamer and The Puker on Friday.

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Octopus Crime

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Poor Jafta. His strict, uptight prents don't let him watch any of the mature cartoons his young friends are watching, so he must learn about the characters and action heroes from his friends at school. He has come home many a day talking about Fawn Solo or Pirates of the Carrivean or Dark Vader - always unclear on who these people are, but always sure they must be really, really cool.

This is his new favorite. "Octopus Crime". He's the head of the Transformers. Apparently with long arms designed to provide padding for flatpacked Swedish furniture.

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playlist

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Today is my long run day. So of course, I am sitting here avoiding it, and messing around with my ipod instead. I am on a mission to create a really good playlist - one that will keep me motivated and energized for the entire 9-mile run I am hoping to do. (Although, for full disclosure, I am way ahead of my training schedule so I may just slack and do 8. We shall see).

Last week I got some great recommendations from friends, and I thought I would share my own personal favorites that keep me going. (And also because, AGAIN, doing this will further proscratinate my inevitable run). So, here are some of my powersongs:

Run On – Moby
All These Things That I’ve Done – The Killers
Rag and Bones – White Stripes
Fast As You Can – Fiona Apple
Shackles – Mandisa
Take Me Out – Franz Ferdinand
She Wants to Move - NERD
The Headphonist - Kinky
Gold Digger – Glee Cast Version
Sleep Now In the Fire – Rage Against the Machine
Stronger – Kanye
Block Rockin Beats – Chemical Brothers
Single Ladies – Beyonce
Saturday Night - Ozomatli
This is It – Kirk Franklin
Amos Story – Aaron Ivey
Stop – Jane’s Addiction
Shadow Stabbing – Cake
I Wanna Get Free - The Hives
Let’s Get It Started – Black Eyed Peas
Give Me Something to Break – Limp Bizkit
Keep It Rollin’ – Tribe Called Quest
Hash Pipe – Weezer


This is not necessarily the fare I like to listen to on a regular basis, but for whatever reason these are the songs that help me kick into gear when I'm running. But I'm still looking for more songs, especially with a 10k coming up next week.

Got any ideas for me?

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introducing . . .

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. . . our little wrestler.

Karis got her helmet today. Clearly, she's distraught about it. Just look at how much it's bothering her. Poor, poor Karis!

(Okay, she doesn't seem to notice at all. But I do have to poke fun at some of the literature we were sent home with, including a pamphlet on how do deal with the difficult stigma of a child wearing a helmet. The whole thing sounded like it was written in the Dark Ages. One mom recounted the story of how her baby was "shunned" at Target. Her solution was to "place eye-pleasing Winner the Poo stickers on the helmet to put other people at ease when they looked at the alarming medical device". So I guess I better get some stickers on there, quick, before she is SHUNNED.*)

*Hmmm. I wonder if this sticker theory applies to other uses. Maybe I could slap some Winner the Poo stickers on my post-partum tummy and rock a crop top?

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sweeping generalizations

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Karis is officially crawling now. At six months, this is earlier than either of her siblings learned to crawl. To be honest, I'm not that thrilled about the early milestone. I've always loved the stage when babies are old enough to be really playful, and yet young enough to sit where you plant them. She seems to have skipped that phase altogether. Every time I turn around, she is booking it across the room, with her eyeball on some small speck of something that she wants to put in her mouth. And judging from the still-intact Spiderman sticker I discovered in her dirty diaper today, I'm guessing she's succeeding more often than I realize. I've made a note to myself that I need to be more careful, and make sure that I am constantly sweeping the floors to rid them of anything she could eat.


Also seemingly overnight, she learned to feed herself finger foods. She is crazy for the brown rice, and also a fan of the Cheerios. This is yet another stage I don't particularly enjoy - the constant sweeping of the floor to clean up the 75% of the food that didn't make it into her mouth. If I am barefoot (and I am ALWAYS barefoot), I usually have the pleasure of a parasitic cheerio on the bottom of my foot for half the day. Again, making a mental note that I need to sweep more.

Then I started thinking . . .
.

I mean, Karis spends all day scouring the floor looking for something to put in her mouth.
.
I spend all day cleaning up the stuff that doesn't make it into her mouth.
.

Why don't we just cut out the middle man, and let her eat the cheerios straight off the floor? That's an acceptable practice . . . right?

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halfway to the half

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I ran eight miles today. It was a great run and for the first time, I am feeling totally confident that I am going to be able to pull off a half marathon come January. I've even gotten to the point where the part about running 13.1 miles is not my biggest stress about the event. Now I've turned to worrying about some of the other details . . . specifically being away from Karis for so long that morning. I'm guessing they are not going to have "pumping stations" along the way.

I'm also trying to figure out ways to bump up my support-raising, because so far my contribution has been rather paltry. Did you know I'm running for Haiti? For a birthing center in Haiti? Did you know that doing the half makes me a cheap date, so you can support me for as little as $13 at $1 a mile? Did you know that supporting me will give me the extra encouragement I need to get through the next few weeks of crazy amounts of running?

Maybe I haven't made the link clear enough. How about this:

Click above to support me.

Okay, seriously. I would feel honored if you would consider sponsoring me, or another runner, in our marathon weekend. It really does mean a lot to me.

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ornamental helmet culture

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Karis was fitted for her cranial helmet last week, and it should be arriving next week. In a not-at-all-shocking turn of events, our insurance does not cover said helmet. So, for the price of a boob job, we will be footing the bill to make sure she has a well-rounded cranium. Hopefully this will boost her self-esteem enough to avoid that boob job down the road. Good thing we live in the OC.

For now, I'm trying to figure out how we will decorate the helmet. All good parents decorate the helmet - it's a part of the "plagio culture". Decorating is the hot topic on all of the online support groups that I joined and never visited again. God forbid she just wear a plain old white helmet, right?

I'm trying to weigh out the pro's and con's of the ideas I've come up with so far:


Burqa
PROS: will completely mask the helmet, might show some solidarity with our Muslim friends
CONS: the whole "opression of women" vibe

Nascar Helmet
PROS: will be very popular with my family in Florida
CONS: Nascar

Graffiti Art
PROS: hip, urban, shows her street cred
CONS: may not look good with onesies

Ed Hardy Baseball Cap
PROS: very trendy
CONS: very douchy

Von Dutch Baseball Cap
PROS: see Ed Hardy
CONS: see Ed Hardy

Viking Helmet
PROS: unexpected, makes a statement
CONS: might make nursing uncomfortable

Modge-Podged Scrapbooking Elements
PROS: will make people think I'm a crafty mom
CONS: will make people think I'm a crafty mom

Spiderman
PROS: Jafta would love it
CONS: mistaken for boy

Little House on the Prarie Bonnet
PROS: Anthropologie is so hot right now
CONS: not edgy enough

Ninja Headpiece
PROS: mysterious, bad-ass
CONS: won't look good with pink

Butterflies, Flowers, et al
PROS: girlie, age-appropriate
CONS: lacking originality

Do-rag
PROS: has worn them before, have plenty in the house
CONS: too young for thug life

Kim's Wig from Real Housewives of Atlanta
PROS: will give her that sexy former-stripper look
CONS: too desperate, no money for matching boob job after paying for helmet

Well as you can see, I'm at a loss. Any other ideas?

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an optional reminder

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As the healthcare reform bill passed the House this weekend, it seemed like there was a renewed outcry of fear about the fact that the bill includes a government-run option that people will have opportunity to purchase.

Now, it seems like most of the arguing about this healthcare sounds like this:
The bill includes a government-run* option that people will have the opportunity to purchase.

*Wherein we emphasize "government-run" (dun dun DUN!) as a hushed dirty phrase that has no other meaning than to imply socialism, communism, DMV service, and grandma-killing.

I wonder, though, if we can look at this reality another way:
The bill includes a government-run option that people will have the opportunity to purchase.

It's amazing to me how often those two little bolded words are ignored as fears are stoked.

It's optional. As in, if you don't like the sound of it, don't buy it.

It's for purchase. As in, it ain't free. Most people will pay premiums for their coverage. The ones that won't have to pay are ALREADY GETTING IT FOR FREE via Medicare or Medicaid, due to eligibility based on income or disability.

Soo . . .

All that being said, I guess I have a hard time understanding why there is still such a strong contingency of people fighting so passionately to prohibit an OPTIONAL plan that uninsured people can BUY THEMSELVES.

Nor do I understand how this option is going to change the fabric of our nation, or turn us into a socialist nation, or put our elderly in front of a death panel. Although, it's all very dramatic in the telling, and seems to have given a lot of people something to get good and riled up over.

My son is currently in a "public option". He has been for his whole life, as a former foster child. I'm hoping to sit down and share our experiences in further detail, but here is a spoiler alert: the public option is pretty decent. Adequate, even. It's all a very boring story, to be truthful, and not at all as titillating and macabre as the picture currently being painted of how our government will mistreat the sick.

Although I can see where that story gets a little more play. Because this certainly isn't going to sell headlines:

Asthmatic 4-Year-Old Self-Refers to Specialist, Receives Non-Formulary Without Prior Authorization.

Sometimes truth is just not as fun, is it?

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Oh Captain, My Captain

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In another installment of "Crap I Could Not Make Up If I Tried: Costume Edition", Jafta is now obsessed with Captain Underpants. He cannot for his life figure out why I won't let him wear this costume out of the house. I am usually pretty laid-back about letting the kids wear their costumes while running errands. But I put my foot down with this one.

In other news, Arrrrrrrrr!

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some screen time for your screen time

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I may not be a cock-eyed optimist. But something about So You Think You Can Dance makes me feel a little better about the world. Who doesn't love a show full of fun dance numbers? It's part talent show, part eye candy, and part artistic expression. It's a reality show that isn't about celebrity or idiocy but rather about talent and athleticism and stamina and creativity. Not to mention, it's a big fat multicultural lovefest where art forms from a wide variety of cultural and economic backgrounds get to play. I love it.

I was so excited for the season to really start, because I am not a fan of the audition weeks' Parade of Asperger Disorders. I was ready to see some choreography. Bring on the Tice, the Mia, and the Wade! I'm a little behind on my tivo, so last night I finally watched the first show on their new, fancy set.

Okay.

I admit, I am a seriously sleep-deprived woman, and prone to a bit of the curmudgeondry as of late. True, I'm a tad short-fused these days, and I might have yelled back at the tv yesterday while a certain Christian celebrity was schilling his "Jesus Makes You Rich" gospel. But that new set on SYTYCD? IS SENDING ME THROUGH THE ROOF. To the point where, fifteen minutes in, I was already badgering my husband with, "Do you see this set? Are you SEEING this? What is with this, Mark? Whaaaat?"

So that set. The new shape is annoying. The weird florescent elephant-tusks on the sides are distracting. But what is with the jumbotron behind the dancers? It was playing scenes of glittery graphics or mutating colors throughout every dance number. Because, why? We can't possibly be expected to watch just dancing? Has our collective ADD gotten so bad that we have to watch something on a tv set behind what we are watching on the tv set?

As I tried to analyze why this jazzed-up set was so under my skin, it dawned on me that so many of us are trying to actually reduce our screen time . . . to spend less time in front of the computer screen or tv set. Granted, this is still a tv show, but there was always something about it that seemed a little elevated about it. Just two beautiful dancers, on a minimalist stage, expressing joy and beauty and frustration with their bodies.

AND NOW IN FRONT OF A GAZILLION-WATT SCREEN PLAYING A GIANT SCREEN-SAVER GRAPHIC. Just in case you were getting bored.

.

Is this what we've come to? We can't even watch tv without watching tv? Because I'm a girl who, to quote a little Corkie, could be happy with just a dance belt and a tube of chapstick. The rest is just visual noise.

.

And don't get me started on the Paula Abdul stuff. Because does this show really need another shrill, nonsensical judge with too much botox and an addiction to prescription pain meds? That's what Mary is for.

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the doctor is in

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Since I write for a parenting blog and have a bit of education in psychosocial development, I've been toying with the idea of writing a weekly advice column. People could write in with questions on child development and parenting issues, and I could dig into my well of knowledge and give them good advice. Why, just today I was thinking of how much wisdom I have to offer from my own life experiences. Here's an example:

Q: Dear Kristen,
My child is several months old and isn't rolling over yet. Most of the milestone charts that I'm googling on a daily basis tell me that my child should be rolling over soon. I would really like to see my child hit every milestone on time (or early!!) and my child's lack of giftedness in this area has me worried. What can I do to encourage this important developmental step?
Sincerely,
Neurotic in Newport

A: Dear Neurotic in Newport,
Of course you are worried! Obsessively checking milestone charts is the standard of good parenting, and also the beginning of a lifetime of comparing your child's achievement to his/her peers. Good job! But never fear - I have a surefire way of making sure your little one learns to roll over.
Step 1 - place your baby who has never rolled over on the middle of a bed.
Step 2 - leave the room for two seconds to use the bathroom
Step 3 - when you hear a thud and screaming, milestone achieved!!

Good luck with this. It has worked perfectly for me with all three of my children. Please don't hesitate to contact me for any more amazing parenting advice.
Sincerely,
Kristen, Resident Development Expert

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first race

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Yesterday I ran my first race ever, as a part of the training I am am doing for the Disney Half Marathon for Haiti. It was just a 5k, but it was a first for me. The race was a fundraiser for the school where my sister and mother-in-law work, so they were there, too, along with Mark and the kids. I decided to run ahead because I wanted to get the experience of running without picking up sippy cups or soothing tantrums along the way. Mark was gracious enough to push the double jogger and keep up with Jafta.

Initially, the race was pretty humbling. I am a really slow runner. Really slow. Running might not even be the best word for it, since there were people walking faster than the pace I was keeping. I was watching children and moms with strollers pass me by. I tried not to get discouraged, and reminded myself that my speed was not important.

About halfway through the race, though, people started to tire, and I was still going strong. I ended up passing a good portion of the other runners in the middle of the race, and felt pretty good the whole time. My training so far has gone up to six miles, so a little over three miles seemed like a piece of cake. I finished feeling energized, and most importantly: NOT LAST. Then I got to wait at the finish line for the rest of my family.

This training has been interesting for me. I've been trying to just submit myself to the schedule, and not freak out over each week. If I look at the whole four months, it's easy to get intimidated and wonder how in the world I will ever run 13+ miles at one time. But if I take it week by week, and trust the process, then each step is manageable. This week, I move on to seven miles. I've already done six. It's just one more mile. I can do that.

When my sister-in-law saw me in my running gear this morning, she reminded me of a time about ten years ago that our family all went bowling, and I protested because I "didn't like sports." I still don't like sports (or bowling), but it feels good to be doing something I thought was only reserved for the genetically athletic. A few months ago, being in a three-mile race would have sounded daunting, painful, and impossible. Today, it was just a little run.

That was a good feeling.


*By the way, go check out the blog for Heartline Runners, who I will be running with in January. We are fundraising for women in Haiti and could use your support!

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