Lynn and Mikel's Great Life Adventure

January - Work: Aim Higher

2012-01-02T16:46:00.000-08:00

This month's focus is on work. I have been a working mother for 3 years and working at the same company for 7 years, since November 2003. It would be 8 years, but I took a year off to stay at home with D. I decided it wasn't in my nature to be a stay at home mom and went back to work. I love my job, the company I work for, and my boss is great to work for as well, a definite plus for any employee. I get great evaluations every year, but the one thing he always tells me is an "opportunity" for me (depending on the context, and in this situation a performance eval, this company lingo for "weakness") is developing a clear career path. He always follows this statement up with: "not that I want you to leave me (I'm his assistant), but you have potential to do more." I really appreciate that encouragement, but that's the perpetual "what do I want to be when I grow up", $50 million question.
I graduated from the U of A in 2002 with a bachelor's in fine arts, emphasis in psychology. I worked for a psychologist for 2 years and really enjoyed it. The problem with any profession that couples the words "people" with "practice" is the extra schooling. At the time, I didn't have the patience or the means to fund a masters or doctorate degree. Plus, driving 30-45 minutes to the office I worked in everyday was a pain in the you know what. My husband helped me put my resume together for a position at the company I currently work at and the rest is history.
I've heard that the best way to figure out what you want to do in the future is to look at what you've done in the past - starting with updating your resume, my first goal for January. The next step is to get involved in areas you have an interest in or a special skill set for and that you enjoy. That's an important caveat - if you are good with numbers, but hate budgets, you probably shouldn't be in finance. I look to accomplish, or rather explore, this goal through mentoring relationships. I have one mentor who is in special events and communications - an area of interest and past experience, as well as an area I've been told I have some skill level in; and another mentor in merchandising - an area I've always been interested in getting involved in but have no idea how to break in.
The other goals for January really focus more on improving day to day work quality - working smarter, not harder. In addition, I want to improve and foster better relationships at work. To accomplish the first goal, I want to organize my work space, both physically and electronically. I enjoy the feeling of satisfaction and stimulation that I get when I just move things around a bit on my desk in an effort to be more efficient or have things laid out so they are easier to get to or they help me stay on top of projects and to-do's. To organize my work space electronically, I'd like to start by doing a better job of organizing my day. I know what my boss is going to be doing every minute of every day (because I schedule them all), but my day is a toss up. Of course that's part of the nature of my job. If he needs something now, that's priority. If I have to rearrange his day or travel, I drop what I'm doing and do it. However, barring those interruptions, I can make task lists, to-do action items and schedule time to work on major projects in my day.
So, what does all this have to do with happiness? I get a sense of fulfillment out of accomplishment. When I complete a big project or check off a task, I feel a sense of pride and contribution that makes me happy. Probably a big part of the reason why I work. When I feel organized and like I'm just "on it," I feel great. Things click. But those things don't always just happen, they are planned for. And I'm if anything, a planner!

Week 4

2011-12-27T18:40:00.000-08:00

2011 is rapidly coming to an end. And like we say every year, I can't believe how fast the time has gone. Especially this month. And while I can't say that I hit each one of my goals every day this month, I know that the times that I have, I feel better or I have more energy and that makes me feel good. But this project isn't about FEELING good, it's about BEING happy.
I'd also like to clarify happiness. I read a quote the other day from someone that said, "Life is not about being happy." I would counter that life is not about being SELFISH. People often do things compulsively and selfishly, chasing after what they think is happiness, but end up feeling empty inside. I know that my ultimate source of happiness is my God, but I also know that God expects action on our parts in our lives. I also know that the Bible speaks an awful lot about joy. So I say there is nothing wrong with wanting to be happy and joyful, dwelling in the Source of it all.
So next month's focus is going to be on "Work." Why I chose "Work" for January, I'm not sure! Maybe because "Health" seemed cliche with the New Year's Resolution time of the year, and if anyone knows me very well, they know that I eat pretty well and work out 4-5 times a week, so there is not a lot of "Health" that I need to focus on.
This next week, I will take some time to come up with what within "Work" to focus on!

Week 3

2011-12-18T19:09:00.000-08:00

Week 3 has come and gone in a blink.
While we had a much better week with D, I did a poor job on my resolutions. I only hit about half of them - mainly the exercise and drinking enough water. I noticed how important emotional energy was to physical energy. I only have one kid but when he's in a cranky mood, it really takes a lot of energy to deal with. I can only imagine the mothers who have more than one! And it's no secret that this busy time of year can create a lot of activities that cause it to hop from one thing to another, taxing our energy.
Fortunately, we're done with all our Christmas parties and I've only got a gift or two left to pick up, so this week will likely be slower before the mob of family arrives, which is always a good time! I love having all our family around, it's an emotional pick me up (most of the time :).
Another observation I made this week was how much of a distraction my iPhone is. I already leave it in my car during work, but I still check it in the morning, at lunch and at night, pretty much constantly. So this week, I am going to limit it to 1-2 times a day. There's never anything so urgent that I need to check it 10 times a day!
So this week, I am going to do a better job of getting in to bed on time and getting stuff ready for work in the morning, especially since I am at work by 7 a.m. It can be frustrating after a 10 hr day, getting D into bed and then trying to fix my lunch and iron my clothes, all while getting in to bed by 9:45 p.m. It can feel like you end up with no free time or time to relax. Keeping in mind one of my commandments, to work smarter, not harder, I'm going to try and be more efficient in this area, so I have more time for myself!
Here's to this week!

Week 2

2011-12-11T18:41:00.000-08:00

I'll admit, week 2 was hard. Much harder than I anticipated. It started off fine, but with Mikel traveling, I was worn out all the time from having to be the only one here to get D and myself ready for the day, take him to school, work a full day and exercise, pick up D, fix dinner and then get him in bed. And he was CRANKY. All week long. Don't know if it was the full moon or what, but it's really hard to be "happy" when your four year old kicks you square in the face. But I get points for staying calm with him and not over reacting, something I struggle with when he does stuff like that. Who wouldn't??? It's not easy to keep your cool when your kid lands one on your face. So I was worn out from all that but by then it was Wednesday and Mikel came home....sick. No real symptoms other than fever, aches and sleeping all day. So naturally, the next day, I started feeling it too. By Friday, my boss made me go home and strangely enough, I didn't fight him and did. I should have taken the chance to sleep when I got home but instead I watched 6 hours of TV. I had a headache and didn't feel like sleeping even though I was worn out. I went to bed by 9:30 p.m., after Mikel woke me up on the couch when I eventually fell asleep.
So needless to say, this week didn't feel like a success. It was hard keeping up with some of my goals when I was so tired by the end of the day. Which is still one thing I need to identify an energy boost for. I love music, so maybe I need to blast some cheery music when D and I get home for a little mini pick me up. However, I did allow myself to rest this week. I didn't push it on the exercise because my hip has been injured from running and I let myself to rest when my body was obviously fighting off getting sick, which allowed it to heal because I feel much better.
This next week is going to be focused on eating well because we have 3 Christmas parties to go to and I have two lunch dates. That's a lot of eating out. I will also ease back in to running as my injury is much better. I ran 4 miles yesterday and 5 today. I will do a better job of getting my lunch, gym bag and clothes for the next day lined out because that is a big help in the mornings, helping me get ready on time and taking some of the chaos out of the hectic morning.
Here's to a new tomorrow. Even if it is a Monday.

Week 1

2011-12-04T14:20:00.000-08:00

This week began the Happiness Project December area of focus for vitality & boosting energy.
It hasn't been real easy. D has had a few tough nights of what we think are mild night terrors and it's hard to get 7 hours of sleep when that sleep is interrputed by an inconsolable 4 year old who screams who 45 minutes. However, drinking 100 oz of water a day and cutting back considerably on caffeine has really helped. And, even though I was very doubtful at first, I started journaling at the suggestion of my friend Erin. I have a tendency to be a bit OCD and to be perfectionist. The biggest issues I would have trying to fall asleep were the amount of time it would take (30 minutes at least) and trying to turn my brain off. When Erin suggested journaling, I thought something as simple as that would in no way help me fall asleep. I thought I needed something (like a sleeping pill) to turn that constant stream of thought off. It wasn't related to stress as it would happen whether or not I felt stressed or had a lot of things going on in my life. What stressed me out was not being able to sleep. It seemed to get worse when I was overtired, which didn't make sense, so I was so tired! But I see D having the same problem and I understand that our bodies produce cortisol when we are stressed or tired, causing our bodies to work overtime and not be able to rest and relax.
http://www.sleep-problems-nomore.com/Cortisol_and_Sleep.html
The sleeping pills, which were not very strong, worked, but I felt a "crash" by the afternoon, worse than coffee. I decided to drastically reduce the amount of coffee I drank. Then, we went to Guadalajara Mexico on a mission visit. I really wanted the trip to induce a change both spiritually and mentally. Before we left, I left the sleeping pills at home and journaled just about every night. Although I didn't sleep well in Guadalajara (Train tracks next to hotel!), I have slept well ever since.
My next step is to identify some activities and behaviors that I can do in the evening to keep my energy up in the evening. I think we all understand the difficulty in staying energized after a long day.
In the Happiness Project book, Gretchen kept a resolutions chart for each month in the area of focus for that month. That was really something I did not want to do. I understood why though. Keeping track of the goals you wish to accomplish within a resolution, creates the ability to measure how well you are accomplishing those goals. But my friend Juli told me about an app to help keep track of behaviors and responsibilities we were teaching D and I thought it would be a good, simple way I could keep track of my goals.

Speaking of, I better get to bed! Mikel has a 6:30 a.m. flight, which means an early wake up call for us all.

December – Boost Energy: A focus on Vitality

2011-11-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

After three months on sleeping pills ($200/month!), staying up too late, sleeping in too late, I decided my project needed to start with a month focusing on energy. My mood is always better automatically when I feel rested. Fortunately, I haven't had to have a sleeping pill in 3 weeks, even though not every night has been a great night's sleep. And I won't deny the Benadryl. God bless Benadryl.
So my first goal in this month’s resolution is to get at least 7 hours of sleep each night. Sleep studies (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/how-many-hours-of-sleep-are-enough/AN01487) show that adults should get 7-9 hours of sleep, so 7 hours is on the low end. Since I get up at 5:15 a.m. (or try to!), this means I need to BE asleep no later than 10:15 p.m. It takes me at least 30 minutes to fall asleep, I need to be in bed by 9:45 p.m. I struggle with this some, because I do a lot of things to get ready for work the next day. I iron my clothes, make my lunch and snacks and get my gym clothes ready for the next day. After I get home from work, I cook, play with my son, get him in to bed, do the above items, and by then it’s already 9:30 p.m., which leaves little time to relax. I’m going to try to carve out more time in the evening to relax, meditate, write in my journal, pray/read my Bible, AND try to get in bed by 9:45 p.m.!
Drink less caffeine. Since I switched from coffee to black or green tea, I have slept better.
Drink 100 oz of water a day.

Workout schedule:
Do yoga 3-4 times a week. Don’t force it to be a certain amount of time, just do what you can in the time you have.
In addition, Run 3 times a week.
Cross train 2 times a week.
Rest 2 days a week.
Give myself latitude to rest more if I need it.
This is similar to what I already do for exercise but adding in more yoga to prevent injury and restore. Yoga is good for mind, body and soul.

I’ll add/change goals as I go along!

Simple Truths, Personal Commandments and Areas of Focus

2011-11-27T12:43:00.001-08:00

Simple Truths
1. To be happier, think about feeling good, feeling bad and feeling right in an atmosphere of growth
This truth is about the measure of happiness. What does it mean to feel good vs. feeling bad but in an atmosphere where you experience personal growth (vs. a superficial, fleeting moment). True happiness to me is an ongoing, satisfying, fulfillment vs. a hedonistic, humanistic approach.
2. Quality is always better than quantity
Doing more things only makes you busy. Doing things of substance makes you happy.
3. The days are long but the years are short
Similar to quality, this truth addresses living an extraordinary life, not a general one.
4. People matter more than things
Self-explanatory. Things aren’t bad, but shouldn’t be a focus of a life.

Personal Commandments
I. Be Lynn – I will not force myself to do things that I do not enjoy just because I feel like I should be “that” type of person. At the same time, I will try new things and keep an open mind.
II. Work Smarter Not Harder / Quality over Quantity
III. Pray, pray, pray
IV. Hit the Mat – Yoga is happiness for mind, body and soul.
V. Silence is Golden – if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all
VI. Sing more; dance more; laugh more
VII. Other people cannot tell you that you are/are not happy
VIII. Be slow to anger – and breathe
IX. Be good to yourself – take time for your body to heal, rest and relax
X. Kick some butt – Selectively push yourself!

Areas of Concentration:
December – Boost Energy: A focus on Vitality
January – Aim Higher: A focus on Work
February – Love: A focus on Marriage
March – Serious about Play: A focus on Having Fun
April – A Mom and her Son: A focus on Parenting
May – Make Time for Friends: A focus on Developing Quality Friendships
June – Contemplate the Heavens: A focus on my Walk with God
July – Conquer my Fear: A focus on What I am Afraid of
August – Being Mindful: A focus on Staying in and Enjoying the Present
September: Pursue a Passion: A focus on Hobbies
October: Get it Together: A focus on Organization
November: Others: A focus on Volunteering

My Happiness Project

2011-11-27T10:16:00.000-08:00

I'm not the best blogger. It's been 18 months since I've even posted.

My site is not going to look fancy or awesome. I'll settle for functional.

I'm not horribly witty. Well, I am in real life but in blogger world, I'm mostly just random.

I am happy. Generally speaking. I am not clinically depressed or angry. I have a pretty good life. But, like most of us, life is very busy and tends to skip days. Tomorrow I will likely wake up and be 40, even though I'm only 31 today. The busyness of life has often made me pause (although not for long) and wonder what I could do to decrease the chaos, somehow slow down the clock, and create more quality (not quantity) in my life without giving up a bunch of activities that I enjoy. I tried reading the book "Make Room for Life" but had problems getting past the first chapter. Finally, after 3 months, I finally finished my book club's book for September, "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin. The book, and Gretchen's quirky personality, really spoke to me. After I finished the book yesterday, I immediately made up my mind to do my own project. Like I said, I am happy already, generally speaking. But it's a general feeling. I desire an extraordinary life. Not a general one. I want an extraordinary marriage and relationship with my son. I want extraordinary friendships and passions that I pursue heartily.

So here I go! Essentially, I am going to follow the same pattern Gretchen did and many of the things she concentrated on are areas I want to concentrate on too, with a few exceptions. The first step is to come up with a list of Simple Truths; basically, what I want to accomplish or what I define as "happiness." Second, you list Commandments; things that you hold true to in order to pursue genuine happiness and not areas you just wished you were good at, did, or enjoyed. Lastly, you come up with a list of 12 areas of concentration that you want to create more happiness in and around; for example, parenting, marriage, energy/health, etc. This is essentially what a happiness project is. It's not about perfection. It's about a passionate pursuit of life.

Again, I am really bad about blogging regularly, so don't expect daily updates. I'll shoot for once a week at the most, and once a month at a minimum. My next post will address my Simple Truths, Commandments and Areas of Concentration. I will also keep really personal stuff out of my posts, I'd hate to embarrass my husband ;)

The project starts December 1. And I promise to try and update my boring blog background.

Zoo

2010-05-31T12:23:00.000-07:00

We had just arrived and were still fresh and hopeful.

Some where off to the right, behind that bush, is an elephant.

Big cat.

I don't know how my son knows what an otter is, but that is what he thinks this creature is. And for those of you paying attention, it's a ground hog. But otter is just easier for a 2 year old to say. So, an otter it is.

Our "conductor" had a rockin' 'stache. I wish he would have turned around so I could have captured it on film. Like bushy, handle bar, Opry house 'stache.

D was exhausted - but not enough so that we were missing the train ride. He was estatic and it made the day. He was a trooper all day long.

Since he only slept 30 minutes on the way home, we rewarded ourselves with A&W ice cream. And the sugar high kept him from being too cranky when we got home.

And when we got home, our specially ordered soccer jersey awaited.

D and I went to the zoo on Friday, on a rare day off from work. It was hot and crowded, since it was the Friday before Memorial Day, but we had fun. Other than the sun screen in his eyes part. And the waiting 20 minutes for the train ride part. And the crappy zoo food part because I failed to pack lunches because we had no food in the house because I spent too much money on shoes part.... But it was all part of being a family unit (minus dad who was traveling) - being hot, sticky, dirty, and in small spaces with other hot, sticky, dirty people. But at least I had good friends to do it with. And my baby boy!

Under Construction

2010-05-03T15:58:00.002-07:00

I am trying to update a few things on the blog. Little by little! Hopefully it won't take me 4 months to do it...

2010-04-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. Lots going on. D is getting big and I turned 30! Work, family and friends are keeping us very busy, not to mention the house is up for sale again. We've had a lot of good showings on it and are hoping for a good offer. Still running a lot. Completed the Bentonville Half, which was a really hard course, in just under 2 hours. Just about all of the Hancock family is running now, which is really cool. We get to do races together and recently, me, Mikel, his brother Jim and their dad Floyd completed the Little Rock team marathon relay on Floyd's 60th birthday. I've been taking a hot yoga course at Clubhaus in Fayetteville, which I love. Mikel's back at Sam's Club and couldn't be happier (go buy some produce at Sam's!!!) and I still love my job, even on bad days.

Please enjoy the following smattering of pictures from the past four months and I promise to try and get better at posting more regularly!

Partner's yoga

Messing around

D being funny, taking off his pants

Eskimo kisses

Cheese!

Kid likes being naked, what can ya say? Hope I don't get in trouble for posting this!

Birthday present fit for a Queen.

Mikel and Bridget threw a great party!

A cake with a shoe on it...Mikel knows me way too well.

After the Marathon relay.

Snow!

2010-01-04T16:55:00.000-08:00

Ready for a ride.

D automatically links outside with his bat and ball and insisted we take it outside to play in the snow.

Dunning, being oh so unimpressed with the snow.

Pretty. [P.S. you can buy this house :)]

We woke up to a lot of snow Sunday morning, when there was only 30% chance. But that's Arkansas for you! We had a bad day with the D man, who woke up and cried for an hour after his nap. So to distract him, we bundled up and went outside. However, we lost one of D's heavy duty mittens, so he had to wear his regular cotton ones and he kept complaining "mama, hands, cold." And he has no snow boots, so he was in his tennis shoes. We stayed outside for about 20 - 30 minutes before heading back in. We tried to sled, but had no sled, so we improvised with cardboard box. But the snow was too powdery, so we just took turns pushing each other all the way down the hill in the back yard.

Also, in true Arkansas fashion, it took all day for the snow plow to give our road a half hearted pass and of course school is out tomorrow, much to the chagrin to mom's every where as today was supposed to be the first day back after break and even though most of the main roads are clear.

Christmas and Birthday

2010-01-03T09:30:00.000-08:00

Ice cream party at D's daycare

In our PJs, opening birthday presents

D loves his "tar" - the guitar his granny got him.

D loves his Auntie Steph.

MMMMWAH!

Tricycle from Tita.

Elmo chair from cousins, Aunt Bridget and Uncle Jim.

My running gear

Mikel and his game

D's new basketball goal

We had a great Christmas this year! We had both sets of family in town so the day after Christmas, we had everybody come over to our house at 8:00 in the morning for a breakfast pajama party for Dunning's birthday! It was so much fun. We made a ton of pancakes on the griddle, 2 breakfast casseroles, bacon, mimosas, juice, milk, coffee - we were stuffed!! D got a lot of great presents - tricycles, guitar, cars, books...and he quickly caught on to the concept of opening presents. I gave Mikel the new Call of Duty for Christmas and he got me some running shirts that said "irunlikeagirl"

I always think it's a good idea to make New Year's resolution even though statistics show most people won't keep them. But you always benefit from trying.

1. Scrapbook more - I just ordered 400 pictures from 2009 to start working on getting caught up. I hope to do a page a week.

2. Eat healthier. I need to eat more veggies, less sugar. I also want to be a more efficient cook for my family by using the crockpot.

3. Be more organized. I've naturally started being more organized since going back to work, but I'd like to keep it up and improve. It seems like it helps give me more time in the day.

4. Continue to run. I'm already signed up for another half marathon in March and I'm entertaining the thought of a marathon. I saw on the last season of the Biggest Loser, that the contestants did a marathon (granted it took them over 5 hours) and I thought "Oh, I can soooo do that if they can." I just need to convince my husband to get a treadmill!

5. Read more. I only made it to half or less of my book club meetings last year, and this year I want to make it to all of them if possible.

6. Volunteer more. There are a lot of opportunities to volunteer and I need to make sure to take advantage of it. That should be on the top of all our lists.

Now, I need to do these, keeping in mind not to over commit myself, which I do a lot of. So my last resolution is to spend more time with my family, especially my wonderful partner, Mikel.

Hancock Family Update

2009-11-15T18:27:00.000-08:00

The Hancock family has been very busy the past few months! In September, Mikel and I went to Las Vegas! We took lots and lots of pictures, that you can see here.
October seemed to fly by and the next thing we know, it's Halloween! Dunning was a tiger and that costume lasted all of 15 minutes before complete meltdown. So, we'll see that was a successful trick or treat outing.
Now it's November and we've already had another ear infection and been in the ICU once and gotten to stay with Nana a lot. And it's not even flu season yet!
So, here is a sampling of what D's been up to.

So sad. He was so unhappy with all the leads and the IV. They eventually had to wrap his arm with ace bandage to keep him from ripping it out. I have a whole new respect and understanding for parents who have children that have to be in the hospital a lot. It was no fun, and we were only there for 24 hours.

First big boy cup - look ma! No lid!!

Hanging out with Logan Carter. We pulled out the toddler chair - we had never used it before, but I think we will now!

Reading the dog a book.

Playing dress up with mom's shoes. Dad wasn't real thrilled with that.

Streakin'. His new favorite thing to do.

First time with spaghetti.

Roar! I'm a scary tiger!

Just being cute.

Naturals Game

2009-08-31T18:03:00.000-07:00

Dunning doesn't go anywhere without a "go go," which is what he calls his ball. Not sure where that originated from. Maybe from us telling him to go get his ball. Hence, a "go go."

D knows where his tummy, head, eyes, ears, foot, nose and as shown above, his mouth.

And he knows how to give kisses. Mommy's favorite.

And he's a big ham. Not sure where he gets that from....

And his favorite of all - "Da da!"

A kid can get thirsty from all that running around.

So it's not easy being a parent of a toddler and taking that toddler out for a family night. Toddlers like to run and explore dangerous places. Nevertheless, Mikel and I ventured out with toddler D for Saturday family night. We went to Crystal Bridges trail and saw some deer, which Dunning proceeded to "woof" at. We went to Table Mesa to eat some really good Mexican food. Dunning particularly like the cheese dip and flour tortillas. Then we went to a Naturals baseball game. This was spent mostly chasing Dunning around the grassy "lawn seating" area because all he wanted to do was climb up and down the concrete stairs that were just a little too steep for mommy's comfort. He finally found him a good spot and we got to watch a good part of the game. We left with the Naturals leading 10-0, and D feel asleep so soundly that he slept through me changing him for bed.

Hey Y'all!

2009-08-01T17:50:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody!
All is going good at the Hancock household. My job is still going really good, although it really limits what I am able to do with my spare time now. I only get to do stuff with my mom's club about once a month, I have to run at lunch or on the weekends, it's been almost a month since I've blogged and my floors really need to be mopped... But I am still enjoying it.
Mikel and I are running the Tontitown Grape Festival 5k next weekend. We are also going to Vegas in September and running a 10k there. Then in November I attempt my first half marathon in Tulsa!! Mikel will do his second full marathon. I'm nervous, but I'm sure I can do it! Another family is going too, and the husband, who I used to work with and works in Mikel's area now, is going to run the half. It should be fun!
D is growing really fast and is such a little boy now. And he is ALL boy. Running, kicking his soccer ball, making noise, climbing all over everything...He is talking up a storm now. He says thank you now! And he knows where his eyes, nose and mouth are and will point them out if you ask them where they are. He imitates a lot. He makes all sorts of animal noises - moo like a cow, woof like a dog, roar like a lion. He gives "knucks" and likes to tickle. It's a great age!
I need to transfer pics and I'll upload soon - promise!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-05T08:47:00.001-07:00

Last night, Mikel and I took Dunning over to the Fellowhip Village to see Nick and Angie. We had dinner with her parents and his parents. I was a little concerned that D would not be a happy boy because we had had our share of melt downs that day and it was really close to his bed time. BUT, he had TOO much fun. He ran around playing with his ball and walking around the parking lot and demonstrating his newest skill - jumping. Or at least attempting. It ends up looking like he's jerking himself upwards but can't quite get up off the ground. It puts the biggest smile on my face. He had chips and home made ice cream for dinner (he refused the hot dog!). Man, I am the best mom in the world! He loved the fireworks - even though it was several hours past his bed time when we left to go see them. He kept pointing sky ward and saying "whoa." Ah, the simple, pure pleasures of life.

18 months

2009-07-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

At the lake - I swear he crawled in to the dog's cage and closed the door himself!

And he thought it was HILARIOUS.

He likes to "sweep" the floor with his stick horse.

D likes to use his spoon with the dog on the top. When he eats with it, he'll pull it out of his mouth and yell "Woof woof!" He's using a fork to, with much better precision than the spoon.

He LOVES this sock monkey. I also got him a metal lunch box with a sock monkey on it when I was in Eureka last weekend.

My baby turned 18 months on the 26th! We went to the doctor for our check up and D weighs 24 pounds and is 32 1/2 inches long. He is saying the requisite 7-20 words, scribbling, climbing, etc etc., and doc said he looks perfect.

Here are some of the pics I've been trying to find the time to post. As for me, work is going good, if not hectic. Last week was just a strange week with some very strange calls from our members at Sam's Club. Like, for instance, did you know that the average sized Mexican mattress is about 4 inches wider than our average sized American mattress? It is and has apparently caused a big issue for one of our American members who has 60-70 American sized bunk beds being shipped to the orphanage she and her husband are building in Mexico. They cannot find a mattress in Mexico to fit their beds. Fortunately, the nice people at Serta are going to help them out because we do not sell American sized mattresses at our clubs in Mexico. Just something to note if you ever decide to move to Mexico...

New post

2009-06-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

I realize it's been exactly a month since I've posted and I promise to get some pictures up soon. I have some cute ones of D at Steph's lake house, when he locked himself in the dog's cage. He's starting to eat with a spoon and fork and I have some cute ones of that too.

Hope to also get some good ones of our visit with Suzanne (Lewis), Nathan and Evan Adams. Evan and Dunning are the exact same age - 18 months tomorrow. Suzanne and I grew up together and knew each other from day one, so we hope to get the boys acquainted even though they will probably grow up in separate states. It was so unreal that when I called to tell her I was pregnant with Dunning, she said, I was just about to call you to tell you the same thing! Then on the day I was induced, she just happened to go in to labor and have Evan! God has a funny sense of humor :)

Update

2009-05-25T18:27:00.000-07:00

Super cute Converse shoes I picked up from a consignment store - Mom to Me - where I also got this table.

D loves his table! Here he is with his chocolate soy milk and monkey reading his favorite book - Five Little Monkeys. See a theme?

Chowing down on some fish sticks - oddly enough he left the french fries alone. Yes, I fed my child french fries. Blame Nana.

Stuffing his face with grapes.

I haven't blogged in so long I almost forgot my password to sign in...

It's been quite a transition going back to work. The work part wasn't hard to adapt to. It was like turning a switch back on. Plus, I like my job and my boss. He's really nice. But it has been hard finding enough hours in the day to get everything done. Community group is on Monday, then I have my mom's club friends, non-mom's club friends, working out, volunteer projects, my garden, house to clean, meals to cook and church. Somewhere in there I have to find time for Dunning, Mikel...and me! So I am still adjusting. (speaking of, I need to iron my clothes shortly!)

Good news...Dunning's ears have improved significantly and once those molars broke through, he's been in such a wonderful mood! He's adapted nicely to day care. They said he was like a new kid after his ears healed! He's talking SO much more now. He will be 17 months on the 26th and I can't believe it! Here are some things he's doing lately:

- Pointing. He points at everything that he wants or that he wants to call out - "hey look! It's mom!" or "A dog! Look guys, a dog!"

- Talking. He was babbling before tubes, but now he carries on a toddler monologue. He can say dog, no, shhhhh (complete with finger to mouth), da da, woofs like a dog, and I swear he told the dog to sit.

- Kid likes Velveeta. Sigh... Kid likes veggie burgers! Hooray!

- He loves his ball. We got him a $1 ball from Walmart and his favorite thing to do is carry it around and throw it or bring it to you for you to throw so he can go get it. Kind of like fetch with a toddler.

- He loves Charlie. Don't know if the feeling is mutual because D likes to hit him on the head.

- And the biggest change (in mom's opinion) - he eats at the table like a big boy. We bought him a little wooden table and chair set and he loves sitting there and eating his meals off a big boy plate (still working on the fork and spoon). He does it at day care. Now he sits there all the time. He likes to read books there, have snacks there, stand up on the chair and turn the lights off and on.... It's too cute (except for the lights part). Mikel sanded it down and stained it to match the cabinets, so it's been in the garage today and he was missing it.

A family of runners

2009-05-02T12:48:00.000-07:00

Running, in the rain!

Headed to the finish line.

The 3 Hancock Men, post-race

As you know, Mikel and I are runners. We've now been joined by Floyd and Jim. Jim's run before and Floyd just started recently. Today, he ran his first 5k. Mikel and Jim ran with him and they all finished at the same time - as a Hancock family team - in 32 minutes. Me? I ran my first 10k! Not the best time, paced a ten minute mile, but it was raining and a little cold. Plus I wanted to make sure I didn't get going too fast, like at a 5k pace, and burn out before the end of the race. There were a few hills, but all in all it was a great race.

Marathon!

2009-05-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

Ready to go to OKC!

Standing in line.More standing in line.Me being supportive :) My sign didn't stand up against the wind.

Lots of people lining up for the start - a total of 19,000 in the 5k, half marathon, marathon relay and marathon.10 mile marker 20 mile marker - you can barely see Mikel in the blue shirt on the left.Finish line!My winner!

Celebratory lunch with pizza and nachos! Yum!

Last weekend, Mikel ran his very first marathon in Oklahoma City. He trained and trained so very diligently. I drove to the 10 mile, 20 mile and then the finish line marker. We were afraid that it was going to storm because of how windy it was the day before. Fortunately, it didn't rain. Unfortunately, it continued to be windy - really windy. There were wind gusts up to 40 mph. Running in wind like that is like running uphill. So I've been told. The wind was in Mikel's face the entire second half of the race. And he still finished in 4:43! I was so proud of him!

First Day of "School"

2009-05-02T11:40:00.000-07:00

Dunning and daddy. Dunning is playing his version of peekaboo, but he ends up covering his mouth instead of his eyes.

"BOO!"

First day of school!

This past week I went back to work. I've been thinking about it for a while and have even interviewed before, but it ended up not being the job God had for me. This time, I went in to the interviews without expectations and lots of prayers. I got the job and everything worked out perfectly with care for Dunning. He's in a great place, and even though it's taken him some adjusting, they tell me he has a great time. It's a Christian facility, with Christian teachers and right across from the building my area will be moving too. I have a great boss, that I enjoy working with so far! :)

Sorry to those I didn't tell. I didn't tell a whole lot of people, so that if I didn't get it, I wouldn't have to tell them I didn't! It's been hard adjusting, but Mikel has been wonderful and helping me out a lot with balancing work and home.

Easter, Sky Diving and other Randomness

2009-04-20T05:00:00.001-07:00

Easter egg "hunting"

Walking around in his new Nike sandals, an Easter gift from Tita and Grandpa

Easter Peep Basket - so cute!

Sky diving!!

My plane!

Does this harness make my butt look big?

Strapped in and ready to go!

Sigh....In to everything!!

Chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool....

Yay trains!

Hello all!

Last Saturday I went skydiving! It was a part of Mikel's birthday present to me. We went with a friend who had always wanted to do it and her husband arranged it as a part of her birthday present too! We were supposed to have gone on the 4th, but it was way to windy, so they asked us to come back the following Saturday. Well, apparently they don't "schedule" your jump, per se, it's more of a first come first serve type of thing. Unfortunately, a big group of college kids beat us to it and it took over 5 hours for us to be able to jump. But it was worth the wait and it wasn't like we had anything else pressing to do that day. It was sunshiney all day, so we just chilled out and enjoyed the good weather while watching everyone else jump out of a perfectly good airplane! When it came time for me to jump, the only thing I was nervous about was actually getting out of the airplane door. It's a bit nerve racking to step outside of a moving object almost two miles above the ground, but I did it! The free fall took my breath away, literally. The canopy ride was amazing! I'd definitely do it again, as long as I can still have an instructor who knows what they are doing strapped to my back!

The next day was Easter. It was a yucky day, so the Easter egg "hunt" had to be inside. We had a pretty laid back day. We went to church, let D have a quick nap and then went over to Jim and Bridget's for lunch. Tita and Grandpa brought over eggs with Puffs in them and the kids loved them. They also got them cute little Peeps Easter baskets with Nike sandals and summertime PJs. Thanks Tita and Grandpa!

I've also uploaded some random pics of my little guy. He's really walking A LOT and in to EVERYTHING. He finally got over his last double ear infection, although he still has some fluid on the ears. He get tubes on May 7th! Yay!!!!

Weekend Adventures

2009-04-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

Mischief is my middle name.

Snap peas and tomatoes for the "deck garden."

Mommy! The wind is gonna blow me away!!

Walking in his father's shoes.

The only pic I got of Mikel, pre-race. It was super early, about 6:45 a.m.

Hello all in blogland! This weekend was full of adventure - or at least it was supposed to be. Saturday was supposed to be my big day to go sky diving - Mikel's present to me for my birthday. It's something I've always wanted to do. My friend Shara, had her birthday on Saturday and her husband conspired with Mikel and got us a reservation to jump at the same time. However, it was waaaaaay too windy and the Sky Ranch cancelled the jump. Big time bummer since the weather was so pretty and we knew it was going to get really cold this week. But hopefully we'll be able to do it this Saturday instead.

Sunday, Mikel ran his first 1/2 marathon! He did so good - just over 2 hours. Shara also ran her first 5k! I was so proud of them and got them to pose for a picture with our new camera (because D destroyed our last one)....and the camera wouldn't work. Turns out I forgot to plug it in and charge it. Ooooops.

All weekend long, D was in a really fussy mood and wouldn't nap. So this morning I was able to get us the first appt the doctor's office had to re-check his ears. He had a double ear infection before I left for Tahoe and one week later at his 15 months, doc said they were still a little red. Sure enough, he's still got a double ear infection, so the nurse practitioner gave him an antibiotic cocktail shot in the office, another script for a nice $50 antibiotic and a referral to an ENT for tubes. Thank God! She said they would just discuss it on the first visit and may be hesitant to do it because it was the end of the cold season. We've had something like 4-5 double ear infections in 6 months. There will be no "discussion." We are getting tubes dang it!!

Garden update - so I killed all my seeds the first time around. I seem to do that every year. I start them too early, have to keep them inside for too long and fungus flies attack and kill all my seedlings. Booo. So I replanted them and so far so good. I went ahead and bought a tomato, basil and bell pepper plant from Wal-Mart garden center because I wanted to go ahead and get those started. Plus I wanted them to be patio plants so I could have enough room in the garden for my squash and cucumbers. More on that as the season progresses.

Last but not least, my friend, Danielle, found out she has grade 3 cervical cancer, which is aggressive. Danielle is around my age and has two young children - her youngest only 3 months old. Please keep her in your prayers. She has a great attitude!!

I'm Back!

2009-03-28T07:30:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!
I'm back from Tahoe! It was nice to get away and would have been a great vacation had I not gotten terribly sick on Tuesday. I got hit hard with a very nasty cold, complete with fever, aches and pains. I am still fighting it off and am all about pumping myself full of Claritin, ibuprofen, nose spray and cough syrup. This combo, along with being sick and gone for six days has led to a serious milk shortage. Baby boy doesn't seem to mind too much, only wanting to nurse about twice a day. I am ready to wean him because I feel it's time - he tends to pitch a fit if he's tired and wants to nurse, especially in public and that's no fun for momma (or D I'm sure). So, I guess it's time. It's a good and sad thing at the same time. Good because it means more freedom for me and for D, since he can feed himself and drink milk any time he wants from his cup. Sad because nursing was such a sweet time for us both. It bonded us together and gave me the opportunity to hold my otherwise wiggly little boy and sing to him. He liked to play with my hair and pinch my nose (not always sweetly!). Sad because it means he's growing up and is just one of the things he no longer needs his momma for. Sigh. They DO grow up so fast. While I was gone, D got some good bonding time with his daddy, which is very important for little boys to have. Mikel said he woke up every morning saying, "Da Da?" Daddy would reply, "Dunning?" And repeat.... This morning, he woke up, not screaming for momma as usual, but saying "Da Da?" Daddy was already up and got him changed, dressed and in his high chair with no crying for momma! That means I got to sleep a little bit longer, which I really need to get better. I felt that happy/sad combo again that he didn't scream until I came to nurse him like he usually does in the morning. Another little showing of independence.
On a related independent note, he is walking all around and it's awesome to see! He is so proud of himself! His Tita Paula got him a Radio Flyer car and he loves it. Sits in it and watches the Wiggles or drinks his milk, stands up in it and gives his momma a heart attack.
On another note, we had his 15 month appointment yesterday and we met the famous Ms. Harper Stamps and her momma, Kelly. I like Kelly's story and her blog. She is very positive and always reminds me that I need to give more praise and thanks to God for my life, family and love that surrounds me. D got a great report - 22 pounds and 5 ounces, 31 and 1/4 inch long. Doc said he was developing great.
Well, that's all for right now! It's so good to be back. I'll get pics loaded later.

Step by step....

2009-03-13T18:36:00.000-07:00

My baby is walking! He took his first few steps on Saturday and I don't think he realized what he was doing. Now he has, and each day, his confidence grows and he tries it out more and more and goes further each time. Here are some cute little videos from the other night.

Garden Update

2009-03-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

Washed and ready to eat.

If you read my blog with any kind of regularity, you know that I love to garden! (P.S. all of those container herbs died! Why oh why am I able to grow gallons of green beans and cannot keep thyme alive in a pot is beyond me!) I attempted a fall/winter garden of beets, lettuce, snap peas and spinach this year and the only thing that made it was the spinach. I planted it back in September if you'll recall this post, and finally got around to harvesting it when I went outside with D today to clean the garden out and prep it for this season. I was amazed at how hardy this plant is! I had pretty much given up on anything growing out there due to the cold temps and ice that we got this year. Plus we got tons of water that washed away the beet seedlings and lettuce seeds. The snap peas grew stalks, but the cold killed any peas that formed. But not the spinach! I didn't water it, fertilize it, or even visit it out in the winter wasteland and steadfastly, it grew. I thought it would taste bitter, but it just tastes like leafy green goodness. Here is what I gathered from the two mature heads. There are several more that never grew bigger than my hand, but have gotten bigger and presumably will continue with the spring.

I wish I could come up with some clever spinach/God analogy - maybe something about His steadfast and unwavering love in the harshest of climates? Or maybe how nutritious He is? But I am at a loss. I just sit and marvel at the design of it all. That's one reason why I like to garden. Maybe that's my analogy. :)

First "Real" Haircut

2009-03-07T09:02:00.001-08:00

Trying to comb his hair or answer the comb like a telephone.

Mom, would you cut it out with all the pictures and just open the lollipop for me?

This week I took Dunning to get his first official haircut by someone who gets paid to cut people's hair. Now he looks like a little man. It was hard getting him to stay seated the entire time, but we kept him entertained by giving him a comb and he kept trying to comb his hair. Either that or he was trying to talk on it like a phone, which is big with him right now. Funny how they pick things up so quickly.

The Luck of the Irish

2009-03-07T08:47:00.000-08:00

I think this was a Great Dane. He was such a good dog and his owner was very nice in letting everyone pet him and letting me get a picture of him and Dunning.

So, it's not quite St. Patrick's Day yet (WHICH is also my bday, by the way :), but Bentonville First Friday on the Square had a St. Patty's Day themed Friday night. There was Irish dancing and they let the kids get out there and dance to Irish music on the little dance floor, an Irish "band," an Irish themed doggy costume contest and the Celtic Grill was serving up some traditional Irish grub. The weather was perfect and we had fun walking around.

P.S. Today is Floyd's birthday (Dunning's grandpa), so Happy Birthday Floyd!!

We have quite a few March babies in this family!

Today

2009-03-02T14:04:00.000-08:00

Hello all!

We're having quite a day today. The past few nights have been marked by D getting up quite a bit, so today we are tired (both of us!). He hasn't had much of a nap, so thus begins the great question - What is wrong with him? I think I've pretty much quit trying to figure it out! He's not running a fever, so I can rule out an ear infection. Since it's not that, I'm just trying to breathe in and out and in and out....repeat.

Mikel's birthday was Sunday, so he and his brother went up to Roaring River to have breakfast with his dad, grandfather, uncle and dad's friend. Normally, they would have gone fishing with them all, as it is tradition for them all to go fishing on March 1st, opening day, but it was very cold Sunday morning so they just went to breakfast. For his birthday, we went to Thai Kitchen for dinner and got him FIFA '09 for his Xbox.

D's newest fascination has been throwing things. As long as it's not food, it's pretty cute. He'll get a small toy and throw it (as best he can) then go squealing and crawling after it. Then repeat.

Finally, I'm going to Tahoe this month with my sissy, her family and some family friends of theirs. I'm super excited! I'll be gone for 5 days and it will be the longest time I've been away from D and I'm ready for some mommy time! We haven't weaned yet and my La Leche League leaders say I don't have to for the trip. Mikel, his mom and possibly my mom will all be helping watch D while I'm gone. We are going to San Francisco for a day and then on to Tahoe to ski. I've never skied before so I hope I don't break anything! I'm also scrounging up clothes to take with me, so if anyone has any size 4 or small ski clothes that I can borrow, please let me know!

Oscar Party 2009

2009-02-23T11:57:00.001-08:00

Us and our "bling"

Working it, shimmy shimmy shaking it to "I'm Too Sexy for My Shirt," as sung accapella by yours truly.

Group pose!

East coast meets Arkansas. Daisy from Philly walks the carpet.

Bethany in "old school" Hollywood glam.

Holly and her beautiful dress, a lovely shade of "tree."

Trish may not have dressed up, but she has Hollywood attitude written all over her face!

Stunning, Jules!

Fantastic in a "vintage" circa 1995 dress and "jewels."

This year my mom's club had a fabulous Oscar party. Most of us got dressed up, walked a red "carpet," faced the papparazzi and had yummy appetizers and champagne. It was a great time with the gals, even though I lost the Oscar pool. We pitched in $5 and voted on a ballot. We then quieted down long enough to hear them announce the winners for each category and added up our points (more points for categories like Best Actor, less for stuff like Best Animated Short, etc.). It was so much fun and we are going to make it an annual event! Holly and Jules even disappeared half way through the night and re-emerged after making a wardrobe change in to another gown! Next year, I hope to find a nice dress circa 1984. Fabu!

Book time

2009-02-23T11:51:00.000-08:00

I sat down Saturday to read D a book. He's not all that in to books right now, he just likes to turn the pages. We have to make sure the pages aren't "nice pages" or we end up with "no pages." This book was a present I received at a baby shower (animal themed, like his room) and it's proven to be one of his faves. It's a "Little People" book with flaps, and he loves opening the flaps up. He was in such a wonderful mood that day, which had not been the case all week long, so it was such a blessing to sit down with a happy baby for once! I love these pictures!

Garden

2009-02-23T11:22:00.001-08:00

This week, I started my seed trays! It was a really nice on Friday, and he was really fussy, so we needed some major distraction. I've moved all the potted plants outside because he likes to play in the dirt like a typical little boy. They've all died anyway as they normally do in the winter, despite my trying to keep them alive all season. So I just let him go wild! He likes to show us what he is playing with. If it's food, we'll sometimes eat it out of his hand (so long as it's not soggy, or otherwise "ick"), as a game. But I draw the line at dirt. So he got nice and dirty. I was throwing some old potting soil over the deck railing and didn't realize the wind was blowing our direction, looked down, and my poor kid is covered in a layer of soil. Oops!

We did get some nice accessories for our deck with some of our tax money. An outdoor rug, so D can play on the deck and not get dirty from the dirt Charlie tracks up there. You can vaccuum it off. We also got a table cover for the table and chairs so the rain won't rust/mildew them. I just have to first find the time to clean them off with CLR and oxygen cleaner before I cover them!

All Right All Ready

2009-02-17T14:42:00.000-08:00

Mmmmm....Cereal bars are good. And full of fiber too! We learned that one the hard way...

Two points! I have a really cute video of him playing with his goal that I'll try to get uploaded later.

Slam Dunk! Kobe, eat your heart out!

Riding our giraffe on the Hancock House Wilderness Safari.

Gee, ain't I cute?

So I've been told to update my blog. So here's your update.

Things have been kinda cruddy in this corner of Arkansas. Wal-Mart, oh I'm sorry, Walmart (because it's SOOOO much better without the "-"), laid off 700 people at Corporate and apparently, they aren't done yet. So, our family has been a little on edge considering only one of the three of us is employed....and I don't currently own enough stuff to sell on Ebay to support us all. Unless I want to sell a car, and that would only support us for a few months (and possibly end in murder if I have to carpool with Mikel). We are doing our best to trust in God that He has a plan and will take care of us, even if we have to go without cable TV or a DVR for a while (GASP. I love my DVR!!!) We are taking the appropriate responsible steps as well. I trust God to take care of us, but I believe He would want us to be fiscally responsible in the meantime.

Other than that.... D has been doing good. No major milestones achieved yet (no, he's still not walking yet). He's still cruising and babbling and saying "dog" and "no" a lot. He likes to shake his head "no." Something he learned from mommy of course. His current favorite foods are mandarin oranges, bananas, grapes, cereal bars and yogurt. He basically eats a bunch of sugar. But at least it's fruit. I can occasionally get him to eat Cheerios but I hate it when he throws them on the ground because I will inevitably hear a "crunch" and cringe when I step on one. Those things are boogers to clean up when they are in tiny pieces.

I'm still really active in my mom's group - a great bunch of gals who have become my closest friends. I've even gotten a few of them to start going to the gym with me to run. I'm working on a 10k in the spring and Mikel is training for the OKC marathon. Wish him luck, because, like I've said, that's just crazy.

What a weekend

2009-02-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

Man, I am pooped.
This weekend was a busy one. My mom and dad came down Friday to keep me company since my hubby was in Breckenridge trying not to break a leg. He left on Wednesday and was returning on Sunday, so by Friday, with all the ice drama and being cooped up in the house, I was ready for a break. Mom and I shopped on Saturday, I went to the chiropractor, got a massage and cooked dinner for us all. Dad got baby duty and he was very appreciative of all I have to go through on a daily basis by the time the day was done. Sunday, as we were pulling out of the driveway to head to church, Mikel pulled up. He ran in and changed and, after only 2-3 hours of sleep from driving through the night with 5 guys, went to church with us. What a trooper!
D has been a big time bear this afternoon, due to who knows what, so bedtime was a very welcome moment.
Lots to do this week. No new pics right now. Will post some cute ones of D on his giraffe later. Now I must go soak in a hot bath and read my January book club book (yes, January).

Ice Ice Baby

2009-01-28T17:34:00.000-08:00

So, as you have all heard or experienced, our area has received one of the worst ice storms that anyone can remember (or at least that is what everyone on the news says). We got something like 3 inches of ice starting on Monday afternoon and continuing all day non-stop Tuesday, followed by snow early Wednesday morning. Our power went out Tuesday morning, so we left the house and headed over to my sister's. We live in a more rural area, and it usually takes a day to restore power at the very least. We went ahead and spent the night so we wouldn't be stuck in our house if the power went out in the middle of the night. We finally made it home this afternoon after the sun came out and melted the mess enough for the truck to get us home. D has been super fussy today with some teeth that seem like they'll never come in plus he woke up at 4 a.m. ready to play.

We had fun at Steph's - playing with the kids and cooking dinner and breakfast together, but it was good to be home. Fortunately, the power was on, although it appeared to have gone off again sometime early this morning. Here's hoping it lasts through the night. :)

I'm pretty exhausted since I have been chasing D around all day to keep him from sticking a finger in a light socket, and of course the most amusing thing at Steph's were her stairs, and he had to go up and down and up and down them constantly. So tonight's dinner is wine, hummus and yogurt! Mikel is off in Colorado skiing with some guys from church, so I don't have to cook. I am hoping the gym is open tomorrow because I really need to work off all the snickerdoodle cookies I ate at Steph's.

Hope you are all safe and warm! It's so cold outside, even Charlie could only stay out there for an hour before begging to come in!

Hello!

2009-01-25T13:07:00.000-08:00

I painted the Go Red for Women logo as a part of my mom's club Purse-onality for their Feb 17th auction.

In our wagon at the park, after feeding the scary "Chinese Attack Geese"

He loves him some banana. Not so much with the avocado. He looked at me like "what are you feeding me woman?" And spit it out.

Look ma! One hand!

The baby toothbrush is constantly in his mouth lately. He likes chewing on it.

Hello all! Sorry we haven't posted anything in a while. I just haven't taken time to sit down and do it. Not a whole lot happening here. We took our house off the market. We had listed it for sale by owner last April, then listed it with a realtor in July. We had several showings - 6 or 7 - throughout the summer, but no offers. We finally decided that since we did not HAVE to move, just really wanted to see if we could find a bigger house at a good price, we took it off. It wasn't really worth the effort right now. Maybe in the near future. But that's good news for me since it means I can plan my Spring garden without worrying that I'll have to move in the middle of the season. I think I'll do serrano peppers, bell peppers, tomatoes and squash. I may do some cucumbers too. I have mint in the garden already and I really need to get out there today before the ice comes and get the spinach that has been ready for a month or so now. If you have any suggestions as to a crop I should plant, let me know! I'll do my usual greek oregano, basil, thyme et al herb garden in pots on the deck. I have mint already in the garden too. I love mint :)

On the running front, Mikel is determined to run a marathon in May. I hope he makes it because I'm not that crazy!

Here are some fun pics from the last few weeks. D has been cruising all over, standing some, babbling alot and doing some copy-catting. I swear he said "apple" the other day when I was telling him I was pouring him some apple juice! May have just been babbling, but it really sounded like it! He was probably just mimic-ing me, but that's how they learn right? Guess I really have to watch what I say now! :) He was also saying "boo" to me the other day when we were walking in to Wal-Mart. I opened the car door and said "boo" and he replied "boo!" It was cute. We've been to the park a few times in this insane weather. He is going to Kid's Time at church a day a week for two hours while I go to Bible study.

I'm really excited about this study. I've never done one in the 6 years I've gone to our church and it's a different type of study. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I think I'm going to enjoy the in depth look in to my life and the bonds I hope to share with the other ladies in it.

That is all! For now!!

Crafts

2009-01-11T12:46:00.000-08:00

Red picture frame for my mom's club American Heart Association Purse-onality (charity auction)

Green frame for D's room

Just some crafties I've been working on.

Crash and Burn

2009-01-11T12:37:00.000-08:00

I failed to mention my story about prepping for our 5k race in my previous post. I went down to the park the day before our race to run a mile to warm up. I was cruising along - making really good time, feeling really good - when BAM!!! I find myself on the ground, somewhat confused. I realized I had tripped over a too long shoelace loop. Undaunted, I continued. Then my phone flies out of my pocket and the roller ball and other parts that keep it in place flew out (it's a second hand Blackberry Pearl). I found them quickly and continued on. Not but 2 minutes later - and about 3/10's of the way from the end of my mile - I fell AGAIN. This time it felt like slow motion, complete with surprised look, hands up in the air, mouthing W....H.....OOOOO....AAAA... This time, it hurt. I managed to scrape up my shoulder and palm and bruise my right hip. I felt like I had broken my hand. I laid there for a while before picking myself up and walking back to my car. The best part - it was 5:00 p.m. and I fell in front of about 100 cars sitting in rush hour traffic. I hope they all had a good laugh at my expense! I still finished my mile in 10 minutes despite my injuries and would have finished in 8 had I taken the time to triple knot my laces...

Race Results

2009-01-10T13:12:00.000-08:00

Today was Mikel and my 4th 5k race. We did the Tux on the Run through the Bentonville Square to benefit the local YMCA. It was COLD!!! 32 degrees with a windchill of 29. But after the first mile, my fingers and toes started to defrost and I felt pretty good. Mikel has been feeling like he's been trying to get sick these past few days, so his time was 27 minutes, down from his previous time. But I pulled out a 27:26, a 30 second improvement from my best previous time!
Now I think we're all getting sick :( But it was a good race!

12 Months Checkup

2009-01-06T11:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was D's 12 months checkup with Dr. Foster. He was really fussy and not at all happy to be there because he was sleepy! We had a good streak of 3 weeks sleeping through the night and then Christmas and the birthday ruined that! He has some teeth trying to break through too, so that probably doesn't help, but I sure wish they would hurry it up because I got used to that sleep and I want it back!

His stats:

Head: 19 inches

Length: 30.5 "

Weight: 20 lbs 14 oz

The doc was a little concerned that his weight has gone DOWN four ounces from his 9 months checkup. This dropped him to the 25th percentile for his age and height. We dicussed it and we think it's a combo of the two double ear infections, his increased mobility and my decreased weight while continuing to breastfeed. I've been trying the sippy cup with him with no real success. I am going to keep trying more often now and started eating more fatty foods to increase my milk fat content and supply until he weans. I've also gotten on some herbal supplements that are supposed to help with that too. Guess it wouldn't hurt to gain a few pounds! That'll be a fun diet! I've lost about 6 pounds past my pre-pregnancy weight - a total of 56 pounds from my peak during pregnancy.

Here is a fun picture of all the breast milk we've stored over the past 6 months. I joke with Mikel that I could probably feed a third world country with it! Apparently there is a store in Amsterdam or somewhere in the Netherlands that serves ice cream made from breast milk. There is yogurt, cheese, all sorts of dairy products made from breast milk. PETA has approached Ben and Jerry's about making a line of ice cream made from breast milk. I am a big breastfeeding advocate, but I think this is going too far! We don't have the regulations in place to ensure that the milk is safe for public consumption. Breast milk is tailor made for your baby - not for Joe or Jane Smith! Besides, there is a psychological bodily fluid ick factor to it anyway. Plus can you imagine the human rights violation possibilities? I can just vision a warehouse of under paid, over worked females hooked up to a pump! Now I love animals and my dirty dog Charlie, but I value humans more!!

Ok, off my soap box now!

Dunning loves Charlie too....

Happy 1st Birthday!

2008-12-27T15:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my little man!! I know this is belated, but I got very frustrated with Blogger and it's inability to post pictures in anything but random, hugely spaced fashion, making editing and captioning insanely time consuming. Perhaps it is me, but I think not. Anyway, we had a great little family bday for D and I think that will be it. I was hoping to do one with extended family and friends, but that's just a little much right now. Next year! We had a lot of fun with our jungle themed party, monkey cake and pizza. In tribute to my little precious, here are 12 tidbits D and about being his mommy:

1) D thinks the Itsy Bitsy Spider is hilarious. I think it's the 2nd verse that has a mouse jumping out from a hole that he thinks is funny because I hide and pop out like the mouse. Hilarity ensues.

2) Dunning has big fat baby cheeks. Enough said.

3) He still lets me kiss those big fat baby cheeks.

4) He thinks the aisle markers in Wal-Mart are fascinating. Pretty much anything hanging from the ceiling is fascinating.

5) He likes the Wiggles. Well, I force him to watch the Wiggles so I can take a shower, but I'm sure someday, he'll love them.

6) He does however, love his Wiggle guitar that Nana got for him!

7) He loves his daddy very much and daddy can always get him laughing!

8) Dunning is a big time nurser. To the point that he refuses sippies because he knows they ain't the real deal. This is getting frustrating, but I am so grateful he breastfed for so long because of how good it is for him and it has been wonderful bonding time for us (except for when he sticks his finger up my nose, or pokes my eye, or pulls my hair...)

9) He is particular about where your hands are on the grocery cart. He once got mad at Mikel and started screaming in the store because he didn't like where his hands were on the cart. Mikel asked me what was wrong with him and I simply said, "move your hands." He complied and D instantly silenced. Mommy KNOWS.

10) D is going to be very independent I think. He is an explorer and doesn't play a whole lot with toys but loves to crawl from room to room, touch buttons, change channels, play with Blackberries and phones, touch this, touch that, explore explore explore.

11) D loves to ride on shoulders!

12) D loves to babble and make funny noises with his mouth. Raspberries, tongue rolling, fish faces, this kid does it all!

Love you kiddo! Here is a montage of how he has changed over the year. He has always had fat baby cheeks, hair and a beaming smile.

December 26, 2008

1 Year

November 2008

11 months

October 2008

10 months

September 2008

9 months

August 2008

8 months

July 2008

7 months

June 2008

6 months

May 2008

5 months

April 2008

4 months

March 2008

3 months

February 2008

2 months

January 2008

1 month

December 2007

Brand New!

Me, Christmas Day, anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new baby, and opening some gifts

The month before, wearing the only thing that fit me, sweats and that maternity t-shirt (see above, it makes an appearance at Christmas too!)

Christmas!

2008-12-27T14:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has taken me a while to get pictures and and update on the blog. We've been really busy and I haven't taken the time to post.
Of course, this week was Christmas, and we had a great time with family. On December 13th, we had Christmas with my side of the family - my parents, my sister and her husband and kids, my aunt and uncle and my Meemaw and her Allen. On the 25th, Mikel's mom and dad, brother and his wife and their twins came over for Christmas. Here are a few pictures from the festivities. For some reason, the only picture I got at my family's gathering was Dunning and his fascination with the door.

Taking a ride with mommy in the wagon

Dunning and Tita

The boys play with the nativity set

Dunning trying to escape

Merry Christmas to all!

for more Christmas fun:

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=13416&l=5247b&id=1249479844

My little Monster

2008-12-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

I just could not resist this cute little outfit with matching monster hat!

His face says "caught red handed"

Today was a good message at church. Robert reminded us that one of the things that is closest to God's heart is children. Think this had something to do with his fondest of grandson Cole, but I digress. :) Our children are only little for such a short time and lately I have been thinking very selfishly about my time. I choose to spend what little time I have with my baby while he still is a baby, with a happy attitude. Besides, how could I not stare in to those blue eyes and not feel such love and joy, even if those eyes belong to a baby who won't stop screaming, or pulling my hair, or pinching my skin or biting or.....laughing at my silly dances, babbling in his own baby language, clapping his hands in utter amazement, loving his mommy....

Recent Happenings

2008-12-07T16:40:00.000-08:00

If the refrigerator is open, Dunning is in it

Pre-haircut. Kid was sportin' a mullet and hair over his ears.

Did the best I could with a wiggle monster.

Dunning and Grandpa Elmer at Thanksgiving

Great Grandpa, you always have the most stylish hats

Weight Loss Results Week 4

2008-12-03T11:57:00.000-08:00

It's been just over 4 weeks and my dad has lost 11 pounds on my little fitness "program!" Way to go pops! He's even thinking about running a 5k with me and Mikel next year! So is Mikel's dad - maybe we can get all the families out there!!

Race day pics

2008-11-28T11:09:00.000-08:00

Here we are after the race. Tita and Papa brought Dunning to the race and saw us just as we crossed the finish line. Go Team Hancock!

Mikel's big finish

My big finish (I'm in front of the lady in the sport's bra)

Just before crossing the finish line

Here are our November race day pics. We just found out that Mikel will not be going on a big long trip he had planned for December, due to budget crunch, so we'll get to do a December race too! We are still waiting to see if we made it in to the Maumelle Living magazine that tooks pics of us on race day.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-28T10:49:00.000-08:00

Kelsey and Carson diggin' in to the cake. Carson wasn't so sure about it but Kelsey girl went for it!!

Happy birthday to you! Ready for cake!!

Everyone helping open the twins' presents.

I hope everyone had a great Turkey Day! We spent it with Mikel's side of the family - his mom and dad, brother, his wife and their twins. The twins' birthday is Saturday so we had a family birthday party for them. Yesterday was also the first day that Dunning started pulling up on EVERYTHING. Over the past few weeks, he's been pulling up on a few things here and there - his crib, drawers and steps that are close to the ground. Yesterday, he discovered that he could stand up holding on to anything.

On the Thanksgiving note, and echoing several of my friends, I am truly thankful for what God has given me and my family. Even when I feel the grass is greener on the other side, tired or frustrated, I must stop and thank Him for all He's given me - a wonderful husband who loves me endlessly; an awesome little guy who looks just like my wonderful husband; great family who only wants the best for me; a variety of friends who keep me on my toes and laughing through it all. Thank you thank you thank you!

Lookit what I can do!

2008-11-21T13:22:00.000-08:00

May I just say that I really don't like Blogger's picture upload feature that puts my pictures in funky random places, all out of order, and extremely hard to re-arrange? Because I do.

New diaper made out of PUL (polyurethane lined) fabric. Waterproof and needs no cover. I really got to get on the ball and make 5 more of these because we have outgrown all of our crap-o Yucky Ducks, which are supposed to be PUL too, but I think they used cheap fabric or laminated it because it dissolved in the wash. This fabric is by Fabrite. Good stuff.

Dirty kid. He leaked through his Yucky Ducks and cover and the lovely ladies at the YAC - the child care facility at my gym - had to change him and his clothes. I meant to put him in a disposable but honestly thought it'd be ok for four hours. Stupid! He always wets more in the morning.

Yay chunk miester on his riding toy!

Found Dunning like this when we woke up this morning. Goodness they grow up so fast. I remember how freaked I was when he rolled over and how I thought he'd never crawl. Now the little bugger is standing up. I am glad I took the time off these past 10, almost 11, months. They don't stay little for very long.

My Kid's a GENIUS

2008-11-21T12:48:00.000-08:00

Of course all mothers think their child is the smartest, prettiest/most handsome, best kid in the world, but mine really is....
Here is a video of Dunning signing "all done." We've only been working on it for a few weeks, unlike "mama" and "dada" which we've been doing for MONTHS. But for some reason, he'll do "all done" on cue, pretty much all the time, unless I'm trying to get him to do it for others. I try to limit it to when we are actually "all done" with something - like food, changing diapers or clothes - so he gets the connection. He'll actually do it when he is full or doesn't like a food. Or at least that is what I think he means. Would love to be in his baby head and hear his little baby thoughts, if there are any!

Race Results

2008-11-19T20:17:00.001-08:00

Mikel and I ran the Great Gobbler in Maumelle this weekend and had a great time! It was pretty cold, but warmed up a little when the sun came out. There was a pretty good crowd for the race, and it was the first one ever. It was sponsored by the Hot Legs Running Club - a women's running club - and from what we over heard, a 16 year old put it together! The t-shirts look a little odd with a big giant turkey on the front, but what could you expect from a race called the Great Gobbler?
Neither of us improved our overall time, but I felt really good during the race and after. It even had several hills! I finished 6th out of 17th in my age group and 31st out of 120 women overall. Mikel finished 11th out of 19 in his age group and 52nd out of 119 men overall. There was even an 84 year old woman who ran the race and finished in under an hour! I passed her and said to myself, I want to do that when I am her age!! She came in 1st in her age category.
Pics of the race to come later...we may even be in a local magazine....

Naps are for friends

2008-11-09T17:37:00.000-08:00

Naps are for friends, or so our daddy says so. Not sure where that expression came from, but that's what Mikel likes to say to Dunning. I like it too, because it sure makes our house much more "friendly" when D has had a nice nap vs. the alternative. Yesterday, he woke up with some very interesting hair that just had to be captured. He's also pictured here playing with a jungle train my mom got him. He likes to spin the bananas and play with the parrot. All using that index finger, which I think is hilarious. He still hasn't got the pincher grasp down, so that means a few more weeks of mama feeding him instead of him feeding himself. I also taught him to roll his train across the floor. Here he is having loads of fun doing so until he crashed it and got upset.

Happy Birthday Granny!

2008-11-09T17:34:00.000-08:00

Gran Gran turned 73 years old last weekend and we had a big family dinner to celebrate, and some fabulous birthday pie!

Halloween

2008-11-09T17:21:00.000-08:00

Monkey on the loose

Monkey man and his cousin, Addison. He is trying to take the ears off her head.

Mikel, Dunning, Addison and Sheryl

At our mom's group Halloween party

Little man was a little monkey for Halloween. However, it was apparently not a very good costume because every kept asking me what he was. Come on, people! He has a banana on his head!

That morning, we went to our mom's group Halloween party and that afternoon we went "trick or treating" at daddy's office. That evening, Jim and Bridget kept D while Mikel and I went out on a date! It had been waaaay to long since we had been on a date. Last year we only had one trick or treat-er so we weren't too worried about the neighbor kids missing out on our one house.

Visit from Grandpa Floyd

2008-11-09T17:11:00.000-08:00

Finger chewing good.
Sorry Mikel. Your head gets cut off in every picture!

Sorry it's been such a long time since I have posted. It seems like the past few weeks have flown by.

A few weeks ago, Mikel's dad Floyd came over to visit. We got some good pictures of him and Dunning, even though he was still fighting this never ending ear infection.

I Succumb to Peer Pressure

2008-10-30T13:43:00.001-07:00

Yes, I did. I let others tell me what to do. It's just everywhere, on TV, on blogs, on facebook, and on the radio. So, I said, why not? Let's just go with the flow and do what everybody seems to be doing. Let's go vote (early even!). So, I did.
I am not ashamed to say that I voted McCain. He is the candidate that most closely represents what I stand for and think is important. Granted, I do not agree on all of his plans or policies, but I support more of his than Obama's. I don't think that Sarah Palin was the best choice for VP. I think I know why he did it, and I don't think someone should be chosen based on how many votes they think it will get them. However, I think the media has brow beaten her a bit much. I think she is an intelligent, tough woman who was given a great opportunity that she was not prepared for. If, God forbid, something happens to McCain, I think she would play it safe and not do anything risky. She would probably just ride out the term and hopefully surround herself with great advisors.
I think Obama is a great orator and presents himself very well in public. But there are several things about him I don't like, stances I don't support and policies I don't agree on. So he is not my candidate.
All that to say, it's your vote. Use it and don't be ashamed of it. I'm not!

What we've been doing lately

2008-10-29T11:47:00.001-07:00

Big boy holding his sippy, chewing on the top. Haven't quite mastered tilting it to get the water, but we'll get there.

Dunning and his mommy club baby friends, riding in a wagon at the pumpkin patch

Me and squirmy pants

I want this pumpkin

The straw is much more fun than the pumpkins

Juli gets a strike!

Oooo! I get a strike too! And beat them all with an even 100 score!

Tami, Juli and me (or at least half of me)

Daddy and Dunning at swimming lessons

Well, we've been pretty busy. Baby boy still has an infected ear. Last night was not so great and he is really snotty, fussy, cranky today.

Despite the ear, we've been to the pumpkin patch, bowling (me), and swim lessons. D is also really starting to get the hang of his sippy cup. On another note, I've been really busy. I'm in my mom's club, of course, joined two book clubs, and am continuing to train for my races, as well as sewing diapers for D. I've order some special waterproof fabric and can't wait for it to get here! He's outgrowing some of his older diapers. Since it's gotten colder, I've started to go to the Fitness Center and run on the treadmill, then lift weights and do crunches. Dunning stays in the Youth Activity Center (YAC) and I get an hour and a half by myself! I get to take a shower without a baby trying to crawl in to the tub with me! And do makeup without him trying to steal my makeup brushes!

On another note, depending on several things, I may try to get my 200 hour yoga certification. It's costly (about $2,900+) and time consuming (200 hours!) It's completed in 8 weekend intensive sessions, plus one weekend a month for 4 months after the 8 weekend sessions, dedicated to anatomy and physiology. Plus a test, but I'm great at tests :) The only place that currently certifies teachers (you have to be certified to certify others) is the Arkansas Yoga Center in Fayetteville. I took classes when they were in their old building for 6 months before Mikel and I got married and I loved it! So we'll see. More on that later.

On a similar note, my dad has agreed to let me be his personal trainer. I am going to help him lose 20 pounds! And maybe even more! So I need to get started on his meal plans and his workout plan. He sounded wary and may have just said yes because he is a good dad and mom was probably sitting there saying "say yes, say yes." And as extra incentive, I'll post his results (sans weight, we'll just post % lost) so everyone can see how great he is doing!

The Bathtub Video

2008-10-19T17:53:00.000-07:00

Crafts, Cousins and Crawling, oh my!

2008-10-19T13:35:00.001-07:00

Whatcha doin' ma?

Cute Crafters Cheryl and Lindsey

The cousins take a bath and have so much fun!

Upside down Kelsey

Standing tall at the ottoman. They loved smacking their hands down on it.

This weekend was packed with fun things! On Saturday, Gracie and I went to go see Lindsey and Cheryl's booth at the craft fair at the John Q. Hammons Center. It was so cute and had the best tutus of them all! Good job Lindsey and Cheryl! Go visit Lindsey's Web site and buy lots of cute stuff for your little girl/granddaughter/sister/cousin/etc.!

Afterwards, Mikel and I hit the Spanker Creek fair and met up with Emilie and Chloe for a little while. The Hammons fair was better! I wish we could have gone to the three other fairs that weekend, but little man was tuckered out.

After that, Jim, Bridget and cousins Carson and Kelsey came over to watch the heart breaking defeat of the Hogs. The cousins had so much fun playing, especially Dunning and Carson following each other around. Carson is a much quicker crawler and Dunning is so happy with himself that he knows how to get around. He is pulling up to his knees and I'm sure it will be soon enough when he is up on his feet. Carson is about to start walking, little busy man! Kelsey likes it that the boys are busy so she can have all the toys to herself! The kiddos took a bath together and then had fun with the ottoman, they found it very entertaining.

We got to Skype with Nick and Ang yesterday and they are doing great! They come back some time in March/April and we cannot wait for our friends to be back! They are such an encouragement to us. We discussed the election, as they just mailed in their absentee votes. We talked about the different candidates and what we thought. And Angie told me something that was very profound. She said that a verse in the Bible reminded her that we can do our part and vote with the candidate that we feel God wants us (as individuals, I'm not speaking to a group - i.e., all ___ should vote for ____); but that no matter who is elected as president and vice president, God is still in control. I know I really appreciated that tidbit of wisdom as it appears my candidate is not doing well right now. This also reminded me that I should always pray for the candidate elected as president, WHETHER or NOT I voted for him/her or agree with him/her. They need all the wisdom they can get in these times.

Finally, our race results were posted. I finished 20th out of 71 women! Mikel would have finished 24th out of 63 men, but he forgot to turn in his race tag at the end of the finish line, so it shows he finished 35th, but WE know the truth. For those of you keeping count, that means I finished higher in my rankings than he did. :) Rub it in for me next time you see him.

Well that explains a lot...

2008-10-15T07:57:00.000-07:00

Baby boy woke up with a new tooth and another about to break through...that explains a whole lot.

Crawling, Running and Runny Ears

2008-10-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

This weekend was our second 5k race! We did Tour de Cure and want to say a special thank you to all the people who donated to our fundraising! We raised almost $500!
It was a tough course for us, me in particular. As I have said before, Mikel trains on hills. I train in the park because I push a fat monster in a jogging stroller. So, when I saw a nice big hill in front of me at the second half of the race, I knew I was in for a tough climb. I am disappointed in myself because I had to stop for a minute and walk. This was mainly because I started the race at a pretty fast pace - my adrenaline was just pumping. However, we both made really good time and shaved minutes off our first race times. I finished in 27:46 and Mikel finished in 26:08. His goal is to finish November in 24 minutes and I would like to finish in 26 minutes. November's race is at the park where I train so I am confident I can do it. Sorry, no race pics as we didn't have the camera with us - nobody there to take our pic anyways! There were some people with cameras, but I am not sure who they work for. My pic will be stupid anyways. They didn't have timing chips, so we timed ourselves and as I was coming across the finish line, I had my hand up to stop my stopwatch on my radio and accidentally pulled my earphones out. So I am going to have my arms up like a chicken with earphones flying wildly.
My parents came down this weekend and watched Dunning. He was fussy on Saturday and by Sunday, he was screaming bloody murder. I could tell he didn't feel well and had lovely snot blobs coming out his nose. I told Mikel, "something is wrong with that child." We went to the doc on Monday and turns out baby boy had a double ear infection. He is starting to feel a little better, thanks to an antibiotic, ear drops, ibuprofen alternated with tylenol and some Benadryl. Whew!

My silly guys. Dunning grabbed the shower rod when Mikel lifted him up out of the bath and Mikel wanted a "baby chin up" picture.

One of our happier moments yesterday. Baths make it all better.

Thanks to Lindsey on the medical tape tip for the ear drops.

Crazy kid.

Someone needs a haircut!

Shoes!!

2008-10-05T18:28:00.000-07:00

So lately after I run, I have been experiencing some bad achilles pain as well as some pain in my knees and hips. A friend of mine, super geek Elizabeth, used to work at a shoe store selling athletic shoes and advised it was probably my shoes, which are now nearing 2 years old!! I got them before I became pregnant, when I first started running. I had no idea what a neutral, stability or motion control shoe was. I knew I had a flat arch and needed support around the ankle and a good arch support. So I took a trip to Kohl's and bought a pair of Aasics 1130s. Elizabeth told me the 1100 line or the 2000 line would be good for me, so I thought I was set. But I started to doubt my ability to pick out a good shoe just by trying it on. So I went to the experts, Rush Running, for a stride analysis. We stumbled upon Rush Running a few weeks ago. We had seen runners out and at races with their shirts, and it turns out they are a local couple, Mike and Alison, who used to run at the U of A and started their own store. Alison was even an Olympic qualifier for the 10k! They give gear to professional runners who buy stuff from their store and they have a running club, which explains the shirts popping up all over town! Needless to say, they did a stride analysis on me and while I do pronate, it's not as bad as I thought, but I am a little bow legged. Bow legged??? Wow, that's new. And I need orthopedics (aka really good insole). So they brought me three types of stability shoes to try and one of them were the exact same pair of shoes I had just returned to Kohls!! But I decided I liked another pair better (even though the kid working there said "that's a good pair. My mom wears them.") and got them instead. So now, I am the proud new owner of a pair Brooks Axiom 3. Can't wait to try them out and see how they feel!

6 Days Until Tour de Cure 5k!

Click HERE to donate for Lynn's fundraising!

Click HERE to donate for Mikel's fundraising!

Saturday

2008-10-05T18:26:00.000-07:00

Maybe some day they will be a great duo on the gridiron.

"Carson Man" as Jim calls him!

Saturday, we went over to Jim and Bridget's to watch the game. The cousins were all decked out in their Razorback garb. Unfortunately, we did not get a picture of Miss Kelsey with the boys. She was not too happy about Dunning taking a toy away from her. Here is Dunning and Carson playing with a football. They thought it was great!!

Friday

2008-10-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

Crafts and food tents

Dunning is fascinated with water and water spouts. He will try and try to "catch" the water.

Bentonville Square Fountain

Man in Cheese selling bacon honey. Really? Honey made with BACON? We MUST be in Arkansas.

Dunning couldn't take his eyes off the dance troupe over my shoulder doing a routine.

Brass band. (Dance troupe in background on the courthouse steps).

Friday afternoon, D and I picked Daddy up from work for a special surprise family outing. We went to the Bentonville First Friday Block Party! The first Friday of each month, the square is host to crafts, bands, food, and fun. We watched a dance troop do some hip hop routines, we listened to a brass band, we ate Station Cafe burgers (YUM!) and looked around the square shops - particularly our favorite shop, B La Rue, which just moved to their new location on the square, next to the Walton 5 & 10. We saw our friends Emilie, Miqe and their daughter Chloe, who is 2 days younger than Dunning. It was a great time and we can't wait for November's party, which is the grand re-opening of the square! It has been undergoing some construction to make the lanes wider and the roads nicer.

Hanging Out

2008-10-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

This was this morning, it was cold outside for our morning run. He was none too happy about the gloves on his hands.

Mmmm, this top lip is gooood.

We were having a super fussy moment and the sunglasses made it all better again.

He says "oooo"

So D and I have just been hanging out this week. We've haven't done a whole lot, trying to cut back on the amount of gas we use. We still go to the park to run and we've been to swim lessons (him), Pilates (me), hung out with the cousins, library time and coffee with the girls (both of us). Ok, so that kind of sounds like a lot.

D is getting so close to crawling. His favorite thing to crawl over is me. Can't help it...my kid just loves me! I'm really not looking forward to him crawling. Right now, I can still leave the room briefly to go to the bathroom or load the dishwasher (while he is in eye shot of course), and he doesn't go too far. He kind of scoots around and makes his way a few feet by bending over, reaching out and getting from butt to belly and back. But he drug a knee the other day and I think a little light went off. So I guess the day is coming soon. I also catch him sitting up in his crib often. He did it yesterday when he decided it was not time to take a nap and discovered it is fun to slap the crib railing and bounce up and down on his knees. Guess it is time to take the mattress down so he doesn't go falling over.

Mikel and I have a race in 8 days (Sat., Oct. 11th)! It's still a 5k, and it is the Tour de Cure for diabetes research. Wish us luck!

Bikes, Blues and BBQ

2008-09-30T18:36:00.000-07:00

Saturday we went to Bikes, Blues and BBQ! I wanted to go to get out of the house. Mikel had been in Mexico since Sunday, so I was really needing some fresh air and some time where I was not the only parent in the house! The last time I went to BBBBQ, it was in college and people weren't getting stabbed at ZZ Top concerts. For those of you who aren't local, Bikes, Blues and BBQ is a motorcycle rally held in Fayetteville on Dickson Street. It has grown to the 2nd largest bike rally (after Sturgis) and 1st largest charitable bike rally (not sure which charity - bikers who need to shower maybe? We saw plenty of those!) Last year, ZZ Top performed at one of the clubs and some guy got stabbed outside of the club. Kinda scary. But this year went off without incident. The year that I went, we went at night and it was much colder, so we didn't stay long. That and there is just SO many people there, it's not really much fun to me. I'm not a big crowd type of girl. I get nervous about losing who I am with and all I can concentrate on is getting from point A to point B without getting trampled. So back to this year. We went and manuevered D's jogging stroller down Dickson, not an easy feat, and ended up in the Walton Arts Center parking lot, where most of the BBQ vendors were stationed. It was lunch and we were hungry. It was also hot that day. It had been warm most of that week, but that day it was almost 90 degrees. As we pulled in to the parking lot, a girl I went to Shiloh with, Jaime, spotted us and snapped a "party pic" for her dad's Web site - http://www.razorbraces.com/. She does Smile Pix through the site and they were doing promotional pictures. So that is where this pic comes from! She kept telling us to "crouch down" so she could get D in the pic too. So after that, we found a line for BBQ and stood in it. But we looked around and there was no place to sit and actually eat - except for the street curb and I wasn't down with that. So after about 15 minutes of sweating and poor D's face turning red, we left. We ended up at Buffalo Wild Wings with Gracie and Mike for the start of the Razorbacks game. When we got home though, D wouldn't take his afternoon nap and slept horrible that night. Despite that, it was nice to get out of the house and I was just so glad to have my husband home!

9 months!

2008-09-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

Happy 9 months to my little babe who has now been out of the womb for as long as he was in the womb!
Stats:
21 lbs 2 oz
29 inches long
Doc said he looked perfect! :)

And Happy 15 months to Stella Wella who we saw at the doctor too!

What we've been doing lately

2008-09-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

Singing Elmo table. Chloe in the background.

Bazoople Diaper Creation!

Am cloth diaper genius!!

Fits nice and keeps bottom dry!

Cutsie jungle animals and fat baby thighs!

Well, we've been sleeping a little bit better. Dunning now has two teeth and it seems like the bad nights are behind us for right now. I'm sure they will be back, because that's just how it goes. :)

This week we had Infant Social Hour, but we only had one baby other than Dunning. It was at her house - Emilie and Chloe. They had a lot of fun fighting over the same toy - the Elmo Seaseme Street singing table.

So my friends call me "Crazy Hippie Lady" because of the cloth diapers and the breastfeeding and the garden and the homemade baby food and the recycling...ok, so maybe they are on to something. Lately I have been sewing like crazy. I got a crazy idea that it's just ridiculous to pay $16 for a cloth diaper when I can sew one. So I bought some fabric, fleece, velcro, thread and elastic and after one practice diaper and one that was too small, the result is three fabulous "Bazoople" diapers - they are the characters on the diapers. I'm not sure what Bazooples are, but it consists of jungle animals, so I used it. :) I am really happy with how they turned out. All the fabric and velcro etc. cost me $31 and I bought 4 re-usable diaper covers for $40! I'll be able to get 6-8 more diapers but will have to get more velcro and elastic. So I figure if I can get 12 diapers for $80, I'll be saving over $100. It costs $208 for 12 of the expensive ones online. :)) And I like being crafty, crazy, hippie lady.
More Cloth Diaper photos

The weekend

2008-09-15T13:16:00.000-07:00

This weekend was kind of crappy. I had Girls Night Out at my house on Friday night, and that was super fun. We scrapbooked a little bit and then talked the rest of the time. :) But it was downhill from there. Friday night, Dunning screamed for about two hours while Mikel and I alternated getting up with him. Then Saturday night, he slept somewhat better, but the storm knocked out the power at 4:00 a.m. and then the smoke detector started it's beep beep beeping. Mikel can sleep through that and a freight train, but I cannot. Nor am I tall enough to take it down and take the batteries out. So, after a few "gentle" kicks, he was up and took care of it. Then he decides it was the right time to have a chat. I disagreed. So needless to say, Sunday was a bit rough. Especially since the power was still out when we got up and I had to lead worship for the 4 year olds with dirty hair, good thing they don't really care. Dunning and I got to nap Sunday afternoon and we all felt much better.
I am hoping Dunning is just teething, but I am worried it's his ear. He mainly just chews on his fists, as if it is a tooth, but the poor sleep, even with Tylenol has been going on for some time and I don't know what to do about it. He doesn't have a fever, but if we have another bad night (he was up at 3 a.m. and then 5:30 a.m. this morning), we're off to the doctor to make sure. He's also not nursing as much and went 6 hours yesterday off just breakfast of yogurt and rice cereal. I tried nursing him twice and he refused. Oh the joys of babies! It's too early for him to self wean, since he is not taking a bottle or sippy cup. Babies are supposed to take formula or breastmilk until they are at least 1. Then they can have whole milk or continued breastmilk. So until then, it is their main source of nutrition, hence my concern he is not getting enough. Hopefully, I am making enough for him since I have lost a lot of weight with running (down a size from pre-pregnancy!) but still try to eat enough calories and I would think he would want to nurse non-stop vs. not wanting to nurse.
Anyways, that is the weekend in a nutshell. No new pics today. Sorry!

Infant Social Hour

2008-09-11T19:51:00.000-07:00

Dunning, Chloe, Neilie and Ava

All these girls!

Mom!! She's HITTING ME!

We had infant social hour with my mom's club at my house on Wednesday. D was surrounded by little girls. I told him he could have his pick of the litter! It was fun!

Garden Update

2008-09-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

All I need is the other foot propped up and I'm good.

Blurry green beans

Sage, an herb I grow, and the never ending green bean crop

Chillin' like a villain, watching Charlie run around like the pscyho he is

Snap peas in foreground

See that little bunch of green things in the middle there? That's my patch o' spinach.

Peas and bamboo trellis

Wilted beets :((

So D and I ventured outside yesterday to work in the garden. I have been meaning to do it since the weekend and figured I better get to it before monsoon like weather hits, courtesy of Ike. I have planted more snap peas, beets, spinach, regular peas and lettuce. The beets were growing like gang busters (is that PC??), but I think it has rained too much these past weeks and they all kind of wilted. The lettuce and spinach only had a few that came up from the seeds I planted, but the peas are all coming up. And of course, the bell peppers and green beans are still around. I could feed the free world on friggin' green beans. I am going to plant more lettuce and spinach once we dry out.

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

2008-09-10T17:47:00.001-07:00

MyHeritage: Celebrity Collage - Genealogy software - Family tree search

Living in the Sticks, Part 2

2008-09-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite times of the year is County Fair time. This year, the fair moved out to a big piece of land by the airport. It was much more spacious than the little plot o' land next to the office, where it used to be. It was always strange to me that the fair, with all of its livestock, was held in the middle of the city. Guess it wasn't always the middle of the city when they started having it there! Now it's out in the middle of a cow pasture, where it belongs.
We took Dunning and went with some people from Mikel's office as a family fun day. I thought he would be more excited to see the animals, but I think I was more excited than he was. I was snapping pictures like I was a Yankee in the South for the first time. It's just been a while since I've been to the fair!
Since I took so many pictures, I am not uploading any here, as Blogger takes FOREVER to down load pictures. I have posted them on my Facebook and have inserted the link below. So go look at the cows, pigs, monkeys, veggies and a moonshine still (yep, we ARE in Arkansas). Plus lots of goat pictures taken just for Aunt Patti!

Fair Pictures

Living in the Sticks, Part 1

2008-09-10T07:34:00.000-07:00

I'm just glad I discovered this guy in the day time. I'm sure I would have woken the neighborhood had it been night.

One of the draw backs of living in the middle of the woods is critters. Not cute bambi-like-critters that frolic in the woods behind our fence, but huge, scary, arachniphobia type creatures. I found this "little" fella on our deck stairs. This spider bounces. Literally. Like it bounces up and down on its web as if it is going to jump on you. Major props to my dad for disposing of it for me.

RACE DAY!

2008-09-01T19:17:00.000-07:00

Run Mama Run!

Pre-Race - I was trying to pump Mikel up and he just wanted me to leave him alone - it was 6:30 a.m.

I was feelin' good - handing out high fives to my parents!

Mikel crossing the finish line.

Me and Mikel post race! Go Team Hancock!

So many of you know that Mikel and I have been trainig for our very first 5k. I know it's not hardcore, but it's a big accomplishment for two people that have never run a race before. So, I started running in April after it started to get warmer. I increased my distance little by little and for the last month I have been running 3 miles while pushing Dunning in the jogging stroller. It's a nice way to start your day with a little endorphine rush! And the same nice people are out every day and wave at me and Dunning. Mikel has been training up and down the hills in our neighborhood!

Anyways, we did Run for a Child at the Promenade. We started off good and I told Mikel he could go on as we went up a hill, since he has been training on them and is much faster given his long stride. I think I did really good. I didn't pass as many people as I would have liked - but I did pass that 65 year old man before the finish line that passed me early on and I passed some kid that was easily 10 years younger than me and in good shape, so all in all I feel pretty good about it. The official times weren't posted by the time we had to leave - something wrong with their computers - but Mikel timed his and was at 27:40 and I was about a minute and half behind him so I think I came in at 29 minutes. I was really impressed with that time because I normally do 30 minutes for 3 miles pushing the boy, and a 5k is a little over 3 miles. I am pretty tired, kinda sore and just ready to go to bed!

Roaring River

2008-09-01T19:09:00.001-07:00

Dunning and Kelsey (Greg Jr. in the background)

Dunning wants Kelsey's ball!

Sunday we went to Roaring River for the annual Seely reunion. It was nice weather in the shade and the babies had fun playing together. It's fun watching the cousins grow up together and how much they've all changed since they were born last year. It's also great to see other relatives that we don't get to see often and their babies and how big they've gotten. We had great food and a nice time with everyone.

Gracie

2008-09-01T18:59:00.001-07:00

Gracie and her cake

Jason and Lindsey

Dan and Michelle

Mikel (being goofy, he wouldn't cooperate and lean forward) and me

The Girls

Paula and Floyd (Mikel's parents) kept Dunning while Mikel and I went to Bonefish Restaurant for Gracie's birthday. It was gooood. Every year we get together for birthdays and have a good time. It's been great knowing these gals for 10 years now. We've been through a whole heck of a lot and we're still standing! We've all changed a lot, but we know how much a good friend can get you through it all.

What was lost has been found.

2008-08-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

So I went to Walmart yet again today, to return some microfiber towels I bought to make into doublers for D's cloth diapers. I was returning them because they were an 8 pack for $5 and I found a 24 pack for $10 at Sam's! What a deal! (and they work beautifully by the way).
So, at the customer service desk, I took out the receipt and the towels and something fell on the floor out of my sack. It happened to catch my eye because it made a little clanging noise when it hit the ground, and lo and behold - my ring! How in the world it got in to the Walmart sack, is beyond me. And why it happened to be the one sack I hadn't separated out for recycling and attached itself to the towels I needed to return is not beyond me - it had to be God. I don't always believe that God will perform a miracle when you've done something stupid. Sometimes, well a lot of times, God teaches us lessons by letting us reap the consequences of our actions. So I was all prepared to learn a lesson from putting my ring in a place that was not secure by forever losing my beloved wedding ring. It was stupid of me to do it, and so I figured, I would reap the consequences and be ringless for probably another 5 years in to my marriage. I DO believe though, that when God does work miracles, regardless of your stupidity, it is so you can give Him the glory. So blessed be!

Diamonds are a girl's best friend...

2008-08-26T05:27:00.000-07:00

I am a very sad woman. I have lost my wedding ring. I had worn it to church on Sunday and took it off to go swimming at Steph's. When I took it off, I put it in the baby's diaper bag, in the front pocket that velcros shut, and now it is no longer there. The other ring I had on, that I also put in the pocket, was there, but no wedding ring. They were both there when I went running yesterday morning at the park and thought to myself "oh, my rings are in here, I need to remember to get them out and put them up." Which of course, I failed to do so. I went to Walmart and Sam's Club yesterday and neither store has had it turned in. It is not in my car and Mikel and I checked the parking lots at both stores just in case. It is lost.
I loved that ring. It is the ring my wonderful husband of 5 years proposed to me with and used as a symbol of our love and commitment at our wedding. I didn't wear it much anymore, because it scratches the baby, but now I feel naked without it. Mikel was patient and understanding of how upset I was. Even though he constantly is finding my ring by sinks and other precarious places, he did not once say, I told you so.
Hopefully, it has just fallen out here somewhere at the house and not out in the great big world that will probably hock it at a pawn shop. But, if I do not find it, if it does not find it's way back to me, you've been a great ring, my wedding ring. Even if you are eventually replaced, you will always be the ring I remember my husband placing on my finger those 5 years ago.

8 Months Old

2008-08-26T05:26:00.003-07:00

Happy 8 Months to my little man! You are growing so big everyday. It is such a pleasure to be your mom and I hope we continue to have more fun as each day passes and you grow before my very eyes. I love you very very much!

Irritating

2008-08-23T13:02:00.000-07:00

Know what's irritating about selling your house (other than "selling your house")
a) scheduling showings like the cable company schedules house calls (between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. - really?!)
b) Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning and cleaning some more - only to have;
c) the people show up early
d) the people ask if it's ok that they're there early (no, not really, my kid is asleep)
e) the people ask if they can go ahead and walk through the house even if you are there (I guess..?? What are we supposed to say? NO??)
and lastly;
f) the people spend a total of less than 3 minutes walking through my immaculately clean house and then LEAVE!!!
Fine then, don't buy my house. I don't WANT you to buy my exceptionally clean house. I cleaned my oven for you people! My beautiful, clean house deserves better than a 3 minute glance over! *SOB* Did I mention I hate selling our house?

This week

2008-08-22T19:04:00.001-07:00

My girlfriend is PURRRRTY! Here we are at Mercy, visiting Jenn and Maddie. Their birthing suites are very nice!

Jenn and baby Maddie - she has the cutest little button nose, just like her mama

Not these again...This was not such a great day at the Hancock household. This was Thursday, when his screaming began at 4:00 p.m. and has not stopped, except for nap times and night times - save for the wakefulness. You can tell he's not in the best mood.

So this week was fairly uneventful. We continued training for the 5k, which is in approximately one week, had another showing for our house (and have another one tomorrow), went to the hospital to see Jenn and her new baby (Maddie, the girl we have designated as Dunning's future girlfriend and wife), had lunch with my friend Jenny and lunch with my mentor from work, Jeryl. So I guess it was fairly eventful! The biggest event of all came this morning, after Dunning had been screaming all morning long and woke up screaming from his nap. I was on the phone with my Meemaw wishing her a belated happy birthday and had to get off the phone, it was that bad. Teething tablets were not working, I stuck my finger in his mouth to see if putting a litte pressure on his gums would help - something I read somewhere. Lo and behold I felt it - his first little tooth. It has just barely broke through the gums, but you can see and feel the top ridge of his tooth. So I am anticipating some bad nights coming up as it breaks all the way through.

I am going to try to upload a video of Dunning in the bathtub. It's really funny! He is trying to reach for the drain and gets all excited and starts rocking back and forth on his butt like he normally does when something gets him all twitter paited (that's Southern for excited). The bathtub is slippery of course and the rocking propels him forward. It's cute.

We tried mashed nanners again, and didn't quite get any in our mouths, but I think he's warming up to the idea of finger foods. He played with them alot and I put some in his mouth to equate what he was playing with to food. Doubt it made that much of an impression, but every little bit can help I guess! Then I noticed something. My kid has enormous hands! Hmmm. Wonder if I am breeding little giants.

Last, but not least, my Meemaw and her man Allen have been crowned Heber Springs Senior Citizen King and Queen of 2008! They get to ride in the Heber Springs County Fair parade and be crowned at the fair, and later, ride in the Christmas parade! Congrats Queen Margaret and King Allen!

Scoot your boot.

Mashed nanners and giant baby hands. If you listen close, you can hear my dog going psycho outside. This is his new thing. He refuses to be outside for more than 5 minutes and goes crazy scratching up the gate at the top of the stairs on our deck. It's very frustrating!

Cloth Diaper Update

2008-08-18T08:26:00.001-07:00

Ok, so we've now been in cloth for almost two months. I have purchased 8 more Yucky Ducks from Ebay, more velcro, two Imse Vimse cloth diaper covers, terry cloth towels to use as doublers and a Snappi. The Yucky Ducks are kind of a disappointment. They do ok, they're cute and soft. However, D has been eating more food and wets more. He is one heavy wetter! We've been having a lot of leaks lately because he also has learned to sit up and "rock" on his butt, effectively wringing out the insert in the pocket of the diaper, soaking through the "waterproof" layer and on to his outfit. So, I bought some terry cloth microfiber towels to use as doublers because they are only $5 at Walmart and I read somewhere that these make good homemade doublers. They work really well, except they make the diaper a little bulky, so we may work on cutting them in half, folding the half and sewing it together for a less bulky doubler. I also purchased more velcro because the velcro on the Yucky Ducks is cheap and they just put a small little square on it. We purchased the Imse Vimse diaper covers because they are cotton and breathable to replace the vinyl pants which were trapping heat in on top of it being wet in his prefold and giving him diaper rash bad. They work great, are so easy to get on, and can be used at least twice without any dirties. The Snappi keeps the prefold shut under the cover and replaced the pins. I actually like it better than my prefold velcro creation because it is more flexible for his comfort but keeps the diaper secure.
All in all, we've learned some valuable cloth diaper lessons. We are going to save up and purchase some more expensive Bum Genius pocket diapers and see how we like those. His diaper rash is gone and hasn't come back and I really like the fact that I don't have a full diaper pail of disposables to toss each week, even though it means more laundry for me. We are enjoying our cloth diaper experience more and will do it from birth with our next one.

Mama's Milk

2008-08-18T08:20:00.000-07:00

If you haven't gathered by now, we are breastfeeders and proud of it. However, we are not boob snobs. I don't look down on those who don't choose to breastfeed, it's your choice not mine! That being said, I found this really cute and funny breastfeeding tank on Ebay (my newest addiction after red bell pepper hummus from Sam's Club). Mama's milk is GOOD!

Sippy Cup

2008-08-18T05:25:00.001-07:00

Mikel is going to kill me for posting this pic of him without a shirt on, but it's a good picture of D. Sorry babe!

In order to make it fair, here is a picture of me with no makeup and clean, but undone-just-air-dried hair. Oh and the baby is in it too.

Mmmm. Condensation...

A little help here mom.

Since D doesn't like bottles, we've been trying the sippy cup. He hasn't quite got the coordination down to pick it up and get it in to his mouth, but he gets really close. He likes to gum the plastic, I think because it is cold and may feel good on his gums. He really likes drinking water, again, I think because of the cold factor. Yesterday morning, I got to go run without Dunning and his stroller for the first time. I was anxious to see if it would be harder or easier and what my time would be, if I could run the whole time (because I can't while pushing him), etc. I was thrilled to discover that not only did I complete the distance withtout having to stop and walk, but I increased it by a tenth of a mile (a full 5k) and did it all in 30 minutes! Mikel has stepped up his distance to 3.5 miles and did it in 35 minutes! Our goal is to start running 5ks together as a couple and take a picture together at each race and hang the pictures up in a "race wall" collage. Our first one is September 1st at the Promenade. It is the Run for a Child 5k. One of the best things about this whole running is that, combined with breastfeeding, I have the metabolism of Wonder Woman. But that means I am hungry about 5 minutes after I eat, so our grocery bill goes up yet again from all the food Mikel and I are eating. My goal is make Mikel gain weight because he lost 8 pounds over the past year. It wasn't a bad weight loss, it was from cutting something out of his diet, but he is SUPER tall and needs some muscle on his frame to stay healthy. So hopefully I can get him up to a good fightin' weight without gaining weight myself!

Last night I made applesauce out of the apples we got from the farmers' market and he made the funniest face when we fed it to him with his dinner. He ate it all. Then, while he was nursing to go to sleep, I could hear his tummy rumbling and I thought, oh, applesauce before bedtime could be a bad idea. A very very bad idea. But nothing happened and he slept all night long except for his one nursie so we are a very happy little unit today.

Update

2008-08-16T11:46:00.000-07:00

Big boy tub. We think the drain is magic!

Playgroup! We are fascinated with dogs right now. Or "arf arfs" as I call them. Saying "arf arf" makes him laugh.

Nummm numm, anything we can figure out how to get in our mouth gets chewed on.

Eh?

Farmer's Market this morning!

the last onions

Steph's bday-off to Crabby's

Photo op

I love my sissy!

The three amigos (usually there is four, but she was at the lake house. :P)

Going swimmin' at Aunt Stephie's

Mashed nanners anyone? Nope? Me neither!

Welcome to the gun show missy.

Jordy, D and Granny!

Caleb's sweet mohawk

Sorry sorry. It's been a while since we've updated the blog, mainly because I've just been too tired and busy to do so. Dunning has been teething something awful and we haven't been sleeping much at night. So it's hard to motivate myself to update the blog when I just want to nap when he's napping!

Ok so the last two weeks in a nutshell:

Went swimming twice

Had Stephie's bday party and ate at Crabby's

Had mashed nanners (didn't really eat them)

Went to the library

Graduated to the big boy tub

Harvested onions

Went to playgroup

Went to the farmer's market today and got apples, pears, cucumbers and a "sugar baby" melon!

Tomorrow is Suzy-Q's bday - so happy bday Suzy (if you are reading this)!!!

Garden Update

2008-08-05T06:49:00.000-07:00

This is what I got off last night! You can see all the tomatoes in the back ground. This is about half of what I have gotten off. I have made several batches of salsa now. I made one batch last night with the tomatoes in the platter, all the onions I pulled up, serrano chiles from my first year garden that were frozen in the freezer.

Last night after Dunning went to sleep, I went oustide to work in the garden. I just intended to spray my squash plants down with a little soap and baking soda mixture to neutralize the powdery mildew that seems to be attacking them. I ended up out there for a good hour! I trimmed the tomatoes, which also have a fungus, because of all the rain we got at the beginning of the summer, picked green beans, tomatoes, onions, a few bell peppers and cleaned up the squash. The tomato plants now look really bare because I had to trim off most of the leaves in hopes of getting rid of the fungus and encouraging new growth. I accidentally cut off a good branch of romas that haven't ripened yet. I was so mad! I have more tomatoes and green beans than I know what to do with!! I thought the squash plants were done for, but they are amazingly resillent and have started to grow new leaves so I buried the stems in the dirt so they will put down new roots. As the stems grow out almost like a vine, they put down roots to stabilize the plant and get nutrients from the soil. I even have a few more little squashies that are starting to grow! God's design is amazing! I also have more green beans than the jolly green giant. They grow so rapidly that not even the japanese beetles are putting a dent in them. Of course it's so hot that I think most of the beetles just gave up and went back to Japan. I don't use any pesticides since I don't think the garden is big enough to really warrant it and I'd just rather not since I am using some of the veggies for D's baby food. The bell peppers are slower and just now starting to produce. I got three small peppers off. I have four plants right now, but two of them look like they need some help. Tonight I will water and fertilize. I'm also going to plant my fall crop of peas, snap peas, beets, lettuce and spinach. It's my first fall crop. I wanted to do pumpkins too, but you almost need a whole garden just for pumpkins because they are vines. I would love to have more land and do more! Maybe some day! Some day we may all have to do that because of grocery prices!!

Missouri

2008-08-05T06:34:00.000-07:00

A Pizza Hut, A Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut!

You don't have to worry about me crawling any time soon!

The Three Amigos

Jim and Kelsey

Watch out mom and dad! I'm almost there!

Rose and Elmer with Dunning and Carson

Me and Kelsey Belsey

This weekend I headed off to Steph and Brad's cabin for a girls' weekend with Steph and a few of her friends. It was my first night away from D and I was nervous, but ready to take the plunge. Dunning is breat fed and has rejected the bottle, only taking it a very few number of times. I thought surely he would take it over a period of 24 hours. Wrong. He only drank a few ounces each time Mikel offered it - 1-2 ounces at a time. So Mikel just fed him yogurt. He apparently ate one full yogurt cup in one setting. He must have been really hungry. As soon as he saw me on Saturday, he went straight for the boob and nursed for a while.

Anyway, we had a good time, eating lots of food, drinking wine and talking. Saturday morning we went to Branson and shopped during Missouri's tax free weekend. Branson the city did not participate in sales tax free, but the state did - so I guess that means we had a partial tax free shopping spree. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. :(

Sunday, the two Hancock families went back up to Missouri to see Elmer, Mikel and Jim's grandfather, and his wife Rose. We packed all the babies in to Jim and Bridget's van and ate at Pizza Hut and then played at their house.

Thursday

2008-07-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

Mom, it's HOT

Yay! Now it's not quite so hot anymore.

Splash! Gotcha Mr. Crab.

Mmm, mmm good.

I missed a spot.

Charlie wanted in on the action.

Today was super hot - just like the rest of this week has been. We stayed home today after going to story time at the library because we are trying to conserve gas. I have filled up every week for the past three weeks and I am going to Steph's cabin this weekend for a much needed girls' weekend! So, I need the gas left in my tank to go to Missouri! It will be my first night away from the baby! I'll actually get a full night's sleep, well maybe. :)

Like I was saying, it was hot. Since it was so hot and we had time to kill at home, we decided to break out the splash pool and splash around.

Dunning is teething super bad - he would only nurse 4 times today and he usually nurses 6 times plus he refused to take his afternoon nap, which is very unlike him. However, he did take about 5 hours worth of naps yesterday, so he may just not have been tired. Although I sure was and could have used the nap. Although he wasn't really wanting the boobie much today, he did eat like a champ for dad, finishing off half a jar of mommy's homemade sweet taters, some yogurt and some rice cereal. Bowl lickin' good!

Charlie has been staying inside more this week because of how hot it is and because of his allergies. Yup, we would get the dog who has an allergy to GRASS of all things. He is on antibiotics and had a steroid shot last week. He's leaving a lot of fur around, but he is great entertainment for the boy. I can now leave Dunning on the floor with his elephant pillow to cushion any falls and he is happy watching Charlie prance around.

Letter of Apology

2008-07-30T09:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Sir:

I just wanted to say, "I'm Sorry." I'm sorry that you did not see the fact that you were to stop at that little red sign, a sign that I did not have. I'm sorry that your stupidity angered the over protective mom in me, the mom that will protect her baby with all her being, the baby that was in my car with me. I'm sorry that I had to point out and highlight your stupidity by honking at you. I'm sorry that you feel your ancient gold Lexus with missing hub cap gives you some apparent sense of supierority over my plain ol' Civic. It doesn't. I'm sorry that you felt it necessary to tail gate me, honk and yell at me when I did not pull out recklessly in to traffic fast enough for you. I'm sorry you did not get up early enough this morning so that you could have had a more leisurely drive to wherever it was you were going.

Lastly, I'm sorry I made that hand gesture. I was merely trying to point out the stop sign.

Sincerely,

(p.s. sorry mom!)

Stickin' it to the Man

2008-07-29T11:33:00.000-07:00

I don't know if it scares anybody else, but "recession" scares the heck out of me. I really enjoy being a stay at home mom. I also enjoyed work. So, I take tasks at home and make them a little bit like work so that I get a similar feeling of accomplishment. The budget is one of them. No matter how much you do or don't make, I am a firm believer that every household should run by a budget. I didn't used to always believe this, but since I started staying at home, I do. I think Mikel wishes we would have had a baby sooner so that I would have come to this realization a long time ago. But after work, money talk would just stress me out. But now, I have constructed several spreadsheets that maintain our running total budget and our monthly budget. Our monthly budget is done by category item, how much we should spend on this item for the month, a column for actual expenditures, overages by item and a total over/under column so we can analyze where we go over the most and adjust accordingly (most always the ever indefinable "miscellaneous" category). Today, I received our electric bill, up $30 from the past two months. I expected it to go up in the summer months, but the notice that accompanied it was scary. It basically said, get ready, your bill is going to go up up up and there is nothing you can do about it because all Americans use is coal, gas, oil and more coal, gas and then some more oil.
Of course, we've all noticed the gas price increase. Then there is the grocery increase -I'm amazed at how little $50 will get you at the grocery store. Then Cox decides I need to pay $3/more a month for internet (stupid "Power Boost"), and let's not forget the $8/month increase we experienced for car insurance, despite the fact that we just receive a "safe driver" bonus check for not having a wreck or ticket for 5 years! Needless to say, when we discovered AT&T charging us for INCOMING text messages - messages we have no power over - we were a bit upset. Actually, righteous indignation comes to mind. So we actually called them and told them to shut text messages off completely because I'll be darned if we are going to pay them $4 for messages we received from other people (most of which are AT&T customers!). Your not getting my $4, no siree! Talk about stickin' it to the man.
All this to say a few things.
- We REALLY need a renewable energy policy.
- Be conscious of what you are putting out there. Don't be a part of the problem.
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Learn it, love it, make it your mantra. Thank you to my old roomate Gracie, who used to threaten bodily harm if she found a yogurt cup in the trash.
- Beware of hidden costs. It's amazing to me how much money we WASTE. It's like a fun little treasure hunt for me now. It doesn't make a whole lot of difference to our budget whether or not we have a $4 charge for text messages or an $8/month increase in car insurance. But when I found out I could take a safe driver online course and receive an $8/month reduction in our car insurance bill, you can believe I'm gonna take it. And that $80 refund I am due from my pediatrician, they'll hear a lot from me until I get it - that'll cover over half my of my electric bill. I'm sure I'll throw a parade and invite everyone over when I get that check. Just make sure to email or call me to RSVP because your text won't go through.

This weekend

2008-07-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

Whenever I leave Mikel at home with Dunning, I always find fascinating pictures on my camera later on. WHAT prompted this balancing act, I don't know.

Dunning loves to stand and we've been trying out some different ways to get him to stand on his own, safely, so he can learn how to do it without us holding him up.

Mmmmm, yogurty. Gives new meaning to "milk mustache."

My bath time superheroes.

This weekend was a lot of hard work for the Hancock family. A couple of mom's from my mom's club had a garage sale at my house this weekend and the work started on Thursday night and didn't end until Saturday night. We had 4 moms in total, lots of good clothes, baby toys and clothes and other random stuff, including a ceiling fan and a separate light fixture. There were several other garage sales in the area and we thought, man, this is going to be a great sale! Boy were we wrong. We had a total of 10 people come by (or so it seemed) and made $100 between the four of us. I think I ended up making almost $35. I had set up tables, spent a few weeks putting together piles of stuff I could sell, I priced, I made signs, I drove around and posted the signs, I drove BACK around and fixed the signs, and sat for a total of 10 hours in the humid, hazy, sticky heat that passes for summer - all for a measly $35. As Gracie mentioned, it's strange as to what people will and won't buy. They'll buy all of the baby colored socks, but not the white ones. They'll buy a Banana Republic top with Old Navy yoga pants that are WAY too small for you lady. One guy bought my Pier One wine decanter, but passed up the Mr. Beer Micro-Brewery (and trust me, he was no stranger to beer), stating that maybe it was time he quit drinking beer. My ever clever husband then remarked, "But not wine, right?"

Baby Shower

2008-07-27T18:02:00.000-07:00

I look like Stella.

Much better.

Belly belly!

I went to my friend from my old job's baby shower this week. She has four more weeks and looks so cute with her little basketball of a tummy. She is the one that I painted the pink flor de leis painting for. She cried.

Dunning was the hit of the party, until he got really fussy. He was sleepy and hungry. Not a great combo. But he did get dressed up in a bow and a hat before it was all said and done.

Woman's Rant

2008-07-23T10:54:00.001-07:00

Ok. As women, we all need to stick together. It's a tough world out there for moms, grandmothers, friends, sisters, daughters, etc. Let's not make it any tougher. The world puts out a stigma of impossible, and incredibly unhealthy, beauty. You must fit these dimensions or you are not what we consider "beautiful." We should be banding together to reject this rigid and ridiculous standard by telling each other how beautiful we really are.
Things you should do:
- Be a nice driver
- Write thank you notes (although I often forgot this practice, it is one I resolve to be better at)
- Sincerely compliment other women (Love your hair, nice shirt, great bag, etc.) But don't say "nice hair" if the woman is sporting a mullet. Let's not encourage those trends that just truly are a BAD IDEA. Find something else to sincerely compliment.

Things you should not under any circumstance do:
- Be rude just because
- Be mean and spiteful just because
- and finally, do not under any circumstance...
ASK OR ASSUME A WOMAN IS PREGNANT IF SHE HAS NOT, TO YOU DIRECTLY, SAID "HEY I'M PREGNANT."
Ever. ESPECIALLY if you are another woman.

My Kid - King of the Crazy Haired Babies

2008-07-23T10:53:00.001-07:00

Cousin play time

2008-07-23T10:43:00.001-07:00

Yes?

I will eat your arm...or at least your wrist rattle.

AH HA! Carson found his own cow and commenced eating.

Kelsey Belsey and her baby blues.

Dunning in his effort to be mobile, likes to use my legs as a prop.

I love you mom.

Hmmm. I want to touch your head.

Hmmm...I want to eat your hand.

D and I went over to Bridget's yesterday while our house was being shown. The babies had fun playing together. Carson and Kelsey have Bridget's big blue eyes. Right now, Dunning also has these stunning blue eyes, but Mikel's are hazel (so he says, I say more blue), and mine are as brown as brown can be. So who knows what D will turn out with. Probably hazel like Mikel.

Carson has two teeth and is trying to cut some more, so he tried to chew on Dunning's hand. It's so funny watching the babies grow. It's amazing. Almost overnight, Dunning has learned that he can indeed be mobile, he just has no idea how. So he'll start out sitting up and then roll over to the side, kind of on his knees on my legs, and then eventually down to the floor on his back or his belly. He has figured out how to roll, so he goes from back to belly to back to belly, but I don't think he has quite realized that this will actually get him places. Right now it is just something he has figured out he can do.

After the house showing, Mikel ate with Jim and Bridget and Bridget's brother Bobby while I went to MNO at Carrabas with my mom's club. We talked about our kids, our husbands, our labor stories and other things that make men cringe. Good times!

Garden time

2008-07-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

Last week, I took D outside while I worked in the garden. He loved it. He mainly loved just watching Charlie run around outside. Cheap entertainment. I need to go back out there soon, but it's just so darn hot outside. Yesterday it was 102!

Adventures in food

2008-07-23T10:33:00.000-07:00

D likes apples. Not applesauce or apple juice, just apples. I think he likes the way it feels on his gums.

This week, we tried carrots. I steamed them and then pureed them with a little water to make our own carrot yummies. He loves them. We had to discontinue the squash as he has some strange rash that showed up on his upper body after we tried them for a few days. It's either a heat rash or a reaction to the squash. Hope it's nothing to be worried about. So we'll watch it and hope it goes away so we don't have to go to the doctor.

Same same

2008-07-23T10:30:00.001-07:00

You know Mikel always said that he wanted him and the boy to have matching outfits (ok, he may not have actually said this, but I'm sure he was thinking it). But for some reason, when I brought Dunning out of his room after dressing him for church on Sunday, Mikel said "you didn't." I said, "oh yes, I did. And I'm taking pictures."