I have to say, I am very, very happy 2008 is over. :)
So, this new year started fabulously. I just turned 36, which is my favorite number. And to celebrate, I met with a good friend from college and ran the Disney World Marathon. It was the BEST! It was an incredible race, birthday, weekend and I can't think of a better way to start 2009! If any of you are thinking of running a marathon, I would highly recommend it! They even had CHOCOLATE on the course. So, of course, I will do it again one day. So, if anyone is interested, let me know! I definitely plan on running it again! I finished it in 5 hours and 13 minutes, 1 minutes slower than when I ran my first (and fastest) marathon when I was in the Army. Pretty incredible, since I barely trained. :) So now I am completely excited about running. I am signed up, with darling Julie, to run the Shamrock Half Marathon in VA Beach in March and then the Marine Corps Half Marathon in May with 20 or so of my See Mommy Run friends in VA. I so miss them and am so excited to see them! :)
So, I tried dating. I must have gone on a dozen first dates. This is what I learned. I hate dating. I've never done it before. I just would be friends with someone and things would develop. To me, that is normal. How do you even attempt to start a romantic relationship with someone you don't even know? I know people do it all the time, but to me it is beyond weird. And running for 5 hours during the marathon, I figured some additional things out. I don't want a boyfriend, relationship, fling, date, or anything else along those lines for a very long time. I mean, I can barely keep up with the laundary! Having one more thing to attend to does NOT sound like fun. And I am just plain old not ready. I think it will take me a very long time to be able to trust someone again. Luckily for me, I have tons of time. Every other weekend, when every other weekend is not even for certain, severely limits my social life and will give me a nice, long time to get to know people. And I think that is a very good thing. :)
But I have some recommendations for all of those men who are thinking of dating a single mama:
1.) Do not show up drunk (seriously!)
2.) If you are still living with your mama and have never, ever lived on your own....please rethink who you are dating and why. My thought....do I LOOK like I need another kid, especially in the form of an adult?!???
3.) Do not even mention "when I meet your kids" on a first, second, or even fortieth date. What went through my head was how to most quickly get out of the situation and RUN!
4.) If you are questioning her for not returning e-mails in a timely fashion and then indignantly ask "do you think you are seriously busier than me?" when she explains that she has serious time constraints, you will automatically be voted off the island. Then she will go laugh with her girlfriends for a very long time.
I could go on, but those were my favorites. To be fair, I did meet some very nice people as well. And I wasn't interested and then I met someone I actually liked realized I was not even close to ready. So...moving on! :)
Nicholas is now 3 years and almost 8 months old. And still not potty trained. So now when people ask if he is still wearing diapers and look concerned, I am thinking maybe I should do something about that. Nick had been doing much better in general but had a major regression over the holidays and went full force in a tantruming, very upset little boy. He seems to be coming out of it. That, and I lock him in his room at night now, and when you read what I learned this month, you will probably understand why. It seems to make him feel more secure and he is sleeping better though, so that's good. And today he was sweet and pleasant before I had to go to work, which I really enjoyed. I am hoping my parents are experiencing the same thing. And this is my last Sunday of work, by the way...woohoo!!! :)
Michael just started walking this week! He is totally adorable. He is still very pleasant and sweet...and hungry. Very, very hungry. I think he may eat more than I do, which is impressive, because I eat quite a lot! He and Nick have been sick over the past week though, so he has slowed down. Michael loves playing ball, dances whenever he hears music, and has words and favorites. He says "what is that?" constantly. Many times while pointing to Nick. ;)
So, here is what I have learned over the past month:
-A gallon of milk can somehow spray up about 5 feet on a wall when someone attempts to pour it into a cup.
-A gallon of milk takes about 4 towels to clean up
-So does a gallon of juice
-3 year olds think they can make a sandwich out of their brothers. They spread peanut butter and jelly on them and make a bread hat for the top. I don't know if they will really try to eat their peanut butter and baby brother jelly sandwich because I was too busy screaming and trying to corral 2 very sticky kids into a bath tub at the time.
-If there is a cookie, candy, sprinkles, or anything else with sugar in the house, a 3 year old can find it. Even if you didn't know it existed. And he will risk his life to do so by stacking chairs, boxes, or anything else he things will work. But if he eats an entire bag of candy, he will kindly save his mama one to try to placate her.
-Toasters are facinating to 3 year olds. They want to see what they can do. We have learned toys get stuck and paper makes smoke. At 4 AM. And the smoke will wake mama up and she will make the command decision that locking her child in his room is much less hazardous than what he can do when wandering freely at night or while she is in the shower.
-If you ask a guy in the hardware store for a recommendation on how to lock your child in the room, he will look alarmed. When you explain the situation, he will ask, "is his name Dameon?" And then he will help you. :)
-If you get to the start line of a marathon and found you forgot your racing chip (which is how they measure your time and shows that you were actually there) you can make it from the startring area to the taxi area to the hotel, back to the taxi area, to the starting area, to the start line (which was like a MILE away!) in about 50 minutes. And you will realize that your friend who went all the way there and back with you and who risked missing the start of the race and sprinted over 3 miles before a 26 mile race just to run the race with you is a very, very good friend. :)
-26.2 miles is a very long way.
-Applesauce, when flung by a 3 year old, can fly about 7 feet. And when the 1 year old, who thinks it is hilarious, flings his applesauce as well, it can go about 4 feet.
-Those who say not to use TV as a babysitter have never been a single mom. It is amazing what can be accomplished in 30 minutes and everyone is happy. It's like magic!
I think that's about all for now. I am writing from work as it is an especially slow (which is so nice!) day. I will post pictures soon. Soon in single mama time could be months, but I will make every effort to get them up in real time soon. :)
Happy January and happy 2009, everyone! :)
