Pockets

I want pockets like Micah.



So I'm sticking my hands down my pants.

How cute (and SMART) am I?

(Thank you, Jessica, for the photo).

Snow day (x) two

Today was the second snow day. My kindergartner was out of school again, I still felt sick and my toddler was still as rambunctious as ever.

No one cared that Mommy still had to work, even if school was called off, even if she felt sick.

No one cared that we hadn't been out of the house since Saturday. (Today is Wednesday, mind you).

No one cared that I was out of coffee.

Snow days would be a lot more fun if a. we could get of the house and if b. I also got the day off from work. Think how much fun snow days would be in the summer?! Swimming, riding bikes, trips to the park!

Snow days in winter, especially on days when the driveway isn't shoveled and the wind chill is below zero, are no fun. You can't even really go sledding.

The day turned out just fine actually. And, yes, I'm exaggerating the awfulness above. I took the kids to daycare, I went to the doctor (I have a sinus infection. Bring on the antibiotics!) and made a quick stop at the gym before returning home to work, in peace and quiet. I got a lot done.

And now I'm going to get my babies, with the renewed sense of how much I love them that only a small break from them can bring.

And tonight after they're in bed?

A glass of wine and an Internet search for cheap tickets to Cancun.

Putting the baby girl to bed

I've made it more difficult than it should be.

I never stopped rocking her to sleep. And now she's 20 months old and used to the cuddling. So to get out of it, I know what has to happen. Laying her down, kissing her goodnight and then putting up with the crying.

Doesn't sound fun.

I made another mistake a few weeks ago, though. I added a step to falling asleep. Nice work, Mommy.

It was right before Christmas and my beautiful daughter wouldn't go to sleep.

She was overtired, and she was crying. I turned off the lights and we sat down to rock like every other night, but this night she wouldn't stop crying.

I tried hushing her, rocking faster, covering her up with a blanket but nothing worked. Really, she just needed to fall asleep.

I tried singing. "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" got a, "No, Mama!" "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" got a similar response, as did the ABCs.

On a last-ditch whim, I tried "Jingle Bells."

It worked. Hallelujah, the child stopped crying! And within minutes, she fell asleep.

Relieved and a little proud of myself, I sneaked out of the room, my baby resting soundly. "Jingle Bells," I thought. Who knew?

Well, about four weeks later, I want to chuck the lyrics to "Jingle Bells" right out of my brain. Know why? Because I've had to sing it EVERY bedtime and nap-time since. Every single one. And if I stop after five or six rounds because, I don't know, I'm TIRED, I get, "Mooore Jingle Bells, Mama. MOOORE Jingle Bells" in a sort of whiny little girl voice.

So then I sing more. I've started whispering it and only singing the chorus, in the honest hope that she'll get bored and ask me to stop.

No such luck. Yet. At least she falls asleep ...

Until I decide to stop rocking and singing all together. Oh, boy.

Read more from me daily on momaha.com.

O, Christmas tree

Every morning when I get my baby girl from her bed and we go out to the living room, she says, "Oh! Christmas tree, Mama!"

And every morning then, I plug in the three strands of lights and light up that big tree we chose ourselves.

We got the tree last weekend from a tree farm called Santa's Woods. It was low-key and awesome, though bitterly cold.



We took a tractor-pulled hayrack ride out to the trees and then another smaller one pulled by two Clydesdales out to more trees. We chose as quickly as possible, mainly because it was so cold. I'd bundled Paige up in layers and joked that she was like the little boy in "A Christmas Story" who can't put his arms down.



It must not have been enough, though, because she still started crying from cold out in the field.



We sat by a campfire for a few minutes after choosing the tree and got mini candy canes from a friendly Santa.

They strapped the tree to the top of my car for us and away we went. Rye and I decorated it the next day, while Paige took her nap.



The best part is how much my kids love this Christmas tree. It's already got me worried about how I'll soothe their sadness in a few more weeks when it's time to throw the tree out.

Oh well. Until then, we're enjoying it to the fullest.

I ran 7 miles through the November cold WHY?

This is why:



This was me at the end, fingers frozen like Popsicles, feet numb like nubs.

HAPPY.

You can see it, right? That smile is the look of accomplishment, of "Holy hell, I just did that. And I did FINE!"

The idea of running Living History Farms each year scares me to death. Seven miles of running, NINE creeks to cross. Many hills to climb. Lots of mud. 8,000 other runners - many in costume and whooping and hollering.

This was the second time I've run it.

I enjoyed this time more than the first, I think. It felt, somehow, easier. Somehow, I was tired at the end but not at exhaustion. Never did I think, "I can't finish."

Instead, I dove straight into that frigid water up to my thighs at some points and trudged across those creeks. I let complete strangers help me up the muddy embankments a couple times.

I did it.

Just do it - the Nike slogan - used to be one of my mantras during my jock-ish years of jr. high and high school.

I think it's one we can live by our whole lives.

Check out these legs:



Now, who wants to run with me next year?

Happy 1/2 birthday!

It wasn't difficult.

It didn't take much time, money or advance preparation.

But the half birthday celebration I put together for my babies yesterday was well worth it.

We had store-bought pizza that I cooked in the oven.

We had a bouquet of balloons that cost $8 from the grocery store's floral department.

I made cupcakes, from a box and a jar.

I gave some to Rye to bring to Paige's daycare as a treat. He said, "Thank you, Mom!" as he carefully carried in the covered Tupperware container after school.

Paige and Rye had cupcakes there before coming home to our little party here.

I bought candles for 88 cents.

Grandma and Aunt Ashley and Uncle Justin came over.

We sang "Happy half birthday, Paige and Rye" and afterward Paige quietly sang "Happy birthday!" to herself in the long, drawn-out way toddlers pronounce their words.

It was genuinely fun.

Here's to celebrating half birthdays. Because they're only a kid once.

(Afterward, Paige took all the candles that'd been thrown on the table and stuck them into her cupcake, wick down. Loved it!)

Beer and Bagel 2010

I ran the 2010 Beer and Bagel Run this morning. It was awesome!

I did not have any beer afterward, but many of the nearly 1,500 runners who finished the race did. What can I say? I didn't feel like drinking at 9:30 on a Sunday morning. Honestly, though, I almost went to get a glass, just to mark this particular running milestone off my list. If I wasn't going home to take care of a toddler and a 5-year-old maybe I would have.

At any rate, the race was at Quarry Oaks Golf Course near Ashland, Neb., a four-mile run on a perfect November day. I was so cold at the start that I was shivering, but I quickly warmed up, and my legs felt good.

Much of the course was on a trail through the woods, some of it was on the golf course itself. There were many hills. I quickly remembered that this girl hates uphills, loves downhills. Why doesn't everyone just fly down the hills? That's how I make up time after my abysmally slow climbs up. Or that's what I tell myself.

I finished 377th out of the nearly 1500 runners. Not too bad. My time was 35:40, also not too bad for a true cross country course and my first race since January.

I'm glad I did it. Though my legs might tell me otherwise tomorrow.

And, boy, could I use a nap right about now!

(Wish I had a picture, but, alas, still no camera).