Dragons, Pigs and Silver Seahorses

It is amazing to me how all of a sudden around age 3, Morgan's imagination suddenly blossomed revealing the world of his mind filled with creatures and ideas that I didn't know he knew about. Since most of his buddies are older than him and have been imagining thigs for a while now, I was beginning to wonder if he was just not going to have an active imagination, and then one day out of nowhere, there it was. A vivid imagination beyond my wildest expectations.

Lately, we have had lots of visitors joining us on our daily adventures. Dragons on the ceiling or pooping in the bathtub, pigs who pester him during breakfast to the point where he wants to go open the door so they will leave, and silver seahorses and a purple octopus tickling his feet in the swimming pool. With a vivid imagination of my own, I certainly don't want to discourage this imaginative creativity, but the pig is really starting to disrupt our breakfast time! So, today I told Morgan he either needed to become friends with the pig or tell him to wait by the door during breakfast. I am hopeful that this attempt to feed his budding imagination does not backfire and result in sort of psychological disorder...my parents acknowledged my imaginary friend growing up, and I turned out mostly normal, right?

Sicky

Poor little Chloe is sick sick sick (thus my blogging while I should be at church)!From Friday night to Saturday morning she came down with a serious wheezing cough, runny nose, gooby eyes and cranky temperament. She was bad enough that we took her in yesterday to the doctor covering for our pediatrician instead of waiting until Monday and it was a good thing we did. She has Croop, an double eye infection, and wheezing lungs. She had to do a breathing treatment in the office and home breathing treatments every 6 hours in addition to a steroid medication and eyedrops. Poor little thing. It does make for some good cuddle time though!

Redefined

Even though my definition of self has been a moving target, constantly changing and evolving, I have always had a realistic grasp on who I am. During my high school days, I certainly wasn't popular, but I was well liked, excelled in academics and most people knew me as a singer (and possibly actress, but I kind of hope not). In college, I was a major social butterfly. I was always planning fun things for everyone to do and making sure that everyone felt included and befriended. I was less focused on academics than in high school, but I was still maintaining a full ride scholarship with a 3.7 GPA, working 2 jobs, dating A LOT, and playing A LOT! Sleeping was low on the priority list. After getting married, I strongly resembled my college self, minus the dating a lot part, but pregnancy and Morgan joining our family changed everything. I became a more grown-up stuffy version of my former self. I was a working mother. I could do it all, be it all, and love it all (thanks to major efforts and support on the part of my cute hubby) until I collapsed into bed at 10:30 pm.

But, becoming a stay-at-home mom changed everything. If you had asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up at any given point in my life, I would have told you I wanted to be a stay-at-home-mom. But, in my mind, I had a picture of what that would be for me...a "cool" mom. A mom who played with the kids and made carnivals in the backyard and went on fun and exciting adventures to lots of fun and exciting places. A mom who headed up the PTA and organized community activities and playgroups and such. A mom whose teenagers and their friends would come and hang out with because she was fun and easy to relate to. This was my mom...minus the stay-at-home mom part. What this definition would not have included was the "Betty Crocker" mom. The mom who has freshly baked cookies every day as an after-school snack, the mom who bakes her own bread to top with homemade jam from a vast expanse of food storage, the mini-van driving mom who shows up early to pick up her kids so she can finish that latest sewing project.

Well, after going, going, going my whole life, becoming a stay-at-home mom lacked the zest and excitement I thought it would hold and has most definitely been the biggest adjustment I have EVER had to make. I found myself in serious need of learning and stimulation for my over-active brain. I wanted to go places all the time and do new things every day, but realized that kids are often happier when they just get to hang out at home and play with their toys with you. Filling naptime with work seemed like a great idea...but when it started spilling out into awake time I realized that it wasn't working. So, I took up sewing, recovered a couch, refinished a houseful of furniture, started making dinner every night from new and exciting recipes, took up frequent baking and learned to make candies from scratch. I taught myself to quilt and make tutus. I took on home decor projects and made my own wall art, and before I knew it, after admiring my own garden and the harvest that was starting to come, I was picking apricots from my neighbor's fruit tree so I could make some jam for my year's supply.

Last night, as I stirred my first batch of jam while it popped and sputtered onto my skin (ouch - no one mentioned that making jam is painful) I realized that I have redefined "Mom" in my mind. So I make homemade jam...it is so yummy. So I plan to can peaches...storebought canned peaches are not nearly as delish! So I sew and make crafts...my house looks much cuter that way. So I have food storage..how else am I supposed to entertain in a crisis? I am also the mom that has a membership to just about every fun place in the valley...and gets her money's worth from all of them, the mom who jumps on the bed, the mom who isn't afraid to put on a suit and run through the sprinklers or slide on the slip-n-slide, the mom whose house is fun to hang out at whether she has kids your age or not, the mom who has treats readily available, the mom who listens to hip-hop and alternative rock and dances crazy with her kids in front of the living room picture window (okay I usually close the blinds, but still). I am happy to be that mom! I am a redefined version of the mom I have always wanted to be and FINALLY, I can embrace that and say with pride, "This is who I am!"

The Marathon

Those of you who know me well, can probably guess that this post has nothing to do with ME running a marathon. And you are correct...this post is a tribute to my overly ambitious Grandpa who runs 3 or 4 marathons each year at age 81 and his story. Yesterday was Pioneer Day here in Utah - a celebration of the day we became a state and the heritage that made that possible - and to commemorate there is a parade, marathon and various other races in the morning followed by festivities at the park all day, some fun Tate family traditions and awesome fireworks. The festivities rival and are often better than those on the 4th of July. I love Pioneer Day - Utah pride baby!

So back to the story, my mom's dad, Grandpa TM took up running when he retired from working. Since then Grandma Colleen and Grandpa TM have travelled the world running interesting marathons...Czech Republic, Disney World, Boston (a couple of times), Alaska, somewhere in the Caribbean, California Redwoods, and many many more. For his 80th birthday, he celebrated by running the Grand Slam - 5 marathons in 6 months and he finished all of them, winning most of them for his age bracket (not hard when there are only 2 in the age bracket).

Well, every year, Grandpa runs the 24th of July marathon, never mind that it is one of the hottest, hilliest (is that a word), and most trying marathons out there. So, every year, we go and cheer him on. I am pretty pathetic when it comes to cheering on the runners. In sheer awe and utter inspiration of what they are doing, I get teary just seeing a runner jogging by, so I am always too choked up to cheer. Well, this year we got a late start so we met Grandpa at mile 22 by Rice Eccles Stadium. We barely got there in time to see him running toward us, so Grandma was filming and my mom, the kids and I walked with Grandpa down to the corner. Since he hadn't seen her, Grandpa asked where Grandma was and we assured him that she was there, just behind the camera.

After we waved him off and wished him luck, we hurried down to South Temple and 500 S. to cheer for him again. As we sat waiting and watching for him, I realized how sweet it all is. A few nights before the race, my grandparents sit down and map out which landmarks Grandma will be waiting at and what times Grandpa should be there based on his most recent runs. And so it goes...Grandma gets to the first "stop" early to see how he is doing and then calls all who are coming to cheer to let them know what time he will be at the next landmarks. Then once she sees him, she drives to the next landmark, and on and on until the end of the race. Pretty amazing if you ask me!

Well, when he got down to us, Chloe went running up to him, arms outstretched and smiling face and got her wish when Grandpa picked her up...at mile 24! I immediately took her back the little stink, but not before she gave him loves. Morgan wanted to be picked up too, but I put my foot down there!

So to Grandpa TM, who has completely given up on the idea that I might ever run like the rest of my family, I hope to be cheering you on from the sidelines for many years to come. Thanks for inspiring me with your dedication, commitment and service. Love you!

The camera battery was dead for fireworks so no pictures here, but thanks to all who came to watch with us...we love the reunion of friends old and new every year and this year's fireworks were AMAZING!

ObSHOEssion

Like a true girl, Chloe is obsessed with shoes. Every time she finds a shoe, she brings it to me and says "shoe," over and over as she stickes her foot out so I can put it on her. If I don't put the shoe on her foot right away (like today when she was already wearing shoes on both feet), she has a complete meltdown until you can distract her with something else. She also likes to wear Morgan, Mommy or Daddy's shoes over her own shoes and wander around the house. She loves her shoes so much that she even takes them to bed with her. Some kids have stuffed animals, my little girl has shoes. I am pretty sure that we are going to be in big trouble when this girl gets older!

Fabulous

That is the word I would use to describe the concert we just went to...John Mayer and Colbie Caillat at Usana Amphitheater. This is the 4th time I have seen John Mayer in concert here in SLC and it made me remember why it is worth it every time! If you have not seen this man in concert, really, you need to go - in fact next time he comes, I'll go with you! He is utterly amazing and hillarious and entertaining the entire time he is on stage! Granted, he is my #1 favorite musician and the artist of my #1 favorite song of all time, but still.


Colbie Caillat did not disappoint either. Some people make really great CDs and are terrible live, but she was awesome. I love her fun, catchy songs and her down-to-earth personality. She is not terribly exciting to watch on stage, but I hope she makes another CD, because I love her music! She is definitely worth checking out if you haven't already!

Best of all, I love outdoor concerts. I love that I can be a lazy bum and sit on the grass while I jam to some good tunes, or I can stand up and jump around crazy with excitement when my favorites come on! It was just a fun night out with the hubby! Thanks to Michael and Sarah for joining us and to Aunt Smelly (don't worry, this is a nickname she prefers and enjoys) for watching the kiddos.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Spending time with Seth the last two days has been like a little bit of heaven on earth. It is crazy how stupid things like running errands with kids and watching TV can be so enjoyable when you get to do them with the one you love! I have actually slept the last 2 nights, which has been wonderful, I put eyeliner on yesterday for the first time in a week and I have noticed a little spring in my step! Even though he is working today and I had to do the whole church with 2 kids thing by myself, it all seems okay, because I know that he will only be gone for the day and he will be back to hang out tonight! Hooray for being in love with the man you are married to!

Sick as a Dog

So, I must reclaim my negative comments about my little Roxy. It probably wasn't her fault she pooped in her kennel. She now has some sort of stomach bug and cannot control her nasty pooping, so the poor thing has had to spend the better part of 2 days outside in the backyard heat. Currently she is sleeping on my bed , but as soon as she moves from her sleeping position, it is back to the yard! I have to say that I am glad Seth came home early so he could deal with all of the potty messes before Roxy got quarantined to the yard! So, everyone keep your fingers crossed that Roxy's bug passes quickly...mostly for Seth's sake!