FEAST WITH THE BEASTS 2012

 The Jackson Zoo's annual Member's Only event "Feast with the Beasts" was a great way to start our long weekend! Poor Jay is bogged down with an extremely busy final semester and couldn't come along, but the kids and I met up with the Sanchez crew for animal viewing, free food, bouncy house fun, and a carousel and train ride to end the night.

(Watching the tiger and yelling "RAWR!")

Quick nostalgia break: look how much smaller they were at this event last year!

(Watching the magician)

(Watching a zookeeper feed bananas to the chimps)

(It made me smile to look back at last year's Feast with the Beasts blog post and see that Cora chose the same animal - the giraffe - that James did)

(Getting temporary tattoos - first time!)

(My camera is partially busted due to kid fingers always messing with the lens cover... In the dark of the train ride, I didn't realize it wasn't fully open. Still a cute Sanchez family photo though!)

(This one stayed awake until we were 10 minutes from the house, then passed out. I couldn't resist a picture before I finished pulling her out of the car)

(And this one stayed awake until about 9:30pm. NO IDEA how he did that, crazy kid!)

REGRESSION FRUSTRATION

Cora has had such a bad week... Normally, she has 0-1 accidents overnight per week, 0-1 at school, and 0-2 with us at home in the evenings/weekends (because she gets busy playing, usually outside, and we forget that she's only 2-years-old and we sometimes have to remind her to use the potty, since Miss Independent generally just takes herself). So far this week (since Sunday), she hasn't had a dry night (some nights she's had TWO accidents - good thing we still have her sheets stacked!), she's had multiple accidents (on the same day, even) at school, and she's been defiant about accidents at home. So what gives? Is she regressing? We thought that might happen when school started back in August and the little kids (AKA the ones still in diapers) moved up to the K2 class, but she was fine then. She's been getting good reports and notes such as "Cora is my potty superstar!" from her teacher (so we're not the only ones worried about what's up with her this week). It's been frustrating, for sure, and we'd love to hear ideas if anyone would like to share their thoughts!

She really is our little morning buddy. Almost always awake before James, eating her breakfast and dancing around the kitchen. In these particular photos, she's 1) dressed at 6:30am because she'd wet her bed (and jammies) for the second time overnight, and 2) in her undies for the same reason. While she seems unconcerned by this week's issue, we'd prefer to have our pajama-clad morning buddy back ASAP...

SCHOOL PORTRAITS: FALL 2012

I'm sorry, but I find it hilarious that we have to crop Cora's undies out of a school portrait...

 Sorry, these are just proofs, so the quality isn't very good. Had to share though - I think for the most part the kids did well smiling for the camera and looking adorable!

MY FAVORITE MONTH!

It's here! October is here!

Time for fall colors, cooler weather, campfires and cookouts, costumes and candy, multiple parties and trips to the zoo, festivals, Corps Day, pumpkin patches and corn mazes, and my birthday! I LOVE OCTOBER!

RNR NOLA IS A GO!

It's official! I couldn't wait until the end of October to register (I was anxious, AND there was a $15 off coupon following the Saints last home game), so I am now monetarily committed (the best way to convince yourself that you MUST train well and consistently) to run the Rock'n'Roll New Orleans Half Marathon! I'm SUPER excited! And not just for myself, but because my buddies Christina and Sophie are running it too. Sophie is actually running the FULL marathon (go Sophie!!) and we're VERY likely to register Jay for the half after the Saints last home game (when we'll have another chance at a registration fee coupon). I meant to get a group photo with Christina and Sophie on our run yesterday morning, but I spaced it. It just felt SO GOOD to be back out there running again (even though my body is going to take a little time to get back in it's running groove), and I plan to take it real slow and easy as I move my mileage back up. Not to mention, it was awesome to see so many ladies out there hitting the pavement on a Saturday morning (Cari joined us, and we bumped into Kristi and Ashley as we started out).

I'm pretty certain this will be a great first half marathon experience for me. Just like the one I'd originally planned to do in Florida, the elevation change throughout this course is extremely minimal (not surprising, since New Orleans is partially below sea level and the only hills they have are overpasses). Since I train in the hills, I'm hoping the flat course will just be that much easier (since I'm only planning to train to the 10-mile mark). Plus, there will be band stands throughout the course to provide entertainment. And having so many friends and family there to support me will make it that much better. So here's to a great training season!

SANCHEZ SITTING

Sophie and Alex decided that 13.5 months was plenty long enough to go between date nights, so we got to watch Manu and Leo tonight! We bribed James all day long with the promise that Manu would come play at his house as long as he behaved nicely, helped clean up, ate his lunch, took a nap, etc. Worked like a charm. He was thrilled when Manu arrived, and the two were inseparable all night long.

We were prepared for Leo to be sad (he doesn't like being away from his parents, especially his mama), but were surprised at how well he did. Only two small episodes of fussing/crying and looking for his parents (here Cora was saying "It's OK. It's OK Leo. Come play with me!") and otherwise he was walking all over, talking to us, and even playing with the big kids. I was pretty proud of him!

I've never had more snuggles from him than I got tonight though, so that was pretty awesome too. He's SUCH a sweet little guy!

Dinner took some negotiating (for the older boys, anyway), but everybody ended up eating about 2 slices each of pizza. Admittedly, we did have to separate James and Manu to get them to quit goofing off though. No wonder their teacher put them at different tables at school!

Cora and Leo really got into their dinners, so a bath was in order to scrub the pizza sauce from their faces and ears and necks and hands and arms. I wonder if this was Leo's first bath with a girl - hee hee!

After dinner and bath, the kids were getting a little tired/grumpy, so we broke out the balloons (side note: If you don't currently keep a bag of balloons in your kitchen junk drawer, you need to start - there is no quicker fix for cranky toddlers than a game of balloon toss). Cora picked pink (of course), James wanted yellow, Manu chose green, and we gave Leo purple. We were impressed with how well each kid kept to their assigned color (we did that to avoid arguments). Even little Leo knew which balloon was his, and would continually crawl and WALK around after it.

All in all, I'd say we had a very successful night. It's good to know we can handle 4 little kids at once (we've watched Jacob and Bridger before, but they are a SUPER easy 8- and 10-year-old, so tonight was definitely a good test for us), since LOTS of our local friends have 2 children each now. See how marketable we are as babysitters for sitter swaps? You have our phone numbers, just let us know when we're needed. Call of duty and whatnot ;-)

APPLE DAY

Today was "Apple Day" at school, so the kids wore their red/apple clothes (Cora was very interested in pointing out ALL the apples on her outfit - Gramma, can you believe it STILL fits her so well?!), and I wore red too (and yes, I will definitely be one of those moms that dresses up along with her kids for spirit days!)

They celebrated the day with apple muffins, apple pie, caramel apples, apple bread, apple pastries, apple juice, apple sauce, and caramel apple suckers.

They were ridiculously hopped-up on sugar by the time they showed up at my office late this afternoon (after James and Jay had visited Mr. Downey for hair cuts), but it didn't matter. We headed out to the Castle Club's Oktoberfest (where we enjoyed free beer, and purchased brats and hot pretzels for dinner - the kids picked the salt off theirs), and the kids ran off their sugar-high before we headed home for our usual Friday night movie.

FALL NIGHTS

It may not feel like it during the heat of the day, but fall IS in the air here in the Deep South. Our mornings have been gorgeous (SO GLAD I can restart my Saturday morning runs this weekend!), and the evenings have been cool enough for family walks after dinner. It's so nice to get out into the quiet and the dark, listen to the animals (it's almost hunting season, so deer are ALL OVER our neighborhood), and talk and sing with contained kiddos. Giving them headlamps is just icing on the cake for them. Have I mentioned I LOVE this time of year?...

SLEEPY GIRL

Somebody missed their nap at school today (or at least didn't get her usual GOOD nap). Lucky for her, the weather has cooled off (providing outdoor comfort and car blankets for cool morning rides) and daddy found a shady spot to lay her down while he and James ran around the track.

SO MUCH FOR MODESTY

I know, I know... We tried so hard to protect Cora's modesty on the blog when she was an infant, and just look at her now. If I never posted photos of her in her undies (or nekkid), there would definitely be days where I just couldn't post any pictures at all. This girl is impossible to keep clothed in the house (and driveway). Hopefully she's not so free at school (pretty sure her strongly Christian academy would frown deeply at that), though I did find her out back playing shoe-less in the dirt this afternoon. She's definitely a free spirit...

(Yeah, yeah. I know James is often nekkid in photos too. He's not as bad about it as Cora though. His shtick is wearing his pajama bottoms commando...) 

LONG OVERDUE

The cars were LONG overdue for a wash and vacuum, so I recruited the kids to help. They were game until I declared us done with the hose. Then they just sat and ate ice cream while I sweated it out with the vacuum...

THIS GUY...

...woke me up 1 minute before my alarm went off this morning by shaking the gate at the TOP of the stairs, wearing his Waldo glasses, and already full of energy and charm. Very unlike him for 6:45am...

SUPER GIRL!

FAMILY TREES

Ms. Reese's 3K family tree project wall

THURSDAYS: REFRESHED

 Mondays and Thursdays (and every other Friday) are my days to pick up the kids from school (because Jay has class from 6-9pm on Tuesday nights and wants to get some time with them before class, and he has class from 4-6pm on Thursdays). Since Mondays will be one of my two weekly "rest days" once I start running again, I decided to make those "fun days" for the kids (meaning, they don't have to go to the gym daycare while mama works out, not that they mind the gym - they actually love going there and seeing their buddies that they don't see elsewhere). Instead, we go to the park, or go out for ice cream, or go home and ride bikes. Whatever the kids feel like doing. Thursdays are gym days. However, last week Sophie talked me into trying Spin Class, and while I hated pretty much every second of it, I gave it another chance today and actually liked it. Partly because I made an effort to hit the elliptical earlier this week a couple of times (my cardio work had been slacking big-time due to The Boot), and partly because Sophie gave me a great tip that helped save my legs - instead of pushing down as I biked along, I focused on LIFTING my legs, and it made a world of difference! I was actually able to hang with the class (perhaps not at their tension/speed, but it's hard to know what everyone is doing anyway, since we all adjust as we go on our individual bikes, which do not have pre-set digital "levels") and follow the instructors cues 85-90% of the time. That made me feel awesome, since last week I pooped out at least 75% of the time... Anyway, now that I'm doing spin, which doesn't start until 5:45pm, the kids are getting more park time after school (and then they get fast food for dinner, to take to the gym to eat while I'm in class - and since we very rarely eat fast food, it seems like a treat to them). Today we went to the "new" park that we visit in town (a really nice park in a good neighborhood, but one without any trees/shade, so it's not so great in the summer months - hooray for fall being on the way!)

As always, Cora went straight for the swing! She loves to "fly"

 James and Manu were stuck together like glue the whole time we were there. They were "climbing the mountains" (walking UP one slide, then down another), occasionally sitting down in "train" formation to actually slide.

 Cora joined in on the mountain climbing too.

 Chugga-chugga choo-choo, whistle blowing WHOO-WHOO!

 Once they got tired of the play set (and the water fountain... why are little kids SO OBSESSED with water fountains?!), they started sliding down the big hill. Pretty sure they would have been rolling down if their mamas hadn't been worried about injury...

SCHOOL PORTRAIT DAY: FALL 2012

It will be interesting to see how well they cooperated for the photographer (since this was one of 10 practice shots I took this morning before leaving for school, and it was the only one where James wasn't grumpy, Cora wasn't showing off her panties, and they were both looking at the camera), but at least we know we sent them to school in cute outfits!

BAREFOOT JAMES

In my running hiatus, I've been doing a bit of running research (in the hopes of making my comeback in better form to prevent future injury). One of the books I'm reading (which I borrowed from Sophie) is about barefoot running (really barefoot, not in minimalist shoes), and it's been quite frustrating to study the drills and techniques and not be able to get up and run around the living room to try them out. Less than two weeks to go though... And apparently when I start back, I can just follow James around the track and copy his technique.

Look at that deep knee bend! Kids definitely use the natural running form that we've all evolved to have.

He's "training" for his upcoming 1-mile race at the annual Over the River Run in mid-October, by the way. Jay said he did half a lap barefoot, then put his shoes on, and he was flying. I don't plan to run barefoot all the time either, just enough to remind me how to keep my form as it should be.