Running Errands With A Toddler

My car battery died Sunday evening, which was lucky for us that I decided to run to the store then instead of waiting until Monday morning since Joe was home and not at work. He was able to give me a jump start and let my car run for a while to give the battery a little more juice.

Monday morning I took the car to WalMart because that's where we bought the battery two years ago and it was still under warranty. Lucky for us I'm very particular about my filing habits so I had no problem finding the original receipt.

The guy at WalMart tested my battery and confirmed that it was, in fact, dying a quick death. I went inside and showed my receipt to the guy at the counter and they said they'd completely replace my battery because it was within the 2 year time frame. Except they didn't have the battery I needed and wouldn't be getting more until the next day. And did I mention that in the 10 minutes it took him to figure all of this out I had to haul ass through the sporting goods department twice to retrieve my son, once past the fishing rods which he found particularly fascinating.

Once we determined that they were out of the battery I needed, they offered to give me a full refund for my original purchase and they suggested I go down the street to Auto Zone to get a new battery. Fine. Oh, but then I had to bring the original battery back to them so they could get credit for my refund.

AutoZone was a nightmare since it's a store consisting almost entirely of TOOLS, my kid's latest obsession. He wouldn't stay with me, and when I tried to hold him he turned into limp dead weight so I would put him down. Or he kicked & screamed & flailed.

But the nice guys at AutoZone offered to take out my old battery and put the new one in. Except my battery terminals were completely corroded and stuck so it took over 30 minutes for them to do it. I felt bad, since it was already 100 degrees at 9:30 in the morning and the guy was standing over a hot engine. Oh, and B kept insisting on playing in the car while the guy was working on it so I was sure he was going to get overheated, or that someone would report me for leaving my kid in a hot car in the middle of July.

We were finally done with the car issue and off to my doctor appointment. Since it's a busy OB/GYN office they always run late and Monday was no different. I had to keep B entertained for over an hour in the waiting room. I held out the gummies as long as I could but finally gave them to him halfway through our wait. He was pretty good, although there were a few times I had to take him outside to remind him it was not appropriate to take his shoes off and try to throw them at people, nor was it okay to take his shoes off and run around barefoot in the waiting room. And I was mortified when he dropped one of his snacks on the floor and bent over to pick it up with his mouth ... and eat it. Good times.

I know I will have more days like this, worse probably. Yay for toddlers.

Newport Beach

Joe and I decided Monday, July 6th to leave Tuesday, July 7th for Newport Beach. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. Our brother-in-law is a manager for a local car dealership and the owner gave each manager a week at a beach house. Last week was their week and they invited us out to visit for a day or so. Joe was able to get the time off work, and my schedule happens to be pretty open so it worked out for us to go Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday.

We rented a car, which turned out to be a very good thing (more on this topic coming soon). A Toyota Sienna, and I have to tell you, I'm in love with the minivan concept. If Joe and I had the means we would definitely be upgrading to some sort of minivan. It was spacious and handled well, the sliding door opened by itself with the push of a button ... I really liked it.

But our first mistake with this trip was leaving Tuesday morning at 8am instead of 4am. The entire drive to California felt like we were running late, since our last trip in January was so fast and smooth because we left at 4am. We realized that if we had gotten an earlier start we might have been able to go to Disneyland Tuesday afternoon and meet up with Cathy & Ed and the boys since they spent all of Tuesday at the park.

We got to Newport around 5pm and unloaded our stuff into the most beautiful beach house ever. It looked like something out of a magazine. Our room was on the third (yeah, THIRD) floor and we had our own bathroom attached as well as a private patio that overlooked the other houses and a little bit of the marina. It was amazing.

Since it was dinner time, we decided to walk over to a restaurant on the pier and we had a pretty good time. Then we walked on the beach for a bit before heading back to the house. Joe and I got B ready for bed and Joe put him down while I went to the store to get a few groceries for the next couple of days. When I got back, Joe and I went onto the main patio that overlooked the beach and just sat there quietly. It was really peaceful and relaxing.

The next day we tried to go bike-riding with Cathy, Ed & the boys but Brandt wanted nothing to do with the trailer that Joe rented to hitch to the back of his bike. He freaked out and when I did finally get him strapped in, he fought it so hard that he broke one of the straps. So bike riding went out the window. The rest of the morning was pretty rough for us, since B was over tired and wound up. When we finally got him down for a nap he slept for 2 hours. After that we spent the rest of the day on the beach and had a really good time. By 4pm, though, the breeze started to get a bit chilly. Looking back, I realize how NICE that weather is compared to the miserable heat we're enduring in Arizona.

Brandt had so much fun playing with his cousins. Cole and Jaden are 7 and 5 and the three of them got super silly and were giggling and laughing and having a great time. It was fun to watch B interact with them.

The next morning we left around 8am again and made the long, boring drive back to Tucson. We finally got home just before 5pm and I started doing all the laundry because I didn't want to deal with it the next day. I shouldn't be surprised, but the 5 or 6 shirts I packed for B were ALL worn. For a 3 day trip. I thought I over packed but I guess you can't really over pack for a toddler since you never know how many clothes will get destroyed.

All in all it was a nice time, although we should have left earlier on Tuesday because we would have had more time to do things in California instead of spending 2 whole days driving. The beach house was gorgeous and something Joe and I would never have been able to rent on our own, so it really was a great experience. Thanks, again, to Ed & Cathy for inviting us to stay with them. And thanks to Mr. Click for renting the house!

Update Coming Soon

I haven't had a lot of time to write anything substantial lately, but I'm hoping to share a little bit about our last minute trip to Newport Beach last week. I also have a little pregnancy update from my doctor appointment today ... and any other miscellaneous stuff that comes up between now and whenever I finally have a decent amount of time to devote to posting. But I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I've just been a lot busier.

I will, however, update my background since Independence Day has come and gone.

Adjusting ... and Accepting

Over the past few days I've been slapped in the face by reality. I discovered something, and although I was desperately trying to avoid it, I have realized that some things cannot be helped.

I will not be one of those women who only gains 20 pounds during pregnancy. I will not be one of those women who only looks pregnant from the side profile. I will not be one of those women who only eats fruits & vegetables and lean protein during pregnancy. I will not be one of those women who is still running 4 miles a day the day before they give birth.

I am one of those women who gains weight according to her body's predetermined genetic programming. I am one of those women who gains it in her ass, thighs & hips. I am one of those women who indulges in the occasional ice cream, DAILY carbohydrates and lots of snacking during pregnancy. I am one of those women who can no longer run a mile, and that seemed to happen overnight.

If you've been reading this blog you know that I've been keeping up with my workouts during this pregnancy. I still participate in Body Attack 2-3 times a week and I've also been jogging on the treadmill 2-3 days a week. It still feels good to workout and I've been listening to my body to know my limits and I'm definitely not pushing myself to run farther or faster. This morning, however, my body decided it needed to have a little chat with me. It let me know, in no uncertain terms, that it no longer enjoyed jogging for longer than 5 minutes but that brisk walking was no good either. My shins were burning and I was only walking at a 3.9 mph pace. When I jogged at 5 mph I was winded after 5 minutes. It was only 2 weeks ago that I was able to run almost 1.5 miles with no problem whatsoever. Don't get me wrong, though. I still plan to go to the gym regularly. I will just take my intensity down another notch (or two) in order to maintain a healthy pace.

And I weighed myself today. I've officially gained 20 pounds at 23 weeks pregnant. For some reason I feel like this number will more than double over the next 17 weeks. I'm not complaining about it, because I know that my body is doing what it needs to do to GROW ANOTHER HUMAN BEING, but it does start to get a bit annoying to think that all that exercise has had little effect on my total weight gain.

Yes, I admit, I am eating more. And it's simple math, really. If you consume more calories per day than you burn you will slowly gain weight. But I also rationalize it with the fact that I lost the weight once and I know I can do it again. My goal for after this baby is born, and AFTER I recover from the emotional breakdown(s) I experience postpartum, is to return to the weight that is listed on my driver's license. I don't think I've been that weight since I got married.

Here are a few recent pictures:

22 weeks


23 weeks


An apparently I haven't figured out which side I'd rather pose with, so you get one of each this week.