Pee-a-holic?

I know I wasn't the easiest kid in the world. But I know that even more so now that I have a mini-me in Emma.

When I was a kid, for some reason, every time I saw a public restroom I had to pee. Did I just want to check out the digs? Maybe. Did I have some sort of Pavlovian response to the sign? Possible. Whatever it was (I'm proud to say that I have outgrown it and now have rather an aversion to public restrooms), I have passed it along to Emma. It is the most infuriating thing to be in a hurry and have your seven-year-old all of a sudden start hopping around like she's going to wet herself. When you know she JUST WENT 30 minutes ago.

So Mom and Dad, allow me to say publicly that I am truly sorry.

Trunk or Treat

Wednesdays are our uber busy days, and of course our church Halloween party was last Wednesday night... we rushed home from Soccer practice(s) to get the kids ready for the party and off we went.

Tess and Case as role-confused cheerleader and football player.


Fisher as Superman (capeless b/c the cape choked him)


Emma as Gabriella from High School Musical (anyone seeing a recurring theme with Emma lately?)

Crafty Kate

I made some stuff last weekend at Super Saturday and have to share. I think they turned out so cute! Now I'm totally into the holiday spirit and it's not even Halloween yet!

Fall from grace

I cannot believe I forgot to write about my grand exit from church on Sunday! It was the BEST!

So I had Case and Tess out in the hall for the last little bit of the meeting since they were being noisy. When church ended, then, naturally we were among the first ones out the door, so people were spilling out the doors behind us. Case broke free and made a run for the parking lot, heading right for the path of a large pimped-out truck. Of course, this is the stuff of a mother’s nightmare, so I (leaving Tess behind, mind you) run for Case and scream “wait wait wait wait!!!” like a banshee. Now, when I say run, I really mean hobble because my knees are crap and I look like an 80 year old grandma when I run. Add to the mix that I’m wearing these wanna-be cowboy boots (oh so stylish, but not really made for moms to wear while chasing a 2-year-old) that have one of those angled heels. So I reach Case just as he’s about to run in front of the truck, whose driver had seen/heard the banshee-that-was-me running, and stopped. When I stopped to grab him, my feet kept on going (please note: no-tread soles and blacktop do not provide any traction) and I was laid out flat in the middle of the church parking lot. My feet had knocked Case’s feet out from under him as well, so he hit his head before I was able to scoop him up. We’re lying there together in the parking lot and a lady came to our aid. To my relief, no one else seemed to have noticed. At least no one would look at me. So I wasn’t too terribly embarrassed about this.

Wow was I wrong. Fast-forward to last night. We were at our church Halloween party and Jarad was taking the kids around to the different activities. I wasn’t with him when he caught the tail-end of a conversation two ladies were having:

lady one: “…luckily she got her son, but she totally fell!”
lady two: “isn’t she the one whose husband had blood clots?”

So evidently other people saw, but the good news is that they don’t seem to know me that well. Now I’ll be known as “that chick who fell trying to catch her son” rather than “that lady whose husband had blood clots.” Hopefully I'll never be known as "that woman who should NEVER have had so many kids!"

Fisher's first school picture

Fisher is in preschool this year, and was so excited to have his school picture taken. He even let me do his hair!

Geography Lessons

Sunday morning we were talking about a book I'm reading to the kids. In it the parents tell the kids they are moving to NEW JERSEY. Of course I say this like New Jersey is the last place anyone would want to move (Arizona a close second?), and Jarad says to Fisher, "Do you even know where New Jersey is Fish?" Fisher says, in a tone and manner only Fisher can, "No, but I KNOW SAN DIEGO!" I don't know why this struck us as so funny, but the way he said it was so FISHER.

A few minutes later Emma was talking about how we are all brothers and sisters because Jesus is our older brother. I said "yeah, even a little girl in China is your sister, right?" Jarad pipes in again: "Emma, do you know what China is?" Emma: "Yep, it's a little village where they speak Spanish."

I guess our kids need a little lesson in Geography.

Fifth and Final Race... results are in!

I’ve taken to wearing combat boots. For some reason the twins have both started stepping on my toes when they want something. I’m standing in the kitchen doing dishes or making dinner (OK I’ll let you get over the shock of that … ) and one or the other – or both if I’m really lucky – will squirm their way in between my legs and the cabinets and stand on my toes. They know that gets me to step back. Then they go in for the kill, whining and pointing at whatever they want. Grabbing onto my legs until I fall over or pick them up, whichever comes first. Same goes for while I’m standing at the changing table changing a poopy diaper. Or putting on my makeup in the bathroom. You get the picture. My toes can’t take it anymore!

OK enough complaining. Now it’s time to brag on my husband… Jarad and I went to San Jose last weekend for his final race in the Rock n Roll series. His first half marathon was in February 2006, when he ran it in just under 2 hours (this is 13.1 miles folks). Even that’s pretty impressive for a first-timer if you’re asking me! Now here we are 20 months, 5 halfs, a marathon and a pulmonary embolism later, and he logged an impressive 1:34:49! That’s about 25 minutes faster than his first. Amazing!

Now keep in mind that he was supposed to take this one “easy.” I was able to see him start, cheer him on at the 4-mile marker, and then see him finish. When he hit the 4-mile mark at 28 minutes (a 7-minute mile, which is an aggressive pace for someone taking it “easy”) I was about to kill him. Then I’m standing at the finish and figure I’ll start looking for him in earnest around 1:38 (a minute faster than his best time). I’m cheering on everyone who passes by, and around 1:34 I’m yelling for this pack of runners coming down the chute… then I see the yellow jersey I’ve been looking for. Hunkered down and eyes on the finish line. I say to the girl I’m standing next to, whom I’ve been chatting with for 30 or so minutes “there’s my husband! I’m going to kill him!” Nice reaction, right? She must have thought I was crazy. But there he was, breathing fine, limping a little and smiling. I was so proud of him I almost cried (well, OK I did).

Since he was completing his fifth race this year, they put him in the select group of “Rock Stars” whom they identified with yellow bibs. Jarad was the third rock star to cross the finish line, and they hadn’t made mention of anyone else being a rock star. But as he came in, the announcer said “here comes Jarad Curtis from Gilbert, Arizona. He’s just completed five races this year making him a rock star! Be sure to congratulate anyone you see with a yellow bib… etc. etc.” Anyway, it was pretty cool that he got some recognition for that. Even though his Ipod was blaring and he didn’t hear a word of it!

Unfortunately, since he did so well he took me completely off guard and I couldn’t get the stinkin’ camera turned on fast enough. So we don’t have any pictures of him crossing the finish on our camera. We’ll have to get those from the event photographer.

[HERE'S A PHOTO OF JARAD AFTER THE RACE, REPLENISHING HIS ENERGY!]


We did get some fun photos of us in San Francisco, though. We spent Saturday in the city, which was so much fun. We drove up from San Jose and parked the car in a garage, then took a cable car to Fisherman’s Wharf (have to do that, right?) and walked our way from one end to the other. We actually had read about a farmers market, so we walked all the way to Pier 1 and found the market which was probably the highlight of our visit. It was all this fantastic fresh fruit and veggies, vinegars and oils, breads and cheeses, pastries and chocolates… we pretty much ate our way through it (even had some fresh oysters on the half-shell!). We walked our way back to the other end of the Wharf, which had picked up in activity by then (way too many people!), and grabbed the cable car back to Union Square for some shopping and a late lunch. It couldn’t have been more perfect weather for us too! The only thing we didn’t get to do that we had wanted to was the ferry/tour to Alcatraz. Who knew that was such a popular attraction? It was completely sold out first thing in the morning. But if we had done that, we wouldn’t have made it to the farmers market, so it turned out better anyway!

[WE STOOD ON THE FRONT AND OUTSIDE OF THE CABLE CAR THE ENTIRE RIDE THROUGH SF. I'M SORRY, BUT I'M NOT LETTING GO OF THAT BAR TO TAKE A PHOTO. SO WE HAD SOMEONE TAKE A PHOTO OF US AFTER WE REACHED OUR DESTINATION!]

So Emma turned seven last week. She was supposed to have about ten little friends over on Friday evening for pizza, High School Musical and a little dance-off. But the school nurse called me that morning to tell me she had to come home from school – she had the fever that was going around. So we had to postpone the party until this week. It actually worked out a little better for me since I had scheduled the party smack dab in the middle of one of Jarad’s XC running meets. So now he gets to be home for all the joy and craziness of ten (or more) six and seven year old girls singing “Bop to the Top” and ooogling over Troy. (again, if you have to ask who Troy is, I’m beginning to wonder about your touch with reality)



Fisher and Case got haircuts last night. It was a little traumatic for Case, since he’s had these luscious curls for a few months, and has taken to running his fingers through his hair to put himself to sleep. Fisher’s thick wiry hair just needed cut, but I had to take a picture of him where he looked suspiciously like Grandpa Stastny…

CASE BEFORE


CASE DURING


CASE AFTER


FISHER A'LA GRANDPA S.


One more picture to share. We had Joe and Wyndi over for dinner on Saturday night and all four of the twins (ours and theirs) needed baths. It was a splash fest!




Today was the first day of Fall Break – a whole week off to enjoy the perfect Arizona fall weather. Jarad and I will leave Friday for northern California where he’ll run his last race in the Rock and Roll series. Wish us an uneventful trip and race!