Before you have kids

No, I didnt make this up. I'm not this witty. But I couldnt resist posting it because it's my life times 4 :)


Follow these simple lessons before you decide to have children...

Lesson 1
Go to the supermarket. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
Go home. Pick up a newspaper. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2
Before you go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and advise them how to improve:1) Their methods of discipline.2) Their lack of patience.3) Their appallingly low tolerance levels.4) Their practice of allowing their children to run wild.
Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's sleeping habits, toilet training, table manners and overall behaviour. Enjoy it. It will be the last time in your life that you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3
To discover how the nights will feel ...
1) Walk around the living room from 5pm to 10pm carrying a wet bag of old lentil soup weighing approximately 4-6kg, with a radio tuned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly.
2) At 10pm, put the bag down, set the alarm for midnight and go to sleep.
3) Get up at 12pm and walk the bag around the living room until 1am.
4) Set the alarm for 3am.
5) As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2am and make a cup of tea.
6) Go to bed at 2.45am.
7) Sing songs in the dark until 4 am.
8) Get up. Make breakfast.Keep this up for 5 years. Look cheerful.

Lesson 4
Dressing small children is not as easy at it seems.
1) Buy a live octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2) Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 5
Forget the BMW and buy a practical 5-door saloon. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
1) Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
2) Get a coin. Insert it in the cassette player.
3) Take a family size package of chocolate biscuits, mash them into the back seat.
4) Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.There.... perfect.

Lesson 6
Get ready to go out.
1) Wait outside the bathroom for half an hour.
2) Go out the front door.
3) Come in again.
4) Go out.
5) Come back in.
6) Go out again.
7) Walk down the front path/driveway.
8) Walk back up it.
9) Walk down it again.
10) Walk very slowly down the road for five minutes.
11) Stop, inspect minutely, and ask at least 6 questions about every piece of used chewing gum, dirty tissue, and dead insect.
12) Retrace your steps
13) Scream that you have had as much as you can stand until the neighbours come out and stare at you.
14) Give up and go back into the house.You are now just about ready to try taking a small child for a walk.

Lesson 7
Repeat everything you say at least, if not more than, 100 times.

Lesson 8
Go to the local supermarket. Take with you the nearest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is excellent). If you intend to have more than one child, take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goat(s) out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 9
1) Hollow out a melon.
2) Make a small hole in the side.
3) Suspend the melon from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4) Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5) Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6) Tip half of the remainder into your lap. The other half just throw up in the air.You are now ready to feed a 12 month old baby.

Lesson 10
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street, Barney, Teletubbies and Disney. Watch nothing else on TV for at least five years.

Lesson 11
Move to the tropics. Find or make a compost heap. Dig down about halfway in and stick your nose in it. Do this 3-5 times a day for two years. Get used to it.

Lesson 12
Make a recording of Janet Street-Porter or Pee Wee Herman shouting "Mummy" repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each "Mummy" - occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 13
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continuously tug on your skirt hem/shirt sleeve/elbow while playing the "Mummy" tape made from Lesson 12 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

Lesson 14Put on your finest work attire. Pick a day in which you have an important meeting. Now:
1) Take a cup of cream, and put 1 cup lemon juice in it.
2) Stir.
3) Dump half of it on your nice silk shirt. Saturate a towel with the other half of the mixture.
4) Attempt to clean your shirt with the saturated towel.
5) Do NOT change. You have no time.
6) Go directly to work.

Lesson 15
Go for a drive, but first....
1) Find one large tomcat and six pit bulls.
2) Borrow a child safety seat and put it in the back seat of your car.
3) Put the pit bulls in the front seat of your car.
4) While holding something fragile or delicate, strap the cat into the child seat.For the really adventurous.... Run some errands, remove and replace the cat at each stop.You are now ready to have kids!

A hobby, maybe someday a talent

I have always been a picture fanatic. I loooove to take pictures. Don't mistake that for me being any good :) Recently, I made an investment in my first DSLR camera, as opposed to just a point and shoot camera. It's a Nikon D40 and I love it! The camera is amazing, but unfortunately, quite a bit smarter than I am! So I have so much to learn just to be able to get the most out of it.

Lucky for me, I just so happened to meet another mom at Savannah's soccer practice who is also into photography. Her name is Brittany and we've gotten together a few times to take some pics (interestingly enough, my best friend Sandi is as well, we just haven't been able to get together and take any pics recently!). The goal has been to take Jayden's newborn pics but he will NOT cooperate! He screams and cries and we aren't having any luck! So we resorted to taking pics of him limbs and phalanges ;)

Here are a few pics that we took this week.

On the training train

Just a quick update on my training, for the heck of it :)

Saturday was the big test- go out running and see what happens. I had ridden my bike and done fine. I had gone for a swim and done fine. But running 4 weeks post baby could be bad.

I got out there, hoping to just go and not hurt, and I was able to run the full 3.1 miles with no issue at all. Except the fact that I am now painfully slow compared to my previous speed. Guess that will come with reconditioning time.

So running was good :) Made my day.

Today was test #2- see if I can fit in my wetsuit! We were swimming the lake. It happened to be a co-o-o-l-d morning, unfortunately. Guess I got baptism by fire. I put on my wetsuit and oh boy! Let's just say that above the waist, it was a tight squeeze. Which made breathing while swimming VERY difficult. The pool was nothing but in this suit- OUCH! After about 100 meters or so I got the hang of it, but again, I was painfully slow. My arms have lost so much muscle and the wetsuit pulled on my shoulders so I was quite a bit slower than I am in the pool.

After swimming, we changed and ran 1 mile, which also went well, just slow. I finished feeling really good physically, just slightly frustrated that I'm so far from where I was. It makes me really glad that I have a late season triathlon planned so hopefully, by then, I can be proud of my times.

On Friday of this week, we head to Burley where Dan will run in the Spudman Triathlon, an Olympic distance, with a couple of my friends. I will cheer from the sidelines and know that next year, I will be out there!

Am I brave or what?

Not only did I give birth to 4 children *brave*

Not only did I decide to do a triathlon when I did not know how to swim *brave*

Not only did I drive myself to the hospital in full blown labor *brave*

I totally out-braved myself this time.

This time I double-braved! First, I got into a swimsuit, 3 weeks post baby.

And while I was at it, I took 4 kids including my 18 month old, AND my 3 week old, to a water park, an hour and a half away from home. Yup. I am brave.

Last summer, with all my triathlon training, my kids got to spend a lot of time in the water. And they loved it! So they have been dying to go swimming this summer. Daniel has been traveling pretty much non-stop since Jayden was born, so when he got home Thursday night, we told the kids we would take them to Lava Hot Springs this weekend before he flew out again. Truth be told, I was not looking forward to sitting in the sweltering sun, covering up a fussy newborn for hours on end, while my family marinated. Jayden was 1 day post circumcision so his mood was unstable at best.

It must have been my lucky day. Savannah was just tall enough to ride the slides. Jaxon was having a blast in the water. Jayden slept most of the time and contentedly sucked on his pacifier. Some shade opened up for us to sit in. And Daniel took a turn with Jayden so I could play in the pool with the kids as well. It was such a fun family day!

Here are some pictures- of everyone in the family- but me. I may have gotten into a swimsuit 3 weeks post baby, but there would be no capturing of that image for posterity. I said I was brave-not crazy.

Savannah, Daniel and Jax in the pool

Jayden lovin' the bink

Mason shivering

Jaxon upping the cool factor

Savannah practicing hopping on one foot- a skill we all should master

Jax and Daddy, hangin' like boys do

Some hot guy I took a picture of at the pool (and incidentally, got to come home with me *wink*)

Savannah eating a protien bar

He's loving that water

Mason and Savannah walking up to the water slides.

Back in the saddle

After I had my third baby 18 months ago, I put some thought into how I was going to go about getting back in shape. I had a couple of friends who had done triathlons, and I thought that at this point in my life, I could use the challenge, and would love to do something competitive again.
I brought it up to Dan, who looked at me like he didnt believe it would actually happen, which only made me more determined to do it.

I didnt know how to swim, which was my first problem, and I had someone make the comment that I could never do a triathlon because of it, which again, only made me more determined.

So long story short, I put my heart and soul into training. Going into it, I thought it would be hard. It would suck, but I would make myself do it...what I had no way of knowing was that it would not be anything like that. I had no way of knowing that I would fall in love with it- that I would crave it- that it would become a big part of my life, and something I couldnt wait to do more of!

I competed in my first one when Jaxon was about 7 months old, and I won my division, which was a huge surprise to me. The season here ends early so I only got to do the one before the snow flew. The plan was that this year, I would move up fom sprint distance to Olympic distance ,and I would compete all season. But there was one more surprise- I was pregnant a couple of months later!

So here we are. This season, it has been hard to see my friends, the ones I train with, out there without me. But now I have my beautiful baby, which is even better :) My husband is doing a relay (the run portion) with a couple of my friends in the Spudman Triahlon, the first Olympic one I had planned. I wont be ready to do it since it's in a couple of weeks, but Ill be there cheering him on.

But all is not lost...I am really aiming to get in at least one this year. My most pressing goal would be to do Rush again, the one I did last year, but it's in a month, and my baby is 2 weeks old, so it all depends. Im also talking with Heather about traveling to Vegas in October to do Pumpkinman. That gives me enough time.

But what Im really excited about is that I feel GREAT and Im ready to start my training again, although Im sure Ill be starting off slowly. I'm saving running for a little further down the road due to the impact, but biking and swimming- Im all over that! And I can't wait! I truly hope that my body is as healed as it feels and that it doesn't tell me I have to back off and wait a bit longer. Im hoping to go for my first ride tonight. How I have missed my bike. My bike is my other child. It even sleeps in my closet- not in a garage or heaven forbid, outdoors. It deserves better than that.

Let's hope I can fit in my wetsuit :)

Anyway, so here are a few pics of my triathlon adventures last year, since Im feeling nostalgic (and no blog is complete without pictures). Those of you that have known me longer than that may have seen these before, but here they are again.

Ill be posting updates of my training and progress throughout the season. Here's to being back in the saddle again :)

4th of July

Let's give this another try :) I typed up this whole blog, edited it etc, spending over and hour working on it, and by some fluke, it ended up with most of it deleted so I scrapped it and started over. Here we go again...

Last year, I started off the 4th of July by running a 5K race and setting a personal best time. This year, that wasn't exactly in the cards. Each 4th of July, our family does a few traditions. But this year was a bit different. First, since I had a baby 2 weeks ago, I wasn't up for hosting a big family affair at my house, like I did last year. My mom had knee surgery a couple of weeks ago so she also wasn't up for hosting anything, and my mother in law is recovering from her own knee injury. So this year we kind of winged it, and we all ended up having a great time.

We started off the morning by taking the kids to the parade in Rexburg. Here are some pics from the parade...

Savannah borrowing mom's sunglasses

Jaxon spent most of the time making the "bbrrrroooooooooooommm" sound as each vehicle passed.

Savannah and Daddy

Jaxon and Daddy

Savannah and Jaxon

All the cousins

After the parade, we stopped and got pizza and drinks and took the kids (along with Dan's brother's family) to a park. It was supposed to be 95 degrees with high winds but it ended up being closer to 80 with just a nice breeze. The weather could not have been better. Dan had a blast taking pictures of the kids. Here are some samples of that fun...

Savannah, Kade and Mason on the playground

Daniel's sense of humor on full display :)

Mason

Braxton

Savannah and Maddie

Mason

Mom and Jayden

The counsins- Mason, Kade, Maddie, Savannah and Alyssa

Kade

Savannah

She didn't like her hands getting dirty

But she did like the swings :)

After the park, we came home for a while and then headed to David and Dana's house for finger foods and fireworks. Jayden wanted to eat most of the time, Jaxon would say, "UH OH!" each time a firework went off and start crying because of the noise, and Savannah didnt like the noise either, so I took the little kids in the house, while Daniel and Mason stayed outside and enjoyed the fireworks. We had such a good time!

However, you can bet that next year, I will once again be starting the day off by racing, bright and early!

All My Children- and their checkups

Yesterday was a crazy day the Miller house. Jayden had his 2 week checkup, and since we live about 20 miles out of town, I went ahead and scheduled Savannah's kindergarten shots, and Jaxon's 18 month immunizations, at the same time. Jayden was supposed to be getting circumcised and getting his 2nd PKU done, so thankfully Daniel was able to get away from work long enough to help me wrestle the kiddos at the doctor. Mason, as always, was a big help as well.



Mason didnt have a checkup since he didnt need any shots, so he was the luchy one. But here is what's up with the others:






Savannah is healthy and happy as always. She didnt love her shots but she cried for a second and then went about her day, playing with the twins (her best friends) and riding her bike.

She finally made the growth chart, although barely :) She is in the 8th percentile in weight and the 10th percentile in height. Her last visits, she wasn't even on the chart, so it seems she is moving up in the world!







Jaxon hated his shots, and ran a fever afterwards, as well as today, but developmentally he is on target.

He actually lost a few pounds, but is still barely trailing Savannah, who is 4 years older than he is. She has a few pounds on him and less than 6 inches in height. He'll be catching her in no time.

He was only in the 50th percentile in weight (which surprised me, I swear the kid is enormous, but I guess they all seem that way at this age) and he was in the 80th percentile in height (yep, he does belong to Daniel and I- plenty of tall genes to go around).



Jayden- well, things weren't quite so simple with him. Jayden was 8'3" when he was born, and as babies do, he lost a bit the next few days. At his 4 day appointment, he was down to 7'13" which was fine. But at his 2 week yesterday, he should have been back up to his birth weight, and he hadn't gained anything back yet. They weren't able to do his circumcision because of this, and told me I either need to pump and monitor how much he is getting, or after I finish feeding him, give him some formula and see how much he takes after breastfeeding. I was hoping not to have to do that, but today when I took him back in the the hospital for a followup test, he had lost another ounce. He has not been sleeping well at all and seems to want to eat all the time, which all indicate that he isn't getting satiated for some reason. So after we got home today, I went ahead and fed him, and fed him, and fed him, and he still seemed like he was hungry. So I went ahead and gave him 2 ounces of formula. He immediately calmed down (which he normally doesnt) and went to sleep. Up until this point, when he finishes eating, no matter how long he ate for, he gets upset and wants to eat more, and wont take a decent nap or sleep at night. I have been getting so tired staying up with him for hours during the night. But after the formula, he went to sleep and has been sleeping for a couple of hours, with no problem. I guess the doctor was right (as usual) and he just wasn't getting enough.


I take him in again on Wednesday, and if he is back up to his birth weight, they will go ahead and do his circumcision. As much as I am not looking forward to that, I am really hoping he starts gaining back some weight and that he is healthy and strong- afterall, he has a very solid big brother to keep up with !!