8.31 -- Halloween costumes in August?!?

Lucas and I had a ridiculously productive day today, which is probably a good thing given that Thursday is my first day back to work. I took him out to breakfast at a bagel deli down the road, hoping it would help Lucas (and myself) to be ready to get moving for the day.

Our list of errands:

1. Winco (my favorite)
2. Learning Palace (I got stuff for my welcome bulletin board, a new job board, labels for work boxes and cubbies, and a couple new learning activities for my little ones)
3. IKEA (I got furniture for my reading area and pillows for the sensory tent...might go back for more)
4. Trader Joe's
5. Costco
6. Lakeshore -- to pick up items I forgot during ESY
7. My classroom (where I found out that I have 2 more out of district kids placed in my classroom which means a totally full roster)
8. Safeway -- to get the last few ingredients for dinner that I couldn't find at Winco
9. Walgreens (hopefully my last ditch effort will take care of these damn blisters)
10. Waxing

It was a ridiculous day to say the least. Lucas and I were out running errands for 10 hours, with the exception of about 30 minutes when we came home for lunch and to put away groceries. I think the craziest part about the entire day was the fact that we found Lucas's Halloween costume...on August 31st. The fact that it was pouring down rain also seemed rather odd for so late into the summer.

I spent the rest of the evening organizing and cleaning (I lead a super exciting life). I am happy to report that all of the laundry is done and put away, the kitchen is spotless, the pantry and food cupboards are completely organized and Lucas's dresser has been cleaned out and reorganized.

I also have a new plan for September. I put together a meal plan for the month of September which fueled my shopping list. I am hoping I won't have to go back to the store except to get fresh fruits and veggies. We will see how it works! It feels good to have everything organized and prepared for the school year.

8.30 -- Super Uncle, soon to be Super Dad

My brother is an amazing uncle to Lucas. He and his wife are expecting their first child in the coming weeks and I could not be happier for them. They are going to be amazing parents and their son is going to be incredibly lucky to have them as parents. They compliment each other perfectly and have so much fun together. I truly do not believe that James could have found a better woman. They support each other and share hobbies, it's amazing. I think everyone can only strive to find such a great relationship.

We all had dinner at my parent's house last night. Lucas passed out in the car on the way there after asking me as we crossed the Interstate Bridge if it was okay if he took a rest...OF COURSE! This was Lucas when we arrived at my parent's house:

The kid has eyelashes one can only dream about. He actually stayed asleep as I carried him into the house and laid him down on the couch. I had to wake him up an hour and a half later. He must be having another growth spurt with the ridiculous amount of sleep he is getting lately.

Once Lucas decided to wake up, he was super silly and enjoyed showing my brother how he played his Super Why game on my phone. We had a DELICIOUS dinner of salmon, an amazing salad (pears, blue cheese, toasted walnuts, etc.) and a quinoa couscous type salad, with apple crisp for dessert. My mom is an amazing cook. After dinner Lucas and James had a total battle. They wrestled and played. James showed his stellar, but maybe not so safe, swaddling methods that had Lucas completely stuck:

It was absolutely hilarious. Lucas ended the night by reading his book to my brother and Alanna. I love my family. I cannot wait for James and Alanna to give another addition to the Treacy family!

8.29.10 -- The sweetest boys I know

**Don't worry Jer...I helped Lucas fix the order after I took this picture.**

Yesterday we went to see the Howard's to drop off their things from the beach house. Lucas had the pleasure of waking up both Carly and Jeremy (at 11 and 12 respectively). When we were getting ready to leave Jeremy whispered something to his mom. Then, Jeremy gave Lucas the set of dwarfs that his mom had so sweetly brought back from Disneyland for him.

Now the back story for why she bought him the dwarfs to start with. In 2006 or 2007 (I can't remember which trip it was, I'm sure Donna could tell me) I went on a choir tour with my church and we got to go to Disneyland as one of our stops. I had been watching Jeremy for almost a year at this point and I wanted to find something for him while we were in Disneyland. I settled on these thick rubber dwarfs from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Jeremy had never seen the movie at this point and didn't know what they were, but when given these dwarfs I started an absolute obsession. Jeremy lined the dwarfs up in his bed every night and they had to be lined up in a specific order (God forbid we mess it up). The wall above his crib had streaks of color from the rubber rubbing against his walls. Jeremy dressed up as a dwarf (technically two dwarfs) for Halloween that year. Fast forward...Jeremy is almost 16 now (where have the years gone?!?). I met Jeremy when he was three months old and one of the most precious infants I have ever seen.

Back to the present. Jeremy gave Lucas his set of dwarfs, which was so precious. If you have not seen Toy Story 3 and do not wish for a spoiler, just stop reading here. Jeremy handed Lucas the package with the dwarfs in it and explained to Lucas the role of each dwarf, the order they came in and everything. It was so sweet and reminded me so much of Andy at the end of Toy Story 3. Jeremy has always been a sweet, caring boy and it was amazing to see him sharing these dwarfs with Lucas.

Lucas had never seen Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and we remedied that today. He set the dwarfs up on my bed doing his best to remember what Jeremy had told him, and he remained in the same position absolutely sucked into the movie. I felt so nostalgic and like I was watching Jeremy do the same thing all those years ago. It's amazing how life comes full circle. I am blessed to have so many amazing people in my life to love Lucas and me.

8.28.10 -- Blisters, Princesses and a Sleepy Boy. Oh my!

After taking a hiatus from walking for 2 weeks (with the exception of a few 6ish mile walks barefoot on the beach), I was back at it this morning. After our 30k in mid-July I gave myself some horrendous blisters, including my first ever blood blister. My feet look like they've been to war. I have consulted specialists at two specialty shoe stores and both of them tell me things along the lines of, "wow, that's the worst I've ever seen" and sadly do not have any new suggestions for how to help my abused feet. So, I decided to give them time. Today we had 12 miles to walk and I elected to go for the flatter route in Portland. Still, by about mile 8 I could feel a new blister on my right foot (or a colony of 3 when I stopped to put a blister bandaid on). Despite the bandaid, they still burst while I was walking (what an awful feeling). I also ended up with one big one on my left foot. Hopefully if I spend the week doing the elliptical (in just socks at home), pilates, yoga and strength training, my body will be ready to walk next weekend despite not doing the midweek walks. My feet need to rest to have a chance in hell at doing 21 miles in two weeks. Blisters suck. (You don't want pictures of this).

After my walk I picked Lucas up from my parents house, where he was for my training yesterday until this morning so I could do my walk this morning. Lucas was super sweet and enjoying some morning snuggles with Grampa watching Batman. They are too funny. Lucas had practiced reading his book to Gramma and Grampa (he is SO proud of himself, which is good because we are all super proud of him too). We then stopped at the Howard's to return their stuff for the beach house they so kindly let us use. Lucas had the joy of waking up Carly (and later Jeremy). He also read them his story. I have another story to share about our visit, but I think I will save it for tomorrow.

Next stop...Courtney's princess party. Shockingly, Lucas refused to dress like a princess for the party, but he happily wore a Spiderman shirt for the occasion. (Side note: Lucas told my mom that he dreamed about Batman last night. My mom asked if Lucas got to be Robin. He looked at her like she was CRAZY and said no, Batman got to be Robin! I love this kid). The highlight of the party was definitely watching the kids whack the pinata. We had a great time and it was wonderful to catch up with Renee (although SO sad that she won't be back this year!)




We made it home around 4:40 or so after Lucas had a lovely meltdown when it was time to clean up and leave Courtney's party. I told him he needed to go and lay down for awhile and told him to set the timer. He chose to not set the timer and just went to lay down. After about 40 minutes he asked if he could come out of his room. I told him just a few minutes and I would come and get him up. When I went in about 15 minutes later he was completely asleep. I tried to wake him up at 6 (I picked him up, snuggled him, kissed him, talked to him) and resigned to the fact that it would take some time. This was after he went back to sleep:



He finally decided to get up around 7:00. He had dinner, completed two reading lessons (like a rock star), got ready for bed, read me a Bob book and went back to sleep. I think he must be growing. I think the super short jammies that are a size 4 and were too big at the beginning of the summer might be a slight indicator...apparently they are going to be capris now. He insisted on wearing them tonight, but they will be retired after this evening.

8.27.10 -- Don't be too jealous...

...but this is how I spent my day:


Yup that's right...four hours of IEP Online training. YAY! Hopefully I can find better ways to spend the remaining free time between now and our first pre-duty day! I have 11 long miles to walk tomorrow. Let's hope the blisters will stay away and my body will cooperate after a few weeks off.

8.26.10 -- Cloudy days

When it looks like this outside:
And it has been in the 90s and hot and almost unbearable lately. This is how we chose to spend the first cold day in awhile:
It also helps that Lucas just came home from his Dad's house yesterday after his longest stay ever (five days). He is usually pretty happy to have a lazy day or two to get back into the swing of being at home. One of his favorite things to do is to snuggle with his favorite blankie (I don't know how that well-loved thing is still in one piece, even with the mending) and watch a movie. Today, the movie of choice is Transformers 2.

I just finished prepping dinner for the next two days. I am marinating chicken breasts in a garlic herb marinade that smells amazing for dinner tonight. For tomorrow I prepped a pork roast -- garlic studded and a dry rub to sit until tonight, then I will let it slow roast overnight. It should make for some amazing shredded pork tacos tomorrow night! And I also brewed a pitcher of ice tea sweetened with a homemade simple syrup. It is delicious!

8.25.10 -- Just keep swimming

Lucas began swimming two summers ago in a tots and mom swimming class. Then last summer we began classes again and it was his first time in the pool with an instructor without me. However, he has always had Logan (his best buddy) in his swimming classes with him. Since last summer he has continued in classes without breaks and has made tremendous progress. I am SO proud of him! He is now a level 3 (Barracuda). He is able to swim about 10-15 feet unassisted. He needs to work on getting a little bit more comfortable doing a front float and a back float, but he is awesome when he is moving. I cannot express how proud I am of him. I also am SO happy that we found something that he absolutely LOVES. I am not sure what else he is going to want to take on this fall (he's discussed soccer or martial arts), but I know that he's going to stick with swimming for awhile.

And yes, I know you can see the kid's ribs, but he seriously eats more than I do. I have no idea what else to do to help him gain weight, but he's been stuck at 37.6 pounds for the last couple of months. At this rate, I don't know if he is ever going to get out of his car seat and into a booster! He turned 4 1/2 yesterday and we are not any closer. I believe he weighed about 36 pounds when he turned 4. He seems to just get taller and skinnier regardless of how much he eats! Clearly he takes after his father in that respect (and his uncle).