A race to remember

I missed running.  After running a half marathon last year, I lost my drive.  Burn out is totally real, plus I had pretty much crippled my hips with poor training.  

Then I got pregnant and had the perfect excuse to stick to walking.  Running with a basketball attached to your front is awkward and ya know, I didn't want the baby to fall out.  

After Sam was born all I wanted to do was get out of the house, but my stupid c-section benched me for 6 weeks.  Around week 4 I decided to throw caution to the wind and walk the dog.  I didn't die.  At week 8, I ran my first mile and I've been trying to get my groove back ever since.

But then I had another excuse- I was SO tired.  There is a reason sleep deprivation is used as torture- after weeks of no sleep, I would have confessed to pretty much anything just to get some shut eye.

I signed up for the Memphis Soul 5K BBQ run in the midst of my postpartum haze.  I  figured it would motivate me to get in shape.

It didn't. 

And then...out of nowhere...a miracle happened.  Sam slept through the night.  12 beautiful hours of peace and quiet.  Then, he did it again.  And again.  A whole week of glorious sleep- I was beyond thrilled.  

My cheer squad!

Any race that starts at a bar has got to be a good time.

This would be my pace- what up, slow folks?  The 10 minute pace group was HUGE and likely full of a more than a few liars.  10 minute miles are no joke. 

I finished in 36:27 which would be a 11:44 minute mile- booyeah!

And then I came home and made bread.  I know, I know- not the best way to cool down, but so, so worth it.  Plus, since I didn't buy bread this week, Nick's sandwiches would have been very sad without it.

I followed this recipe from TheKitchn to the letter and it was wonderful! The tutorials were also super helpful.

Sometimes I like to pretend that I'm one of those fancy bloggers who gets everything all set up and pretty and uses a light box to get the perfect shot....then I stop being polite and start getting real.  Please note the giant stuffed carrot in the background. 

Does anyone else think that sea monkeys and yeast are the same thing?  Alive, yet not alive...and 100% weird.

Kneading is seriously so much fun.

My first rise was in the oven with just the light on.  This provides just enough warmth to get the dough puffing.

Check out that crumb!!!

 

 

 

 

 

If only I had a video of the bread happy dance I did after this came out of the oven...I probably wouldn't post it, but I would watch it on bad days and remember how completely awesome I am.

Finally, a PSA for you, good readers- don't start making bread at 6:45 PM.  You will be up LATE. 

The Baby Rodeo

I spent the beginning of February visiting my family in Texas. While my trips home are always special (mostly because they're so rare), this one had a special twist!

A baby shower! (Surprise- his name is Samuel!)

My mom and sister have been such a huge support to me throughout my entire pregnancy and they were sweet enough to throw me a cowboy-themed shower. Even though I've been in Massachusetts for the last decade (seriously, when did 10 years fly by?), I'm still a Texan at heart. I can't wait to teach my cowpoke all about his Lonestar roots!

From the decorations to the cake, this shower was pure country.

Baby boots filled with bluebonnets! My mom's boss has saved her children's cowboy boots since they were small and she has quite the collection. For her son's graduation party, her sisters filled them with flowers to use as centerpieces. She was kind enough to loan us these adorable decorations.

Don't squat with your spurs on!

Everyone's favorite cartoon cowboy, Woody!


I was blown away by the cake- this boot cake was the end-all, be-all of cakes. It was a monster- I'm guessing it was cut from at least a half-sheet cake. A&J Bakery on Oaklawn in Dallas made this yellow-cake and chocolate-frosted dream come true. I'm not ashamed to say I ate three pieces.

Because it was a book shower, my friends and family generously gave us copies of their favorite children's books. Sam has quite the library now! We got the Berenstain Bears, several Sandra Boynton classics, the full set of Boxcar Children books, and so many more. I already read one of the Hardy Boys books- quite an adventure! Everyone was so sweet explaining why they gave us each book- many were favorites of the shower guests or their children. I'm a huge book lover, so this was the perfect way to celebrate my sweet boy.




In true Betty-fashion, I completely forgot to take pictures of myself with any of my guests. I think my mom may have a few stashed on her camera.

As much fun as I had swapping stories with my friends and family, the real star of the show woke up from her nap half way through.

Isabella is going to be the best cousin ever!

Adventures in Babyland

Last week, these pink converse went on a little trip.

Liquid courage was needed. Decaf, of course. Yay for liking coffee again!

Baby Crap Central was our destination. Buy Buy Baby, while awesome, is completely overwhelming. Who knew there was more than one kind of baby nose picker? Or that you could need/obviously need a humidifier shaped like an elephant? The options for needless baby nonsense are endless.

The husband was in charge of the "gun" while we register. See that evil gleam in his eye?

I'm going to let you guess who picked out these gems.

We got some great ideas and picked out some things I think the wee one will enjoy. It's kind of a weird responsibility to be in charge of setting up someone else's entire life. So far, he's getting no say in his bed (because we picked one that will last him until college), his clothes (pretty sure he's wearing whatever his grandmothers buy him until he's 30), or his sleeping choice (dude will be swaddled).

Even though I can't set up his nursery, yet (the back bedroom is still serving as part of the impromptu kitchen), I like to take out his baby things from time to time. They're so small and sweet.


Nerd gear!


Norwich onesie from my brother-in-law and monster hat (complete with ears!) from childhood best friend. Sweet snugglies from Grammy and Aunt Laura.

Stuffed VEGETABLES!!! How cool are these?? IKEA rocks. The only weird thing about these is that the carrot is wearing shorts and the broccoli has a skirt on. Were clothes really necessary?

Kisses for the carrot!

We've been reading to him for a couple of months. Our personal favorite is Get Dressed Santa by Tomie DePaola. I don't want to spoil the plot, but at one point Santa is fully dressed but has to pee! What's the big guy to do??

Matching shirts for father and son! Yeah, I'm going to be that mom.

My coworker found the frame so we can save his hospital bracelet. The onesie on loan from cousin Isabella.

And this...well, this kind of confused me. My sister sent me a big box of swaddlers and onesies and socks- really useful stuff that my niece has outgrown. And in this box were about 5 or 6 of these things.

I examined it.

And opened it up.

And the only conclusion I could come to was...

Baby smoking jacket.

Turns out, babies don't wear smoking jackets. But they do wear kimono-style tops while they still have their belly button nub.

Who freaking knew?

Thank God for big sisters. Otherwise this poor kid might be propped up next to a glass of brandy wearing sheepskin skin slippers holding a cigar.