Under the Tuscan sun

Off we went to Italy for nine days - Heather was finally getting married! We were excited that she's getting married, but not so excited about leaving the kids for nine days...eight days might have been more tolerable.

The hardest part is packing for the kids and making sure that Wesley had enough food - not that I thought he was going to starve - but since he is my "special" child, he needed "special" food. Laina, I don't worry about too much...she's tough and eats about anything.

The wedding was on June 27th...once again I'm a little late posting this...and it turned out to be quite an affair. From the Welcome Dinner to the Reception Dinner to the beautiful wedding and reception and finally the Morning After Brunch. All were immaculately prepared and planned by the bride herself. The only hiccup was the rain the day of the wedding which moved it inside, but other than that, it ran smoothly...oh, and there was the matter of the uninvited dog, but that's another story.

Below are some of the wedding photos:

Heather and Puch at the alter.

Father of the Bride giving a speech.

First dance with Father of the Bride.

The giant second cousin, Ryan, and his lovely wife, Heather. Through a series of abandoned flights, they barely made it to the wedding...arriving just 30 minutes before.

Stay tuned for my next post about the rest of our Italy trip...

Goal Accomplished

Since I am writing this post, it must mean that I am still alive to tell the story, but barely.

Let's see, where do I begin...there are 3 words to describe the Big Sur International Marathon...hills, hills, hills. OK, so I didn't look at the course map or elevation before I signed up, nor did I read the many reviews warning runners that this is one of the toughest marathon courses. The only thing I saw was "the most beautiful course you'll ever run on"...and it was definitely that! Running right along the Pacific coast on Highway 1 from Big Sur up to Carmel with breathtaking views of the mountains and the ocean.

The day following the run, we drove the course to get some photos since I really didn't have a whole lot of time (or was in the right frame of mind) during the race to stop for photo ops. Here is one of the gorgeous views along the course...but all I could really see were hills.


Hurricane Point - a 2.2 mile uphill climb, or rather, 2.2 miles of pure torture on the legs to get to this point. The picture is deceiving...believe me, it was torture...almost as bad as waterboarding. On top of that, the road was banked (slanted) in many places since it was winding around mountains, so that made it even tougher to run on.


Bixby Bridge - the "resting" place after Hurricane Point. The scenery here was outstanding...again I only saw hills. They had a guy in a full tuxedo playing on a grand piano out here. That was pretty cool.

I'm coming in for the finish.


I made it! Official time is 4:23:48. My goal was 4:30 so I was quite happy. I found out that the first place guy finished in 2:32 which is the longest time since the marathon's inaugural year 24 years ago due to the fact that the wind this year was one of the worst...just my luck!


I look quite happy for someone who has just gone through torture. But what I was reeeaaaallly feeling was...

...THIS! Pure pain! The legs were extremely sore, not to mention aches in the back and neck. I felt like an old woman...and I maintained this feeling for the next two days!

So if you were to ask me if I would do it again...I would say to ask me again in a few weeks. It's still too early to make that assessment. This last photo still brings a twinge of pain to my quads.

Also, Scott and I celebrated our 12-year anniversary on this trip. The marathon was actually on the day of our anniversary. Luckily, we did some pre-run celebration on a wine tour through 6 different wineries. Hmmm....maybe this was the reason why I was so sore...

Bed Wetting

We have a bed wetter in the house. The good thing about it is that it's not me nor Scott. Laina is still in diapers (don't let me get started on that), so that leaves one guilty 4-year-old. It's not every night, but probably about 2-3 times a week and that's including naps.

This morning when I pulled Wesley's blanket off of him, he was naked from the waist down. After much prodding, I was able to gather that there was an "incident" during the night. He got out of bed, finished his deed in the potty and left his wet pj bottom and underwear by the potty. Climbed back into bed, tried wiping the wet area with the blanket, failed and fell asleep on the dry side of the bed. All this without waking us up. Should I be mad or proud? OK, I was more proud than mad, especially when he said, "don't tell Daddy, Mommy." At least he understood that he could possibly get in trouble for this.

Yes, it's PARTIALLY our fault...we allow him to drink water right before bedtime. Can you really say no when he's pleading for water? So needless to say, I'm a pro at changing out sheets. I'm sure he'll outgrow this...surely, he has to.

Egg-travaganza

Easter has gotten out of control. The kids had 3 egg hunts and enough candy to make me sick...and it takes a lot for me to get sick, especially from chocolate.

Each kid had an egg hunt at Preschool. I was at Laina's and here she is hunting for eggs.

Obviously, egg hunting is tough work, so she's cooling off with a refreshing popsicle. Notice her left cheek...no, that's not a smudge on the picture, but rather a long dark bruise. That's what happens when you're running at full toddler speed, turn your head to look behind you and ramming into the corner of a doorway. Kids, don't try this at home.

The second egg hunt was at the babysitter's. Here, Wesley is smashing a confetti egg on Isabella's head. She never suspected it.

The 3rd and final egg hunt was at home on Easter Sunday. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate so we had it indoors. Here are Wesley and Laina with most of the cousins.

Praying Mantis-eses

In an effort to terrorize my kids, Aunt Heather decided to give Wesley a praying mantis pagoda for his 4th birthday. What the heck...? Let me wikipedia this for you, "A praying mantis pagoda is an unnatural habitat for the hatching of the mantis egg". We were given an egg which we "cared for" in the pagoda and 3-6 weeks later, we have praying mantis-eses...I emphasize this cause that's a lot of mantises.

Our 3-6 week span just ended and the egg has hatched and now we have a plethora of hungry praying mantises. The idea is that you go out and catch bugs and feed them to the young mantises...yeah, right! Can you see me out there catching bugs? It was also unfortunate that there happened to be a cold front the day of the hatching and Scott, in his futile attempt to catch bugs, was only able to brave the cold for 30 seconds while he searched for unsuspecting victims. He managed to toss in one bug for the hundreds of mantises. Some lives were lost in this food foraging, luckily it was only of the insect species.

Wesley and Laina are so scared of them that they won't go near the pagoda. After much urging and reassuring that the mantises won't go lunging for their throats (which I'm still not sure if this really won't happen), they got within a respectable distance and were able to converse with them.

Here is an uncut 5:45 minute video of the young ones, both humans and insects.

Home Is Where The Food Is

It had been 4 years since I've been back to Pineville, Louisiana...my home town, the place I grew up. I still have a brother living there...he's actually across the river in Alexandria...and we went there to visit and to EAT, more so to eat. 60 lbs of crawfish, burgers, hot dogs, chicken wings...and that was just for lunch! The kids went fishing, played soccer, played on the playground and had lots of fun.

Scott didn't go because he had to "work" so I was left to fend for myself with 2 kids for 6 hours in a car, both ways, through snow and uphill. Wesley, being the angel, was great. Laina, being the anti-angel, was restless and agitated and was not happy toward the end of the trip. It didn't help that we almost ran out of gas and my car battery died. Darn unreliable Lexus! OK, it was partly my fault but I refuse to take the blame for it.

All in all, it was a good trip. We got to see the house we grew up in, the church we walked to every week, and the high school where we found ways to play hooky. I didn't get any pictures since I forgot to bring my camera but trust me, it happened. One observation I have about the trip...not a whole lot has changed since I left 13 years ago. My little country town is still a little country town, which is so different from the fast paced metropolis where we now live. And yes, the mental hospital is still there...at least I think it is, not sure what happened to it after I left.



Wesley playing soccer with cousins, Maddie and Jacob.



Laina fishing.

Wesley fishing.

Uncle Steve and Hung tackling the tackle box.

Anna, Justine and Shelia.

Shelia and son, Nicholas.

Going Bonkers Birthday

I guess it's about time I write about Wesley's 4th birthday..it's only been about a month ago. His party was on March 8th although his actual birthday is March 1st. Yeah, it's complicated and it confused the heck out of him. He use to be able to tell me his birth date but just the other day he told me it was March 6th. Aiyaya!

"Going Bonkers" in Lewisville was the place and it was crazzzzy. Remind me not to do it again!



Wesley going bonkers!


Spider twins - Wesley & Donovan.


Laina and Ashlin cruising for boys.


Youngest cousin Abby.


Cousin Noah looking cute.


Cousin Anna partying hard.


Spiderman cake - which he can't even eat...not that he wanted to.

Running 26.2

On April 26, 2009, I will be running my first (and probably only) marathon. This also happens to be our anniversary - 12 years - yikes! It has dawned on me that I am getting old. As Scott puts it, "You are closer to 40 than 30." Thanks, dear!

So maybe this whole marathon thing is a way for me to feel younger. Yeah, I'm not convinced yet. In any case, Scott and I will be in Monterey, CA for the Big Sur Marathon and to celebrate our anniversary. I will be the one running and Scott will be the one drinking.

Disturbing?

Like most parents, we like to capture those precious moments with our kids that are cute and memorable. Unlike most parents, we also like to capture those moments which we can use as bribery later.

Here's one of those bribery moments...notice what's on their head is NOT a hat or a mask...it's actually girl's underwear. Disturbing? or just plain hilarious? I choose the latter.

Just so you don't think we're sicko parents, they did this themselves...

Singing to a different iTune

When I use to co-op for IBM, I swear (I know, a bit harsh) I would never get a Mac...and I haven't. Apple, ha...I laugh at thee.

Then I worked for Nokia, where, for years I was loyal to their phones...mainly because I got them for free, but also because I believed they were great phones. That was back in the day.

After Nokia, I tried my darndest to stick to a Nokia phone but golly gee whiz, they were ugliest thing out there. Then the clouds parted and my (cellular) vision cleared and voila!...the iPhone appeared, almost as if sent from angels above, a thing of beauty and yet, practical.

Yes, iLuv my iPhone! Let me count the ways...

1. It is user friendly (Wesley and Laina know how to use it...although I'm not sure if this is really a good thing.)
2. Built in GPS, maps, navigation
3. It has so many darn good apps...most of which are free. I use Trailguru for my running which tracks my mileage, time, avg speed, route, etc.
4. Pay bills, netflix, facebook, weather...
5. iPod
6. Games (educational and not so) for the kids - good for keeping them busy, aka quiet, when necessary.
7. Lastly, it's a phone...but this is definitely not the selling point. The actual selling point is everything in ONE device.

I could go on, but I'm sure you get the idea. Those of you with an iPhone understand and those without one, should get one, so you can understand. All I'm saying is that I'm liking Apple at the moment. I can't say that iLuv Apple YET...they still have that Mac thing that I haven't jumped on the bandwagon with...but I have to admit that I am now an iPhone junkie.

Here are some moments captured with iPhone usage.

Like father, like son.

Running with my iPhone.

Spring Toy Cleaning

Maybe I've been watching too much HGTV or maybe I'm just sick of tripping over toys everywhere I walk around the house, but this morning I decided to be adventurous and clean out the kids toys. This involved going through every nook and cranny to get a toy car here, a puzzle piece there and piling them all on our living room floor. If you could've seen the disaster that was our living room, you would have been appalled...or amazed that it could have fit in our house. So these are toys that they have accumulated since they were babies minus the ones I've given to my sisters and friends, and the ones we've donated before. OK, so maybe they have too much...maybe.

At this disastrous moment, Scott wakes up and proceeded to tell me that the kids definitely don't need any more toys. Yeah, you can jump to that conclusion from first glance, but kids need to update their toys to more age appropriate ones. Wesley can only play with a rattle for so long.

We managed to consolidate most of their toys into 2 boxes, one for each. The rest will be donated or given away. Here is a pic of the almost end result. We're not finish...we had to take a break.

Amazon Oh Amazon

What would I do without Amazon.com? Suffer terribly...truthfully. Amazon is an amazing one-stop online shop for EVERYTHING!! Let me give you some examples of my recent experiences.

As you know, Wesley suffers from food allergies...of every kind. I use "suffer" loosely...it's not like he's starving or crippled or whiny. Well, I take that last one back. He is whiny, but I don't think it's wholly attributed to his eating inadequacies, but more because he's a 3-year old on the verge of being 4 and trying to get his way.

Anyway, back to my original point...Wesley has to have special foods that don't contain wheat, milk, nuts and egg. Very limiting but we have found ways around it...me being the creative person that I am - ok, i get my mom to make his food but that's beside the point. We have found these special cookies from Enjoy Life Foods that he loves, but only specialty stores like Central Market or Sprouts carry. Well, our local Sprouts ran out of them, but then lo and behold - do a search on Amazon and whoop, there it is! AND less expensive. Cha-ching! I felt like I hit the jackpot, so 12 boxes of them go into my Amazon shopping cart.

Example #2 - I've been hesitant to buy new running shoes, mainly because of my New Year's resolution to not buy new clothes or shoes for 3 MONTHS. (I'm sure I wasn't in the right frame of mind when I made this commitment.) But since I'm fully commited to running a marathon in April - yes, I signed up, will talk about it later - I decided I better go ahead and get some - in order to break them in, of course. My current Saucony running shoes were $80 and that's on the low end. Since I knew what I wanted, I went to my personal shopper Amazon and found a higher end pair of Saucony shoes, regularly $125, for $57! You've got to be kidding. OK, the the color was not great and you pay more for the premium colors, but I was not worried about making a fashion statement when I run - yes, that is true, I know it's hard to believe. So in my shopping cart it went, but then Amazon informed me that if I spend $100 total, I get $25 off! Who can pass up a deal like that? I found another pair of high end Saucony shoes reduced over half. Free shipping and my total came out to $91! It's like 2 pairs for less than the price of 1! Amazon, I love you! Here are my beloved shoes...the colors aren't horrific.

Example #3 (and this is my last) - There was a period of time when both my kids were in diapers (oh, how I don't want to relive those moments). If you're a parent, you know diapers are not cheap...or anything else for kids for that matter. I turned to Amazon for help and it saved me. You can set up a subscription for diapers (and many other items) for weekly, bi-monthly, monthly, etc. delivery. Diapers at your doorstep! Never again do you have to lug large boxes of diapers around the store. Oh, and did I mention that you get 15% off of their already low rates? Yes, it's cheaper than in the retail stores. (I sound like an advertisement.)

Did I mention that it's 24-hour shopping in your pj's, underwear, whatever? Long gone are the days of dragging your kids around in the store, having them throw tantrums because you won't buy them a toy, you beating them in public...now you can beat them in the comfort of your own home...AND in your underwear! Just kidding, I don't beat my kids (often enough). Just in case CPS is reading this...I REALLY am kidding!

Sorry if I got carried away. I just wanted to share my little secret. Most of you probably use Amazon but don't realize the full potential of Amazon. And no, I do not work for Amazon, nor know of any friends or family that do!

Taco Mama

"Taco Mama" for President...at least from the eyes (and mouth) of a 2-year-old. Laina's lack of vocabulary has created a much more interesting name for our new President. Barack Obama became our 44th President on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009. I know you all know that already, but you probably forgot that I forget easily so I'm putting it in here for my sake.

I was impressed that Wesley knew that Barack Obama was our new President, whereas Laina just likes saying "Taco Mama". I think it sounds more like "Rock-a-Mama" but Scott insists it's Taco Mama. I give him this one since he IS from this country.

Here's a video of the kids' quiz on the President.

New Year's Resolution

Yes, I've gone insane again. With no real reason other than to prove that I can do it, I've decided to forego buying new clothes and shoes for the next 3 MONTHS! Well, there is a reason...Scott has lost his job and we have to cut spending.

Kidding...although that was close to reality not too long ago. To make a short story long, I found that as I was buying new clothes (insert "shoes" for "clothes" when applicable), and did not have closet space to hold them. So I had 3 options - 1) Tear down walls to make the closet bigger (it was tiny to begin with), 2) Move to a new house with a bigger closet, 3) Stop buying clothes. Some of you may think Option 4 is to throw away older clothes - I say to you..."you may stop thinking now".

Well, Scott laughed (or rather, scoffed) at Option 1 (very rude, really). Our economic state was enough to dismiss Option 2. So I was left with Option 3.

Yes, even though this may not help the economy, I feel it is my Schiegg duty to help out the household. So if you know what's good for you, you may want to stay away from me for the next 3 months...unless you're going to buy me some new clothes!

Party like it's 2009

2008 ended very loud...and tight - Stars hockey, then party and fireworks out at Victory Park, where I was squeezed in between Scott and crazy drunken strangers waiting for the countdown. The band was playing Prince's "1999". Growing up, I thought we would never reach 1999, now I'm thinking, IT'S DONE...someone write a song about year 2020.

We had fun with friends Jenny and Jeff. Since I haven't downloaded any pics, I'll "borrow" theirs off of their blog. As a matter of fact, if we do anything with the Smiths, I will just point to their site. It'll make it easier on all of us...trust me.

LAKE TAHOE

Our family trip this year - Christmas at Lake Tahoe! Skiing, snow, mountains, relaxation....eeerrr, hold it...I said, FAMILY trip, which means kids, which means no relaxation. Until you factor in the grandparents who were a big help but even they can't hold back a 2- and 3-year-old. Well, really, it's just Laina (between you and me, Wesley is an angel). Laina - when you're old enough to read this, I was just kidding!

The trip started off well enough, with plenty of time before departure, the kids were pulling their own luggage and staying busy. Laina's first plane ride, so of course we packed the Benadryl. Right before take-off, the pilot announced the hydraulic pump light just came on. Really, who needs a hydraulic pump anyway? Obviously the plane does so back we go to the gate. Three and a half hours later, after a change of plane and terminal (on the plus side, the kids got to ride the tram) and waiting for the catering cart to be loaded on the new plane, we took off to Reno and drove into Tahoe.

We met all of Scott's family in Tahoe, even the soon-to-be member Uncle Puch (you have to say this with a giggle), Heather's fiance. Puch's family has a very nice cabin that we stayed in. We had a great time in Tahoe with skiing, snowshoeing, and tubing. Kids loved the tubing and Wesley took his very first ski school class. He was the cutest thing. He enjoyed it so much, we threw him back in there a second day. Here's a video of him in ski school. He's the one NOT in pink.

Laina, while not old enough to ski, tried out the winter sport of sledding with Granny and Papa...or rather sleeping on one. See picture.

Santa stopped by on Christmas Eve and traumatized Laina. Wesley got over the hairy guy syndrome and helped Santa passed out presents.

I also need to mention that Laina is banned from planes for 1 full year. The 20 minute tantrum on the floor of the plane before, during and after landing made for an unpleasant experience, for us and for the people who gave the disapproving unsympathetic looks. Yeah, you try calming down a cranky & stubborn 2-year old with popped ears.

Here are the happier family photos:

RACE DAY

Against my better judgement, I decided to run a half marathon. Running a full marathon would be downright crazy...which is my next attempt. But I did the half and am happy to live to tell the tale.

It was Dec 14th, 2008...yeah, I'm a little late in telling this tale...and it was the Dallas White Rock. It was a great day, about 50 degrees I think (I have the memory of a goldfish) and quite windy. Luckily I was able to draft off the other runners (not sure what is really meant by this, but it sounds good) and finished with a time of 2 hours 1 minute 8 seconds...29 minutes faster than I had planned! OK, so I set my goal a little low, just so I can be impressed with myself.