Spinning!

Yesterday I got my first taste of spinning! My friend Brittany is an amazing cyclist and LOVES her spinning class at the Y. She brought me along as a guest and now I am a believer.

My favorite part was spinning to the music! Our instructor chose songs with different beats and has us change our speed and resistance to match the rhythm of the music. I couldn't believe how fast the time went by! When I go running I don't wear an iPod because I like the time to think but this was a nice change and a lot of fun!

Any other spinners out there? Or do you have a different kind of exercise that you love? Let me know, I'm always up for trying something new!

Seeing Green

We spent our Spring Break at home this year installing sprinklers. I'm sure you know that the term "we" is very generous to myself. I should say that Birch spent his Spring Break installing sprinklers and Trevor and I were the cheerleaders. I actually did glue my share of PVC pipe but all of the digging/heavy equipment running was done by Birch.

Now, two months later, we finally have a green backyard! Even when we first rolled out the sod Trevor started crawling around, loving a soft play area. He also gets pretty excited about the sprinklers.

If you know the rules of new grass, you know that people and large pets have to stay off for three weeks. We decided that Trevor qualified as a small pet and watched him play from the sidelines.

Now that we've passed the three week mark and Birch allows us to legally walk on the grass, it's time to start mowing! We are officially a home-owning, Saturday morning lawn-mowing family.

P.S. Sorry about the writing squeezed between the pictures. I've tried to fix it but it's not cooperating!

Cheap Books in Tucson

If you live in Tucson, there's a great sale by Scholastic at Speedway/Campbell starting today until Saturday. The children's books published by Scholastic are cheaper than regular retail and with this sale discount, I found new kids paperbacks for as little as $2.00.

They also had several tables with adult bestsellers, cookbooks, self-help books, etc. Everything is 30-50% off, so have fun!

Here's the link if you're interested:

http://www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/events/warehouse/states/az.asp

Police Memorial Challenge!

If you have never done a running race before and you live in Tucson, TRY THIS next year! It was a fun, laid-back 3 mile run with "challenges" along the way. The best part was running with my friend Brittany. Usually I run by myself but it was so fun to have a friend to chat with this time!

At each challenge station there were police officers barking orders ("Ten push-ups, now!") I'm sure they were laughing at us as we struggled through their training course.

This part of the race was a series of challenges, during which we all held a handgun. Kind of disturbing to see so many people pointing guns in every direction! I think if that guy in front of Brittany doesn't hurry up, she's going to pull the trigger.

Running, chatting and waving when we spotted the dads and the babies.

Up ten flights of stairs, do push-ups then down the other side.

Sprint to the finish line!

Birthday Bash

Our little guy turned one last week! We celebrated that morning with a swimming party. Trevor's not a huge fan of the water. While other babies were diving face-first into the pool, he was content to just wade through the water. Well, if you had these abs, wouldn't you want to show off, too?

Back at home we set up a new basketball hoop with dad. Birch hadn't even finished attaching the net when Trevor starting throwing his books, toys, and anything else through the net. Later he got a little coaching session and learned about the ball.

That night we had our own little party with family presents and another cupcake. Trevor was full from dinner until he tasted that frosting again, then he was licking his fingers clean!

Moving On

Trevor turned one this week and I nursed him for the last time this morning. I know not every mom is able to breastfeed but it was important to me and I'm grateful that I could do it.

Weaning has definitely been harder for me than for Trevor. He enjoys nursing but now he's so busy that he just wants milk from any source then he's ready to go and play. At first I liked the convenience of feeding with a bottle once or twice a day. But when I had to move on to using a bottle the majority of the time, that's when I struggled.

I'll admit I'm selfish and I love the time I got to spend with him and that he was dependent on me. You just can't beat those eyes looking up at you as they are so content while you hold them.

I knew I would eventually stop feeding him but I couldn't bring myself to take that last step. Then as his birthday came closer I suddenly felt better about it. I had planned on nursing Trevor for a year and I think having that in mind helped me.

I'm not sure how these next few days will go. Trevor is happy and I'm grateful to be a mom.