Get Yeti to Run

I did a race on December 14th that a friend told me about at a local park.  It was a trail run 5K with 10 "camp style" obstacles along the way.  The race was put on by a YMCA in conjunction with a camp that is an off shoot of the Y.  The run was called Get Yeti to Run and a participant even did the whole thing in a head to toe Yeti costume!  Crazy!  Temps were about 22 degrees and there was about 3 inches of fresh fluffy snow on the ground.  It was a very small race [less than 30 people] and I said, "why didn't you guys advertise this more?"  They said it was their first year so they wanted to keep it small.  I raced it full out not realizing they they weren't even timing the thing or giving results at the end.  I ended up third overall, first female.  The obstacles were fun and got harder towards the end when you were tired.  We took a wrong turn and ended up going more than 5K.  The ending was an awesome tarp slide into poofy snow!

.

my fan club was freezing their buns off!

pretty day in the woods!

2nd to last obstacle.  I don't know if anyone made it succesfuly over that one!

13 year old smoked. me. I told him to sign up for cross country! :)

Slide to the finish!

Frosty Frolic

I heard about this race from a colleague.  It is run in the dark through a park with extensive Christmas lighting displays.  Hard to say  no to that!    I haven't run a 5K in 10 years so I figured it would be a guaranteed PR.  Until race day arrived.  There was a Winter Weather Advisory calling for 3-6 inches of snow, turning to rain towards evening.  I was definitely questioning whether it was even a good idea to venture out of my house!    It was a winter frolic indeed!  I ended up having fun, placing 14th female out of 613 for 2nd in my age group.   Pretty exciting!  The race was cut short due to icy roads and it was 2.7 miles instead of the full 5K.  My time was 20:31.   So I can calculate out what my 5K would have been or just call it a wash and try another one again sometime this spring. ;)

Mole Soup

From reading other blogs, I can conclude that three is officially the age of ENORMOUS imagination.  Blaine has fictional uncle bapas, fictional work, a fictional boss, a fictional monster truck, and the list continues from there.  For some reason he has been obsessed with moles for the last year and yesterday took the cake when he made mole soup!

After his gymnastics class in the evening, his teacher asked me what we had eaten for supper. I was thinking "uh oh, was he hyper or misbehaving?" So when I answered, "we haven't had supper yet, why," she said, "he told me that he had mole soup!"

Here is the recipe and Blaine at work making it!

Mole soup 

1 cup water
1 and three tablespoons lentils 
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon 
1 tsp apple moles (fruit fresh
Stir it
1 squirt honey
3 tsp little moles(quinoa)
Stir it (those are yummy moles)
1/2 cup big moles (large tapioca
1 tsp corn flour
1 tsp water
1.5 whole coffee beans
Sprinkle salt
Mix it up
1 tsp kelp
And mix it up
2/3 cup water
Fresh cround nutmeg
1/8 tsp wasabi powder
3 and 3 real moles (buckwheat flour) " taste so yummy" "olivia might like it its gonna be taste so yummy"
1/8 tsp sea salt
And now you cook it

Halleluiah! WEANED!

Three years and three months later, I can finally declare my freedom. Blaine always wanted to come home from school and lay in bed with me and nurse. One day he decided screaming and crying was a better option. Oh man those were fun times. Somedays he didn't even let me get him out of his car seat. I would just leave him in the car to scream and scream and scream. If I unbuckled him, he would rebuckle himself. Good things the neighbors never seemed to notice. Most days he screamed and cried from 3:00-4:00 for no apparent reason. Something would tick him off and he would not be able to recover for an hour. He never got around to asking to nurse those days. Eventually a week went by between nursing, and then two weeks. Finally I figured out I was totally dried up and it was uncomfortable if he wanted it. I decided if he would ask, I would say "no". Since making that decision, he's probably asked less than 4 times and each time I just say, "no, boobies have no more milk!"

The screaming and crying peaked at TWO HOURS one day [3-4 pm and then 7-8 pm] and has since gotten better. No screaming this whole week. Maybe it was some strange developmental phase. Maybe it was an ear infection. I hate to look back and blame the screaming for the weaning but that is certainly what did it. However, I was ready for it to be over. Our nursing relationship was already 2 years and 2 months past where I thought it would have ended. No tears about missing it and no tears of regret!

My Favorite Veteran, Buddy Chuck

Young love :)

I have been meaning to do a post about my grandpa since the day he died, August 23rd.  At 12:47, I got the call that he had been taken to the hospital and that his organs were shutting down.  At 12:51 I had 30 kids coming into my room to learn about math.  Talk about putting on a strong / fake smile.  Standing up there teaching that day was one of the toughest things I've ever had to do. 

My grandpa hadn't been living the life he wanted to live for the past 6 months or so.  He was so used to working out on the farm and not being stuck in a chair.  An infection in his back went undiagnosed for a very long time and I think that is what ultimately did him in.  Too much stress on his body and too much pain / deterioration to recover from.  The end was unexpected but expected all at the same time.  He woke up that morning with no pain.  At home with his wife of 60 years.  Just slumped over on the way to the bedroom to get dressed.  What more can one ask for. 

Man I will miss him.

My grandpa was the one who declared "we will live on a farm" back when marrying his high school sweet heart. They first met in 8th grade while doing a Christmas play.  He played Joseph and Mama played Mary.  He said then and there he knew he would marry her. Both of them came from farming backgrounds so it is little suprise they wanted to "move out to the country" when he got out of the airforce.   They bought their 40 acre farm in 1957 and lived there ever since.  Can't tell you how many developers have come knocking but Mama always tells them, "OVER MY DEAD BODY".

Papa was a middle school science teacher for 30 years and farmed as a hobby.  He eventually bought another 110 acre farm after retirement.  So much for retiring!  Papa and Mama were such a huge part of who I am today; I grew up next door and continued to see them pretty much daily into adulthood.   They both taught me the value of hard work and how true happiness comes straight from God and straight out of the land. 

The fact he is gone has still not sunk in.  Neither has it with my grandma I don't think.  She keeps herself so darn busy with gardening, mowing, church, bells, etc. 

All we can do is keep on keepin on and spread the love of the land to Blaine to keep Buddy Chuck's legacy alive.

60th Wedding Annivesary January 2013

Picture appeared in Farm and Dairy with my WR pumpkin 2009

I Tri-ed it! Portages Lakes Triathlon

As my last post explains, I had been wanting to do a swim-bike-run race but kept chickening out for various reasons.  My subpar swim skills topped the list but also the logistics [running and biking while wet?!] also made me chicken out year after year.

I signed up for the "Women's Only" division since it had a short swim.  The distances were 250 yd swim, 7 mile bike, and 2 mile run.  I don't have a wetsuit so I prayed the water temps stayed up since the race was September 15th, long after the night time temps begin getting cold.

The morning of the race I woke up to 44 degree temps.  However, the water was 72 degrees so I knew I would survive!   I made my way down to the beach after setting everything up in the transition area.  They gave us instructions and we all lined up 2 by 2 because that is how they would send us off.   There were lots of other girls not wearing wetsuits, but I was one of the only ones not wearing a swim cap.  I had thought that the race people would give us swim caps! OOPS!  I didn't mind biking or running with wet hair so it didn't make one difference at all.   They told the experienced swimmers to get to the front of the line so I went back a ways.  I probably started midway in the field of 116 women.  There was a lady behind me who was talking about her plan of "walking" the swim like she did last year.   Supposedly the water was going to be waist deep the whole way.  Once the swim began, I quickly found out with a trial "touch" that I could not touch out in the middle!   Not sure how she did!

I passed about 5 people in the swim section and definitely had to resort to back stroke more than once.  Although perfectly legal, I guess back stroking it is a tell tale sign of a beginner!   Will have to work more to improve in the future.

Off to the bike.  There was one wicked hill and one medium hill.  I passed probably about 9 people or so on the bike.  A lot of the time there was no one in sight and I found that odd.

Once I got off my bike and started the run, I realized I COULD NOT FEEL MY FEET AT ALL.  They froze themselves solid on the bike.  It was definitely an awkward first mile but I did a lot more passing. By mile two we were in the woods on trails and that is where I really feel at home and started flying.  I felt like I was out in no-mans land because I didn't see anyone.  I knew I was on course because I had went by a water stop in the woods and then the arrows are painted in orange.    I came in to the finish line and the lady took my ankle timer chip thing and threw it in the box.  I SAW THERE WERE ONLY THREE OTHER CHIPS IN THE BOX!    I was fourth one in?!  Nick confirmed my thoughts and at that point I realized there was probably a good possibility I won.  I have only ever done one race before where you don't start when everyone starts and therefor you have no idea how you did.  Not a big fan.

The results showed I was 15th in swim, 1st in bike, and 2nd in run for 1st place overall!  I can't complain about that!   I need to continue working on swim, but to think 2 months ago I was breaking in bubbles and then Sunday I got 15th out of 119 is pretty impressive.  My long term goal is a 70.3 [half iron man] but most likely will wait until my kid(s) are older and I can train properly!

Tri It

I have been doing races that involve running, biking, and kayaking /canoeing for three years now.  Every year I say I want to do an actual triathlon with swimming but keep making excuses.  One of our best friends is a swim coach and we live on a lake so it isn't like we don't have the resources needed to improve in that area.

So I bit the bullet and signed up for one in the a women's only division.   It is even shorter than a sprint but I am so nervous about the swim that I thought it would be a good first timer's race.  I had a swimming lesson last week and just need to keep swimming everyday to keep improving!   Hope the weather stays warm because I don't have a wetsuit!   Advice welcome!

Dover Canoe and Kayak Race

With the flooding we had back on July 10, this race was originally scheduled to be July 13th but was postponed to July 21st and moved to a lake instead of a river.   Good news for us!  We already were signed up for the Headwaters Adventure Race on July 13th but were free on the 21st.  I was also pumped the lake they moved it to is a GORGEOUS lake out in the country; a lake I hadn't been on in four years since I coached cross country.  I have spent many hours on that lake canoeing / swimming with the teenagers during camp.  Oh the memories!  I miss those days!

This was our first race that was paddling-only.  I didn't know how exactly it was going to go or how the divisions would be.   We chose the 5 mile race because 12 miles on a lake just sounds brutal!

The day started out shaky when the race director saw me get in my kayak.  She said, "Oh no dear, don't do it that way! You need to take my beginners' kayaking seminar!"   I knew then I had to kick some major butt. I may not be schooled in proper kayak entry, but I have kayaked plenty and consider it to be a stronger area for me than running and biking.

 As we got in the water and lined up [quite a challenge since there is really no line], a guy in a megaphone said, "1 MINUTE TO START".   My legs started shaking I was so nervous!  The airhorn went off and I paddled like heck, trying my best to stay with Nick.  His kayak is a foot and a half longer than mine so I consider it faster.  Short kayaks = slower, Long Kayaks = faster.    The positions we got ourselves into at the start of the race were pretty much the finishing positions so I'm glad I went out quick.  I was right behind Nick!

I ended up winning my division by 10 minutes.  They do divisions where males are separate from females and then by kayak length.  So I was in K-1 Women's Short.    My kayak is 13 foot long.

In conclusion, the director was impressed I was in fact not a beginner and gave me an impromptu lesson at the end.  The race was EXHAUSTING; more-so than I thought it would be.   I had fun, but if a scheduling conflict came up, I would definitely pick a race with running, biking, and kayaking over one with just kayaking!  It was neat seeing a whole other subset of athlete; there are some people that are majorly into that stuff!  Those canoes were AMAZING!

Mom Confessions: The Zoo

Seems like every time I go to the zoo it is packed with moms on mom dates.  Children galore.  Pure chaos.  Super super super hot and brutally sunny.  Not hard to guess my mommy confession:

I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE THE ZOO.

If I never go to the zoo again, that would be too soon.   I seem to get roped into going once a year and each time say to myself, "never again".   However, based on the amount of people I know with zoo annual memberships and how much all moms rave about taking their kids to the zoo all the time, I think going to the zoo with my kid is something I'm supposed to love doing.   I don't.  I would rather go to a farm.  Heck since my family has a farm and multiple farms at that, I will just conclude by saying I'd rather just stay home.

Does that make me a bad mother?

The Hippie Mom I never thought I'd be

World Breast Feeding Week starts tomorrow!



What better time for this post?

I have been wanting to write about a secret life I live:  one that only a handful of people know about, one I keep secret, and one that I feel embarrassed about even though I know it is perfectly human, normal and deep down I feel it is right.

BLAINE IS STILL BREASTFEEDING.

Some days I am overrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr it.  Some days I am not.  One thing is for sure: he is not over it.  I tell him he is getting big and that big boys don't need it.  He says he needs it and it is yummy. "I want boobies when I'm old".  Oh boy, gotta laugh out of that!   He will cry if you say "no".   Saying "no" to a kid who is doing something bad I can do but saying "no" to a kid who only wants his mommy's comfort is impossible.   I don't weaning to be 100% my decision and a decision that causes him tears.

I have read that if weaning is 100% child-led, it happens between 2.5 and 5 years.  So it is perfectly average what we are doing.  Even though it seems that 100% of society feels 3 is waaaay too old to be nursing.  To the point that I often try to keep it a secret.   I like reading blogs about other kids who are extended nursing but know I could never nurse through a pregnancy / do tandem nursing.  That will be my cutoff for good if / when I get pregnant again [trying October 2014].   Maybe just maybe he will wean himself before then!

I definitely believe the benefits Blaine gets from nursing are still continuing but more importantly, the chances of breast cancer decrease 4% with each year of nursing.  Considering I feel I have a 100% chance of breast cancer,  I need to go quite a few more years.  ;)

I still don't consider myself a hippie mom!

Headwaters Adventure Race 2013

This was our third year that we signed up to do the Headwaters Adventure Race.  The course consists of a 2 mile run, 10 mile bike, and 5 mile canoe / kayak.   The week of the race, the small creek in our front yard looked something like this:

So I was not surprised when we got an email saying that the paddling portion of the race was going to be cancelled.  Rivers all around northeast Ohio were setting records for flow and many were at flood stage.

The kayak section is always my strength and where I do all my passing.  I knew I would have to step up my game in the run and bike.   As soon as we pulled in I saw my inspiration and competition, the mother to an Olympian, but most importantly the lady who wins this race every year.  She sat out last year and subsequently I won the race!  Let's call her RF.  She was getting out her bike and tutoring another girl (let's call her Miami) on how to use her spare bike.  That girl looked fast as well.   Yikes!  Competition for sure!   

After the run, I was the 3rd girl, behind RF and Miami.   Hoped on my bike and headed to the first hill of death.  I passed up RF on the hill of death and kept pedaling like mad expecting her to pass me up again.  She never did!   However on mile 8, "muscles" girl comes from nowhere and passes me on a DOWNHILL and I just could not catch back up.  So I ended 3rd overall.  My bike was 4 minutes faster than last year so I was very happy with my performance.  Miami won with a 45:51.  Turns out she is on the cross country team at Miami University (division 1 college) and "muscles" got 2nd with a 46:07.  Not that I google stalk people, but she has her PhD in Performance and Exercise Science, looks like a body builder, and is in the University of New Hampshire Athletic Hall of Fame for gymnastics.  WOWSA!  I had a 46:16.   It was very very solid competition!  

I called my mom to tell her I got 3rd and she said, "Well I guess you should start running more".  

Ha!  Always room for improvement! ;)

500

My 500th blog post! Life has sure changed since 2008 when I started this blog. Can't hardly even remember what it was like back then. The FREEDOM (!!), the TIME (!!), but the lack of a toddler made life a lot more empty than it is now. On to 500 more!

The big 3.0

Nick turned the big 3-0 this year and Blaine turned the big 3.0 yesterday!  We celebrated by going swimming at my friend's pool and then going swimming again here at home.  My parents came over for dinner and we inflated a borrowed bounce house from a friend [THANKS!]. Blaine was pretty much in toddler heaven.   

Blaine is turning into such a funny, stubborn, hardworking, adorable young boy.  When there is a job to do, whether it be hammering, chain sawing, or picking up sticks, he declares it is "his job" and we cannot do it.  Super funny.  I can't believe it but he can actually hammer in a real nail that is started.

Blaine is awesome at knowledge of farm equipment and tools but still refuses to learn numbers and letters despite my best efforts.  He calls 4-wheelers "three wheelers" even though we count  ONE-TWO-THREE-FOUR WHEELS hundreds of times.  Stubborn little thing!

Speaking of his stubborn streak, getting him to smile for a photo is equally challenging.  I failed the challenge yesterday!

 

I will not cooperate. You cannot make me.

Tomorrow we party with friends and family at the new house! Praying the rain holds off!

Fat Man's Relay

Back in my high school track days, at the end of a meet, sometimes they would hold a "Fat Man's Relay".  The shot and disc throwers would do a 4 x 100 relay providing amusement for both themselves and the rest of the onlookers.  Fun times.

Saturday I got the following advertisement for a 9 mile road race.  Does anything seem off to you?

First of all, I don't many road races, but I have definitely not seen any that have a category for "power runners".  What came to mind for me was the Fat Man's Relay and that a "power runner" is just code for "fat people trying to run".

Secondly,  I WOULD FRICKIN BE A FAT RUNNER?!    Not to give away my exact height and weight, I am above 145 most days.   Here is what seems MAJORLY WRONG with this scenario:

The average American male is 5'10'' and if he is 200 lbs [the weight cutoff for "power runner" males, not seen in picture], his body mass index is 28.7.  That qualifies him as overweight.

The average American female is 5'4.5'' and if she weighs 145 lbs, her BMI is 24.5 putting her in the "normal" range.

HMMMM.   I almost want to go do this race now just to see if they put us fatties on the scales and then to give them a piece of my mind.  

Any runners out there?  Thoughts or opinions on this?

Mountain Time

We ended school EXTREMELY early this year [last student day was May 21] and it didn't take long to settle into our old ways; Blaine and I both have been sleeping in until 10 AM.    I just use the excuse "we are still living in Mountain Time" because we took a trip to Colorado [!!!!!!!!!!!] for 6 days.  It was spectacular. If I knew Blaine was going to be such a good traveler, we would have done this YEARS ago.  Errr maybe not.

Blaine's first airplane rides, Blaine's first mountains, his first time "camping" [I know RV camping isn't true camping but hey I'm counting it]; it was marvelous.

We flew to Denver and then rented a little RV.  It was so perfect: bathroom, fridge, kitchen, beds, all right there.  I cannot imagining travelling with a toddler any other way.  Will definitely do that again!

Blaine loved the adventure, the "snow climbing", and seeing new things and doing something different everyday.

The only problem with vacationing in May is that we still have the whole summer in front of us and our main adventure is over.  I'm already trying to think of a close "road trip" weekend type thing I can convince Nick to take us on.

One Year in the Books!

Ahhh, summer break!  With "one school year" under my belt as a working mommy, I feel I need a blog conclusion / wrap up.

Most days, the life of a working mom to me feels like an uncontrollable freight train heading towards a brick wall.   Some days it feels like the train has hit the wall head on.  

The end.

I cannot say I enjoyed this year working.  I can say that teaching is still the perfect job for me.  The day flies by like no other job in the world, and I enjoy the interaction with teenagers more than I would interaction with colleagues.   That being said, teenagers are more horrible than ever, lazier than ever, and yes I am frustrated beyond belief with them most days.   However, the job is never boring and is always a challenge so most days I smile more than frown.   I still wish I was a human lie detector because approximately 95% of what teenagers tell teachers is a lie.  They are darn good at lying too!

The "new house" is proving to be my peaceful sanctuary.  Where else can someone see a view like this in their backyard at 6 AM before heading to work?  Makes the school day easier.

In conclusion, yes I will quit my job if I win the lottery.  Yes, I would rather be at home with Blaine.  Yes, teenagers are so horrible I want to keep Blaine in a bubble and home school him.    No,  I will not do any of those things because I'm pretty sure in the long run, this is the best way for things to be.  

Heaven Is...

At 2:00 AM Saturday night I headed straight from SAD season right into happy season.  I walked around school today with a permanent smile plastered on my face.  It is really quite amazing how quickly my mood can improve thanks to Daylight Savings Time.  Plus it was like God wanted to remind us it was spring with a few 60 degree days over the weekend!

To counteract my negative energy I've been harboring all winter, I want to start writing more about things that make me happy.

Heaven is:

~ lying beside a sleeping angel, aka Blaine
~ a 60 degree day in March
~ the first kayak ride of the year
~ ice cream stands opening up after being closed all winter
~ OGT week thus shortened classes
~ driving off watching your son and husband fishing down in the creek
~ enjoying a lazy evening fishing with the family and watching the sunset over the farm

Self Portrait Challenge + 11 Things

Been busy around here lately!  Nick pointed out I hadn't done a new post in foreverrrr.  I just haven't had any ideas lately.  Enter Nurse Loves Farmer.   She did a fun challenge today so I'll join in.  I have the day off for President's Day and IT HAS BEEN HEAVENLY! 

Rules:

1.Post a photo of yourself


2. Answer the questions set for you in the original post.

3.Create 11 new questions and ask people to answer them.
 

Sorry this pic is OLD OLD OLD but it is a cute one!

 

1.How did you choose your first child’s name? (If you don’t have any kids yet, what do you want to name your first born?)    I had a list of boys named I liked and Nick hated every single one of them.  So we got some baby name books from the library and found the name Blaine there.  I had only ever heard of one before [Blaine Wilson] and having my son have a rare name was important to me.  YAY! AGREEMENT!

2.If money wasn’t an option, where would you love to live?  Without a doubt, Montana!

3.What is the most embarrassing thing you have ever done?  I'm still too embarassed to share. LOL.

4.What catch-phrases annoy you?  No catch phrases I can think of, but lots of things my students say annoy me!    Oh and when Nick says Kindergarten he says "KENDER-garten" and that is annoying.  ;)

5.Do you have any phobias?  Frogs.

6.What’s the best concert you’ve ever been to? Fernando Ortega.  HE IS HILARIOUS and awesomely talented.

7.Do you believe in love at first sight?  Yes.

8.High school – loved it? Or hated it?  Hated it soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much.  So I went back and have been employed at my high school for 9 years now.   I am insane.

9.Do you have a funny auto correct story to share?  I don't do texting lol.

10.If you could witness any event past, present or future, what would it be?  I want to live in this township back in the 1800's for a year or so to see what it looked like and what life was like then.  I love local history when it deals with the same exact area where I live now.

11.What is the hardest thing you’ve ever done?  Surviving Blaine's toddler years with a husband who is gone so much.  Somedays I just don't think I will make it!  I've had several meltdowns.


My questions for you are [please play!]:

1.  Are you close with your parents?

2.  If you could go back and rewrite a chapter in your life, is there anything you would have done different?

3.  If money was no object, how many kids would you have?

4.  Could you survive a year living "Amish" ?  No electric, no cars, etc.

5.  Could you change a flat tire?

6.  Did you love math in high school?

7.  How many great grandparents were you able to meet?

8.  Do you  have any neat family traditions?

9.  Beach or mountains?

10.  Is there snow outside right now where you live?

11.  What is one thing on your bucket list?


If you decide to play along please come back, comment, and leave me the link!







2.5

It is winter again so of course I'm EXTREMELY depressed, EXTREMELY stressed, EXTREMELY exhausted, EXTREMELY EXTREMELY EXTREMELY frustrated with my job, but all while feeling guilty about feeling all those feelings because I know how lucky I am that I have a house, our health, our jobs, etc.

Gah.

That happens every winter so I should just be used to it by now.  This week I was sick in bed 36 straight hours [took only my 2nd sick day in 9 years teaching], then woke up to a sore throat / head cold 24 hours after that.  Nick was out of town all week and that left me even more down for the count [THANK GOODNESS FOR GRANDPARENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!].

But the real reason for this post is Blaine.  Have to send him a shout out for turning 2 1/2 today!  This last 1/2 year was certainly trying!  This fall definitely had a trying time with the crazy tantrums.   We are talking screaming hysterically for an hour or more.  The crazy part is that he only saved the crying for me and never cried at the babysitters at all.  She always says how ridiculously easy he is to babysit.  We survived the tantrums and one day realized, hey he doesn't cry for hours on end anymore, we must have passed that phase!  He came out on the other end potty trained day and night, saying a ton more words / sentences, and even sleeping through the night for the first time in his life [can I get a HALLELUJAH!]   Yeah, still not worth it in my mind but that is life.  Ha!

No hat, no gloves? Just training for Alaska! ;)

The worst yet best Christmas family photo.  

Icefishing at the "new house" but I love that in this photo you can see the "old house"!!

Blaine is a cuddler and a loving boy.  I never quite realized how much so until I started interviewing him more and more about his days at the babysitters.  Turns out another boy there actually punched Blaine's stuff kitty one day and he told me all about it.    I was like "awhhhhh".   He always uses this fake sweet sweet voice with his "little friends" [stuffed animals] and when he watches the birds, talks about kitties, etc.  FREAKIN ADORABLE!  He especially enjoys talking about baby animals finding their mom-moms, even if something really doesn't look like a baby.

In conclusion, I want to quit my job, I want my husband home more, I want to sell our old house, I want more sunlight so I'm not so depressed, I want more sleep, but all in all, things are pretty good right now!  :)