Sprint for Life

Matt's work participates in the "Sprint for Life" 5K run/walk each year. Last year, Caleb and I weren't able to go watch, but I wanted to go support Matt this time around. It worked out that they let me run as well, and I was so excited. One of my college roommates just finished running a half marathon, and it has made me miss running so much. I used to run 3 miles every other day until about my 4th month into my pregnancy where I slowly cut back. I haven't really gotten back into running simply because I go on fast-paced walks a couple times a week with my sister (and sometimes other people join us). We don't own a running stroller either, which makes running with Caleb difficult, and I'm not disciplined enough to get out when Matt is home. So because it has been over a year since I have run, my goal for this 5K was to just run at a steady pace the entire time--no walking.

Starting off the run was really hard because there were so many people that you couldn't do much more than walk for the first 1/8 to 1/4 of a mile, so that added time, but I finished in 30:58 and feel great! I'm ready to start running more again. Matt finished a few minutes behind me, but he generously offered to push the stroller and he had to walk occasionally due to a bad knee (he tore his meniscus in a high school basketball game) Caleb loves walks, so he did super. As I watched Matt cross the finish line, Caleb was just chilling, sucking on his foot. It was too cute.

Before the run

(Thanks Jeff and Tahlia for letting us borrow your running stroller!)
After the run

Like Job (long story!)

When I was pregnant, I developed a really bad rash that covered my entire stomach and itched endlessly. It was so bad that I could only sleep in short increments because I would wake up with the desire to scratch. (This was probably just preparing me for a newborn!) Sometimes I gave in and scratched, which relieved the itchiness feeling, but then my stomach just burned all over. My sister-in-law, Kari, is a nurse, and I always called her with every little concern about my pregnancy (I still call her with every little concern about Caleb...sorry Kari, but you're so knowledgeable). She told me of someone she knew who had a PUPPS rash that develops during your 3rd trimester and lasts the rest of your pregnancy. There are lotions that provide temporary relief, but pretty much this woman was miserable for the last 3 months of her pregnancy. She finally got rid of it by the UV rays from tanning after the baby was born. The rash is most typical in women who are having their first baby.

Matt did some further research about it, and I felt it was exactly what I had. I just broke down and cried one night because the itching was so horrible, and I just couldn't imagine doing this for 3 more months. I told my family that I was suffering like Job, and that this was my "punishment" because I never had morning sickness. In all actuality, the rash lasted only 4 days (a miserable 4 days with having to go to school and teach!) and was probably only a reaction to the cocoa butter cream I was using to help prevent stretch marks.

So I have had another Job-like experience for the past 3 weeks. One Friday night I was plucking my eyebrows. As I was plucking, one of the hairs broke, which I find so frustrating. Not to be deterred, I continued to try to remove the hair. Finally I gave up because it was too far underneath the skin.

The next night as I was looking in the mirror, I noticed my eyebrow was a bit swollen. I pulled Matt into the bathroom to point it out, but did not think much of it.

Sunday morning when I woke up, I immediately felt my eyebrow, and knew it was bad news. Sure enough, my eyebrow was even more swollen. It took some artistic abilities with my make-up, but I felt I covered it pretty well for church. At church, I did everything I could to ignore people, or only talk with the right side of my face showing. :)

When we get home from church, we like to take a nap when Caleb does since we have early-morning church. At church, Matt had invited a new couple over to our house for dinner (he likes to spring these things on me last-minute...he forgets that women need advance notice for this stuff!), so when I laid down for a nap, I held ice against my eyebrow till I fell asleep. Unbelievably, when I woke up from my nap, it's worse! I told Matt to cancel dinner and that I didn't want to see anyone looking like I did. Matt, being a man, said it wasn't noticeable and wasn't a big deal. So we have our friends over for dinner, and I just suck it up hoping that they either won't notice, or won't remember by the next time they see me (I had hopes that it would be better by the following Sunday).

The following morning, Monday, was supposed to be my first day at Bammel Middle School for my internship. (I did the first half of my internship at an elementary school, but wanted a change of pace for the last half.) The librarian there came across in her emails as pretty particular about coming in on the days we agreed on. But when I woke up Monday morning, and had difficulty opening my left eye, I decided that it was time to see a doctor and cancelled the library for the day. Not only was my eyebrow swollen, but my eyelid was really puffy as well. It seriously looked like I had been in a fight...little did I know it would still get worse.

After spending three hours waiting to see a doctor (I won't be going to that place again!), the doctor gave me some antibiotics and sent me on my way. Come Wednesday, there is no improvement; in fact my left cheek is now slightly purplish. I am doing my best to avoid going out in public, and if I have to, I wear sunglasses, but I needed to get my hours in for my internship. I had scheduled my hours so that I would be working right up until the last week of school, and I had already missed Monday. So again I sucked it up and braved the public as I went to work on Wednesday. (I was back at the elementary school for this day since the middle school librarian went to the TLA conference.) It was really, really hard! There were a lot of stares, but kids are just so honest. One kid just straight-up asked me what happened to my eye. Matt and I had worked on good stories to tell to try to make light of the situation. So I told him I got in a fight with a kid. "Can you believe a kid did this to me?" I asked him. The boy responded, "He must have been really tall."

After I finished the antibiotics, which took care of the purple coloring in my cheek and my puffy eyelid but not my swollen eyebrow, I was beyond frustrated. I had been going around like this for 2 weeks and was just so embarrassed. I felt like it looked like I had a huge pimple just below my eyebrow, but who gets a pimple there? I finally scheduled another appointment with a new doctor, but of course the soonest appointment I could get was 5 days away. With the help of a friend, I figured out what I think the infection was called, an abscess. It described my situation perfectly..."a tender mass generally surrounded by a colored area from pink to deep red." It is basically an infected hair follicle, which antibiotics won't take care of. It sometimes drains by itself, but generally needs to be lanced and drained by a doctor.

My doctor's appointment was two days ago, and I actually ended up cancelling it because the swelling has gone down a little bit each day. Now that it is almost better, I can look back more easily and laugh, but I learned two important lessons...

#1 Clean your tweezers frequently (we think that might have been a large part of the problem because Matt and I share tweezers)

#2 I realized just how vain I am and I obviously needed to be humbled in this area

I took pictures, but I'll refrain from posting. The next time you look in the mirror though, just take a moment to appreciate your nice, normal-looking eyebrows. I will from now on!

Jane Austen Characters

Which Jane Austen character are you?

I am Elinor Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility. I am practical, circumspect, and discreet. Though I am tremendously sensible and allow my head to rule, I have a deep emotional side that few people often see.

Take the Quiz here!

Caleb's Obsessions:

These blocks my Grandma made
Toothbrushes!
My water mug
Water bottles
Crawling
(his first day of crawling was April 5 which would put him at about 7 1/2 months)
And spending time with Dad

Field Trip

Tuesday is free day at the Houston Natural Science Museum downtown, so last week, Ariane, Kari, and I made the trek with our kids. I'm not big on museums in the first place, and Caleb could have cared less, but it was fun to get out of the house and do something different. Once Caleb is a bit older, I know these outings will be more fun as he can talk and be more curious about everything. Here are a few pictures of Caleb and I:

Ariane and I carpooled, and here are our babies zonked out on the way back.

Cooking Blunder!

Matt is very easy to cook for because he is not a picky eater. The downside to that, however, is that whenever I ask him how a meal tastes and whether he likes it, his common response is, "It's good." We've talked about varying this response a little. The only thing Matt doesn't like is really spicy food because it doesn't sit well with his stomach.

The other night I was making a casserole that required approximately 3/4 of a packet of taco seasoning. Last time I made the meal, I decided that it was too bland, so I just added the whole packet of seasoning this time. When we start eating, I take a bite of my dinner first and have to drink some water immediately after. I caution Matt that it is a bit spicier than last time, and perhaps he might want to add some sour cream to help tone down the spiciness. He adds some sour cream, takes a bite, swallows. Then he adds some more sour cream, takes a bite, and swallows again. This process continues for fear of hurting my feelings, until Matt admits that it is just too spicy for him, and he can't eat it. (It was burning my tongue too, but I hate to waste food!)

I consider myself a decent cook, and so my pride was a bit wounded that I had ruined a meal and Plan B would have to be cereal. I couldn't believe that another tablespoon or so of taco seasoning could make the meal so spicy! Matt thought the whole thing was funny as we started dumping the meal in the garbage. He happened to see the empty seasoning packet in the garbage during this process and pulled it out. It turns out that I had accidentally purchased a "Hot" Taco Seasoning instead of the "Original" kind. (I now know to check the packets more carefully at the grocery store!) Instead, we had a fun night of Frosted Mini Wheats and Cheerios while we watched American Idol.

Birthday Week!

Matt and I both celebrated our birthdays this past week. My birthday was on Sunday the 30th, and Matt's was yesterday, April 2nd. (I turned 25 and Matt turned 26.) I feel bad that my birthday tends to overshadow Matt's since mine comes first, so this year, I decided to throw a party for Matt. Matt is such a 'social butterfly' so spending the night with friends and family is his ideal night. We were so grateful to everyone who came, especially his siblings since they live further away. I did not do a good job of taking pictures, but here are a few shots from the night:

Matt blowing out his candles while Hunter and Makayla (nephew and niece) eagerly await cake and ice cream.
Later playing "Four Men on a Couch:" a good 'ole BYU Family Home Evening activity.
Some of the decorations. I had my internship earlier that day, so I had limited time to throw everything together. It was a hectic afternoon!

My birthday was very low-key. It landed on a Sunday (and a fast Sunday, so I was 'deprived' of one of my favorite activities...eating!), so we had church in the morning, I got a nap (a birthday present from Matt), then we got together for dinner and cake with my family later that night. I just love to be remembered on my birthday so thanks for the emails and phone calls and mail. I guess Matt needs to work on his picture-taking abilities as well in the fact that these are the only pictures from the night! We are not quite used to taking lots of pictures of us, although we take plenty of Caleb!

Drew practicing to be a big brother.

Dallin, Drew, Caleb
I love this picture!