My Baby is Four Today!

 

Nathan

Oh my sweet little heart breaker,
I look at you with absolute favor,
With you I feel a love so pure
For the most toxic poison you are the cure, 

From your silky hair to your tiny toes,

Your sweet soft skin and your button nose.
When I lay beside you and drink you in,
I'm intoxicated by the joy you bring.
As I rub my lips against your cheek, 

My heart swells with tears to weep, 

For my baby, this I know,
that as time passes you will grow.
A little boy you soon will be, 

And may no longer walk with me.
As you grow into a man, 

You will one day release my hand,
Only to clasp to that of another,
As you fall in love with your child's mother,
I'll taste my tears and think of this day,
How beside me you would lay,
How you'd suckle at my chest,
And for a pillow you'd use my breast.
Our noses together as we breathed the same air,
And how for hours upon you I'd stare,
Trying to freeze forever this moment, 

Before it's gone, I want to own it,
My heart had a place I never knew,
A door was closed until I met you,
Your love's the oil that's greased the door,
And mine will keep it open forever more.

Before and After

This is me... last September getting ready to run my first race, the You Go Girl! Half Marathon and 10K.  I remember the excited anticipation as I prepared for the 6.2mi race.  I had no hopes of cheetah like speed or any gold medals finishes.  In fact, my only goal was to simply complete the race, to cross the finish line, to say I did it.  And how great it felt to actually run the entire course! To see the sights of Wright Park as I passed by on foot. To see my co-worker Jan standing in the doorway of an apartment building in the drizzling rain to cheer me on. To run along Thea Foss Waterway with the Finish Line in sight, mustering up the last little bit of energy I had to sprint to the end. It was exhilarating to cross that line amongst the cheers of the crowd and my fellow runners who had already completed it.  That was six months ago.  This is me now...

Can I just say? This look is not cute.  It is no longer working for me.  My pants are getting tight; okay, let's be real, are very tight, around my waist.  I'm having to wear longer blouses because I can't zip my skirts all the way up.  I have gotten lazy.  I talking, LAY-ZEEE!
So, I found a solution.  Two, actually. The first one is to help motivate me into some type of physical activity. 
I registered for another race.  This time, I'm taking it up a notch.  A half marathon.  Maybe someday, when I'm a big girl, I will run a full marathon, but for now it's going to be 13.1 miles (which, by the way, I feel is more than sufficient). So, come this June, the 23rd to be exact, you will find me at 7am lined up with the rest of the running masochists at the Seattle Center preparing for a grueling 2 1/2 hour run.  Come on Seattle Rock N Roll, bring it on!

For any of you who are into self torture, please, feel free to join me.  Registration is still open and all proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society.  For those of you non runners, I know you  will be rooting for me in heart, if not by your physical presence on race day.
My second strategy is the Pierce County Match Up.  For those of you who haven't heard of it, there was a write up in the Tacoma Weekly.  You can also go to http://www.piercecountymatchup.com/
to read all details about the competition.
Myself along with four others are on a self named team, 'Drop It Like Its Hot' and are going for the grand prize of $10,000 for the greatest percentage of weight loss over a 12 week period.  The fact that I have four people counting on me and a run to train for is truly motivating.  So, I know its a long way until June 9th, (our weigh in day) but I'm ready to get this party started!  You may not recognize me at the end of June, this is what I envision for myself... a strong, lean, running machine!

  No more muffin top, time to drop it like its hot!

Golden Girls

Every year I get older and I take the opportunity to reflect. I think about where I am, where I'm going, and where I'd like to be. I feel content and at peace, not to be overrated these days. I get joy from my children, am happily married, and don't have too much to complain about. But there are always lessons. This year I learned a valuable lesson about true friendship.

In life, as you grow, there will be friends who come and go, but a true friend will be there forever. You may go months, without seeing or speaking to each other, but when you do, you pick up right where you left off. You feel safe placing your trust and giving your heart to a true friend because you know it will be well cared for. True friendship is not a gift to be underestimated.

This year I find myself feeling especially thankful for my true friends; the ones I can call at any hour, day or night, the ones whose laugh I have memorized for the days I'm feeling blue, the ones who are lovingly honest with me, the ones who get silly with me and make me laugh,  the ones who will be in my heart forever even if they are no longer with me. To all of you friends- (you know who you are) 

thank you.

The Double "P's"

Poor Kai has been sick all weekend. I got a call at work early Saturday morning, like 3am early, from Josh who much to his chagrin was stripping, of course, OUR bed (since that is where Kai usually finds himself at some point during the night). Poor Dad had to give a 3am bath, do 3am laundry, clean up 3am puke, and move two kids (Nathan had come for a visit too) at 3am back to their beds.
Unfortunately for Kai, as the first "P" (puking) moved down his GI tract he was maligned with the second "P" (the poops). Kai, the ever vocal, spent the majority of the day yesterday rolling around on the floor moaning, "The pain! The pain!" and "Why can't I just be a normal kid?". Well, at the very least it bought him two days of unending Spongebob and Phineas and Ferb episodes. 
I am happy to report that today he is feeling much better. We have been Double "P" free going on 16 hours. In fact, he's feeling so much better, he's submitted a request with the house chef for a Taco Time soft taco for lunch. Somewhat leery about the return, once again of the Double "P's", I said, "Kai, are you sure you're feeling up to that." To which he replied, "Yeah mom! I'm starving. And anyways, if I have to throw up, I could just go to the bathroom. What could go wrong?". Infallible reasoning. From a five year old. But my strong desire to NOT have to clean up Taco Time puke outweighed the tugging at my heart strings to feed my little boy whatever his little stomach craved. Toast and applesauce it is, for at least one more day.

Peanut Butter Jelly

I hear this song everyday because it's what Kai has for lunch EVERY day. Why do I even bother asking? I already know the answer, although there are times I deviate and pack crackers, cheese, and deli slices which he enjoys as well.  But given the choice, its always...
PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3ZAGBL6UBA&ob=av3e

My Busy Mom-Life

I remember sitting in the hospital bed after my first child, (my daughter Lily) was born and thinking to myself, 'I'm not me anymore.  From now on, I will be thought of as Lily's mom, not Sherry.'  I felt redefined. Of course I was still the same person I was when I walked on to the Labor and Delivery unit; I still liked snowboarding, my favorite food was still Korean food, pink was still my favorite color, I still liked to dance, listen to music, and tell corny jokes, but there was something about the responsibilty of the little heart I had to protect in my arms that opened up inside of me a door I hadn't known was there until that moment.
That was seven years ago.  Hard to believe...seven years, two more children, 10 years of marriage, a home, a parent lost to cancer, career changes, several attended weddings and births, and more days filled with laughter, tears, and moments than I can recount.
So here I sit, about to turn 37, and what I don't want is to miss all the little moments.  The moments the boys are in the tub playing "squirters", the moments Lily spends in the mirror singing to herself, the moments Nathan, with his little lisp, say, "Love chew too maa-ma." I don't want to be so busy folding laundry that I yell at the boys to stop getting water on the floor, or too distracted brushing little teeth that I tell Lily to be quiet. I don't want to wake up one day and realize that my three little birds are flying the coop and I can't remember what their little voices sounded like; the controlled chaos of mealtimes replaced by the silent clinking of forks and spoons on our red Fiesta ware plates as Josh and I sit by ourselves at the dinner table.

My "Three Little Birds".

Kai and Lily in awe of the spinning teacups.

Kai, "Um, we kind of got into a marker fight."

It looks like Nathan got the upper hand.

The past ten years have flown by, and if they are any indication of what the next ten years will be like, I'd better grab on and hold tight. Whatever happens, I know that with these three little birds, our life will be one awesome adventure and I'm going to be here to capture every breathtaking moment.