Nap Time Update

It is 4:14pm on Tuesday December 14th. My kids have been asleep for nearly three hours and I've been sitting on my rear end watching HGTV, being lazy and trying to come up with something to do. I finally remembered that I have a blog that has been so sorely neglected that even I've forgotten about it! Now that I've actually started writing a post I'm certain that my little munchkins will begin stirring any moment now... Murphy's Law and all that!

It's been a busy few months at the Martin household! Henry is a mere three weeks shy of his FIRST BIRTHDAY! How in the world did that happen? He's such a happy little boy and in an ongoing attempt to keep up with his busy big sis, he started walking at 10.5 months! He's honed the skill and is really motoring around the house these days making it even more difficult to keep up with him... especially with a Christmas tree in the house, a bunch of wrapped presents within reach, potentially lethal iron stocking holders (that could be yanked off the mantle with a hard enough tug), and a side table full of china in the dining room (only one casualty thus far!)

Two year and nine month old Ally is a very busy bee! She's in Montessori school three days a week and loves it! She is still getting in home feeding therapy twice a week, but has made some amazing improvements in the past few months after a medication change. Some of her newly discovered foods include: hot dogs, grapes, grilled cheese sandwiches, popsicles, marshmallows, string cheese, crackers, turkey, ham, cool whip, juice, chips, and many others. She loves to read, bounce on the bed, and loves watching Thomas the Train, Super Why, and Horton Hears a Who on the television (which we let her watch way too often in spite of our best efforts!)

Matthew turned 33 yesterday so for the next four months I am not 'the older woman!' We had a lovely family party last night with his parents and grandmother. He's happily finished up his two year stint on the USS Bataan for his disassociated tour and just checked into HSC-2 (the rag) where he will spend the next four or five months relearning to fly his aircraft. At the completion of his training he'll move over to HSC-26 for his Department Head tour.

Sadly we had to say goodbye to Angus, our beloved English Bulldog on November 29th, the Monday after Thanksgiving, only a short two and a half months after the departure of his brother Morrison. Just like Mo, Angus suddenly developed seizures back in October. We were able to control his with medication for a short time, but his health declined pretty rapidly and it became clear to us that we'd be selfish to hang onto him any longer. We're still grappling with the hole in our hearts and in our family, but are slowly getting used to a quieter (and cleaner!) home. Ally still asks about both of the dogs but doesn't seem too distressed over their absence.

As for me, I'm busy! Keeping up with two little ones, running the house, doing laundry and grocery shopping, etc. I don't know how working mothers manage it all! I manage to make a little time for myself here and there and have really gotten into running! I run 3-4 times/ week on the treadmill during nap time and am training for a few races in the spring. I don't know if I'll ever have a 1/2 marathon in me so I'm settling for an 8K and a 10K for the time being.

We're busy getting ready for Christmas which we'll be spending in Norfolk with Matthew's family. After the New Year the kids and I will be making our first solo cross country trip to California to visit with my family.

4:32pm- kids are stirring. Only took me 18 minutes to whip up an update... I should do this more often! Hope to post some pictures soon. If anyone is still bothering to read this thing- Thanks for checking in!