…the kind that I used to find on the dance floor in college. My friends and I would go to gay bars (where you didn’t have to worry about the boys grabbing all over you. Seriously, gay men are so polite – I had men who would kiss my hand after dancing with them.) and just dance the night away. And the music was way better than what you find in many of today’s club. Mixes of celestial sounds coming in great waves of energy. I would dance for hours lost in the sound moving.

Being a parent now having so much responsibility, there are rare if any times where I feel that kind of freedom. There are just days you want to pretend the stress, problems, exhaustion and responsiblity of every kind – parental, financial, etc. – isn’t there. After two kids, I think I will probably have spent more mornings up at 2am up with babies then I ever spent at dance clubs.

I may not be the best dancer, but I remember a friend telling my husband as they were looking on from a club balcony that she wished she could be that free on the dance floor. Music takes me places. I want it playing loud so it can push all the other noises and voices out of my head…and then to move with it at the same time – it is so freeing.

Mark my words at some point I will do a little clubbing. It would be hard to find people to go with me let alone a club that would play decent music. If I could though, I would take one night to sneak away and transport myself to another time and just let it all go..for a few hours anyway.

Saturday was a horrible pregnancy day for me. My whole belly felt like it was stretching way out and that hurt. My thighs were sore and felt like I had just run a 10K. And chasing Tyler around I felt like a whale. It took me forever to pick myself up off the ground. My legs and hips feel like they are widening and stretching everyday. I mean come on body…we still have like 3 months to go – she isn’t coming tomorrow (famous last words, but at 26 weeks I am pretty confident with that statement). Thanfully, I feel a bit more agile today, but my belly is getting so big. It is going to be a challenege the next few months.

I seriously need to take my butt to the gym. I need to maintain some kind of physical activity or I really fear that I am going to have a hard time on our trip and a hard time chasing after Tyler in general…

Waddle, Waddle, Waddle
Oh and I am in FULL waddle-mode. Especially when I get up from sitting in my chair at work – I totally waddle to the kitchen or the bathroom.

Yesterday feeling a little “park”ed out, my friend Susan had the brilliant suggestion that we take the kids to Bull Creek for a little fun in the sun and water. This excursion reinforced the need to get Tyler some kind of sandal especially for water play. His beautiful new white tennis shoes were quickly muddied yesterday!!

Tyler says “Piper”
It was so cute, Tyler said his friend’s name yesterday…Piper. If you asked him “Where is Piper?” he would look for her and point at her when he found her. Of course, now when we change his diaper, he now says “Piper” instead of diaper. Guess it is just the word of the moment!! He also pointed to the sky and said “plane” when he heard one fly overhead.

Pics from Bull Creek
Well instead of “stealing” all of Chris’ Tyler pictures for my blog, I finally took some myself. Okay, well Susan took them. We got some fun moments from Bull Creek. Before we get to the pics I must say, Piper is the only child I know who LOVES to sit in other people’s laps. She will come right up to you, lift up her arms with a “c’mon, pick me up” look on her face. She watched her Mom chase Tyler around while she chilled in my lap! Also, in the background of the pictures, Tyler has spilled veggie booty on the ground and is sorting between the food and the rocks,leaves and sticks. Piper thinks Tyler is wierd making such a mess of himself all the time!

Tyler looks SOOOOO cute this morning. And last night, he was listening to music through Daddy’s big headphones. My stupid camera batter kept dying..so I didn’t get any pics! {humph!) I will keep trying though. Today he is wearing a t-shirt that says “I am definitely up to something”. Had to put him in that since we are meeting up with some friends later on today…. So fun to still be in the phase where I can pick out his clothes….one day soon that too will come to and end (sigh..).

I think I have mentioned in bits and pieces that Chris and I are taking a vacation at the end of April. We are traveling with Tyler and our partners in crime, Sammy, Susan and their daughter Piper. We are going to be camping for four days in the Guadalupe Mountains and spending two days at Carlbad Caverns. We will also make stops in Fort Davis and Balmorrhea.

Camping
I am totally jazzed about the camping as this will be the first time that Chris has REALLY camped and the first time I have done it in several years (we used to camp all the time as a kid). We are slowly getting our gear together. I really hope Tyler likes it. He loves the outdoors, so I think it will suit him quite well. I am so thankful that we will have the Pizzo camping veterans with us – Susan already has compiled a thorough gear list to make sure that we don’t end up in the middle of the woods without important things like a can opener! (this actually happened to us when we all stayed at a cabin at Garner State Park….thanfully the people a few cabins over had one!)

Um, yes I will be 8 months pregnant
I am going to be 8 months pregnant, but I refuse to be a fragile pregnant mama. I kicked some major butt cycling during my last pregnancy and want to get out there and hold my own doing some hiking and taking in as much as I can. I will take care of myself and listen to my body, but this will probably be the last chance for us to have a vacation for a little while, so I want to soak up the experience. Quinn will still be pretty young come next foliage season, so we may have to sit that season out.

Reminiscing about Cloudcroft
May I just brag a little and say this is my second vacation while pregnant and Tyler’s second road trip under two years of age? I am just proud of us for getting out and doing stuff and not letting the fact that we have a baby or I am pregnant stop of from having adventures. Tyler did absolutely fabulous on the last trip – and during the whole thing he was cutting 3 teeth!! We always took into consideration his needs while driving, hiking, etc. and it worked out really well. I am hoping the same holds true this time around when he is 17 months old. Here are some great shots of the little man on our Cloudcroft adventure.

Tyler Enjoying Fall Foliage with Daddy (self portrait)

Tyler Hiking with Mommy

It is nice to have one of those mornings anyway. I have been trying to set up some routines and so far they are working quite nicely. Even though I slept not so great last night – more pregnancy discomfort than Tyler – I still got up at 6am. Tyler didn’t get up until 7AM, so I actually got quite a bit done this morning – it was nice. And the little things like having the diaper bag packed with snacks ready to go and having mine and Tyler’s clothes laid out really make the day go smoother. I am also starting to see a glimmer of how our mornings will be. I know not everyday will run smoothly or exactly the way I want it to, but it is just nice when they do!

I just have to plug Sandy’s shoes. Last Thursday we went there to get Tyler some Preschoolians. His Robeez had seen better days and I wanted shoes with more protection for his feet. They sized his feet and put him is a size 22 Preschoolian shoe.

Well this past weekend was an absolute bonkfest for Tyler – by the end the poor kid had three huge bruises on his head and had scraped up his nose. It seemed like his balance was off and we were almost wondering if he had hit is head too much. I also knew he was breaking in his shoes. When I picked him up at daycare he had just taken another spill and hurt his chin. The caregivers and I were looking at his shoes and thought they looked too long for him.

We went back to Sandy’s shoes and the owner helped us. He immediately said the shoes were too long. Well, they had no more Preschoolians that would fit him (that brand is going out of business), so he fit us in a sneaker-type shoe that was still quite flexible.

Here is what impressed me: He let me keep the Preschoolians and charged me the price of the new shoe ($36) minus the cost of the Preschoolians ($29). So I paid $7 for the new shoes and took the Preshoolians home for when he grows into them. I was really worried I was going to have to pay full price for a new pair and their shoes aren’t cheap.

I really appreciated the fantastic service I received and will definitely be returning. They also have a great collection of wooden toys and I want to buy Tyler something everytime head go in there! There is a great art easel that we will have to look at when he gets older….

Here are his very cute new, new shoes. Although they are more like a sneaker, they are still very flexible. He looks SO cute in them!

Tyler’s New Shoes