Mommy and Me at the zoo

In early May, Matt and I took Parker to the zoo for the first time. I was a little worried that he would be to young to appreciate it, but I love to go to the zoo anyway so I took advantage of the Macy's "Mommy & Me" event, bought a T-shirt, and went to the zoo for a discounted price. At first Matt and I would try to point out the elephants and giraffes and Parker wouldn't know the difference between those animals and stationary objects like a rock or a fence. Actually, he found the fence more interesting than the animal about 70% of the time. The trick was to look at the small, quicker moving animals. He couldn't take his eyes off of them. He loved the turtle swimming around in the tank and kept trying to grab it through the glass. I love Parker so much!! He is the joy in my life.

Parker trying to grasp the turtle

There is no animal in there, but Parker thought the water was fascinating

Parker wanted to eat that ear so badly

Parker refusing to look at the giraffes

His hair was greasy from the sunscreen that I put on his head since he kept taking off his hat.
He has beautiful eyes, doesn't he?

I think he liked looking at the rhino...or maybe he just liked looking through a window.

He doesn't look so happy here, but he loved going to the zoo.

Parker's First Easter

Parker loved his Easter basket. I got him a few books and toys, but I think he enjoyed the plastic eggs the most. If fact, it has been a few months and Parker still plays with those plastic eggs.

Family Pictures

These pictures were taken in Early April (and I just got them on the computer. Wow, I'm behind on things.) Matt and I just set up the tripod and took them. Of course, that is not the easiest way to take a family picture, but it is free.

Keeping It Balanced

I can make a goal and work towards accomplishing it. I'm actually pretty good at it. The problem is that while I'm working on one goal I tend to forget everything else. It is hard to stay balanced. I'm sure this isn't a unique problem. With so much going on in our modern-day lives, it is a challenge to keep it balanced on a daily basis.

So right now I've been really working on my health and have been proud of what I've accomplished (see last post), but now I'm realizing all the other things I've been getting behind in. I haven't worked on photography for forever. I haven't been reading much. I haven't been playing the piano or guitar. I haven't been consistant teaching Parker sign language like I've wanted to. I won't even get started on the state of cleanliness (or the lack thereof) of my house.

I'm not really complaining, it is more of an observation. The better I'm doing in one aspect of my life, the worse I do at all the other aspects. How do you guys stay balanced? Is there some trick that I'm missing?

Just a little bragging

I have fallen in love with running 5ks. I started running 5ks while training for a marathon this fall. My marathon training isn't going so well (I'm behind on my mileage) but I'm doing awesome at my 5ks. At least I think so.

I remember how difficult it was to run 10 minutes a couple of months after I had Parker. And I am using the term "run" quite liberally here. I was moving at a sluggish 12 or 13 minute/mile. But as with anything, improvement comes after hard work. My first 5k (3.12 miles) was in St. George in January. My goal was to run it under 33 minutes. I killed myself running it in 29:02. Seriously, I pushed myself so hard that I times I started to think that I wasn't going to make it.

My next 5k was the "Budd Family Race" in April and I ran it in 28:33. Not only did I run it faster, but I was not dead tired afterward. I think I could have pushed myself harder.

Next, I ran the "Race for the Cure" on May 9th in 25:51. That was an 8:30/mile average. I felt good about that time.

I'm telling you this, not to brag...actually it kinda is to brag. I'm really proud of myself and how far I have come in the 7 months after Parker was born. I was sooo out of shape at first, but now I'm feeling confident that I can achieve anything.

Chiropractic Care?

So I went to a chiropractor for the first time for a back analysis because I have been have some constant back pain and didn't know what else to do. He took X-rays and hooked me up to some electrodes and did all these tests "does this hurt?" balance on one foot type of things.

So the verdict is in and I have one messed up back. He says I have developed scoliosis that has developed because of misalignments in my lower back and pelvis or something like that (he said it is not because of genetic reasons. I wasn't born this way). He also says that my neck looks like I've been in a car accident. I haven't. And I know that he isn't just saying this stuff because I saw the x-ray and my back LOOKS messed up. It curves significantly to the right and because it does this I have a few ribs that are out of place (that is where I feel most of the pain).

the picture on the right is pretty much what my spine looks like
except it curves in the other direction

Problem is that Matt's insurance doesn't cover chiropratic. That is where I was hoping I could get some input. Do you know of any thing that helps this type of problem? Have any of you been to a chiropractor? Is is worth it? I know that some people label them in the realm of psudoscience, but there does seem to be some truth to alignment. I'm just trying to figure out if I should pay all this money or if there is an alternative way to fix my back.

How to survive tough economic times

It's funny 'cause it's true!



"sounds confusing!"