Why I ate cat food as a kid and other exciting stories

 - Last week I tried to stand up and walk out of the bathroom, and only made it as far as the doorway. I called out to Adam in pain, unable to stop the tears from coming. "Adam! Help! I can't walk!"
"What? What's wrong?" he asked.
I leaned against the wall and could hardly talk, or move my feet. Then I started to laugh, and I laughed so hard more tears came. "My legs fell asleep. It hurts so bad, Adam. So. Bad. I seriously cannot walk."
For some reason Adam wasn't laughing. All he did was shake his head and say, "Meghan, you know you're not allowed to read on the toilet anymore!"
It's true. I'm not. For this exact reason.

 - Adam and I actually went on a date. Like a legitimate,  leave-our-kid-with-an-underage-babysitter-date. And it was so super fun. We went out for burgers and fries, then hit up the mall, and ended with an hour of ice skating at our local rink. Axton was still breathing and alive and smiling (when isn't he smiling?) when we picked him up, too, so I'm guessing there will be more dates in the future! Woo-hoo! Go us. Here are some super crappy phone photos for proof:

 - Axton has always loved watching his reflection in the mirror. Well, today he found himself in a glass panel of an entertainment center and he got super excited. He placed his smudgy hands all over it, and then all of a sudden, he smashed his open mouth against it. In essence, he was making out all over that glass. And, unfortunately, it was at that moment that I had flashbacks to me, in oh, maybe fifth or sixth grade, making out with our bathroom mirror, so I could "practice." (Since I had so many kissing prospects at that age?) Yes, I am serious, and yes, I am embarrassed.

 - I won one of many Mommy-of-the-Year-Awards when I found my son sucking on dog food and playing in the dog's water dish. At first I was mortified, but then I remembered how much cat food I ate in my childhood and I figured, Meh. He'll be fine. 

 - You wanna know why I ate so much cat food as a kid, don't you? We had a cat named Spaggettio's growing up (my brother named him, not me) and my bro and I used to play this game where we would follow our cat around and we had to do exactly what he did. Lick our "paws," stretch our legs and yawn, roll around on our backs, and yes.....eat cat food. 

Man I was a strange kid.

I'm relieved to say that we never ventured in the litter box, though.

 - This week I was eating lunch with a friend and she asked me how running was going. Running's been going so-so, and I haven't been going as often as I would like to. I have this date of June 1st in my head - that's when a Women's Half Marathon is happening in Annapolis, and I kind of secretly want to run in it. But when she asked me about it, I realized I had only ran a quarter of the distance I would need to run for a half marathon, and that if it really was a goal of mine then I'd better start stepping up, and quick.

And when I thought about that - having goals and not really doing the things required to reach those goals, I realized I should step it up in a lot more areas of my life - you know, mommyhood, my calling in my church, writing, photography, etc, etc....

So, tonight I ran a 10k (6.2 miles) in 62 minutes. I blasted the tunes and had so many -AWESOME- highs on that run (thank you Taylor Swift). Seriously, if it wasn't for music, I'd never make it around the block. But when just the right song comes on? I can really bust it out. I was so into it that I got and popped a blister on my heel and didn't even notice until I got home. Then I ate four slices of pizza and a chocolate banana shake.

- This month I started watching little Miss Rylee two days a week so her mama can keep her awesome job-related benefits. It's nice having something casual to bring in some extra income, and I also like having a bit of a change of pace throughout the week. It's been interesting watching a two-month-old and an eight-month old at the same time; honestly it hasn't been too hard yet, since Rylee still does a lot of sleeping, and she still weighs less than Axton did when he was born so it's not too rough on my now-buff biceps to just hold her when I need to. The only time it gets tricky is when they both are tired. Axton isn't a very good napper to begin with, but being in a new place makes it even harder. He is also learning that I can't always pick him up right when he wants me to, but overall he's been adjusting great. I'm sure the action will pick up in a few months when they both are crawling....

 - Axton turned 8 months old yesterday, and boy was it a rough one. In the morning, he threw up his breakfast because he was gagging on a piece of paper he had eaten earlier. Then at night he fell out of his crib for the first time (obviously it was the first time or else we would have lowered it sooner), so we lowered his crib, and decided since we were halfway there anyway, we might as well move him into his own bedroom. That's right folks, Harry Axton is out of the closet and into his own room, now. 

Here's a creepy picture of him watching me through the bars in his very own bedroom (even though it's technically about the same size as the walk-in closet he came from, it really is a room, I swear).

This transition was very, I don't know, symbolic or something for me. I didn't cry and I didn't get sad, not really, anyway. In fact, I kind of felt like - it was a breath of fresh air, or something. Like getting our bedroom back was like getting a little piece of myself back that I had sacrificed in the last eight months - something I was glad to do, but now that I don't have to, I feel sort of like a new woman. I went on a complete organizing spree today, wanting this to be a fresh start. I never got very excited about making a "nursery" for Axton because I knew he wasn't going to be in there for awhile anyway. But now that he's got his own little place, I want to make it all cozy and cute. Sometimes I open his door just to look around, even if he's not in there.  

Here's the cute little handprint elephant we had made at the zoo when he was only 6 weeks old. We finally hung it up (since he can appreciate it now, in his own room, and all).

Anyway, so, for Axton's 8 month anniversary, he got gagged, bonked, and thrown out of his room. I swear I really do love this kid. I mean, who wouldn't??