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??

That one time we dressed up...

So remember how I mentioned in my previous post that I bought my first maternity dress for a wedding we were going to?

Well, we dressed up and played pretty and went to that wedding. We ate a fancy meal that was served to us by people in fake tuxedo outfits and we socialized with Adam's coworkers like Adults do. And we even danced.....or, at least, we tried to. I don't know if it was the belly or the elapsed time since the last time we'd danced, but halfway through the song I looked up at Adam and said, "I think I've forgotten how to dance!" He laughed and said, "Me too!" We did this awkward parental-type-swinging of the arms and some shuffling of the feet and some bouncing of the body. I know I can still pop, lock, and drop it (in fact, it's EASIER with this belly to do it, and creates an even bigger effect, if you know what I mean), but I didn't quite feel like that was an appropriate move to be doing surrounded by the crowd I was. So we stayed for only a song or two, and laughed at our awkwardness.

Before we left for the wedding, as we were getting dressed, I saw Adam putting on a turquoise and black tie, with his black shirt and black pants. My mind instantly flashed back to the first time he wore that same outfit:

Our first dance together.

We had only been officially "boyfriend/girlfriend" for about ONE week. My best friend Robyn was visiting me from Hawaii and we had found her a date so we could all double.

I wanted to look H.O.T. so Adam could show off his new girlfriend. And guess what happened when we arrived at the dance? 

They wouldn't let me in.

My dress was too short. 

I was sooooooo embarrassed. I had no idea they would be checking the length. So Robyn and her date went into the dance without us, and Adam had to drive me back home so I could change. I was so mad (at BYUH and myself) --- Adam was wearing a matching tie for heaven's sake! What was I going to do now?

Luckily, my roommate the fashion genius, had a lace black slip that she lent to me, adding a few inches to the bottom of my dress without changing the color scheme. It was brilliant and it worked (and yes, I may have hiked it back up a bit once I was let into the dance....)

...And now, here we are, almost exactly three years later, married with a baby on the way. Who would have guessed?

MARSH Day

So...for those of you who don't know what MARSH day is (previously known as MARSSH day), its a special day that falls on the 2nd of every month. My first MARSH day was April 2nd, the first 2nd of the month after Adam and I started dating. We spent the whole day together - we both skipped all our classes and traveled around the island taking pictures, sharing secrets, playing models, and falling in love. Adam provided the name - Meghan Adam Rose Sione Seely Harrison (our full names alternated, but now that I'm married we eliminate the first S).

Lately our MARSH days have been a bit limited, as school is very busy. However, this last Marsh day, I came home to little post it notes for me to find around the house.

Also, Adam surprised me with an early Christmas present- tickets to see the Nutcracker Ballet! I am so excited; we are going December 18th. It will be a nice treat after  the stress of finals.

Speaking of treats, I found a fun recipe that I made for Adam for Marsh day. To explain, the other day Adam and I opened our refrigerator to discover one of those huge, Costco sized tubs of cream cheese that we did NOT purchase. We both asked each other, "where did THAT come from?" For a minute there it was really weird (did someone stumble into the wrong apartment with a tub of Cream Cheese?) but then we realized it was probably left here from the bridal shower. So I went searching for recipes with cream cheese in them so we could somehow make a dent in the thing. And this is what I found! As if chocolate chip cookies weren't bad (good) enough, let's add some cream cheese filling to them.

This is how Adam and I continue our courtship throughout our (3 month long) marriage! Much love and aloha!