A Swift Kick in the Pants

It's hard to describe, or pinpoint, the emotions that have hit like a tidal wave these past few days. One minutes it's sadness, the next it's anger, and in another instant it's disbelief, shock, and denial.

Without drawing this out, our landlord called us Sunday. She informed us she had sold her town home. She also informed us the place is currently in escrow, and will likely close at the end of the month. We had no idea, and her news hit us like a ton of bricks.

The place we've called home for over two years will soon be a memory.

That brings my anxiety to an all-time high.

We knew this day would eventually come. In fact, we've been planning for it, and we thought we were ahead of the game. We even put an offer in to our landlord, but it wasn't enough to land us this place permanently.

A month ago we put an offer on a town home within our complex. However, the place is a short sale. While the seller's immediately accepted our offer, the bank is taking its sweet time. The term "short sale" should seriously be re-evaluated. It's anything but short.

Did I mention the anxiety?

For the past three nights I've fought a losing battle with sleep. As exhausted as my body is, my mind goes into overdrive. I just lie in bed thinking of how little control we have over this situation. I think of my sweet little boy, and how I just want him to have stability.

Everything will work out. It always does. This is just another one of life's tests. So, I'm tossing in the towel, I'm throwing up my hands, and I've been praying like I've never prayed before.

Just for chits and giggles, let's take a look at the difference in housing between L.A. versus Kansas City. Because, what's not to love about a swift kick in the pants?…

Sand, Sun, Surf (and a Popsicle)

We did something this weekend that we clearly don't do often enough.
After packing 428 toys, lunches for all three of us, two beach towels, a beach mat, enough sunscreen to coat an army of men, and a wagon to pull all our goods (perhaps that extensive list of items is why our trips don't happen as often as we'd like), we made our way to the beach!

It's been quite some time since Marcus has curled his toes in the sand.

He clearly missed the place as much as Scott and me.

Between shoveling sand, running amuck, and playing football, it was one excitement after the next for all of us.

It brought my heart so much joy to see him so jubilant.

This is my favorite picture from our beach-y weekend.

Initially, the booming crash of the waves frightened the little man. Thankfully, Dad came to the rescue to show Marcus the awesomeness of the ocean.

Marcus and I were able to sit down and share a Popsicle and a few quite moments together.
But, eventually the Popsicle became more captivating than Mom or Dad.

The child was in a salty, sweet, sandy heaven.

Scott was kind enough to keep a watchful eye on Marcus while I pretended to play photographer. Of the 131 photos taken from our day (I'm not even kidding), I think this one is my favorite of our afternoon view.

Not too often we can snag a picture of all three of us. 

I think the look on the little guy's face says it all.

The beach was a solid success.

Happy Marcus Monday!

There are bubbles everywhere, everywhere.

There are bubbles everywhere, everywhere.

There are bubbles in the air…

There are bubbles in your hair…

There are bubbles everywhere, everywhere.

Happy Monday!

Friday's Five

Jumping right into the fun that Friday brings:

1. Three-day weekend, here we come!

2. Fingers crossed a few of our weekend days look something like this:

3. The other night I was chatting back and forth with one of my favorite ladies, Stephanie, about ideas for Marcus' upcoming birthday party. Autocorrect… Isn't it a lovely thing?

4. Training for half marathons has started back up. YAY! As much as I loved and needed a break from running I am thrilled to get back to the pavement pounding.
My training schedule is up to date and I have a new toy to aid me in my miles.

5. Speaking of half marathons… This flight is about to be booked.

Hello Hospital Hill Half! It also marks the start of the Summer 2014 Macke Midwest Tour. Woohoo, bring on summer!

Have a great weekend!

The Green Folder

While out to eat with friends a while ago the topic of this blog came up. One of our friends chirped up, "What's a blog?" I think he was semi-kidding. At least I hope. But, how exactly does a blogger answer that question to a non-blogger/non-blog reader?

I wasn't sure how to answer the question. Naturally, I did what any blogger does. I kind of skirted around the inquiry and we went about dinner.

It was while we were opening Christmas gifts with my family that the answer to the "what is a blog" question came to me.

One of the last gifts to be opened was from my dad. It was a thin package, roughly the size of a standard sheet of paper and no thicker than a half an inch. After the wrapping paper was removed I saw a simple, green folder. A bit confused I took a closer look and opened the folder.

For almost four years my dad had worked on and written his life story, right up until the moment we opened gifts.

As our night quietly came to a close I opened the folder again and began reading. There were so many stories from my dad's childhood that I had never heard. There were stories that I remember being told at family gatherings. And, there were stories of my brother and me, as told by my dad, that I had never known. I read his story, cover to cover, and savored every written word my dad had left me.

That simple, green folder is priceless. It is by far the greatest, most treasured thing I have ever received.

After I closed the folder it dawned on me… This blog is my green folder to Marcus.


In related news: Does anyone know if there is a way to print off the blog posts without using a screen shot, or "file" + "print"? I don't like how either looks when printed… Thanks in advance!

Kansas City

Four years into living in the Land of Fruits and Nuts you would think coming back to L.A. after a trip home (home being Iowa/Kansas) would be easy.

It's not. 

In fact, I think leaving home gets harder and harder each time. 

While Iowa is where I grew up, and will forever be my home state, there is something about Kansas that tugs at my heart. 

Maybe it's because Kansas City was where I moved after college. It was where I landed my first real job. It was where I found myself. Everyone seems to think they find themselves in college - I did a lot of searching, and it wasn't until I graduated that I realized who I was, who I wanted to be, and who I wanted to become. 

Kansas City was also where I fell in love.

Each time we go back our schedules are full, and we are hopping all over the city, cramming in as much as we can during our short visits. There is family, and friends, and BBQ, and the Plaza, and a million other places that always make our "must see/do" list. 

Then there is Shawnee Mission Park. It's my favorite park, and possibly one of my favorite places of all time. I go there each time I'm home, no matter the weather. It's the park where I decided I wanted to become a runner. It's the park where I spent endless hours and miles hitting the paved trails, clearing my head, soaking up the wonder of nature that is snuggly nestled among the hustle and bustle of the city. It's the place that helped me in my search for myself, and the place that aided me in finding me. 

Our visits home are usually long enough to leave me satisfied, but always left wanting more. It's a vicious cycle of falling in love when we arrive and heartbreak as we leave. 

Someday we will be back for good. 

Someday.

The ER

Saturday evening we had an uneventful flight from KC back to L.A.. Marcus was such a good traveler we had passengers compliment us on how well Marcus did - that is monumental! I figured the rest of our weekend would be smooth sailing.

That night we followed our regular routine of putting Marcus to bed at 7:30. The next thing I know it's midnight and we are woken to the ever familiar sound of the "seal bark" cough, also known as croup. This time it was different, it was worse than we'd ever heard. Scott went to check on Marcus and in a blur we were rushing out the door headed to the ER.

Little man had such labored breathing he was visibly working to catch a breath. His chest was heaving and the sound escaping his mouth was indescribably terrifying.

Watching my poor baby try to get a few precious gasps of oxygen, and there wasn't a single thing I could do for him, was the scariest thing I've ever experienced in my life.

Upon our arrival to the ER we were quickly admitted. I was relieved, as the waiting room was full and I was certain we would spend a great deal of time there.

Marcus was beyond petrified of the place. Due to the amount of stress Marcus was in, it was near impossible getting all of his vitals. However, the nursing staff was great, Marcus was assessed, and it was quickly determined that the croup was simply a severe case. Thank you Lord.

After a nebulizer breathing treatment followed by a dose of cool, moist air, as well as a steroid to open up his airway, our little man could breath a little easier.

Here we are, three days post ER trip and his breathing doesn't sound so scary. The tell-tale "barky" croup sound is gone. But, Marcus is left with a nasty cough that hasn't done a whole lot in the way of getting any good sleep.

Little man is on the road to recovery, and after the terrifying trip to the ER, that is more than enough to be thankful for.

Happy Marcus Monday!

What is cuter than a baby giddily running around before bath time in nothing but a diaper?

Nothing.

Happy Monday!

Getting Ready to Go Home

It's been a crazy week. Marcus and I have been finding ways to keep busy here in KC, but I think he and I are both ready for warmer weather.

That leads me right into this Fridays's high-fives. 

1. Tomorrow we head back to LA, and Marcus and I are excited to see this guy!

2. This was taken last week, and I hadn't had an opportunity to share.

As much as I love the weather in LA, there is nothing more magical than the Plaza Lights. The lights are even more enchanting when it's snowing, which is exactly what we were treated to.

3. One of the many reasons leaving KC will be so hard are these gorgeous ladies.  

Luckily, we were able to get together last night. No matter how long we go without seeing each other we never miss a beat and pick up right where we last left off. 

4. Going out for a girls' night is so much easier when you know your little is have a blast with Grandma and Grandpa. 

That giggle. It gets me every time. 

5. I thought Marcus and I were going to have to tackle flying home alone. A task I've done, but it's still daunting to think about. However, my mom so graciously offered to fly back with us. She's pretty much awesome. 

Well, those were kind of all over the place, weren't they? 

Happy Friday!

I Caved

Since our stay in KC I've been finding it difficult to keep Marcus entertained while staying inside. At home if we're cranky, or antsy, or just need a change of pace, we go outside. We're outside a lot. But, with sub-zero temps simply going outside is pretty much out of the cards (Momma doesn't do cold). I've been scrambling, scouring, and searching for fun things to do.

Just when I thought I was running out of options Sarah depicted a place of wonder. This place spoke of games, food, prizes, and fun. She spoke of a place I'd *never* been. Where is this magical place that seems to be just perfect for those insanely cold days? Why, Chuck E. Cheese, of course.

So I did it. I caved. I brought Marcus, and convinced my family to bring all of Marcus' cousins as well (aunt of the year, right here!).

Warning - picture overload ahead.

From a distance the mouse was pretty cool.

The little guys took to the riding attractions right away.

Oh, the cuteness. I die!

Marcus could have stayed on the fire truck all day long. No shocker there.

We were able to persuade the little guys to try their hand at a few games.
Don't they look like old pros?

I kept bringing Marcus back to this game. It may or may not have been my favorite.

While the two toddlers navigated rides and kiddie games, the older kids won copious prize tickets and did a good job keeping Marcus in awe.

My favorite arcade game is skee ball (isn't it everyone's?!). I attempted to show Marcus the proper way to play... Clearly he didn't get the memo.

Just over an hour of play and we had four happy boys on our hands.

While we didn't eat any food (except for the cotton candy) I'm pretty sure none of us would have had a difficult time consuming a couple of slices of pizza.

Maybe the best part? For $5 we were able to get out of the house, have some fun, and blow off some steam.

We'll be back Mr. Cheese!

Extended Stay

In the last few posts I've eluded to the fact that Marcus and I are still in Kansas City, while Scott is back in LA.

During our holiday tour of the Midwest, Scott caught the flu. He then proceeded to pass the bug to me, the *day* we were to fly back to LA. Within 12 hours of me getting sick, Marcus also came down with the sickness. Nothing says Merry Christmas, Happy New Year like the flu.

Needless to say, for a good three day stretch things were interesting, and messy, and zero fun. Because of all the flu-bug joys Marcus and I weren't able to fly back home with Scott.

About the only good thing about a sick baby and mommy is all the extra sleep and snuggles (because we are clearly not winning any beauty pageants). The rest of the sickness is for the birds!

Thankfully, we are all now back to 100%.

Marcus and I are enjoying our extra time in Kansas City, soaking up the extra love, attention, and additional help. However, it is safe to say we both miss Scott, and are ready to get back to SoCal where 'cold' weather equates to 55 degrees.

But for now our arctic fun continues.

Checking out one of Kansas City's frozen fountains.
Water still spouts out in some places, creating cool cracks, crevices, and formations in the ice.
There was an attempt to color the water red before freezing. Can't say I'm a huge fan of the color.

Freezing Hot Water

A few days ago I read a post written by my cousin that really struck a chord (you seriously need to read her post, it's beautiful and amazing, and makes you want to call every last loved one you know and tell them how much they mean to you). After an unexpected week in Kansas, I decided we were going to make the most out of every minute here, cold weather and all.

So, yesterday, with little persuasion I was able to convince my Father-in-law to go out into the arctic temps, at 6:00AM, and see if we could freeze hot water.

It might have been cold, but it sure was awesome.

It is really easy to get caught up in the hub bub of life. We have routines we follow, schedules we keep, and a pace we like to maintain. Sometimes it's difficult to take a break and enjoy the little things.

If you have a minute (and it's cold enough), slip outside and see if you can freeze some hot water.

Happy Marcus Monday!

I can't do a Christmas recap. I just can't. There was too much fun, too much food, too much stuff, and lots of love, to pack all into one big run down. Rather, I'll leave you with a few (24 equals "a few," right?) photos that pretty well sum up our 2013 holiday season.

Back tomorrow with our regularly scheduled programming.

Happy Monday!