For a Good Laugh...

I present to you The Duncan Family Elves

Hopefully it works.

Like y'all already didn't know I was weird...

But I'll play along. I'll try not to copy Julie too much although we have several of the same interests (ahem, you and I should go to a racetrack sometime!)...

1) The Gene Simmons picture took me back...to when I was 6 years old. Yes, I have been a Metal Head since that tender age. I had posters of KISS in my room, which didn't go over well when I tried to have friends spend the night. I was Ace Frehley for Halloween; my dad glammed me up with aluminum foil for wrist and ankle bands.

2) I have to take Julie's teen angst interest one (or two or twenty) steps further. I watch the reruns of the original 90210 on the Soap Network. I DVR Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill and the new 90210, as well as The Hills. I watch them all when I run in the mornings. I've been a General Hospital fan since the age of 5 and while I stopped setting the DVR, I read the updates online once a week:)The storyline moves so slow, it's easy to pick it right back up!! It's sad that I remember Luke and Laura's wedding, over 25 years ago. YIKES!

3) I can't walk on the beach or anywhere sandy with shoes on. I cannot stand the feeling of sand in sandals or flip flops. Freaks me out. Nor can I put my sandy foot back into a shoe without first rinsing off. Ick.

4) I can barely remember what I ate for breakfast but I can still show you actual cheers and dances that we performed in high school. Look at the middle aged lady with her spirit fingers. LOLOLOL!!

5) I love tomato soup but cannot attempt to drink tomato juice. It makes me sad to miss out on the Bloody Mary experience. Just can't do it.

6)Maps and globes are fascinating to me. I can look at them for hours. You would think I would have a GPS but I don't go anywhere these days to need one! No worries, I have a map of Cherokee County just in case!

All is calm, all is bright

Life and marriage go on in the wake of the developments in Athens last Saturday...we sat through the rain and I got to see the Jackets break the streak. Ski pants are wonderful for rainy, cold games fwiw! I had the Stay Puff Marshmellow look going but oh well!

The half marathon was lots of fun although I will say it is hard to change your running pace. However we had great weather and my brother loaded my Ipod with lots of rockin 80-90s hair band music (with a few current tunes mixed in...gotta have some Soulja Boy and Britney, right?). I hope I didn't look too funny singing Bon Jovi as I ran down Peachtree.

I head to Va for a quick work trip next week and then I can really focus on getting ready for Christmas. Unfortunately there will be some last minute shopping in the mix for me but I have ordered some stuff online so it shouldn't be too frantic.

I had to share this picture of my happy toddler. It just makes me smile.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Woo hoo, only 3 days of work. Thanksgiving will be a low key event for us as just my mom and brother will be here for dinner. On a whim I've decided to run the Atlanta 1/2 marathon Thursday morning with a girlfriend of mine that has been training very hard for her first big race. She has been dedicated and I am so excited for her, so I want to be there for support. This will not be about a running the race in a certain time for me (for a change), it's just about having fun. I made it through 10 miles Saturday morning and declared myself ready. Not really, but again this one is for fun and friendship. I can't wait.

We head to Athens on Saturday and I can't help but wonder if this could be "the year"...should be interesting...my marriage has not been tested by a Tech victory yet...:)

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

Let her eat cake!

Y'all know me...this was hard to watch. I just wanted to start cleaning IMMEDIATELY. But I refrained. For a little while :)

Looking back and looking ahead

What a blur! That is what the past year feels like to me. Which makes me a little sad, as I want to remember every moment of being Hadley's mom. I do know it has been the best year of my life. And while I will shed a tear or two (or several) over the next couple of days, there is much to look forward to and more memories to make. I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to be a parent. And thankful everyday to spend time with my wonderful little girl.

We'll celebrate the big day tomorrow but just hanging out at home and playing with our new Fisher Price kitchen! Sunday we'll smash/eat birthday cake with a few friends and of course both grandmothers.

Happy 1st Birthday Hadley! We love you!

The Final Countdown...

to 1 YEAR...Hadley turned 11 months old yesterday. Now I need to really get going on planning a little celebration for her big day. It will be small - mostly family - but if I don't start now it won't get done in time! We took Hadley to pick out a pumpkin on Sunday; she wasn't sure what to think of the big orange round objects. Of course she had to suffer through lots of picture taking too:) We won't be here for Halloween, as we'll be on a mini vacation down at Amelia Island for a football game (Julie - don't tell Brian - ha ha!). So we won't have a costume this year...hopefully Hadley won't be too disappointed.

Next week I travel to Virginia for our company golf tournament, then Marsh & I are taking a quick one day trip to the lovely Baton Rouge, LA ("Operator won't you put me on through"...just had a flashback to 4 girls in a car to Houston...). Then we turn around and head to the beach. I always complain about being stressed but as you can see we do it to ourselves with this traveling stuff...Everyone take care and enjoy the rest of the month!

The Hunt for October

As I sit here and review my calendar for the month, I am pretty much just kissing it goodbye and moving on to November. I sure love the fall season but gracious it's a busy time! Plus September just flew by...our trip to Arizona, planned for over a year...already over...just craziness.

Work is busy, running is so-so (nagging heel pain)and the golf lessons fell by the wayside. I have a full time nanny as of last week and so far it's going very well. It's hard though as I feel like someone else is doing my "job" but I am also walking away from work at 5pm and not jumping back on the computer again in the evenings, which makes for a more enjoyable time with my family!

Plans for this "off" weekend (my apologies to Tech, we aren't making the trip downtown) - buy Hadley some long sleeved pjs, a jacket and some socks and also go pick out some pumpkins for the front porch. It's nice and cool so a pot of chili may be in order! Church on Sunday and a little football watching throughout both days. Sounds glorious...just 2 more days!

Busy bees

Just wanted to say hello quickly as the weeks are flying by and I haven't had much time to post. Next week Marsh is in San Diego, the week after we go to Arizona, then I turn around and go to Virginia. I am tired just thinking about it. Arizona will be nice although I am already missing Hadley. I know I am going to cry when we leave the house. The longest I've been away from her is about 9 hours so far.

In between the craziness I finished reading The Shack. This book, along with 3 Cups of Tea (thanks Jules!) are probably the 2 most thought provoking books I've ever read. I will move on to some lighter material for now though...it was quite emotional. And since I am in a hurry I can't research how to make these titles look like links - sorry! For a techie I am not computer savvy at all. It's sad.

Hadley is busy too getting into as much as possible. My window treatments now have teeth marks in them:) Her 8th tooth is coming in now so she has a mouth full of pearly whites. While she loves to stand up she doesn't seem to interested in taking steps quite yet which is fine by me!! I am not quite ready to chase her yet - she crawls around fast enough.

OK I haven't watched the new 90210 yet but it's waiting on me via DVR. Some parts of me just can't ever grow up ;)

Take care everyone!

9 Month Update

Hadley had a good checkup today - she weighs 18lbs 4 ounces and is 28.5 inches long. Our next appt is after her birthday (I can't believe its around the corner) unless of course we end up at the ER. Hadley LOVES to stand up, fall down, bang her head, face, whatever...I need a crash helmet for her. And this afternoon as she was looking out the window she decided to help herself to piece of chipped paint. Now our house is just 5 years old so lead is not a problem but I still don't think paint should be part of her diet quite yet. I fished it out of her mouth...hopefully I got it all! I know I know...the fun is just beginning. On a bittersweet note nursing officially ended earlier this week. I gave up that last feeding...Hadley didn't seem too phased by it so I am happy about the easy transition. But sad that the time went by so fast.

But happy again as I think I'll have 2 glasses of wine this evening:) Have a good weekend!

Hot Time in the City

We were lucky enough to experience the hottest day of the year in Dallas - 107 degrees in the shade! Although it's a drier heat than Georgia, that's for sure. The mid 90s here seems more oppressive. Hadley was a wonderful traveler - she flies better than her mommy!! We had a fun visit in big D and my sister has a beautiful new home. Hadley enjoyed spending time with Aunt Devon...we miss her very much.

Not much down time between now and the end of the year between work and football season. My boss was here last week and he expects me back in Virginia this fall...I've put it off long enough I suppose. Not sure how we'll swing it since we still don't have a child care plan in place but I can only take things one day at a time.

Hadley is amazing. We've lowered her crib twice in the past 3 weeks...she pulls herself up to standing on any piece of furniture she can grab. She is so happy most of the time and she relieves my stress with a smile. Every day is a new adventure, even though I don't even leave my house!

8 months old!

Just a quick hello and pictures of my baby girl who is getting bigger by the day. I don't know where the last 8 months have gone? We are staying busy as usual and the end of the month brings several work meetings so we are having Granny (Marsh's mom) stay with us for a week to help with Hadley. Then we head out to see Aunt Devon and Pseudo Uncle Phil in Dallas for a long weekend starting August 1st. Marsh has to travel throughout the rest of August and before we know it we'll be kicking off football season. Hope everyone is doing well!

I need more hours in a day

Work is extremely busy and of course in my spare time I am chasing around a 7 month old. I wish I could say we've been off doing exciting things but unfortunately both Marsh and I are too swamped with work. Our weekends consist of running errands we can't get done during the week and I can proudly say that we've been attending church regularly for the past 3 months. I am so looking forward to a 3 day weekend for the July 4th holiday. We're not going anywhere; but we'll have a day to relax I hope.

Been dealing with a nagging heal injury since the 1/2 marathon so my long runs have suffered. I was so hoping to maintain one so I wouldn't have to re-train...it's been hard these past few weeks to squeeze in exercise at all but I do it faithfully anyway. My runs right now are just 3-5 miles at a time but I am trying to insert some interval training to liven it up a bit. I haven't had a golf lesson in 3 months - I've got 4 left on my gift certificate. I know Marsh is disappointed but I just can't make it all work right now.

Hadley is doing well - growing and changing by the day - and she is very close to crawling. That will add a whole new dimension to my days:) We'll be using lots of baby gates, that's for sure. I have to find the time to search for some full time help...maybe I can conduct interviews at midnight? Oh well, we'll just keep on keeping on for now.

There is no joy on North Avenue

The Jackets struck out. Again.

Will Tech ever catch a break again??

We haven't beat UGA in football in 6 years, our basketball team can't even play its way into the NIT, our favorite "son" lil Joe gets arrested ON CAMPUS (thanks campus police!) and a talented young pitcher dies from a herion overdose. COME ON ALREADY! So now it's college baseball post-season time and once again our Jackets are in a regional. Of course they don't get to host one; they are in Athens so that the pundits can get their UGA-Tech matchup. Well, they got it and as of right now(8:25pm on Sunday 6/1, Tech is getting drilled 8-0). Oh no worries, we get a chance at redemption (and entry into the Super Regional) tomorrow night. In Athens. Against UGA again. Please, give the Institute a BREAK. And a Victory! GO JACKETS!

On a much lighter note, here is my bathing beauty making her first trip to the neighborhood pool (where the water is like ice unfortunately). This weekend we are going to a friend's house at Lake Oconee and their pool is heated, so we'll see if we can get more than our feet wet!

Hadley Update

Hadley's checkup went very well; she was so brave during her shots and only cried for a minute. Now she has her cool sparkly band-aids to show off...they need to make fun band-aids for adults! Hadley weighs 16 lbs and is 26 3/4 inches long and we get to add "lunch" to our solid food meals! I am also going to start the weaning process, although I am a little sad about it. Since it's a "process" I know I have a little more time...but at some point I have to travel for work again so we need to get the ball rolling. It's been a wonderful experience!!

Staying Busy

Hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day weekend! We made a trip to Augusta to see Marsh's family and Hadley was an awesome traveler. Although things will be even easier once she gets the hang of (or rather accepts!) a sippy cup. I haven't talked about the bottle lately...that's because we gave up on it a long time ago! This week Hadley goes to the Dr for her 6 month check-up and I am very excited to find out how much she has grown. I feel like she has really changed over the last few weeks. Sitting up is next on her list I think...she is getting very close. This is all happening way too fast!!!

TEETH!

I swear they popped up during Hadley's morning nap because when she woke up and smiled at me I freaked out. What's in your mouth child? Oh my goodness!!! How long until I get bit?! :)

Guitar hero I am not!

But it's fun trying...here I am trying desperately to get through an "easy" song without getting booed off by the Wii people. Watch out Slash...well, watch out if I ever get past Welcome to the Jungle in one take. We don't get much time to play the Wii but it is entertaining. And good exercise! I am sure Hadley will have it mastered by age 2. Amazing how kids pick up this stuff. I miss Atari! LOL.

Where have I been?

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

What a neat website - thanks Jules! I can't fill in a world map too well, as I've only ventured outside the US a few times to Canada, the Bahamas and Costa Rica. I will check off Arizona this fall, and Oklahoma next year due to football games...and we WILL get to Hawaii one of these years!

Hadley's First Run

The new jogging stroller is assembled and we went for our first family run Sunday morning. As you can see Hadley was exhausted after that hard work! She wasn't the only one; I had high hopes for a nice long run but pushing that stroller was not as easy as I expected!! And I only pushed half the time as Marsh pushed it too. So it will take some getting used too but it also provides a new running challenge for me:) I just hope Hadley will enjoy her new wheels for many runs to come.

Misson accomplished

The ING Half Marathon was a success! Marsh and I ran together and finished with a respectible time of 1:50:04. Kudos to my hubby for running a great race after being so sick with the flu and basically not training at all from mid March on. An even bigger CONGRATULATIONS to Julie and Jennifer for completing the full marathon! Watching marathoners cross the finish line is such an amazing feeling - what they have done is remarkable. It was a fun weekend and I am so happy I could spend time with one of my dearest friends. Thank you for visiting us Jules!!

So April is here...where is the year going? I turned 30 again yesterday without much fanfare ;) It was a busy day of work and since we were on the go all weekend it was easiest to stay in, cook dinner and watch a little American Idol. We have some things going on this month but hopefully I'll have a little downtime to READ. My books are piling up.

Well, time to get to work. Hope everyone is doing well and is enjoying Springtime!!

Easter Weekend

We had a nice weekend with our families, although we did our best to get kicked out of church:) The baptism was part of the Easter Vigil Saturday evening, and Hadley was up way past her bedtime. And she let the congregation know it (she has my big mouth, that is for sure). As Father Rob handed my screaming child back to me Hadley somehow kicked his microphone off...that was LOUD! Part of the service was candlelight so everyone was holding candles. And dripping wax everywhere. My mom got it all over her seat, the seat in front of her and her clothes. Lastly, Hadley decided she was hungry again. And she still won't take a bottle. So I take her out and find a little side room, only to realize I am wearing a dress that isn't very "accessible". I never thought I'd say this but...I was half naked at church.

Sunday was a little calmer as we enjoyed an Easter lunch and spent the afternoon watching basketball and playing with Hadley. My sister headed back to Texas this morning and we are looking forward to Julie's visit starting Thursday night! I am ready to run on Sunday - I did my 12 miler very early Saturday morning and training is about over. Marsh may be a last minute decision as he still isn't 100% better from the flu. He ran yesterday for the first time in 2 weeks. I hope he'll be able to go.

Have a great week!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Hope everyone is wearing their green! We had a fun weekend as Dorothy, Toto and the gang tried to visit Cherokee County. We were under tornado warnings for 2 hours Saturday and we had quite an impressive hail storm. Thankfully no damage and no wicked witches were spotted!!

Hope everyone has a great week and enjoys a little March Madness!

An Exciting Day!

My baby girl is 4 months old and she rolled over for the first time this morning! She has been trying so hard all week...of course I didn't see it. I was typing away on the computer while she was on her playmat, then I hear her making some strange noises so I look over and she is on her tummy. So I flipped her back in hopes she would do it again...no such luck:)

Hadley had a good check-up at the doctor today. She weighs 13 pounds, 1 ounce and has grown 3 inches since January, up to 24 3/4. We get to start cereal!! The battle with the bottle continues...I tried a sippy cup earlier this week and what she didn't wear she spit back at me. Charming, huh? However I may continue with the cup as it just one less transition down the road and the Dr told me that was fine.

We are looking forward to Easter with our families. Aunt Devon and Uncle Alex will be here, as well as Marsh's mom and stepdad for Hadley's baptism. Hopefully we'll have nice weather. Last Saturday is snowed, tomorrow it's supposed to storm. It's been a wild winter! I can't believe it's been 15 YEARS since the Blizzard of 93. Debbie and I spent that Friday night at Woodruff, watching the Soap Opera awards and studying for finals. We were wild and crazy back then ;)Then we watched Tech win the ACC Tourney...Go Jackets! Who knows, maybe they can pull off the impossible this weekend.

A good night's sleep

One day later and I feel like a new woman. I still have the roots and wrinkles, but 7hours of uninterrupted sleep has helped my attitude:) I had a great 5 mile run and I am ready to take on the day. I think.

Happy Leap Year!

Long Week

I am running out of energy and trying to get a cold. Plain and simple, I am exhausted. I am trying to keep a positive attitude but I may have put too much on my plate...working full time, taking care of Hadley full time while working, training for a half marathon, golf lessons...not to mention the normal every day stuff like cooking, laundry, etc. Hadley was up half the night for some unknown reason so I am even more tired with a busy day ahead. I am sure I'll look back on this post later and say to myself "Stop Whining" but right now I am a little grumpy. Plus I look like crap with bags under my eyes, hair in need of highlights and new wrinkles appearing daily. Bring on the botox. OK, pity party is over now.

On a much lighter note, Happy Birthday Julie!! Hope you have a great day!

This weekend I have a 10 miler to run and a golf lesson. I've had no time to swing the clubs this week so I am sure the golf instructor will be pleased with my progress:) I hope to spend the rest of the weekend at home and perhaps find a little time to read. I am so behind and there are new books out that I really want to get too but I have a pile of other books to read first.

Off to the basement for weights...unless Hadley wakes up and needs her breakfast before I get down there!

3 months already!

The weeks continue to go by so fast...I wish time would slow down a little. As I was just rocking Hadley to sleep I teared up for a minute, wishing I could capture the moment and hold onto it forever. It's hard to put into words just how lucky I feel to be a mom.

OK, enough of the sappy stuff (can I still blame these emotions on hormones?)...work is a zoo and training for this half marathon is a little harder than I thought it would be. Although I feel silly saying that with Jules hanging tough through her shin splits and knocking out those 20 milers! I have a 9 mile run this Saturday that will be very challenging! I am also going to my first golf lesson this weekend as spring is around the corner and I've yet to take advantage of my Christmas gift.

We booked our flight to Arizona for the UGA-ASU game in September; looking forward to it as I've never been to Arizona. I am hoping we can take a few days this summer for a beach trip somewhere. I know I had 8 weeks off recently but I am already in need of a vacation:)

Hope everyone has a great week!

Happy Super Tuesday!

I am so excited to vote this evening even though I don't have a "favorite" candidate. Marsh and I have really paid attention to this election including putting all of the candidates views side by side and discussing how we feel on each issue. I really am a grown up...first a mom, now a concerned voter! I have voted in the past but this is the first time I feel like it could really count.

We have Hadley's baptism all set for the Easter Vigil service at St. Aidan's Episcipal Church in Alpharetta. Devon is flying in as she is Hadley's godmother. We also hope that Marsh's mom/stepdad will attend. Unfortunately Hadley will be too big to wear the gown that myself, Devon, Alex, my mother and grandmother all wore:( We wanted to wait until Devon could be here so that's just the way it goes sometimes. Obviously the gown isn't the most important part of the day!

Oh the bottle strike continues and it's taking it's toll...every night is a battle which is tough after a long day of work. I talked with the pediatrician this morning and the nurse recommended we try vanilla extract along the rim of the bottle...she said the smell attracts babies to the bottle. So we'll see how that works. It breaks my heart listening to her cry...but as soon as she gets what she wants (Me!) she is so happy and after she is done eating she gives me the biggest smile. And all is right with the world...

Happy Birthday to Munson!

Our first baby is 4 years old today and his present is a trip to the vet for a long overdue BATH. I highly doubt he is appreciative of his gift. Munson has hated baths since he was a baby and as he got older (and bigger) he became too much for even Marsh to handle. So now we let the vet take care of him...it's money well spent! At least he gets a cool bandana to show off at home.

Smiles!

Hadley is returning our smiles now and it's so much fun! She is getting bigger by the day. We visited our friends wiht a 2 week old yesterday and it made me realize just HOW MUCH Hadley has changed. She is growing up too fast!

All is well in Cherokee County; just extremely busy with work, running and Hadley. My boss is coming into town this week and I am supposed to spend the afternoon/evening with him and a few of our underwriters...but Hadley has been on a bottle strike for 3 weeks so if she doesn't miracously snap out of it by Wednesday it appears I'll have to cut my meetings short so my daughter will eat. It's a bit stressful as from a professional standpoint it may not be well received...but Hadley comes first. I hope everyone will understand. Thankfully one of the underwriters is a woman...We interviewed a very nice girl to be a part time nanny for us but unfortunately (for us) she took another job with a family 2 miles from her house. Her hours weren't the best for me but I was thinking long term as she was going to be here this summer as well. So we'll keep looking - she was actually a referral from a friend so I haven't really started a search yet. In the meantime Hadley does great when I am on conference calls...as long as I am holding her;)

No plans for the Super Bowl; hopefully we'll stay awake for most of it. We turn into pumpkins if we're up past 10. I don't want the Patriots to get a perfect season so I guess I'll be rooting for the Giants. Plus they have a few Tech players on their team. Speaking of, kudos to the Jackets for winning 3 ACC games in a row. Very impressive turnaround...maybe we are getting hot at the right time.

Hadley is awake and it's time to go for a run. Have a great week!

Winter Wonderland Part 2

Not sure how often Atlanta gets snow twice in one week! This time I had to get a picture of Hadley in the snow...as you can see she doesn't care for it much. Munson had a great time though which is funny since he usually can't stand being wet. Now it's just really COLD but at least it keeps the snow on the ground for a little while longer.

Winter Wonderland

Debbie probably has lots more snow but we did get at least an inch here in Cherokee County...and they promptly closed the schools even the roads are fine. However it was pretty to watch last night. I realize we don't have a coat for Hadley so she couldn't really go outside and experience her first snowfall ;) We showed her through the window though.

Hi Ho Hi Ho...

It's back to work I go. The morning is starting off nicely but it's only 7:30...the alarm went off at 5am and Hadley was wide awake so she is already adjusting! Now if Mommy and Daddy could adapt so well...I have Hadley's bouncy seat, swing, and playmat in my office and her crib with her aquarium mobile is in the next room so hopefully she'll stay entertained while she is awake.

Hadley is 2 months old today and her checkup went well last Friday in spite of those 5 vaccinations. Marsh and I felt the pain right with her. We were very glad it was over quickly. She is starting to smile more often as well as "talk"...I am sure she is telling us very important info but we just can't understand her quite yet ;)

Marsh and I finally saw the John and Kate Plus 8 show last night. WOW! I really want to adopt Aaden - he is the one with glasses. What was most fun was hearing the parent interact and bicker...Marsh and I have those same conversations and we only have one child!! Oh well, it may me feel better knowing other parents have the same feelings/challenges and that we're not totally awful parents!

Well, time to feed Hadley and get to work. Have a great week!

Happy New Year!

Hadley decided she wanted to watch the entire 2nd half of the Sugar Bowl last night so we were up until 1am...apparently she is already a football fan! Not sure how that happened ;) Hard to believe the 2007 season is over. Now we wait 9 months for it to start up again. We have most of our vacation planned around football this year so I'll be looking forward to it. We are planning trips to Tempe, AZ, Baton Rouge, LA and of course the Cocktail Party. The trip to Amelia Island/Jax will be a family event as we're taking my mom and Phil and Devon hope to fly in.

I received the all clear to start running again (although I have been running slowly for the past 2-3 weeks) and this morning I got in 3 miles at a 9:13 pace. I was very excited...haven't been able to go that fast in quite some time. Hopefully I'll shave more seconds off as I train for the ING Half Marathon in late March. I sure wish I could do the full marathon with you Jules but I think 13 miles will be challenging enough!!

Only 10 more days of maternity leave...these past 7 weeks have gone by way too fast. I am ready to get back to work and establish more of a routine but it's going to be an adjustment! We do not have a nanny yet (I haven't even started the search) as I want to see how a typical work day goes so I know exactly what we need (ie how many hours a day). I sure wish my mom didn't have to work but since I don't want her moving in with me I guess she needs to keep her day job! Maybe she'll win the lottery one day ;)