Playing

I have a really hard time following through with suprises so naturally Christmas often comes early around our house. I caved in and gave Liam this barn and animals (which I proudly scored at Goodwill for $3) which he has been playing with non-stop. Infact the first thing he says when he wakes up is "want an-mals"

He's already learned to be sarcastic with his mother- I told him to smile and this is what I got...

Just Chillin- eatin' pepperoni with his bunny in a box next to him.

Liam loves his Christmas Tree

Getting cozy with dad

Liam's new favorite game- playing on the Total gym in the basement

modern motherhood

The love of a mother is perhaps the most instinctual, powerfully binding form of love. From the moment your child is born your life is disrupted, and altered until it barely resembles its previous state. For any sacrifice made as a mother, the rewards are returned exponentially. There is nothing like seeing your child grow and surpass your expecations. There are few moments more precious than holding your little one as they fall asleep or receiving a hug and kiss from a child that thinks you can do no wrong.

On the other hand motherhood can become consuming to the extent that women get lost in their responsibilities and neglect themselves. While the desire to adore and nurture your child usually comes naturally, the domestic skills associated with house keeping are not so innate. Trying to make peace with your thankless daily routine of dishes, sweeping, removing stains, and cleaning toilets can be a persistent battle. While motherhood, as the pinnacle of feminine experience, can be empowering, monotonous housework can feel like bondage. It’s easy to feel like you are wasting away while doing chores at half speed (half watching your child.) All the while feeling guilty that you aren’t actually playing with your child and that your house isn’t cleaner.



There seems to be moms that represent both ends of the career/ domestic spectrum. While I resemble the traditional mom, I can’t say I fit that mold perfectly. I hate doing chores too much and can hardly wait to start grad school. I am a stay at home mom that loves going to work. I work just a few hours a day and I am blessed to be able to bring Liam with me to work. Through work I have met many friends and have been able to help hundreds of individuals. Using my education and developing my talents in the workplace is extremely rewarding. While I enjoy going to work, I am ridiculously protective of my child and hate the thought of him leaving my side and anyone else taking care of him, including going to kindergarten.



A book that I recently read, To Hell With All That: Loving and Loathing Your Inner Housewife by Caitlin Flanagan illustrates some of these issues. The book is directed at neither the career diva nor the domestic wonder. The book is written by an anti-feminist mother with, ironically, a high profile writing career. It examines the arguments for both “traditional” motherhood as well as the trap of domestic housework, with its capability to snare ambition and worldly talent. An excerpt provides some interesting insights:

“There is the deepest conflict about motherhood. Affluent working mothers stubbornly insist that no one question their commitment to their children, while at home mothers demand the world confer upon them the social cachet that comes with working outside the home, But these are mutually exclusive demands.

Few will admit- because it is painful because it reveals the unpleasant truth that life presents a series of choices, each which precludes a host of other attractive possibilities- is that whichever decision a woman makes, she will lose something of incalculable value. The kind of relationship between a child and a mother who is home all day caring for him is substantively different from that formed between a child and a woman who is gone many hours a week. The former relationship is more intimate, more private, filled with more moments of maternal frustration-and even despair- and with more moments of transcendence that comes only from mothering a small child.

Yet when a woman works outside the home, she uses the best of her mind and education, exerting her influence on the world beyond her doorstep. We respect women who stay at home with their children but it is the ones who work- the ones who spend their days taking part in the commerce and traffic of the adult world- who seem to have retained the most of their former selves.”

Since I am completely enthralled by the phenomenon of motherhood these days I thought that was interesting. Regardless of your opinion on the matter, I believe it is important that women live very deliberately while placing their children as top priority. We should be aligning our lives with the path that God would have us lead while in a manner that will leave us fulfilled without regrets.

leaves

These dogs are often packed around the house and keep Liam company at night.

Fall

Liam, like most kids, probably wishes Halloween came once a week. He fully embraced the candy eating, costume wearing, pumpkin saturated festivities and loved carrying his pumpkin basket around trick or treating to our neighbors. He was continually pointing at candy and saying "want dat. . want dat" He loved looking at himself in the mirror and seeing himself in a hat.


For pre- Halloween events he was an army man (MIA from costume: camo coat, & hat) Note the Nerd candy sprinkled all around him.

This was the best costume we've ever seen- a guy disguised as a heap of garbage. Our neighbor is a professor of sculpture at MSU and constructed this fully funtional garbage pile suit. When people came near, he'd move around.


We have been trying to teach him his name so he has been referring to himself as "Mi-mi" (which is supposed to be "Liam," not "me")

The past few days he's let us know he was done sleeping by making cat and dog noises when he wakes up.

Composting green

As Firths we love being outside, cherish the enviroment, and honor mother nature. But when it comes to jumping on the "green" band wagon, we've kinda missed the boat. We aren't especially big consumers and try to reduce, reuse, repaint, but lately we've been talking about what we can do to be more earth friendly. We can't really afford at this point to buy organic, green, energy- saving, non- toxic products. However, one thing that we've done the past year is develop a healthy dirt making machine of a compost. We love feeding the compost and can't wait to use our new- born organic dirt.


8 reasons Compost is like a Man (Yes, it's a bit rude and offensive but a tad funny)

1)It devours seemingly non-edible foodstuffs with inanimate ease
2) Just when you think it looks HOT it lets off gas
3)Long periods of sitting around doing nothing are parenthesized by short bursts of activity
4)The more it gets working, the more it begins to smell
5)It needs to be turned and prodded to get it working
6)It's preferred habitat is outdoors
7)Worms and bugs crawling all over it doesn't seem to bother it If you spread it too thin it has very little benefit
8)However, it does keep getting better with age

More Words

Liam's new additions this week: mountain (mown-mow), pumpkin (ah-pump), door, pray, eggs, rain, feet, I want dat, keys, walk, hat, moooo, tickle, num-num-num, and jump. He will also count to three with mom and dad, and attempts to sing along with the ABCs (he only says "A-E-E-E", but in tune with the song). Whenever he sees a bunch of letters together (signs, books, shirts, whatever) he'll start singing "A-E-E-E".






About the messy house... it's all Liam's fault.

toy airplane

Liam got this airplane in the mail from Grandma Marilyn. He has been playing with it all day, making airplane sounds. This clip was taken right before his nap, he was too tired to get off the floor but didn't want to give up his plane.

Liam loves cell phones. If anyone ever gets a random call from a baby, there's a good chance it could be from Liam.

I took a weekend kickboxing workshop/certification and absolutely loved it! The instructor was amazing and it was a ton of fun. Brady's promised to help me too. I'm scheduled to start teaching a "CoreBox" (kick boxing with core training)after Christmas.

Welcome Back Lance

I married into a family that loves cycling and to a man that considers his bike one of his best friends. While I can't keep up with my family on the roads, within the last 6 months I've started teached an indoor cycling (Spin) class at the YMCA and absolutely love it.
Over a month after Lance Armstrong announced his return to cycling I stumbled upon this Nike commercial online. I love it. Despite his highly publicized bad attitude, celebrity relationships, and ego, I still find lance a likeable character, perhaps going so far as to use the word "hero." What I like about Lance's story is what it teaches us about the human spirit and it's ability to overcome- the notion that we can triumph over anything as long as we are willing to sacrifice and bust our butt(of course a record breaking VO2 max doesn't hurt.) I personaly don't believe that Lance doped and find his risky attempt at an 8th Tour laudable.

Airplane

New Liam words: ice cream, Elaine (our good friend next door), hands, hair, ear, belly button, bunny rabbit, car, color, thank you. Of course, none of these words are pronounced quite as precisely as they're written here, which of course is why it's so cute. I still don't know how he can simultaneously identify an airplane as that invisible thing in the sky that makes a loud noise, a little graphic on his shirt, and something that he sits in... Little kids are smart.

Our Next Boss

Here's what we learned last night from the debate:

Obama apparently thinks we all have vision and hearing problems by the way he prefaces every comment ("Look..." or "Listen..."). Good thing he's got healthcare ALL figured out so he can fix that.

And healthcare REALLY needs to get fixed fast, so that McCain can get his robot arms replaced.

If you don't vote for McCain, you're dissing a close friend (How many times did he say "...my friends"?)

Russia is the Evil Empire. Still. And always. Once we're done with Afghanistan, they're next. Maybe bin Laden's hiding behind Lenin's tomb. We don't exactly have any other leads...


The real Maverick, Mel Gibson, might become our next Treasurer. He did play Braveheart, right? That was a long movie- so he's got plenty of leadership experience.


So, I think I'm just going to vote for Tina Fey for president. Her debates are about as good as anybody else's.

If you're bored... (I/we don't necessarily condone these, but I(Brady) found them entertaining if nothing else.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6urw_PWHYk&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjkCrfylq-E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbkrtDGDAbw&feature=related

Obama came to East Lansing this week for a rally and despite our intentions, neither Brady nor I got to see him due to car troubles (Our alternator wiring has gone awry)We have enjoyed critiquing the debates, making fun of the candidates, and arguing about Sarah Palin with eachother.



We bought this flooring with a portion of our stimulus check and have been enjoying our lanoleum free kitchen.
As Brady said I have been doing a few home improvement projects. As part of one of them I posted this picture on HGTV's Rate My Space to see if I could get any ideas on what to do with this akward space. Well, it just so happens that this ugly space (previously occupied by a wood stove) was the HGTV websites featured space for several hours. I bought a large plant and put it there for now but if anyone has any ideas I could use suggestions.

Playing House

For something like the 172nd week in a row, Dani is the Firth Family MVP (Liam might have claimed a few in there somewhere). She somehow created a great looking front garden for virtually free (and yes, in October), and also found a way to get wood flooring in our hallway and kitchen for a fantastic price. She gets our little house looking better every month.

Liam's new words this week: open, out, off, airplane, please, chip, popcorn, paper

CROW PASS

With a trailhead located conveniently in hometown Eagle River, Alaska, the Crow Pass Crossing, breathtaking from start to finish, will probably always be my favorite hike. This 26 mile hike takes you deep into the Chugach Mountains where you are encompased by mountains of jagged rock painted with fall colors. The half way point is the fording of Eagle River. Located directly below a glacier, the water is unbelievably cold and goes nearly waist deep.

Equinox Marathon, Sept 20th 2008

Grandmas house is the best possible place to be for pre-race carb loading- cinnamon rolls, pasta, pancakes, you name it, she'll make it. Here she is with Liam cheering, just when I needed her, at mile 21.5.


Not all marathons are created equal. Some are harder than others, and the Fairbanks Equinox Marathon is a beast. The race directors claim that it is rated the second hardest marathon in the U.S. I didn't know this when I signed up for it online. In fact I didn't know this until 4 days before the race, when I got into Fairbanks and was told by several people that I would be running up a mountain and tackling nearly 4,000 feet in total elevation gain.

My legs were dying by mile ten but the beautiful vista made everything enjoyable. The race was large with nearly 900 registrants. I finished 21st of 300 women overall and 8th in my age group (under age 30)out of 70.

Trail running to Symphony Lakes

JARED'S WEDDING

What cute grandmas!

Jared and Lacey's Wedding was a beatiful event. Lacey is a gem and we are all very happy to have her in the family and amazed that Jared actually found a hot, hunting woman. Lacey is very sweet and will be a great match for Jared.

I love this picture of Jake- what a stud.

Liam, Alaskan at heart

Liam enjoyed playing with his cusions and seemed to mimic them. From the girls he learned how to give kisses, use eating utensils, and say more animal sounds.


Helping Jared move into his new apartment

Danielle for Sarah Palin

I came to Alaska a week ago dubious of the Republican candidate John McCain and like many Americans, questioning whether small-town-girl Palin was a qualified VP candidate. While my views on McCain haven't shifted, since stepping off the plane in Alaska I have been bombarded by Palin lovers. Democrats, liberals, young and old, it's hard to find anyone here that doesn't approve of McCain's selection. I am amazed that any Republican governor can have a 80% approval rate during an election year when voters are becoming increasingly polarized. Alaskans are very willing to praise her for her efforts at fighting corruption in Alaska politics, stealing from Big Oil to give back to the state, selling the superfluous governor's jet on eBay. Next week each Alaskan will get a record breaking PFD check for $4,000, most of the money available in part by Sarah Palin’s robinhood-like stunt to steal profits back from Big Oil.
She's got my vote.

holiday

Well, it might be a little while before some more pictures get posted up here, since Liam and Dani are in picture-taking mode, rather than posting mode, while playing up in Alaska for a few weeks. But Grandma Leisa has provided some good ammo from her visit here last week on her blog (www.thedeerhollow.blogspot.com) She even has a link there to a video of Liam she posted on YouTube. Go Grandma!

I'm holding down the fort here, and will head up to AK in a few days. So far I'm performing my duty of lone-dude-at-the-house fairly well, which means eating large quantities of cereal in huge salad bowls, sneaking in some extra football games, and procrastinating any form of cleaning up after myself. Even though I'm getting lots of work done, I'm pretty bummed that I'm missing the Denali Highway caribou hunt this weekend...

Dog watching

Liam's favorite activity is watching dogs. Whether looking out the window at the neighbor's pup or slideshows on the net, he can't seem to get enough. They seem to have much more pull than candy, toys, food or anything else. Sometimes if he's having a hard time we'll show him a few dog pictures and he suddenly feels much better. What's really funny is when he gets really tired he'll howl like a wolf for a little while. He's also been known to "meow" or say "cock a doodle dooooo" when he's sad, and then all of a sudden he feels better. It's pretty funny.





At the end there, that was a bark.

Liam in the cupboards

Liam loves crawling or climbing into obscure places. He tries to make way in the pantry for a spot for himself.

more from our vacation

Liam, our navigator, with the map

Presque Island, Marquette, Mi

Cave behind Scott Falls

marathon video

26.2 Miles of Breathtaking, Ankle-twisting, Muddy, Delight

This Saturday I ran the Grand Island Trail Marathon and loved every mile of the course. Ranked amoung Runners World Magazines "Top Ten Marathons to Run in 2008," the race follows the perimeter of an island of cliffs, sandy beaches and lush forrests. Though only a half mile from the mainland its primitive charm makes Grand Island feel like it is miles from civilization. Visitors are not permitted to bring vehicles. Roads and trails are barely maintained. Unlike most marathons where you can rely on aid stations for water, energy snacks, first aid and porta-potties, this marathon requires that you pack your own water, gu, and hope for the best.



We drove into Munising, Michigan, just off of Pictured Rocks National Park, on Friday night for race registration. I recieved my race number, free patagonia t-shirt and checked out the course map, talking to a few locals about trail conditions. It had rained heavily on Friday night and so the trail was horribly muddy, especially after being churned up by 100s of runners. Luckily the storm subsided and by start time there were blue skies.

At 4:30 am my alarm clock went off. I ate a small stack of Brady's goodluck pancakes, filled up my camelback, packed in a few energy gels, and half awake I stumbled to the car to catch the 5:30 ferry shuttle.

It'S still pitch black outside when we board the Grand Island Ferry. Looking at the tight-calved runners outfitted in high performance gear, I get a little intimidated. It's then that I realize that I'm wearing 2 different socks- one cushioned running sock and one worn out junkie sock. Also the night before I had realized I left my watch at home so I had scrambled to find any place in this tiny town that sold watches. The only place people could seem to point me to was Family Dollar, where my choice of watches was between $1 Dora the Explorer or Spiderman. So much for looking tough.





If you've every been present at the start of a race, you know it's a wierd place to be. Everyone has their own pre-race rituals, often based on superstition and most everyones including waiting in line for the jon. I gave Brady and Liam, my good luck charms, a kiss and began to follow the pack.

My goal is to run the first 13 miles very conservatively and finish the second half of the race faster than the first. For nearly 10 miles I team up with a few seasoned runners that help me keep a consistent pace. Stacey, a mom of three, has 18 marathons under her belt and looks about 15 years younger than her age. She gives me advice on how to balance being an awesome mom and a runner. Sharon an oncology nurse, who just 2 weeks previously had completed a 100k (60 miler,)is an running nutrition expert and shares a few tips given to her by dieticians. Time flies.

Most of the trail is along the high cliffs but the hardest portion is running through the sand. I seem to get no where so I decide to tread lightly and makeup elsewhere. Several miles of the race are ran on the beach in a few different segments. Although it was invigorating to see the waves splash around you, I tried to run slowly as to prevent my legs from getting tired. During these segments I put on my ipod to drown out any whining thoughts.



While I'm running Liam and Brady are getting ready to meet me on the shore at mile 16 with extra dry shoes and Gu if needed. Seeing them gives me the motivation to pick up the pace and an incentive to get to the end. Right after I see them on the beach the trail climbs up 300 foot cliffs. I'm still thinking about how happy I am to see my boys that I don't even notice the climb.


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Around mile 18, the trail widens out, and straightens out, and I see more runners. I get a second wind and pick up the pace. I pass a few and take advantage of my new found energy. I had ran cautiously thus far worrying I would overdo it, but decided that at this point I was feeling great and it wasn't likely that I would "hit the wall." This is when things get really fun.

Miles 20-26th were my fastest of the race. I do not get passed for the next 6 miles. I start looking at my watch and figuring out how many minutes are between me and the finish. I still feel good and wonder if maybe I should've tried harder earlier. At this point, with tired legs, it becomes very hard to run fast because of the roots, rocks and mud. Many people slip or fall and I can only hope I'm not next. I make a goal to pass the skinny, long-legged girl in a sports bra ahead of me. She looks like a "real runner" and for some reason, to me passing her feels like a victory. Looking for the finishline up ahead I expect alot of fanfare, bright colors, and noise. While I don't see much of that I do hear a crowd and see Brady and Liam smiling at me. I sprint to the end, and a girl at the finsh line asks me for my timing chip. In exchange she prints out a paper that says:

WOMENS MARATHON OVERALL 9TH PLACE

AGE GROUP CATEGORY 2ND PLACE

I feel like I've cheated the system. I'm not terribly tired and I only really trained 3-4 days a week for 2.5 months. I pick up a nifty handblown glass medal, eat a few bananas, get a 15 minute wonder massage, get on the ferry and head for the beach.