Charlotte thinks this book is LAME.

Ticks make me shudder.

The list of bugs that give me the creeps is a typical one: cockroaches, black widow spiders, centipedes, matavenados, wasp nests, and ticks.

I hate ticks. If I knew they served some sort of ecological purpose, maybe they wouldn't freak me out so much. As far as I know, they're just disease-transmitting bloodsuckers.

When I was a kid living in Rio Rico, Arizona, my little brother received a Rottweiler pup from our neighbors. Like all of our dogs before him, Max was strictly an outside dog. However, for the first few weeks, we kept him in the enclosed patio that was accessed through the French doors in both my little sister's and my room.

Those weeks were like a living nightmare. This dog came to us infested with ticks. At night, in addition to his incessant whining, he huddled alongside our doors, craving physical and emotional warmth. The ticks seized this opportunity and made their way into the house. 

My neurotic tendencies were already beginning to develop, and this experience helped pave the way to my need for clean, uncluttered spaces. Every other week, I routinely cleaned my room, my sister's room, and the guest room, and I often cleaned our living room, the den, my brothers' loft, and the kids' bathroom. As I was cleaning shortly after Max's arrival, I noticed fat gray bugs lining the unsealed doors (of our unfinished home) of my bedroom. I took a figurative and literal step back and noticed the big picture: They were ticks, and they were everywhere around those doors. They were in the curtains, the carpet, my dolls, and my beanbag. I'm surprised my hair didn't go gray right then and there. I set to work picking up the full ticks with tissue and popping their fat, disgusting bodies (vomit vomit vomit) and vacuuming those on the ground. Then I cleaned my sister's room, and became obsessed with protecting her from those ticks.

When Max was finally moved outside, the ticks gradually cleared, although I always made sure they were completely gone. I'm surprised none of them found their way to my body.

I slightly recall mentioning it to my parents, but they seemed to brush it off. I never brought it up again. I thought that by complaining, I would just get in trouble. Now when I mention it to my parents, they look surprised and slightly disgusted, and tell me that I should have told them. Advice to all parents: Listen to your kids!

Last night, I found a tick on Charlotte.

I noticed it as I was undressing her for her bath. I took off her diaper and noticed a reddish-brown fleck on her right hip. She had fallen and scraped her knees and the crook of her foot twice in the last two days, and I thought she had somehow scraped her hip, as well, and had a tiny scab. Nope, it was a tick. I freaked out and almost picked it off with my finger, while Russell got some tweezers. We got it off fairly easily and rinsed it down the drain. Charlotte barely noticed anything had happened. I rinsed the bite with soap and water, gave Charlotte a bath, and later covered the area with neosporin. At the time, it looked little more than a mosquito bite, and this morning, it's clearly healing and looks like an old immunization mark. The tick must have barely found its way onto Charlotte because it was still a flat speck that was easy to remove. Although we got rid of the tick, I am also fairly certain that it was not a deer tick, the most common carrier of Lyme disease. I called the base clinic to see if Charlotte should see the doctor, but the appointment desk receptionist was already prepared with a guide to tick bites and pretty much reiterated the Google research I'd done last night. Over the next 30 days or so, I simply have to watch for a rash or fever. 

Some helpful links for tick bites:

Tick Bites
["Keep in mind that while ticks are found across the country, very few of them are infected with Lyme disease in most locations. Currently, 12 states (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin) account for 95 percent of Lyme disease cases in the country. (Interestingly, one recent report shows that small wooded suburban or rural home sites in the Northeast have three times the number of ticks and seven times as many infected ticks as larger patches of land.)"] Great.

Treating Tick Bites in Children

How Can a Tick Affect a Toddler?

Tick Identification Pictures and Descriptions

Bottom line for tick bite prevention:
 

- It sucks (get it?) to live in Maryland, and the NE in general.

- Keep out of undeveloped wooded areas. (I am fairly certain that Charlotte picked up a tick while on our evening walk. About half the perimeter of our neighborhood is woodland, and Charlotte kept veering off the alleyway and onto the grass. We were also followed home by a loose dog that was playing in the woods and took an interest in Albert, but brushed up against Charlotte a few times.)

- Perform nightly, full-body tick inspections on yourself, your kids, your pets, your clothes, and your shoes.

- Make sure your pets' repellents and vaccinations are up-to-date.
- Keep your grass short.

- Keep a clean home. Vacuum those carpets. In my opinion, the less cluttered, the better. ;-)

Princess Culture

I've yet to read her book, but as a reader of her blog, Mayim Bialik, child-star-turned-Ph.D. and attachment parenting proponent, is a hero of sorts to me, as well as a beacon to my surprisingly laissez-faire/go-with-the-flow style of parenting. She's really fascinating, yet so normal. Anyway, as I was catching up on posts, I came across this post on princess culture. And she has won my heart! (Here's another great post!)

If you know me at all, you know that I am definitely no girly-girl. So it is obviously not my inclination to raise Charlotte as one, especially since princesses and most things pink and frilly make me want to barf. But we do let her watch Mickey on television, and as a result of Disney Junior, she has come to recognize Princess Sofia and even Cinderella. In fact, whenever she sees a tiara, she immediately exclaims, "Princess!" Thankfully, she has never (or not yet?) asked for her own tiara, and of course, princesses are only the tip of the iceberg of all things that excite and fascinate her toddler mind. I hope she never becomes obsessed with Barbies and princesses. I'll do my best to expose her to more empowered heroines (like Hillary, Condoleezza, Wendy Kopp, Michelle Rhee, Buffy, Veronica Mars, and even myself, to name a few). For now, we try to buy mostly gender-neutral toys (especially keeping in mind that they may come in handy and save us some money down the line). Eventually, Charlotte will become more vocal about her preferences, but if she ever wants a tiara, I just might have to throw a toy velociraptor in the mix to even the score. [Insert Jeff Goldblum laughter.]

Full disclosure: I did dress up as Maleficent for Halloween when I was 19. I think she's a badass with an awesome headpiece.

Here's to You, Mrs. Frankweiler

Rest in peace, E. L. Konigsburg. Running away to the Met was a childhood dream.

Thirty's Looking Good

I turned 30 on Sunday. It was pretty uneventful. We ate out for lunch and spent the rest of the day being lazy. Normal weekend stuff. I got some great gifts, including books and running gear. (Thanks again!)

Today, I ran the Earth Day 5k on base, my first race as a 30-year-old. Russell was out of town, so I ran with Charlotte in the BOB (and my new Brooks Ghost 5 shoes, another awesome bday present). The race was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, so I ended up parking and registering with little time to spare. I didn't have time to get nervous (or pee). I did notice that there were only a few other stroller runners, so I received a lot of compliments and encouragement. (Thanks!)

I had no expectations other than to finish within my normal stroller range. I started off at a pretty good pace, and it was still cloudy and cool (and wet) from a few morning rain showers. Around mile 2, the sun came out and it got really humid. I thought I'd be slowing down soon and all those people I'd passed in the beginning would be leaving me in the dust. Nope. Only two people passed me over the entire race. More importantly, I kept a good pace and didn't get nervous or defeatist. I really surprised myself.

I haven't received the official results, but according to Map My Run: 3.07 miles in 29:46.

That is my BEST road time with or without the stroller. Ahhh!!! I'm so happy. Finishing a 5k race under 30 minutes feels like I've jumped over a major physical and psychological hurdle. Can I be faster?

Before the race began, we had a moment of silence for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. First, while of course this was a tragic, senseless event, we tend to mourn tragedies that hit close to home, and forget that some people around the world live in adversity their entire, often short, lives. I am so lucky to be an American. Second, to whomever is responsible for this despicable act: Fuck you. Fuck you for ruining the lives of runners and spectators, people whose actions were in no way harming anyone, but encouraging a healthy and fulfilling way of life. I'm not a marathoner, but I greatly admire them and all the spectators, whose encouragement is truly uplifting. This makes me so sad and frustrated. Keep running!

Goals Update #4

1) 5k under 29:00 by 4/14

1/1: 3.11 mi, 31:44
1/5: 3.11 mi, 32:06
1/13: 3.11 mi, 33:14 (stroller)
1/19: 3.12 mi, 32:44
1/26: 3.10 mi, 30:45 (treadmill)
1/27: 3.10 mi, 31:00
1/31: 3.11 mi, 32:34 (stroller)
2/6: 3.11 mi, 33:11 (stroller)
2/8: 5.02 km, 30:27
2/10: 5.01 km, 30:19
2/15: 3.11 mi, 32:13 (stroller)
2/24: 5.01 km, 30:53
2/27: 3.10 mi, 31:59 (stroller)
3/9: 3.15 mi, 31:31
3/16: 3.24 mi, 35:46*
3/17: 3.11 mi, 29:15 (treadmill)
3/27: 5.01 km, 30:57
3/31: 5.01 km, 30:14
4/5: 3.11 mi, 32:16 (stroller)
4/13: 5.02 km, 30:22*

4/13: This was the big one! As you can see, I reached neither my original nor revised goal. My official time was 5k in 30:18. I'm happy with it. I get nervous during races, and this one was no exception. I tried to ignore the runners around me, I conquered the big hill and kept on going, and I resisted the urge to vomit up my nerves as I saw the finish line. Of course I'm fretting about how I could've made up those 22 seconds and at least finished under 30 minutes, but then I remember that I managed to complete a 5k race in about the same time as I've been running by myself, when I'm usually slower. In other stats, I finished 16/39 in my women's 25-29 age bracket (my last day ever in that category!) and 239/544 overall.

Last year, I ran the 10k portion of this same race and finished in 73:42, second to last for my age group. About a week earlier than that, I ran a 5k in just under 36 minutes. I'd say I've made some dramatic improvements from a year ago. I may never be as fit as I was in my late teens/early twenties, but I'm happy to be making progress and feeling healthy and energetic now that I'm in my thirties!

Russell also ran while pushing Charlotte in the BOB. He finished in under 27:00, but didn't cross the starting line until after a minute or so, since he was further back with the stroller. Unfortunately, we forgot his bib and chip at home, so he doesn't get any official stats. A couple of our Navy friends finished in the top five for their age group! They're fast!

2) Eat at most one dessert per day or substitute second dessert with fruit and yogurt.

Dumb.

Now for some new and improved goals!

Goals Update #3

1) 5k under 29:00 by 4/14

1/1: 3.11 mi, 31:44
1/5: 3.11 mi, 32:06
1/13: 3.11 mi, 33:14 (stroller)
1/19: 3.12 mi, 32:44
1/26: 3.10 mi, 30:45 (treadmill)
1/27: 3.10 mi, 31:00
1/31: 3.11 mi, 32:34 (stroller)
2/6: 3.11 mi, 33:11 (stroller)
2/8: 5.02 km, 30:27
2/10: 5.01 km, 30:19
2/15: 3.11 mi, 32:13 (stroller)
2/24: 5.01 km, 30:53
2/27: 3.10 mi, 31:59 (stroller)
3/9: 3.15 mi, 31:31
3/16: 3.24 mi, 35:46*
3/17: 3.11 mi, 29:15 (treadmill)
3/27: 5.01 km, 30:57
3/31: 5.01 km, 30:14

3/31: A new outdoors record! Still, it's very frustrating to be so close to breaking 30 on pavement. I'm very doubtful of breaking 29 in two weeks, but I'll keep giving it my best.

2) Eat at most one dessert per day or substitute second dessert with fruit and yogurt.

Ummm, easier said than done. But I'm more conscious of what and how much I eat for dessert and in general. For instance, instead of eating dinner and dessert yesterday, all I had was a butterscotch brownie sundae. I make good decisions!

1/13: 1.0 lbs lost
3/17: 1.2 lbs gained
3/31: 0.0 lbs lost

I'm the exact same weight as I was three months ago, but certainly in better shape.

I finally joined a gym a few weeks ago. It was a tricky decision in terms of making it cost-effective, considering I have "free" access to the base gym, but still need to pay for classes (unlike on base in Japan). I figured as long as I take more than seven classes each month, membership at the new gym will cost less per class than going on base.

The biggest factors in why I joined a gym off-base are the childcare provided and a greater amount and variety of classes. It was still a tough decision because it is SO incredibly hard for me to leave Charlotte with people who don't love her like I do (which is basically everyone but her dad), especially new people. I won't get into it. After our first trial day at the gym, I left feeling very unsettled. On one hand, Charlotte had a great time, but on the other hand, the nursery was packed with kids and the caregivers barely remembered who Charlotte was and that I was her mother when I came to fetch her. Unfortunately, if I want to avoid a crowded nursery, I also have to avoid classes, which defeats my purpose. I finally came up with a schedule that maximizes Charlotte spending time with Russell instead of at the gym, although I took her a couple Fridays ago to test the crowds, and... She got sick, so sick. Parenthood is such a juggle.

Thug Kitchen

Thanks to GOMI, my new favorite website is Thug Kitchen. Eat like you give a fuck.

Goals Update #2

1) 5k under 27:00 by 4/14

1/1: 3.11 mi, 31:44
1/5: 3.11 mi, 32:06
1/13: 3.11 mi, 33:14 (stroller)
1/19: 3.12 mi, 32:44
1/26: 3.10 mi, 30:45 (treadmill)
1/27: 3.10 mi, 31:00
1/31: 3.11 mi, 32:34 (stroller)
2/6: 3.11 mi, 33:11 (stroller)
2/8: 5.02 km, 30:27
2/10: 5.01 km, 30:19
2/15: 3.11 mi, 32:13 (stroller)
2/24: 5.01 km, 30:53
2/27: 3.10 mi, 31:59 (stroller)
3/9: 3.15 mi, 31:31
3/16: 3.24 mi, 35:46*
3/17: 3.11 mi, 29:15 (treadmill)

1/26: A new record! Sort of; it was on a treadmill. It feels like cheating when I can adjust my pace and incline and then sort of forget about it. Plus, races don't happen on treadmills. But they do come in pretty handy when there's snow and ice outside, even though it gets pretty boring.

1/27: A new (outdoors) record! I decided to take advantage of relatively good weather (above freezing, no precipitation) and go for another 5k. Plus, I wanted to test my faster-on-a-treadmill theory. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I was only 15 seconds slower today (outdoors, 35F) than yesterday (treadmill, 70F)! (That includes dropping my glove during the last 0.1-mile mad dash and stupidly stopping to retrieve it. I'm still frustrated about that.) I felt really great about my pace and splits, too. Needs improvement, but shows improvement.

2/8: A new record? I finally got around to charging my Garmin, which I set to record distance in kilometers (because they go by so much faster than miles). Around 4.65 km, my Garmin beeped and notified me that its database was full. I wasn't sure if it was still recording, since the notification was in the way, so I kept running until what I estimated to be around 5 km. When I stopped to fix my watch, I saw that it had indeed stopped recording. After deleting a few past runs, I booked it again to finish my run, which gave me the above time. Unfortunately, I don't know my continuous 5k time for the run, but I'm pretty sure it was slower than 30:27. My average pace for the first 3 km was about 6:06/km, which would put me right at 30:30 for 5 km, but my pace was slower at each split and the last leg was uphill. On top of all that, once I saved my run, it somehow recorded it as being only 4.35 km in 30:27, even though it was past that distance when it stopped the first time, and my watch clearly read 5.02 km when I stopped it the second time. To quote Liz Lemon: Blerg!

2/10: A new record! I ran the same route as when my Garmin went wonky, just to see what my real time could be, and I'm really happy with myself. I know that not every run has to be for distance or time, and that it's in my best interest to diversify my workouts, but even in my trimmer days, it was rare when a workout didn't consist of a three-mile run. It's simply a happy exercise for me. To my credit, I've gone on a few stroller jogs for less distance, and I've added strength training to my schedule (including Body Pump, yay!), but I'll always love a good 5k.

3/16: I ran the Patuxent Pi Mile Trail Run today. The official distance was 3.14 mi and my official time was 35:37.77 (as accurate as that can be without a chip). Although I would have been happy to finally break 30 minutes on a 5k, I knew doing so on a cross country course that I've never experienced would be tough. I haven't done a trail run in a long time, and now that I've grown used to smooth, paved runs, I really expected the time I earned. There were five steep hills (two repeated) that really had me huffing and puffing. My splits were awful. For the last mile or so of the race, a boy who looked around ten and I kept yo-yoing to the finish. Towards the home stretch, the poor kid, who was ahead of me, decided to stop. After contemplating beating him for good, I shouted to him to keep going and not let me beat him. He beat me. Even though I was slow and I'm teetering on the edge of my 20-29 age group, I was happy to place 8/14 for my age group. It was a tough, but fun, race, and I'm happy to support athletes and mathletes alike. When I run it again next year, I plan on doing better.

3/17: Redemption! Sure, it was on a treadmill, but man, it felt so good to just churn it out. I've finally broken 30 minutes!!

2) Drop 14 lbs by 4/14

1/13: 1.0 lbs lost
3/17: 1.2 lbs gained

It's time to reevaluate my goals. I've refrained from posting any updates because my weight has been oscillating around my starting weight, so sadly, there hasn't been any real progress to report. But I've been working out a lot more, getting toned, and generally feeling better about myself. These endorphins have me feeling less critical of myself as a mother, reminding me that I'm making informed decisions based on what's best for my child and that I should refrain from comparing my parental choices with others in different situations. Comparison is my worst enemy.

I am obviously nowhere close to reaching either of my goals, so I've set some new ones:

1) 5k under 29:00 by 4/14

This seems like an easy goal based on today's time, but treadmill running is so much easier than road racing.

2) Eat at most one dessert per day or substitute second dessert with fruit and yogurt.

This might seem ridiculous to those of you who don't have a sweet tooth, but it will be tough for me. I LOVE sweets. I live for dessert. I need a "scared straight" for sugar indulgence. Instead of setting a new, arbitrary weight loss goal, I need to change my eating habits and then see what progress I've made. Weight loss is about input and output. I'm great at output (exercising), but my input (eating) needs work. I also have to acknowledge that because I'm still nursing, my body may be holding on to 5-10 extra pounds to maintain my supply, but I know that I have more than 10 pounds to lose.

Bring it on, bring it on, yeah

The Dandy Warhols song has been stuck in my head since my sister told me that there will very likely be a Veronica Mars movie! The fans have spoken, thanks to The Veronica Mars Movie Project on Kickstarter. Check out the incentives!! I donated $50, but if I had a job, I'd surely pay $350 for Weevil to answer my voicemail.

If you haven't watched the series, do it! Do it. Full episodes are streaming on the WB. I'd even be happy to let you borrow all three seasons!