running with stroller day three.

and yes, it was a successful one. but hard. very hard.

following (somewhat closely) the prescribed workout plan devised by my husband, today i was supposed to run 3 miles at a easy pace. and seeing as that today is the freshman football game and jv football game, i had to run it during the day with james because my hubby wouldn't be home until way late. so running stroller in hand(s) i set out around the block. i think the very first step was hard and people driving by must have thought i was dying or at least suffering from a hernia the way joey did when he ran out of health insurance. nonetheless, there are three good things to note from my run:

1. i finished it, running the whole way
2. it's the beginning of fall, so the changing leaves are a nice distraction
3. my son was quite the whole way

in fact, i don't think he moved at all the whole time i was out there. i even documented how he was the entire run:

also like this, after he saw me:

(also notice right hand. this is his desired way of being the entire day. he likes his right forefinger and thumb to be pinched. it's only not this way when he's either playing with a toy or sleeping)

so that was the run. yesterday, i tried running on the treadmill at mimi's house and that was succesful until mimi had to leave to pick up susie. after she left, james was no longer distracted at either a. wanted to climb up the basement stairs or b. get on the treadmill with me. both of which, are highly unacceptable to me. which, peaking of treadmills, reminds me- if any one knows of a treadmill not being used or goes to a garage sale and sees one or what to buy me a brand new one (haha) let me know. i am in the business of acquiring one since once fall is over, it will be hard to go out running with a under one year old with temperatures in the negative. so let me know. i'll pay you back if you get one. (unless of course, it's brand new, in which case, you're outta luck.)

well that's about all. i'm excited for the office premire tonight and desperately want micheal to get together with holly. we will see what happens! and to leave you with...
tupperware boy!

a false representation of motherhood

i would like to say that running after pregnancy does not look like this. the media would like to have you believe that after you have given birth getting back into shape would be this easy. what a lie. it's nothing like this at all!

it's like she's saying,
"Look at me! jogging! with a baby! it's so easy! and i look nice and cute when i'm jogging! with an already thin tummy and perky boobs! with a cute outfit! and my baby's happy! and this is no pain to me at all! hurray! birds are chirping!"

don't be fooled. ooooooh no. quite the opposite. in face today when i did the same thing this lovely women is doing i looked quite awful. instead picture a woman looking not nice and cute, sagging just about everywhere, wearing a t-shirt and shorts that just don't have any drool and/or snot on them, in a lot of pain. and going a lot slower, just above the pace of a walk. about to curl over in pain over the running stroller. that's me. a nice picture, isn't it?

except for that on my 2 mile run (which i did complete, thank you very much) my baby was exceptionally happy. in fact, he was drowsy and just about fell asleep on the run. how nice.

i wish getting in shape could be that easy for me. riding in a seat as the pounds come off....oh someday...

a double income family

woo hoo!

dave got the job! as of today, he is officially one of three p.e. teachers at gull lake middle school! he interviews this morning at 8 a.m., and by the end of the school day he became an employee of gull lake community schools! go hubby! i'm so proud of you! it's been such a long road coming to this, but God is so good and has blessed us so much!

so horray! that means that both dave and i are working in about our dreams jobs. it's completely unbelievable. i started school yesterday with the girls at my home and the past two days have thus far been amazing. here's a pictures of my students on the first day of school:
makayla

mariah

they are really sweet girls and so far our relationship has been going well, i do think they like me, and i think they are wonderful. they even wanted to come with me to dave's freshman football game yesterday! and for those of you interested, mainly my mom, here's a picture of my setup in the basement: (and i'm sorry but the pictures are really blurry because we don't have the best camera right now...)
my desk/whiteboard area

the girls books and desk area

and james play area

if we ever get a better camera, i'll put better pictures up.

well, that's the wonderful news of today! thanks for listening!

a mind's ramblings

so here is what's been on my mind today....

a. mcdonald's iced mochas. amazing! there are so many good things about this cold tasty drink. one, it's about 50% cheaper than Starbucks and in my opinion, just as good. two, since i have since boycotted Starbucks because they bought out my absolute most favorite coffee shop, diedrichs (back in california they had the most amazing shop right on the beach in laguna beach. it was my favorite place to go...) it's a good substitute for that. three, did i mention it's cheaper?

b. decision 2008. i love sarah palin. i had made the decision to not vote this year (even thought i have never voted yet, not even once, for any election) since there was not candidate that i even remotely liked since good ol' huck didn't win the ticket. but once mrs. palin entered, my mind has since changed. that mccain sure knew what he was doing to sway women voters. he changed my mind!

c. jeans. not only am i able to wear my prepregnancy ones, but i am also able to wear them now since it's cooler! woo hoo! i really do enjoy them, and i think the feeling of being able to zipper and button does add to the effect.

d. the weather. goes along with "c," in the fact that it's perfect jean weather. i mean the past two days here in michigan have been amazing. in the low seventies, bright blue skies and beautiful green earth due to the rain we got this past weekend. come on fall! i'm ready.

e. my napping son. the napping experiment '08 has been a complete success! 5 out of the past 5 naps have gone as follows: turn off the lights, put on the fan, put on "sweet baby james," nurse the mancub then set him in the crib. each time there is a little going to sleep noise (but no crying) and a subsequent nap for 30 mintues to 2 hours (like this morning, in which i watched the entirety of "baby mama" by myself). i'm so proud of my little man i cannot even explain. this will definitely come in handy for when i start school, which is tomorrow.

example of one napping position:

in case you can't tell, he's sitting up in the corner of his crib with his pillow over his legs. as he naps. i have no idea how he got there.

f. baby mama. love it. i haven't laughed so hard at a movie in a looong time. definitely in my top 10 list now. "i don't mean to sound dramatic when i say this but i'd rather shoot my face than eat this crap" -Angie Ostrowiski. probably one of my favorite lines from the movie. i've been waiting for this to come out on dvd and now that it has, i think ya'll should see it too, if you haven't!

and to end with for your viewing pleasure, more of the man in my life, james.
taking a rest...

getting into mischief

almost there...

got it!

swimming with daddy!

laughing with mommy!

and flirting with my girlfriend eva!



that's all! i can't believe he's seven months old now. closer to one year than birth. it is true, they grow up so fast!

just a warning...

to all who i have had contact with, let's say, the past week and a half of my life.


i apologize for any crabbiness, meanness, over happy, sadness, grumpy-grouchiness i have protrayed. it seems that mother nature has once again decided to visit my body after a very long absence (a year and a half???) and with that has come the jekel and hyde version of cerissa hocker that, let's be honest, isn't pleasant. i think since i did miss so many, you know whats, that my body has seemed to store up all the bitchy-ness for just one time, and it's pretty bad. just ask my husband.

so again, i apologize. it's not me, i promise.


my "gift" from mother nature

a random assortment of updates...

so i feel there is a lot to update, seeing as i haven't posted a legitimate update in a while, but i feel that quite a lot has happened....

1. summer was very busy. between all the visitors, flood waters, baby dedications and the like, i feel like summer was about a month long. it was a wonderful summer, and i am thankful for all the people who came out to see us -- rebecca, the wood family, and traci. we were blessed to have you all here!

2. school has once again commenced which means my hubby is back at work. which i am really excited and proud of him for...but i do miss him at home and i do miss the option of sleeping in every other morning as we would switch off which parent would get up with the wee one. but the good thing is that he has been sleeping later, which is good. anyways, so dave is in full swing teaching and coaching, and it's been fun. every wednesday there is a football dinner which we go to and is quite fun because i don't have to cook and it's yummy food. last week was the freshman team's first game, and sadly, they lost 48-8. better luck this week?

3. i start school next week which i am really excited for. hopefully, we are going to turn our basement into a classroom which should be really fun for the girls and give james lots of crawling around room during lesson time. i think i get my curriculum soon, and i'm excited to start planning my lessons. for those of you who don't know, this year i am going to be homeschooling to twin fifth grade girls every day at my house from 9-12. God pretty much blessed our socks off with providing this job, because i get to teach and stay home with my boy! except i am surprised their mom trusted me with their whole education for the 5th grade? hopefully, i won't let them down!

4. james is pretty much amazing. we've been working on getting him to sit down for naps because i'll need him to once school starts, and so far, it's been going great. sometimes we'll let him cry it out, sometimes bounce him a little, and sometimes sit him down once he's asleep. and every way seems to be successful guaranteeing a 1/2 hour to 1 and 1/2 nap. i feel pretty blessed and thankful for this! what a lil' buddy...Also, he's been on the move lately. crawling like no other, going from room to room, basically being an independent little man. he's been pulling up on anything he can from coffee tables to fireplaces to chairs to parent's legs to well, anything. this also includes cribs, which proves to be a problem when you've laid him down for a nap only to later hear him banging on the crib railing because he's stood up. this also proves to be a small hinderance to naptime. but good news is he just last week learned to get himself down from standing which is an improvement from his previous method- falling back and hitting his head on the floor. other than that, he's been a complete joy and i can't believe in a few short days he'll be 7 months old. where has time gone?




also, he's easting solids pretty regularly and not nursing as much during the day, mostly because he has so much to do (crawl, stand, sit, etc...). this however means he's nursing a ton at night. let's just say i have coffee every morning. we also ordered his halloween costume and i'm pretty excited for it! he's going to be a 1920's golfer and i can't wait to see him in it!

4. training has once again commenced for my half marathon. it's only a month and a half away and we are in full swing of running. we had to take a big break due to visitors and moving and such, but i feel we are back on track. it's october 19th in grand rapids, any of you who are interested.

5. dave and i really like watching "america's got talent." we hope frank sinatra wins!

6. i really like this drink

especially the nectarine and raspberry flavor. go try it!

that's all! goodbye for now!