helloooooo--oo--ooo

Just dusting off this space for some updates... I'll work on kid blogs first since I've been feeling the most pressure to put up new pictures of their smiling faces. No promises that it will be done today, but now that school is out blogs have officially been pulled up from the back-burner. Stay tuned!

Here's a consolation prize for having to wait 5 months for a new blog post:

our Monday Morning Ritual of waiting for the trash truck--
aren't you excited to see what else is new? ;-)

this and that

One week down... and running still sucks. I'm try not to focus on the suck-factor so much, especially since there's plenty to be happy about. Last Saturday I ran 20 minutes and felt like hurling -- today I ran 30 minutes and just felt tired. That's better, right? Also, my legs/arms/body feel pretty good while I'm running... mostly I'm just out of shape. And I can't exactly say that I'm motivated to get out and run right now, especially when it's wet, chilly, and I've got lunch sitting in my stomach. (Or breakfast. Or dinner. Or I'm hungry for dinner. Or it's 5:15 am and I've forgotten how to wake up.) Today I ran in that annoying, drizzly, not-quite-raining but still-getting-you-wet kind of mist. If I have to run in the rain, I'd much prefer that it pours so I can at least feel like a martyr.

After a week I'm also realizing that a) what I eat in the hour before a run (usually) makes me feel sick during the run -- if said food is BBQ chips or potato soup, it might make me feel sick hours later too; b) it's definitely better for me to run in the morning before all of my excuses start piling up; c) I need some new sports bras (ouch.); and d) my ipod needs a serious re-mixing. Oh, and have I mentioned that I hate treadmills? I've had to do 2 treadmills runs so far which is 2 too many.

In other news, we've begun stripping the house of all things baby. I have to admit -- it's pretty bizarre. Today I gave away a pile of Madeline's newborn clothes to an expecting friend and I got a little nostalgic seeing her little things all boxed up. It was especially weird since my little girl couldn't graduate from 6-month clothing for so long... it seems like she was just wearing these things! I've been in definite purge mode though, trying to simplify our belongings into what we need and use, and we are D.O.N.E. with the baby factory. We're making room for things like dinosaurs, cars, play food, dress-up, and baby dolls. I'm trying not to dwell on the fact that I'll never be pregnant again (because really, there's nothing like it in the world) and instead focusing on all of the fun ways my two "babies" are growing up together. Two purge-worthy sights:

post-Christmas chaos

my school/work space... obviously needing some love

I'm happy to say that both spaces are now tidy and ready to be used, but there's PLENTY more to get rid of around here!

We've also had an interesting week with this little diva:

(yes, that's flour on her face. don't ask.)

She's getting six new teeth at once and going through an interesting must-be-near-mama phase. It's SUPER fun, especially at 1am. And 3am. And again at 5am, just for good measure. It's nice to be loved, I suppose.

And just to be fair, here's little guy helping me make waffles --

(he is, in fact, the source of her flour-face. how'd you guess?)
*disclaimer -- we don't put karo in our waffles. we were hiding it from the ants, which is a whole different story.

He's still potty training, still talking our ears off, and still full of limitless energy. His latest phrase is "But I want to talk" (usually when Mommy tells him, "shhh! sister's sleeping!") -- and of course, repeating just about every word he hears.

My to-do list for the weekend includes updating kids' blogs with holiday pictures -- stay tuned ;)

back in the swing

Remember this? It's been almost 2 years since my sister and I ran our marathon and we made a pact to never put ourselves through that kind of pain again. When it came time to lose some Madeline-weight I opted for a half marathon and found it much more to my liking (though I still found a way to not be in the best shape). I'm beyond the point when the word "marathon" makes me cringe a little, but I'm definitely not excited by the idea of trying another one.

My sister, on the other hand, has decided that the time is right. She's wanting to get into shape again and needing the extra incentive that a marathon provides (you really can't attempt one without having done SOME training... and you'll probably end up in pain if you haven't done MONTHS of training). At first I just laughed at her, but then I realized that she was serious. I still didn't like it, but I approached the topic with my boy. He laughed until he realized that I was serious, then he said "no" and walked away. It's fair to say that we've had an extremely busy year, and training for my last marathon took a lot of dedication from both of us. I understood his hesitation (ok, refusal) especially since I've had trouble fitting in any kind of workout lately, let alone at least 45-60 minutes of running 5 days a week. Still, I couldn't let it go. I remember the first conversation I had with my sister, when all I needed was a little support and she wholeheartedly agreed without reservation. The boy and I talked about it some more, and I pulled out the big guns -- she said yes when I needed her, and now she needs me to say yes too. (That probably wasn't a very fair argument to use, but it's the one I've been giving to myself since I still don't really want to run another one.) We came to an agreement of sorts: I get to train for these next few months and see how it goes, especially since the longer runs won't come until March. At that point, I'll be done with my thesis, almost done with classes, and hopefully pulling together the last 8ish weeks of my internship... so maybe things will be easier?

It looks like we're aiming for the weekend of June 5th, when our options are San Diego, CA or Newport, OR. That give us 5 months to train, though the program we use only needs 20 weeks. Can you tell I'm still trying to talk myself into some sort of acceptance?

I started running again this weekend and have managed to workout 3 out of the last 4 days. I'm starting pretty slow so that it seems manageable (and my darling boy doesn't kill the idea within the first week), but I'm also trying to change my attitude this time around. Running for me has always been a "have to" -- I was in cross country, I needed to lose weight, I needed to get into shape, it's so easy, etc. When I went out on Friday afternoon I realized how lucky I am that I CAN run. My body easily slips into form, I can keep a pretty good pace, and within days of starting again my aches pretty much dissolve. It's like I was made to be a runner, even though I like to say that I'm not very good at it.

I remember being in high school and running 330 meter hurdles -- I can still close my eyes and feel that rush of adrenaline as I sprint around the track, the bunching of my muscles as I go over the hurdle, the lengthening of my stride as I land and pick up my pace. I can also remember the feeling of tackling a big hill in cross country, speeding up and changing my rhythm to use the leg muscles that have been shaped through months of training. I always hated racing, which is basically the purpose of cross country, so I look back and say that I didn't enjoy the sport... but really, I enjoyed the feeling of running.

I'm trying to change my attitude and my focus this time around. I don't want to waste another 5 months and hundreds of miles, just to get through the marathon and say "ugh, that was horrible." I want to enjoy my time on the road, embrace the ways that my body is changing, and mentally prepare myself to feel good at the end of it all. I'm also trying to use my running time as "me" time -- to break my habit of multiplication tables and use the time to refocus my day. I'll let you know how it goes ;-)

Here's a present for making it through my long rambling post --

there are at least 3 things wrong with this picture. bonus points if you can find them!
(and yes, Benjamin still asks to wear his halloween costume almost daily. that's not one of them.)

This is also the part where I ask for company. When we ran our last marathon my sister convinced two of her friends to join us -- they trained together in San Jose, she trained in Redlands, and I trained in Portland. We ran together when we were in the same state, otherwise we just stayed accountable and raced together on marathon day. If you've been itching to run a marathon, or even a half-marathon, and you want a little company (or maybe just that extra kick in the pants) then I'm talking to YOU. We're starting a new decade, what better time to cross this off the "someday" list?

fall recap

I just finished updating the boy and girl blogs, so I thought I should hop over here and freshen things up a bit. There's not a whole lot to say about my fall, other than it's been BUSY, FULL, a little CRAZY, and sometimes FUN. I've found a lot to learn, a lot to laugh about, and a little time to pick up the pieces of myself.



















I've set a few goals for myself this year -- to eat better, to journal more, to take more pictures, and to make the most of my time with my family. You'll note that I haven't set a blogging goal, a weight loss goal, or a "graduate with a 4.0 and be the best school psychologist ever" goal. I'm learning that sometimes good enough is enough to keep me happy (to the delight of my husband, I'm sure).

Here's to a happy and healthy 2010 in our household!