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 ;)