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Wordless Wednesday

Kid's Marathon Recap

Amara still has 2.5 miles to make up in order to have officially completed the distance ( 26.2 miles).

She was very nervous!! She even took about 3 bathroom breaks in the 30 minutes before the race! She is a true athlete! I tried to explain to her the jitters and nervous excitement and that it was in fact, a good thing! I am not sure she believed me. She was very worried about not meeting her goal. I never asked her what it was, I thought that might make her feel even more pressured.

The Grand Rapids Kids Marathon was very organized. The kids were to start in waves...depending on your last name you were assigned an animal. Amara was a cheetah and in wave 2. She had on my Garmin of course! I did not notice any other kids with fancy GPS gadgets on..whatever.

We were off and running and she did really great! She seemed a lot more relaxed and dare i say focused?!?! She ran the whole way- I found out at the end of the race that that was her goal all along-not to walk! Her time was 13:36 ish. She was flying! The cool thing is that the kids started and ran on and finished at the same start/finish of the real marathon that took place on Sunday.

The kids were treated to water, yogurt, ice cream and apples after the race. The YMCA also had a harvest fest party that we went to after the race. There was lots of stuff going on-face and nail painting, pony rides, coloring cider and donuts and lots more.

I wished I had more action shots, but it would have been kind of hard running with a huge camera! Amara had gym today and you better believe that she is wearing her marathon medal around her neck!

Still here....

I think fall is officially here--maybe! It was in the upper 70's and I enjoyed every minute of it. Amara is doing well with her running. She ran three days in a row getting in at least 1.5 miles each time! She needs 5 more before the big race this Saturday. She opted to take the day off today ( I don't blame her) and wants to shoot for 2 miles tomorrow!

picture from last fall-oct. 11, 2009!

Miles turned 3 and all of a sudden he is getting into his naughty stage. He is really well behaved, so when he does normal toddler shenanigan's it is sometimes hard to take! The good news is he is still dry and doing his business on the potty like a champ. I have been getting him up at around 11 pm every night to use the bathroom and that seems to be working well ( except for a weird 4 days in a row that he was still soaking wet, sheets and all!).

I want to get some good fall pics of the kids before the leaves all fall off.....maybe tomorrow.

Happy Birthday boys!

Today Matt turns 32 and Miles turns 3.

Lots of junk today! For Miles anyway!

He started his day with oatmeal and grapes and topped off that breakfast with half of a large chocolate chip cookie! He was pretty happy about that!

When we arrived at the gym ( had to work), he was greeted with a bad of rice crispy treats; but handed those over to me when he was presented with a plate of fruit from the front desk staff! They were laughing so hard- who gives up sweets for fruit?!?! Miles does, that's who!

After I taught he was handed 2 super mini cinnamon rolls. I ate one and he got the other one after his lunch of deli turkey and cheese on wheat, grapes, wheat crackers and hummus. He also decided to take a nap today.

For dinner we headed on over to Buffalo Wild Wings where he had fries, 1/4 of a cheese quesadilla, a Dum-Dum sucker and a brownie, and ice cream ( shared w/ Matt). When we got home he had a small piece of birthday cake that i made. Whew. He is pretty much on a sugar -high right now. He is not used to this much crap in his system. I gotta go- he just kicked his Monster Truck!

Crock Pot Saturday!

Zesty Slow Cooker Chicken BBQ Recipe ( click for recipe!)

This is the second time making this deliciousness! It's a hit. Lots of leftovers for the next day and the next! Put on some whole wheat buns and you are all set.

We had a side of Roasted Garlic Lemon Broccoli too. Amara's choice! I was not too sure about this, but I really like it. She loves the burst of lemon flavor she gets in every other bite. ( click for recipe). I have made this about 3 times now, once without the lemon, but I think it's best with the lemon. I love lemon.

Saturday's are usually reserved for some junk food for lunch and sometimes even dinner. Today we did have take out pizza for lunch, but we were being mindful of getting in a good healthy dinner.

Just stuff....

We are in the full swing of things with school now. I think we are establishing a routine here any minute. I am getting used to Amara being gone all day now. I am getting used to entertaining Miles all by myself now! Amara was really good at that.

I am trying to teach more classes too. Not that I want to, but it's easy money so why not!?!?

Miles has been without a nap for 5 days in a row now! I am not too happy about that, mainly because he is crabby. If he could go without a nap and still be normal, I would not mind as much. I am wondering and kind of hoping he will crash and burn this weekend and then start napping again. If not, then I can probably get more hours to work at the YMCA. I try to be done working in time for Miles to take a good nap, but this week--no so much! I tried everyday to lay him down and he was up causing trouble. He is lucky he is so dang cute.......

Amara is on mile 13 of her kids marathon! We did not run 1 time this week either. She (we) still have 12 more to get in by the 16th in order to make it. I think we will cut it way to close, but it will get done. She's a tough kid and she wants to earn a medal!

She has been asking to buy hot lunch at school. Yuck. I took a look at the menu and was appalled at most of the choices. I don't even think she would like most of the items. I think I will let her buy hot lunch once a month starting this month. We get the menu for the whole month so we will go over it this weekend and choose a day. It's making me think about Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution that was on TV last summer. Her school serves breakfast pizza too. It's just regular pizza, served in the morning. What a concept. She understands it's only a treat to get lunch once a month. I hope so. Maybe I will make her pay for it...........

Wordless Wednesday

A year ago! A tad blurry, but it was all I could find!

Break.......carpal tunnel and kid updates!

Not much has been going on over here. I am still not typing as much as usual due to my awesome carpal tunnel flare ups. I might try so sleep sans braces tonight..they are awful and get in my way! I have been stretching and self massaging every chance I get. So far, so good!

Miles is doing really well with staying dry. We are now working on staying dry at naps and night time. I really hope this will be the last pack of Pull- Ups I have to buy!! Nap times are obviously easier than night time. I might wake him up and put him on the potty right before I go to bed, which is usually about 2.5-3 hours later. We'll see though.

Amara is doing well too. She is "training" for the kid's marathon, but we have not been getting in her mileage like we should. This darn going to school all day is really getting in the way! We are on mile 10 of 25. The 1.2 mile race is on Oct. 17th.....which means she has to get in 15 more miles before that day. It's possible. I sure hope she does it because she is kind of on the sensitive side and has already cried when I told her she might not get all her miles in! She also told me that when she ran 2 miles ( walk/run) it hurt a little and she did not like it. I told her that pushing yourself is a good thing and it might hurt a little at times! I am not sure she liked that!
Update on myself. I have another blog: Mission Possible that started off as a way to chronicle my fitness/running adventures. I would pick a big goal and then write about the journey to the goal for the most part. My thing is running, but with my vocal cord annoyance I have not been putting in the training that I need/want/should. Well, that and other obstacles ( time, work etc.). I planned on running a half-marathon in less than a month, but have not ran in almost 2 weeks. Not good. So, I most likely will NOT be doing that race. Bum deal! I hope to get back full force training mode in January and am crossing my fingers (and toes) that I am able to run The 2011 Boston Marathon. I qualified last Oct. Sign ups start ( and will most likely SELL OUT ) on Oct. 18th--the day after the 1/2 marathon I am not running!
OK, I better end this post before my hands freeze up!

Wordless Wednesday

30 Days of Self Love

It seems like forever. my carpal tunnel flare up seems to have died down for the time being. I was having fun with the 30 Days posts, but I know it probably would not be in my best interest to make up last weeks entries ( unless I want to be in pain again...and I don't). The good news is I reflected on Tina's posts internally. Writing things down is a lot more therapeutic for me, but I did what I could. Here are a few of last weeks reflections if you want to know!

PURPOSE: What ways do you have purpose?

EATING NATURALLY: Have you experienced any shifts in how you view food?
What are the biggest influences in your food choices?

STOP FAT TALK: What do you do to stop fat talk? From yourself or from others?

These are just a few of the titles that I missed. If you wish to see more, please head to Tina's wonderful site!

Break.......

I did not give up on the 30 days.... campaign! I have awful carpal tunnel ( usually only while pregnant--which I am NOT!) So I decided to take some time off from typing as much....too bad, because the topics Tina has been reflecting on are really good!!! Check her out. I will be back next week.....

30 Days of Self Love--Gifts of the Body 2 ( Day 9)

We need to shift the qualities with which we define them from aesthetic ones to purposeful ones. Hopefully, after completing 4 rounds of this exercise and having to come up with 12 different parts of ourselves we recognize as a gift, we will grow to love our bodies more and more.

I am not sure why these posts are the hardest for me-and I have to do 4 of them. (help).

So far I have my Body, ears, and legs from post 1.

Hands- They look old, have dry skin and the nails are non-existent. That does not keep them from rubbing backs (the kids and Matt's feet too). I am out of practice as a massage therapist, but I retained enough to do some healing when necessary! They are perfect for holding tiny hands and checking for fevers, giving high 5's and playing peek-a- boo too. Hands are great!

Taste buds- Kind of reaching here, but I love food! As a family we love food. I think we ( Miles, not so much yet) are pretty adventurous when it comes to trying new things and love flavorful things. Not just sweets either. I think Amara inherited this from both of us. One of her favorite things to eat is calamari-- the more tentacles the better!

My belly- For being a safe house for my babies. Yeah, so now it's softer and has some markings but that's not such a big deal when you think of what it did. It is such an awesome thing that I forget the pain, discomfort, the HUGENESS. I carried a living being! That's pretty amazing. I saw a 3.5 week old yesterday and it was almost instinct to rub my own belly- I hope nobody saw me !

the posted pic is about 2 months before I had Big Bad Miles ( 10lbs. 10 oz.)

30 Days of Self Love--Perfection ( Day 8)

In what things do you try to seek perfection? Why do you even want it? How does desiring perfection actually hurt that area of your life? What would letting go of the hope for perfection do for you?

I can't say that I strive for perfection in any part of my life. I know that perfection is not attainable in reality, so why even think that you will ever get there. (*disclaimer*-- the 2 things that have been perfect in my life is of course the birth of my kids, but that's a given I think!). You can strive to do your best in your everyday life, but trying to be perfect will just leave you frustrated.

I do strive to do my best in parts of my life, but with that being said, I also slack in areas that I should be trying harder. Maybe I have let go too much..... I am not sure if it's the "youngest child syndrome" or what. I see my daughter ( a first born) and I see how she needs to have things "just right" and does not like to be wrong- EVER, and I hope it's just because she is 6 and not because she thinks in order for her to be loved, she needs to be perfect. I tell her it's OK to be wrong and that it is just a learning experience. I think and hope she will understand this someday.

Wordless Wednesday

First Day of First Grade!

30 Days of Self Love--Perspective ( Day 7)

How do you witness the power of perspective in your life? Do you currently face something where your perspective could make a difference?

I have taken on an "it is, what it is" mentality for a lot of issues in my life. Especially for the issues that are totally out of my hands-I have to. It won't do any good to dwell on things if they can't be changed. Taking up too much time figuring out the coulda, woulda and shoulda is too exhausting and meaningless.

For current issues that can be changed- Take the steps to change them! Am I currently taking my own advice?? Well....I am working on it! Life is a constant work in progress. I sometimes put things on the back burner too long; either afraid to confront the issue or knowing it will be a difficult journey. Something I need to work on NOW.

30 Days of Self Love--Love From Others ( Day 5)

Reflect on who loves you and what they see in you. Do you have trouble believing it and accepting what they see whole-heartedly? Try to think of all those wonderful things about you that others care for and use those to fuel your day.

Good question! I never really question that people love me, or why they love me. I know I am loved. I guess I used to think it was because they had to! As in my family etc. We never said the words too often, but that never kept me from knowing that they loved me. Through their actions as well as their words can let me know - although I don't need to hear it 24/7--it is nice to hear every now and then. It's usually right when I need to hear it too. It's as if they know...

I know my 2 kids love me with all they have. They tell me at least 5 times a day each and it never gets old!

30 Days of Self Love--So We Idolize Our Bodies (Day 6)

How much do we really value our bodies? We may say we don’t, but when taking a closer look at our actions we may find differently. What ways have you put too much emphasis on your body? How can you change that?

Where do I start?!? It probably started in college when I really started working out. At first it was because my roommate loved to exercise. she and I would go almost everyday. After a while I found out how much I loved it and then I started noticing the changes it brought about. After a while it was getting me a lot of attention from guys. I was not a very out going person so this was very uncomfortable to me. That was one part I did not like--at first. I later felt it pushed me to even work out more. I was not trying to get skinny either. I always wanted to be lean and have muscle and curves. (Still do).

It seems that as time went on it was expected of me to always be working out, or to always be in shape. It felt like it was a job and I was always under a microscope--people wanting to know what I did, for how long, what did I eat etc. I felt ( and sometimes still feel this way) that i had to keep it up or else I would look like a failure to my peers and those that perhaps looked up to me. I am not saying I did things overboard--maybe a few times in my day, but that did not last long.

In a nutshell-- I think most of us do idolize our bodies waaay too much. I do want to always feel comfortable in my skin as well as my clothes though. These days and yes, after having my kids I have a new mindset. I want to show my kids the right way to be healthy- not going to the extreme or overboard.

After my rambling-- I have been focusing for a few years on not idolizing my body for the wrong reasons. Nowadays I idolize my body because of what is has done in the past 6 years:

~It has given birth twice to two good sized babies ( Amara was 8 lbs. 5 oz. and 3.5 weeks early Miles was almost 11 lbs. 1 week early).

~I have run 2 marathons, setting a 20 minute PR with marathon #2 and qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

~ I have taught numerous exercise classes to people that thought they were not "cut-out" for it and told me so.

~ I am coming to terms with my ample tummy and not so ample breasts.

~I am focusing on being healthy so I can be here to teach my kids the same.

30 Days of Self Love--Trusting Your Body ( Day 4)

Is there an area where you face difficulty trusting your body? Take time today to focus on this area and pay close attention to your body.

When I think of trusting my body it usually always leads to running ( of course). This year is probably the first time that I don't trust it and it bugs me. I have allergies, acute asthma and something wonderful called Vocal Cord Dysfunction or VCD. Long story short- it started in the spring..feels like a major asthma attack.....I learned breathing techniques.....it rarely happens anymore if at all-nothing as major as in the spring. OK, with that being said-- this is my slowest year ever at running and it is very discouraging. It's a mind game I hope and not so much physical. It's a real downer.

I am trying to focus on trusting my body. I am having trouble pushing myself because I feel I will push myself into a VCD episode and that scares me. I need to trust in my body to use my breathing techniques to get me though if an episode happens. The more I push my body during my runs, the easier it will become. I already know this, but it's good to be reminded. I guess I also need to learn to trust my brain as well, since VCD can be triggered by anxiety and stress. I know I have both of those.