Kyle Momma Runs

A New Blog

2010-02-19T07:48:00.000-08:00

I was having a hard time coming up with mostly running posts so I have moved my blog here.
Hope you still enjoy what I have to say about all things in our lives :)

A slow day

2010-01-17T07:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a crazy day...we went to Ashley's Mini Team practice and was asked if she could be moved up and do the Youth team as well- oh yeah and the first competition is tomorrow(HA). So she stayed at Dynasty from 9-2 for the double practice and she also has practice Monday from 12-4 and then the competition that night. I am so proud of her but my day did not go the way I thought it was going to.
This morning I got up and ran a very SLOW 6 miles by myself. I really enjoyed the quiet time and was proud that I mentally could run without talking to anyone for an hour :)
When I got home all my kids were coughing so I utilized a new feature at our church called http://woodlandlive.com. I was able to watch church while keeping my kids home and in bed how cool is that. Here is what Pastor Tim's message was about I hope you enjoy what I learned :

CREST
Connect-Reach-Equip- Service-Trust
Living on top of the mountain
Top, side, in the valley- god wants us to move toward the crest of the mountain
Reaching with good news

God Loves you and wants to be a part of your family
Everybody wants to be loved
God’s purpose has not changed
Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18-19
Luke 19:10
Poor are people without spiritual things- people that need the good news
Jesus came to seek and to save the lost and that should be our purpose
1. It’s a Spirit thing.
Anointed with power from the Holy Spirit- set apart because we have the good news.
He gives us power.- stronger the presence- the stronger our witness
Help the brokenhearted. (Disappointed )
Blinded by living for the wrong things
Speak of freedom from living the roller coaster life
Peak happiness- pleasure when pleasure goes down
Peak joy find in Christ
Life is dependant on being loved and I am loved by god
He motivates us.
Acts 4:31
Pray- fill-speak (boldly)
When holy spirit fills us we automatically speak boldly the words of Christ.
We need to be filled in every aspect of our lives by the holy spirit

Prayer Spirit Speak

The more filled with spirit of god the more I speak for God.
Need to charge our batteries through prayer.
Find the things distracting us from God then let prayer attack that thing to zap it out of our lives.
Need some spiritual shocks!!!
When shocked in life you stand up and are bold with God’s message and you look like Life
He teaches us.

Don’t speak because afraid….more concerned about people’s opinions of you.
Afraid because you don’t know what to say
Matthew 10:19-20

People don’t need to hear YOU they need to hear GOD!! So don’t be afraid to share.
Our problem is putting ourselves out there- do we trust him to help us.
If spirit filled take the steps to speak anyway- through trusting in God.
Takes the excuse of the not sharing of Christ- use your story to help change people’s lives.
When we do that- that is when we reach others.

Happy Running!!

Baby it's cold outside- still

2010-01-14T06:02:00.001-08:00

This morning I got up bring and early at 5 to go for a 5 miler of course. I put on my cold weather clothes ( really need to buy another jacket) and headed out by myself with my faithful ipod. I really am enjoying the morning. I was going to try to run with the Lakewood Ranch Running Club but my options were run from 4:30-6 a.m. or 6-7 a.m. and one was too early and the other too late for me to get home and get the kids ready. I planned on going at a slower pace and I did not disappoint myself. I really wanted to roll back over and stay in bed but I am working on the mental aspect of pushing myself when I don't really want to do things so out the door I went. I passed 2 runners on my way back in and we each did the obligatory wave. By the time I got home I had run 5.16 on the trusty Garmin and I was still cold.
I am really excited for the weekend and the reappearance of running in my shorts. Oh how I am missing my shorts!

Happy Running!!

The road to good intentions

2010-01-13T11:36:00.000-08:00

Did I mention that I live in Florida? Did I also mention that the temperature has been consistently below 40 degrees for the last 2 weeks? Did I mention that I have been running consistently in weather under 30 because I usually run before the sun comes up to avoid the wind? This has been my crazy running life and I do not know how people up North or anywhere the temps stay cold do any long distance exercise outside. My run times have been quicker than normal because I guess I have been trying to run faster to avoid being outside. Luckily I have had my FIL here to watch my kids so I haven't had to push them in the jogger for some time. I do know however, that those days are coming to an end but I also think that the cold weather is coming to an end too. I am not quite sure exactly how many days until the Princess Half but I do know that as long as I stick to my plan and don't get hurt that I will be just fine.
Bad news is M broke her knee cap so sadly she will not be running it with me (she did break it falling while running). This just means that mentally I need to prepare to running alone. I did an early 5 miles alone this week and it went really good. I think I am also becoming a morning runner since cheerleading is taking up every evening during the week.
My plan is usually to get up around 5 a.m. and depending on the plan- running, then coming home getting my kids up and ready for school, and then being the bus driver I am the rest of the day, until cheer practice hits at 5:30 and we usually don't get home until 8ish, then bed routines with meals interspersed throughout the day. So the morning it seems is the only time that I have to be able to get my miles in and if I don't BEWARE of the cranky mom!

This weekend is mandatory cheer practice because Monday night Ash has her first CHEER competition. If you all remember from earlier, I was not too thrilled to be forced into this new role as cheer mom and I don't really think I make a good one. Well this will all be getting tested this coming Monday at the Manatee County Fair. Yes, I said the fair- you know with livestock and carney rides and weird people. Why wouldn't I want to parade by beautiful daughter decked out in her short cheer uniform in front of these strange people. Did I mention my daughter is 6? Needless to say, I have already told Ashley that I will not be letting her out of my site during the entire time that we are at the fair and that as soon as we are allowed to leave - we will be! I know, not the best attitude going in -but I am working on it.

Ryan's birthday is in about a month and we are throwing him a party at the local bounce house place. I feel that he gets the short end of the stick sometimes so we are going all out for my boy to turn 4. He really has no clue that he is having this party (it's not a surprise) but he really doesn't care about things like birthdays, presents. If you were to ask him what he wants he will probably tell me something like he wants a ball or something silly like that. I love my boy and am so sad that he is growing up.

Alexis- oh my lord the child can get into some trouble. She usually warms up to people pretty quickly BUT not my FIL. It has taken her 2 full weeks to not cry when he is in the same room. That also has contributed to my 5 a.m. running since I couldn't leave her with him crying for an hour straight. She also is now walking everywhere and she has given up on baby food for good. She shakes her head NO when trying to feed her anything with a spoon because she feels that it is baby food (even when it isn't). She gets into EVERY cabinet in the house and the nail polish I have under my vanity is her favorite thing to bang on the floor ( and she did break one when I was with Ashley at cheer and I left her with my FIL!) She is also the smiliest baby I have ever had and her little giggle cracks me up.

That is what we have been up to lately I WILL be better at updating- I WILL!!

Happy Running!!!

2010 - wow

2010-01-03T10:39:00.000-08:00

So, I am a blog slacker- sue me (but please don't)! It seems as though as each day passes the busier that i become. Being a stay at home mom is a crazy job. Winter break is almost over (HALL-E-LU-JAH!!!) and my kids will be going back to school in 2 days. I have survived visits from every member of our immediate family and have come out of it almost unscathed. We have had people in our house for the last month and we have at least 2 more weeks of our last visitor so running has been my saving grace these last few weeks.

I have found that if people start to really bother me I can leave my kids with them and run out all of the frustration then come home and be the loving family member that I am.

Lexi started walking this last week and although I am sad about it, I am also happy that I do not have to lug her around everywhere. Ashley has her first cheer competitions this month and I still don't think that I am ready for it. Ryan is COMPLETELY potty trained- no diapers at all which is pretty impressive for me right now.

I am training for the half-marathon at Disney on March 7 and training is going extremely well. My goal for 2010 is to be more consistent in the things that I choose to do and blogging is one of those things, so keep coming back because I can guarantee that there is going to be a lot of fun going on here this next year!!

Happy Running!!!

Jingle Bell 5K

2009-12-12T03:29:00.000-08:00

It was first and foremost a lot of fun!!
There was a lot leading up to this 5k because my parents were not able to come and watch my kids and I DO NOT leave them with people I don't know. So then M was going to watch them for me and that ended up falling through too. So there I am with a race and 3 kids. T worked it out so that I could leave Ashley with her parents and kids during the actual race and we decided that I would run pushing the baby jogger. At the time the thought of pushing the jogger wasn't too bad (although I dislike pushing the jogger under normal circumstances). Of course the circumstances became not normal when the temperature dropped to 55 instead of 85 and I started having mommy guilt over pushing my munchkins in that temperature.
I decided to just go and have fun. I went to good old Target and got hats for my kiddies brought a blanket to wrap around them and we were ready to go.
What I wasn't prepared for was the amount of people involved in this 5k. The first mile I spent trying to dodge walkers (yes I said walkers) and not hitting those who took off to quickly and felt the need to just STOP in the middle of the street. Mile 1 was fun to run but not to race and definitely not easy with the jogger. Mile 2 was along the street that was covered in Christmas lights and then went along the river. It was windy and chilly but the kids thought it was so fun. We couldn't even actually cross the finish running at Mile 3.1 because everyone had stopped and were chit chatting and I did hit the lady who just STOPPED right in front of me ( i apologized).
T and I ran the whole time and finished in 33 minutes which considering the jogger and maneuvering the masses I thought was pretty good. Did I mention that it was fun?
I would love to run it next year-minus my kids (i love them but i don't like pushing them).
Happy Running!!

Yes, I took a break :)

2009-12-03T17:08:00.001-08:00

Mostly I just took a break from blogging because I really had nothing interesting to say. We have been in crunch mode around our house. Dave had foot surgery so instead of taking care of 3 kids I have been taking care if 4 kids- haha! I have been running and I actually went for a 10 miler tonight with T. It was so much fun for me (don't know if T thought the same). It was only supposed to be 9 but we got a little lost (really need to just buy the garmin) and ended up doing 10. We have Ashley's first cheer competition this weekend. I am so extremely nervous for her and since I honestly have no clue how she does the things she does I am also so proud. So after this weekend I am going to start blogging a little more consistently again. Dec 14 officially starts training for the half marathon but I feel like I could do one next week so I am just going to enjoy following a plan again and enjoy running with my buddies.

Thanks for being concerned about me but I am doing really good.

Happy Running!!!

Remembering...

2009-11-01T06:08:00.000-08:00

I have wanted to sit down and write this post for 2 days but I didn't have a second to myself (which I think was a good thing). On October 30, 2008 I went into labor and I staying in labor for 3 weeks. I remember that day as clearly as if it was yesterday and in many ways to me it feels like it was only yesterday. I was 33 weeks pregnant and enjoying my day. I picked up Ash from kindergarten and started having contractions. I came home and laid down, drank some water, but they were getting closer together so Dave and I shuffled the kids to our emergency people, called my parents to come get them and went to the hospital. If you had told me then that I would have to stay there I would have laughed in your face. I figured we would go in, get a shot, maybe be admitted for a day and go back to my life until Lexi was ready to come out. Soooo not what happened.

I did go in and get the shot, many of them but the contractions were still there pretty hard but not painful and they were not stopping. I remember the nurse telling me they were going to put me on MAG and that I would want to die for 3 days and then I would feel better. Dave asked how long I would have to stay and she said "you may be here for 2 weeks" and we chuckled.

They started the MAG and they have to get you in a "theraputic" and yet not "toxic" range. First bolus put me in the "toxic" range. Oh yeah did I mention it makes you REALLY HOT (I still think I am recovering from this). I could not lift my head because it makes you really dizzy, I felt like my skin was being burned off (which it was from the heat coming out of my pores) I could barely function and I honestly don't remember much from those 3 days. I was violently ill and scared that any sudden movement would cause my water to break. The weird part is that I was never worried about Lexi. I knew that she was fine because I had daily ultrasounds for the next 2 weeks during my stay. I had really great nurses who always tried to talk with me and would let me know my options (although leaving was never one of them). I had contractions for the next 2 weeks at least 12-15 maybe more an hour but my body didn't feel them. I was on an antibiotic which apparently I was allergic too which no one figured out until I went into labor. I stayed on the dreaded MAG for those 2 weeks. My body was HOT but they kept my room at about 50 degrees. People would visit me in parkas and I would sit there in my gown and no blankets.

AND I CHANGED

it is really hard to explain how. I felt guilty for not being home with my kids and husband. I think that was the worst part of the whole ordeal was that I was stuck there. I often said it felt like prison to me because I could not leave. It was probably the hardest thing I have ever had to go through and I was lucky. My Lexi was healthy. She was active and growing and when she graced us with her presence at exactly 36 weeks she was gorgeous.

and look where we are today...

I am thankful for her and I am still a different person than I was on October 30, 2008. A friend told me that there are scars and there are but what a great prize right?

Oh and one of me and the brood :)

Happy Running!!

Tower of Terror Recap

2009-10-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

I loved it!!! my M not so much :(

Dave and I drove over Saturday morning and checked in to the Gaylord Palms ( favorite hotel ever!) and then went to packet pick up at the Wide World of Sports. At this point we found out that we could buy tickets to the post race party so Dave could see me finish and I think this is where I became really excited to do the race. Earlier in the week I didn't think he would be able to be at the finish so after we bought his ticket I was so relieved that he wouldn't have to waste an hour and a half in the parking lot that I just vowed to relax and enjoy.

We met up with M and J and their significant others and went to Wolfgang Puck for lunch at Downtown Disney.

*I definitely had a nutrition goal for my pre-race and it went wonderfully.

I had the best pumpkin ravioli and some bread for lunch- it was seriously so good. M and J went to packet pick up and then we went back to the hotel for naps. Yes the naps that didn't happen because I could not turn my mind off and I kept going over the course in my head. Well my body was able to relax I guess which may have helped too. We went to Columbia for dinner and I had more bread and a salad. At this point it was getting close to 7 and we had to be at the park by 9 p.m. (normally in bed by 9)

We went back to the hotel to get dressed and I had a major dilemma- what to wear. I had my outfit picked out but it was a little cooler than usual, about 67ish and I didn't know if I should wear capris or a shirt over my running tank. Decided to just run in my original outfit and my Zensah leg sleeves.

WE got to the MGM parking lot and waited for J to arrive. I really had to use the restroom so I ate my hammer bar, kissed my hubs goodbye and told him i would see him at the finish and went to meet J at the start . I was still not feeling as nervous as usual but excited. Asked someone where the porta potties were and they said we had to use bathroom by MGM. So we walked that way then were told that those bathrooms were closed (in a rude manner) and that we needed to go back the way we just came from. By now I really had to go so I wasn't in a joking mood with the Disney workers. Finally found the potties which were right next to the starting line. Not the best place for the porta potties because it created a big mass of people right where we were supposed to be corralled for the race.

I used the potties and stood in line in the corral with J and M. WE all had our ipods in case they had to drop back or if we got separated. I was planning on staying with M to the end unless she had to stop but I am getting ahead of myself. At 10:30 the fireworks went off and we started, well we walked to the start because there were A LOT of people lined up WRONG and that was a tad annoying. We started and I already had gone over the course so I knew were every mile marker was. My plan was to take 2 chomps at the start, 1 at mile 4, and 1 at mile 7 to get me to the finish. Miles 1 & 2 were just getting out of the crowd of people and at 2 we had to run down a dirt path leading back into the Wide World of Sports. Miles 3 & 4 was running through Wide World of Sports fields. We were on the sidewalk running and then ran around a track, at this point J decided that she was going to fall back which was cool. She did a great job! At mile 4 we took out chomp and M said she felt ok. I knew that from mile 4-6 it was the MOST BORING part of the whole course. We were on the main road leading to MGM and we had to run up and down the ramps. M started to hurt about this time and I was trying to encourage her to do what she felt she needed to. Mile 6 was right outside of MGM and we had just run this 2 weeks ago. I was feeling really good still but M was not. She told me to go and that is just what i did.
I felt awesome so I picked up my pace and I had the BEST 2 MILES EVER!! I was running faster than I ever have and I was having so much fun. I was passing people left and right and I just kept picking it up. I got to mile 7 and took my chomp and I did my last mile in 8 MINUTES!!!!! There was a hill leading up to mile 8 but I was totally mentally prepared for it and was having so much fun that it might have been flat ground for all my body knew. I flew up that silly hill saw the 8 mile marker and knew I was only a turn from the finish. My endurance was definitely built up because I wasn't even tired. I crossed the finish smiling because my watch said 1:24.01 and Dave was there taking my pic and telling me great job!! I really feel like I could have ran 5 more that night. I have never felt better running than during the 13K. M came in at 1:35 and J at 1:39. M was having knee issues and could barely walk so we went back to the the hotel and I had to take Dave to the airport the next morning but since I was still on my running high not sleeping wasn't much of a problem.

M is taking about a month off but I ran today and realized that I still love it. I love running 3 miles just as much as I did the 8.

They aren't doing this race again but there is a replacement and I will definitely be signing up for it when registration opens Nov 16th.

Happy Running!!

Tower of Splendor

2009-10-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

AWESOME RACE
Full report coming soon but i finished the 13K in
1:24.01
WOO HOO!!!

Race Across The Sky- Leadville Trail 100

2009-10-22T10:08:00.001-07:00

Am I ready?

2009-10-20T14:17:00.000-07:00

Well, today was my last long run before the 13K- what is it with all the K's anyways and why when you get to a half does it finally go to miles- ok off topic. So the race is 8.01 miles. Today I ran at 11:45 a.m. and I did 7 miles by myself no M or T to run with me. I have NEVER ran anything over 5 by myself so this was a big deal for me. My hubs decided that he would ride the bike with Ry and Lexi and keep me company as I ran.
I was not going to turn down extra motivation so we decided that I would run and he would ride. When we originally talked about this plan I thought we would be going around 8:45 a.m. but Dave had a meeting with the chief so we didn't go until 11:45 (ugh!) We live in Florida BUT we are having a cold front (ha! I think it was in the mid 70's) so I was really nervous about running in the middle of the day. I usually do long runs at night (after the sun goes down) but I got my wonderful Nathan belt out, filled the water bottles, got my GU Chomp to take for a little boost at mile 4 and we took off.
It was so odd to be by myself but not alone. I say this because although Dave never left me, he isn't chatty like my girls. Usually we just talk and all of a sudden the miles are over. Not so today! Dave would talk to me for a while then fall back and then come up and talk to me some more. Once we hit the half way mark, I took my GU chomp and I still felt good. My endurance is definitely ok for the distance, I just hope that my legs do not rebel on me on Saturday. So we were to mile 4.5 when I heard this loud noise behind me and then what comes bounding out of the woods? 2 DEER!!! A doe followed by a buck with big horns. I literally stopped in my tracks because they freaked me out so bad. Dave thought it was neat and our kids loved it but it made my heartbeat soar which wasn't good for my last 2.5 miles. Plus I stopped running which is No-No for me. So since I was walking I drank some water and started running again. This was also the first time I ever ran with the Nathans Belt. It was a little uncomfortable at first but after the first few miles I really didn't notice it anymore. So, I started running again and Dave was riding along with me. It was a nice running with my family. Once I made the turn towards home I knew that I could do it. I knew that I was going to have run the 7 miles. I ran it at about a 10 minute pace which I was totally ok with seeing as I had never done it without gabbing before.
I am also glad that I was able to show my hubs and kids what I can do.
So, am I ready? I think I am . I am looking forward to Saturday knowing that it will be at night (no sun) and lots of people running around me (if not with me). I think that mentally I am confident that my body is ready. I will be wearing my one Zensah, which I have worn on my last 3 runs because my leg felt like it needed the extra support. I am hoping that M will be able to run the race with me but since she still has a groin injury it is doubtful that if she does race that she will run. I am going to run! I have been training and I know that I will be fine on my own if that is what happens.
Well, gotta do some Mommy Duties.
Happy Running!!

The difference between day and night

2009-10-18T16:26:00.000-07:00

Thank you for all of your encouraging words about the eating. It is going well this week and I am treating it like training :)

I ran last night with T. She has wanted to run without the joggers and if finally worked out on a night. We met at her house and took off around 7:40. It was such a gorgeous night. The temperature was about 65 and that is the coolest temperature that I have ever run in. We took off ran down to the gate and it didn't open so we did a little adventure racing and shimmied under the gate (funny sight). We kept running and all of a sudden it there were no more street lights and then the sidewalk ended...so we turned around and had to rethink our course. We were only supposed to go five but we ended up doing 6 and walking a half to cool down. It was so much fun.

I was supposed to run a long run with M tomorrow night but she still has some groin pain from the 10K and we have the 13K this coming Saturday so we will see how she feels but T might run with us too. It is supposed to be in the 50's so pray that my Florida self doesn't freeze while running-ha!

I am really looking forward to doing the Tower of Terror 13K this Saturday. First because it is at night...a little late with a start time of 10:30 and my goal is to finish before midnight- which to me is a generous goal. Whether or not I finish in that time I am really going to try and enjoy this race. They won't be doing this one again because they added the Wine and Dine Half Marathon next October. I will be signing up for that as soon as registration opens- super excited about doing a half at night (remember I am not fond of mornings!)

Congrats to all of you who had races this weekend!! Hope you have a great week of recovery.

Happy Running!!

p.s. we went to the pumpking patch this weekend and my little pumpkin is 11 months old today

Scared and Emberassed

2009-10-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

I just received the link to the pics that were taken at the 10K and I am emaciated. Honestly when i look in the mirror I do not see that skeletal person that is me (i guess). It also scares the crap out of me! I have looked way worse (scary thought i know) but I have. At my lowest I weighed 10 lbs less than I do now and I didn't exercise. It was not a good time and I was trying to find something to control and my weight and eating habits fit the bill.
I wrote in a previous post about balance and I am NOT balancing very well I guess.
If you follow me on twitter I made some very nice comments about my talk with the scale (haha) and then I see pics of myself and I totally get slapped in the face. I really am struggling and I do not want to give up running at all but eating more isn't helping.
I haven't written about my runs this week (although I have ran every day) but I am making a conscious effort to put on the lbs. It is so hard, even though I know it is best because I do want to be healthy and I think it will make me run better too.
The people closest to me have been true encourager's and I appreciate them so much. After I saw the first pictures (that I took) I was upset but now I am just really sad. I am sad that this matters to me so much and I am MAD at myself. So.... operation put on 10 lbs is officially on.
This is my marathon!!! It is going to be hard. People say "just eat" but I feel like I have been so we are going to try something else I guess.
I am still going to be training for my half in March but I am going to HAVE to solve my nutrition issues and quick because I WILL NOT look like a skeleton in those pics. I want to be proud of them.
Happy Running!!

Race For the Taste 10K

2009-10-13T07:14:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying thank you to M, J, and Becky for making it a really fun weekend. It was the first time since I got married that I have gone ANYWHERE without my husband and kids. I did realize however, that I missed them immensely and will probably have them with me at any and all future races. We left of Saturday around noon and got to Wide World of Sports for the packet pick up and expo. Once again SOOOOOO disappointed with the Disney expo. You would think that because this is a race at Disney they would have something. I bought absolutely nothing because there was nothing to buy (sigh). We didn't get shirts either but we did get a beer mug (which my husband has claimed for his own). We had planned on going to Giordano's for our pre-race dinner and I have to say that I was not let down. My usual pre-race meal of choice is pizza and Giordano's did not disappoint. Becky and I shared a pizza that looked like this:

it was soooooo good!!! Then, we went back to the hotel, looked around and went to bed.

I was under the impression that the race started at 7:30 BUT it started at 7.

I DO NOT LIKE TO GET UP EARLY!!!!!

We had the wake-up call come in at 5:30 but M & J were up at 5. I ate my cliff bar (so didn't like it but forgot my hammer ones :( ), got dressed and off we went to the Wide World of Sports for the start of the race. I was a little nervous because we usually do our long runs at night but I must get over this because most races start in the morning (ugh!). We missed most of the crazy traffic and got there about 6:15ish. M met up with her brother and we took some pre-race pics

Of course I had to go use the porta pottys and the lines were CRAZY!! I probably stood in line for 30 minutes and then it was time to line up and start the race. Now, I knew that Becky would leave us and that was ok. I totally expected her to do awesome. She has been running for 2 years and is in the middle of marathon training. She did great and finished in 57:45- SO PROUD OF HER!

So we started Becky, took off and so did J. I am a slow and steady person so I don't sprint at the beginning because I knew we had 5 more miles to go and I wanted us to enjoy it and finish in our time not anyone else's. M and I just kept running and the 1st mile went by so fast. I think that was because we were running on 192 and there were so many people in such a small space. Before I knew it we were running into Hollywood Studios. We ran awhile with M's brother and then we just kind of enjoyed running behind the Light's, Motor's Action set. We went out the back side of Hollywood Studios and 3 miles were done. At this point I knew the rest of the course because we walk it ALL the time when we go to Disney. Around mile 5.5, my legs started to feel a tad heavy and I my tummy wasn't too happy about the cliff bar. I actually felt like I was going to be sick which has never happened to me before. Note to self: REMEMBER your HAMMER BARS!!! The best thing about running races at Disney is that most of them end in the same place. I knew once we passed Space Ship Earth that we had .2 left and I knew that no matter if I lost my cliff bar that I would finish strong and we did. We finished in 1:02.02. It was 2 minutes longer than I wanted but honestly I am so proud of the time we finished in. We ran and we had as much fun as 2 moms could have. We finished and I went and got my complimentary diet coke and all was well in my world. We got our medals, took tons of pictures and I was bummed that my hubs and kids weren't there.

I am so proud of my running girls. We have Tower of Terror 13K to look forward to in 2 weeks and it is at night (HALLELUJAH!!) It will be my last longer distance race before I begin training for the half next March.

Can't wait until Oct 15th when they announce how they are changing the races at Disney for next year! Hope everyone else had fun while running this weekend.

Happy Running!!

The trials of training and the glory of accomplishment

2009-10-08T16:04:00.000-07:00

I won't lie- training for a race of any length with kids is tricky, especially if you live in Florida and the average temperature between 9a.m. and 7p.m. is 95. I started my training for a 5k (yes already passed but on to that later) on August 1st. At that point I just found a training schedule and began running. I remember the day that I started ,I went 2 miles and I felt pretty good at the end. I figured that since my 5k wasn't until September 26th that I would not be last and that I would have a great time with my husband and I would enjoy being able to run. About a week later my sister in law asked me if I would sign up for a 10K with her that was 2 weeks after the 5k. I signed up and then she said she may not be able to go. HUH??
This was something that she wanted to do, not me, but since I made a commitment, I figured that I may as well train for the 10K and then do the 5K as a training run.
I printed out my schedule (intermediate seemed doable to me), put in on my refrigerator and followed it as best as a mom with a husband who works weird hours could.
Let me say this too...I LOVE RUNNING.
I always have enjoyed it but it really has helped me to have that certain time a day that I focus only on me. I focus on my breathing, moving one foot in front of the other, and not getting hit by cars :) Running has given me confidence again and I just love lacing up my shoes and going.
I made running a priority every day and everyone around me knew- that I was training and what I was training for. Eventually M started running with me and I have found a great peace in running with someone else. I find comfort in doing something I love and not doing it alone.
So we trained, rain or shine, in mostly HOT weather. I started running in the mid-morning (although I love to run at night, even if it isn't quite safe), running with my jogger (ugh!), and simply enjoying being able to run.
When people ask my why I run, I always tell them the same thing- because I can.
So this morning when I crossed my last 2 mile run off my training schedule and the next run I am supposed to do is the 10K, I am proud of what I have been able to do. I am giddy because in 2 days I get to run 10K with M and Becky (she decided she could make it after all). Some days I don't think that I am a "real" runner because I don't honestly care how fast I get there. Miley says it best when she says, "It's the climb!"
I enjoy the training as much as the races. I enjoy running with my girls and running alone. There is always going to be another race, I am signed up for 2 more after the 10K but to me this one is special because it is the first that I have trained diligently for and I am going to enjoy it (and hopefully finish under and hour :))

Happy Running!!

8 miles and a recantation- HA

2009-10-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

First off I have to let you know I had to return the Brooks- sniff. I really did enjoy them that first run BUT I exchanged them this morning. I went into my trusted Fit2Run and told them that my knee was killing me 5 or so miles into my run. Oh, your IT band that is common. IT band? what? my knee hurts! Well this is what I found out about IT bands.

Jeff Gallaway's website says:

Where does it hurt? Almost always on the outside of the leg, from the knee to the hip. The pain from I-T band is most often felt on the outside of the knee, slightly below the intersection of the two leg bones. For some, pain may be centered just above that point. In rare cases it may hurt on the outside just below the hip, and occasionally the pain may radiate up and down the outside of the leg, at various times. We will concentrate on the most common site, the outside of the knee.

It says to treat it do this:

1. Take enough time off to get the healing started (usually 3-5 days) 2. Take vitamin C. When I have an injury such as I-T band, I take 1000mg of Vitamin C, 3-5 times a day. Consult with a sports nutritionist for further information about vitamin C and other nutrients which can speed healing. 3. Stretch the tendon. The I-T band is one of few running injuries that is helped by stretching. Start with the stretches recommended and experiment to find ones that reduce or eliminate the pain. You can stretch before, after, and during a run‹and even in the evening, or while sitting at your desk at work. Stretching primarily reduces the tension on the tendon so that it doesn't hurt for a while. By keeping the I-T band flexible you also reduce the continued pulling on it, and may help it to heal to some extent. Experiment with different stretches for the area. The best ones are those that release the I-T band at that time, giving you instant relief. Compare stretches with other I-T band sufferers, but very few runners will use the same stretch routine. You will find that different stretches help at different times, even on the same run. 4. Ice massage. Freeze a paper cup and every night, rub the ice directly on the area of pain until it gets numb (usually about 15 minutes). Be advised that there's usually no healing effect from ice in a plastic bag, towel or frozen gel pac. It helps to ice the injury immediately after a run, but even if you miss this opportunity, ice it well at least once a day. 5. Run on level surface. Uneven surfaces will fatigue the muscles and tendons and increase the chance of I-T band irritation. A road that is slanted can cause I-T band problems on one run.6. Get the right shoe and possibly an orthotic. Even the perfect shoe (whatever that is) will lose support from the midsole, usually without any outward sign on the shoes. To run on these shoes usually aggravates the injury. Shoe experts, (such as the ones in really good running stores) can advise you in finding current shoes which can give the support or cushion your foot needs. Overpronated floppy feet show some shoe wear on the inside of the forefoot and benefit from motion control shoes. You'll have to give them feedback how the shoes feel and whether there are any discomfort areas. The shoe should be an extension of your foot without any extraordinary pressure or tension.

So... I bought these instead

On to the 8 mile recap. I feel enduarance wise I am in GREAT shape. The actual distance didn't bother me. I actually enjoyed running for an hour and a half. About mile 5 my knee started hurting which was most likely due to the shoes not giving me enough support (or so says the shoe lady at Fit2Run). I am taking today off to rest this IT band thing and hopefully can run my 4 miles tomorrow in the new shoes to test them out.

The kids are all feeling better and look at this cutie

she is going to be 11 months old soon. AND she is calling me now :)

Happy Running!!

What?!? The stomach flu? (a very LONG update)

2009-10-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

I am sorry that I haven't posted but if you follow me on twitter you would know that we have been battling the stomach flu here in Kyleland since EARLY and I do mean early Wednesday morning. I woke up around 1:30ish to someone running around the upstairs. I thought it was Ryan so I got up to investigate and heard someone crying. So I ran up the stairs to find Ashley who had been in her bathroom got tummy sick and RAN to Ryan's bathroom to thrown up (i know my kids are a little odd). So I cleaned up the mess, got her in clean clothes, places towels all over her room, and gave her a bucket (so she wouldn't have to run around). Then she and I both went back to sleep. Ry came down around 6 which was when Dave proceeded to follow in Ashley's footsteps- without all the switching bathrooms. He said that if Ash felt like he did to keep her home from school. At this point Ryan wasn't showing any symptoms of being sick AT ALL so I thought they had gotten food poisoning since Dave and Ash had been out the night before for cheer. So, I take Ry to school and bring Ash home for a little rest. She is still getting sick at regular intervals and can not eat or drink ANYTHING. She takes a nap and then Dave calls to tell me he is coming home from work because he is too sick to be there says his Deputy Chief. This about the time I was going to pick up Ry and I had an epiphany. If Dave was home and Ash and Ry were napping I could go for a short run with Lexi.
HMMMM! Maybe not my best idea!
Dave comes home, Ash and Ry are sleeping and I take off with Lexi. It is about 1:15 or so by now so it has already been a pretty long day. I had a pretty good run but was feeling a little guilty about leaving my sick kids with their sick daddy, so I only ran about 2 miles. I walked in the door to Ryan's bedding which he had gotten sick on-YUCKY!!! and my little boy sitting on the couch looking so exhausted. Dave was feeling better at this point but this was the beginning of my 4 days FULL OF LAUNDRY. I honestly think I did about 15 loads total of sheets and towels and I was tempted to run to Home Depot and buy one of those blue tarps that they sell during hurricane season and lay all of my family on those to not have to wash more sheets.
So, by the end of Wednesday everyone was feeling a bit better and I was feeling pretty confident because I still felt ok. I decided to sleep on the couch so that I could hear the kids better during the night.
DeJaVu! Ry came down and slept on the floor next to the couch and then around 6...ummmm...i didn't feel so hot and I layed on the couch for the next 18 hours. I only got up 3 times to use the restroom. During those 18 hours I SLEPT!!! WHAT?!?! 18 hours of sleep- I guess my body was trying to tell me that it was tired. The worst part for me wasn't the tummy problems it was that my bones hurt so badly. I just kept telling myself that there were people out there with real diseases that wouldn't be gone in 24 hours like my pain would be. I was finally able to take some Tylenol to help break my fever and when I woke up about 6:30ish I felt better and ate a bowl of Cookie Crisp (ha!)
I have to say that Friday and this morning all I have done is Lysol toys, wipe surfaces, and do more laundry. The kids seem to be feeling much better and that is a blessing in itself. I am trying to rest up because tomorrow night I have a date with M to run 7-8 miles and I am looking forward to it but am so nervous at the same time. I know that we can do it and I honestly don't really care about the time I do it in just that I do it. So, say a little prayer for me that my body is rested enough (come on 18 hours!) and that I feel strong throughout the run.
Hope you all had great runs this week and weekend. Those who had races I hope you ROCKED THEM! and Until tomorrow...

Happy Running!!

2 t-shirts and a long run

2009-09-30T06:39:00.000-07:00

Wow- the run last night went so much better than I thought it was going to. M and I decided that we were going to run 6.5 last night and since I am ALWAYS up for a run we decided to meet at my house for a 7:15ish start time. Since my birthday just passed I had received money from my MIL to get a new pair of running shoes. So, yesterday I packed up the "littles" and hubs and I went down to our local running store Fit2Run to buy me a pair of Brooks Glycerin 7's. I have never used Brooks shoes before but my SIL and hubs raved about them so I figured I had a 30 day switching policy so why not try them. I came home with these:

Aren't they pretty? Well they are also workhorses. Last night I ran ...7.94 miles in BRAND NEW SHOES. Usually I would say that wasn't a very good move, but it went amazingly well. I still like my Asics but I am seriously in LOVE with the Brooks.

And did I mention that I ran 7.94 MILES?? We were supposed to run 6.5 but we had to keep running across the street to avoid sprinklers and deer and other weird things and then we ran that extra .5 miles around my lake and when we were done M and I had run WAY further than we had planned. We did it in 1:15:23. That is the longest and farthest that I have EVER run.

So after coming down from my high, M wants me to run the Tower of Terror 13K with her on October 24 and I think that I am going to do it :)

Then I get up this morning to 2 different e-mails letting me know that I have won giveaways. One was from Brooks (woo hoo!) I signed up for the Brooks Running Club on Facebook and the first 5 people to e-mail Meredith won a Run Happy tee like this:

Then I had a e-mail from Run U Mother and I WON a giveaway from Heather! I was able to choose one of their products and since I love me some tank tops I chose this:

Now, I have to go take care of my little cheerleader who is home sick from school. No running today since I don't want to take a chance of sickness in the jogger (ha!) I think I will do a little CardioX tonight.

Happy Running!!

Expedition Everest or Monsoon?

2009-09-28T17:58:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun during our weekend . The weekend began early on Friday when I drove with all 3 kids to The Animal Kingdom Lodge. We had never stayed at this hotel before and we all were really looking forward to the new experience. We arrived and the “magically” had a room ready for me (score!) and when I got to the room my hubs and kids had a “birthday basket” waiting for me. Lot of CHOCOLATE- yummy! Then Hubs decided to take an earlier flight so our whole schedule was thrown off BUT we adjusted. We went over to the Wild World of Sports to pick up the packet for the Expedition Everest race and I was really looking forward to the expo. I shouldn’t have! It was the absolutely saddest expo that I had ever been to L
We then went to T-rex for lunch which was excellent as usual. Back to the hotel and then off to pick up Dave from the airport. Then we went to Animal Kingdom (which will be a theme on this vacation). We went out for my birthday dinner at Boma which was probably the best meal at Disney that I had ever had. It was seriously that wonderful.
The next day we woke up and went to MGM who had extra magic hours for Ryan to be able to go on Toy Story Mania. We fastpassed it and waited in line so that we would be able to go twice. Then we took the kids over to see JoJo and Goliath. I was extremely sad for this because I took Ashley to see JoJo when she was Lexi’s age. Then we went and picked up Auntie Becky and went to Downtown Disney. Ryan had a great time in the Lego store and we just enjoyed walking around. We decided to spend some time at the pool and rest our legs for the night ahead.
We arrived for Ashley’s race at about 5:45 and her race started at 6:30. We took the pre-pictures and went to the port a potties many times and then it was time for her to go. Because there were obstacles in this race and not just running parents were “encouraged” to run with their kids. SO- Ash and I lined up and off we went. She did great. She ran and then had to climb under a cargo net, go across a balance beam, over a wall, and then had a scavenger hunt in a baby pool. She conquered those obstacles with style and received her medal like the champ she is. Well at this point it was maybe 6:45 and Dave and I were in WAVE 10 to start our race, so we packed our kids off with Auntie Becky back to the hotel and soon we were really glad that we did.
Wave 1 began promptly at 7:30 and every wave after that went off 5 minutes apart. Like I said earlier we were in Wave 10-yes that is right I said TEN! I have no idea how they set up these waves but oh well…moving on. Our wave began at 8:15 and because I was running with Dave and very happy to be doing so, I went at his pace. His pace is fast at the beginning then slowing down, where as my pace is slow at the beginning and progressively getting quicker as the race goes on. So, we took off pretty quick and soon we were passing people that were in Wave 9 (Dave’s goal met) and we continued running through the parking lot for Mile1. Mile 2 went really well. It was the portion of the race that was out and back. People were screaming walkers to left the WHOLE time but we just weaved through when we were going to hit walkers. Dave has nerve damage in 3 of his toes and they were bothering him so we slowed a bit (not a lot) but really we were moving at a 9 minute or so pace. We got to mile 2.5 and the sky opened up and the rain POURED down on us. I do not mean a light sprinkle but a monsoon. We made it to the finish of the the 5k and knew the obstacle course was going to be sloppy. (Remember – I don’t like to be dirty) I sucked it up though and we did the obstacle course pretty quickly. The scavenger hunt was a mess!!! The book they gave us with the clues was completely useless because it fell apart. It was raining so hard there were lakelike puddles in the streets that we had to walk through. We started running again just so that we could finish, get our medals, and go back to the hotel. We did finish and the scavenger hunt wasn’t even checked because (duh) the books fell apart and we couldn’t even write on them but all in all it was a very fun experience.
I have 2 weeks until the Race for the Taste 10K and I am so excited to see what kind of fun that weekend holds.
Tomorrow I have 6-6.5 miles to pump out and I am looking forward to it a lot more than I probably should be.

Happy Running!!

Giving up Diet Coke

2009-09-24T10:24:00.001-07:00

Today I am giving up diet coke (not entirely but limited to one per day). No, I am not pregnant again (sniff) but because I signed up for this....

Disney Princess Half Marathon

I have been debating it for a while and I officially signed up. I am super excited to begin training for it soon. I mean I have the 5k there this weekend and the 10K there in October so I figured why not do my next distance there as well right?
Speaking of races, I just mentioned the Expedition Everest 5k. I am looking forward to it for a couple reasons. First because it is a team event and my team the CRAZY KYLES- consists of me and hubs. We have never really ran together because we alternate who watches the kids. My SIL is coming to watch them while we do the race. Also because it is my last race being 30. My bday is monday and the dreaded 30th year went by so fast. 31 Here I come and you better watch out :)
Then we only have 2 weeks until the 10K which i am super excited for because I get to do it with M :)

Do you look forward to races because of who is doing them with you??
Wish me luck!

Happy Running!!

I ran what?!?

2009-09-23T12:27:00.001-07:00

So, I haven't posted -not because I haven't been running but because I am SO STINKIN' BUSY!!!
My hubs is a fireman and he works shifts. They are always the same, one day on two off and we have lived by this schedule for almost 7 years now. Because of his schedule he is able to take some side jobs from his mothers company. So he is in Chicago for a few days and his traveling makes my training a little trickier than usual. Since I knew that he was going to be out of town and evening running not possible, and since I convinced M to do the Disney 10K with me in 17 days, we decided to do an evening run before hubs left.
Usually M and I have a pretty solid morning schedule. We do Tuesday and Thursday mornings and we have been doing it consistently for 3 weeks. I have stated before that I like schedules and I don't like deviating from them but I knew if I was going to run 5 miles (farthest I have ever gone) then I would need to do it without pushing the dreaded jogging stroller. Hubs agreed to watch the kids and we decided to run about 7ish.
So, M shows up around 7:15 and we take off. Let me reiterate that I love M. We have a lot in common, our husbands are extremely alike (and great friends), we both have multiple (in her case 4) children, and I could go on but this post is about the run :)
We started and got through Mile 1. I don't know about anyone else but if I can get through Mile1 I honestly could probably conquer a marathon but Mile 1 is always my biggest obstacle. We made the turn and I felt pretty good. I was running at my normal pace and we were chatting and the next thing I knew a FROG jumped out at me.
( * I DO NOT LIKE FROGS*)
Well I screamed like, well a girl, and we kept running. When we got to 2.5 and turned around I still felt really good. WE talked about doing the half marathon at Disney (which is a whole other post in itself) and before I knew it we were back at the bridge where the same stupid frog jumped out at me again. (I KID YOU NOT- and I did scream again!)
We got to the light and made the turn towards home for the last mile. I just kept thinking that I couldn't believe that we were going to have run 5 miles. We turned down my street (now I live on a lake and there is a loop around it that is .5 miles) got closer to my house and we both we feeling pretty good still. She looked at me ( another reason why I love her) and said let's go around the lake. Which we did and at the end we ran 5.5 miles. Today I am still floating on that accomplishment and I am seriously considering the half in March.
It was a good run but I know that is mainly because I made the decision to enjoy it instead of dreading it and I had the confidence that we could do it and do it strong.

I also know that the 10K better be ready for us :)

Happy Running!

Better late than never

2009-09-22T06:34:00.000-07:00

The topic at The Runner's Lounge "Take it and Run Thursday":You get to run the last six miles of your next marathon with 6 different people. They can be dead or alive; famous or not famous. Who are these people and why did you pick them? Furthermore, why did you pick them for the specific mile you did? Remember, you get an extra .2 miles with runner #6.
Here goes!

I have thought long and hard about who i would like to run with. I have chosen people then realised I had way too many people that I thought would be cool to run with and get to know. But my list goes a little bit like this...

Mile 20-21 I would run with Becky, my sis in law. She is a runner and is training for her first Marathon at Disney in January. Becky has been working so hard. She has lost 50 or some odd pounds (sorry I don't remember how much) and she is going back to school to get her Masters in Guidance Counseling. She is dedicated to doing her best and that is a trait that I admire greatly in her. I also think it would be fun to just enjoy running the beginning of the end with her.

Mile 21-22 I would want to run this mile with Bart Yasso. I have just finished his book My Life on the Run and it was such a great book. He is seriously one of the craziest people that I have read about to date but he always gave running his best and he ALWAYS continued loving it and getting others to love it too. He dedicated his life to running and it saved him, like it saved me. I would have him tell me a few of his rougher stories to get me through and knowing him, he would ran fast and make me run fast too.

Mile 22-23 I would have to run with my girls M and T. They are the best buds I could have ever asked for. I say- hey lets do a 4 mile race and they say ok. I say lets do a 10K in 3 weeks and they say ok. They say lets do a half marathon and I say ok and that is how our relationship works. We all have small children, husbands, and other interests but when we are on the road we are just women who like to run. We talk, make fun of others outfits, discuss major things in our lives but we also run and we enjoy doing it together.

Mile 23-24 I would love to do this mile with Hal Higdon. He is revered among runners and his training plans are used by just about everyone. He is also in his 80's and if I can't gain some knowledge from running with him then I have no chance :) He makes it so easy to believe that you can run a marathon no matter where you are at in your fitness and I think I would need that about now.

Mile 24-25 I would save this mile before my last to do with my Hubby and kids. I would enjoy running knowing that I was almost finished and that their support had gotten me there. You might be asking why I wouldn't run the last mile with them and that would be because I would want for them to be standing there behind the finish cheering me on.

Mile 25-26.2 I would run this last mile with Lance Armstrong. This one is personal to me because I look at him at the poster boy for cancer. I would want to finish this marathon but I would want to do that in support of a cause and the Armstrong Foundation is one that I believe in. It is a horrible disease and it isn't a guarantee who gets it and who doesn't but it is how you deal with it and HE BEAT IT DOWN HARD. I would want to run with him and it would be like running for all of the people who couldn't get out there and do it themselves.

Well that is it for my 6 runners. How about yours?

Happy Running!

4 Mile Recap

2009-09-19T08:46:00.001-07:00

First let me say that I am so thankful for M- for being by buddy and running with me-she did awesome :)

So, I decided last week that I would sign up for the Fit2Run 4 mile race. What I didn't really consider was the fact that it was a cross country race in a golf course, which meant hills, bridges, things that I typically do not have to run over here in Florida.

Anywhoo- woke up the kids and got out of the house. Arrived at the University Park Golf Course and met up with Dave to hand off the kids. (here I made a HUGE mistake which I will talk about later) and met up with M too.

We walked over to the start where people were running BEFORE the race (not something I really was into but to each his own). We got our chips, visited the porta potties, and were ready to run at 7:30.

Did I mention that the starting line was up a hill? So we had to run up the hill to even start. I also have to say that I never have run in grass, mostly because of getting dirty. So, we took off and we stayed consistent. We started passing the crazy starters about mile 1.5. At that point I knew that we weren't going to be last (which was M's fear). Throughout the race I kept marveling at how nice out it was. We usually run between 9:30 and 10:30 so running at 7:30 with the sun barely up was wonderful. Plus we were running under trees and cart paths, it was so nice. Around Mile 3 we passed the 8 year old boy (another of M's goals-ha), he was doing great and I did feel a little bad passing him but we were running a consistent pace and we weren't going to slow down now. The last mile was on the road and I loved that seeing as that is what I usually run on. We turned the corner and there was the finish. Of course we had to kick it up for the finish. Afterward both M and I felt really good. It was a lot of fun AND I convinced her to sign up for the 10K with me in 3 weeks at Disney. It will be so much fun to do it with her and laugh at how far we have come :)

BUT.....that isn't all.

I said goodbye to M and went to get in my car to drive home. I asked Dave, "Where are my keys?" To which he responded -I don't know. Well, I figured I hardly ever remember to lock my doors so we should be ok. We pulled the door- LOCKED! Then I looked in the drivers seat and there where my keys. Still thinking there was no problem, I asked Dave for his keys with the spare. I don't have one was his response.

So... Dave had to drive home with the big kids and Lexi and I waited 40 minutes for them to get home, get the spare key, and drive back.

It actually wasn't that bad. It was such a nice morning, plus I had just run in a race (which i was so thankful for). I felt really stupid for locking the keys in the car but I chalked it up to excitement.

Next weekend we head to Disney for Expedition Everest. We were supposed to do that one last year but I was preggo with Lexi and couldn't participate. I am supper excited to do a race with Dave and spend some time with the family.

Happy Running :)

Another Giveaway...

2009-09-18T17:01:00.001-07:00

Check out this AWESOME Thorlo sock giveaway from Busy Running Mama

Chic Runner Giveaway

2009-09-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

Check out the sweet giveaway from the Chic Runner :)

A New Day

2009-09-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

AS with every day, a new day will dawn in the morning. That is what I find comfort in every night before I go to bed, even if my day has gone well, there is always a new day waiting to dawn.
Let us start with the running shall we?
Today I ran with M and my kids (in the jogger). We did 4.08 miles or so in 37 '12". I guess that is a 9 minute pace which I am thrilled to death with. I definitely feel good about how far I have come in the last 2 months of running and I know that if I WANT to then I will continue to succeed.
We had cheer last night and tonight we have a private tumbling class. I just want my girl to be able to be the best that she can be and I if at some point she isn't having fun with this anymore then we will reevaluate- but for now she loves being a cheerleader.
Ry is feeling much better and so is Lexi Lu.
Dave came home and watched the kids last night, then got up this morning and I won't see him again until Thursday night when we pick him up from the airport.
Our new normal kinda stinks right now but you have to just keep on moving (at least when running) and I consider life a lot like running :)
Other new- The Biggest Loser begins tonight and I am soooooooo excited to have my weekly date with Bob, Gillian, Alison, and the Losers. I always get more motivated when I see HUGE (being honest here) people accomplishing weight loss by working hard. Well almost time to pick up Ashley.

Happy Running!

When your Hubs is away...

2009-09-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

...not a lot gets DONE :)

Dave has been out of town (at trade shows, delivering Salvation Army trucks, etc.) since last Wednesday. He then comes home tonight (hopefully before cheerleading) and then is out of town until I meet him at my 4 mile race on Saturday morning to hand off the kids and what else- run the 4 miles :) It is a great opportunity that we have that he gets all of the side jobs BUT having him here more than one day a week would be nice too.
Ashley had her MANDATORY Saturday cheer practice and I think it went well, at least for her. She learned the routine and the counts and practiced the set number of times over the weekend. This week she is going to start a private tumbling instruction with her coach to help her with the backbends, cartwheels, and whatnot. Since I have NO experience with any of these things so I will leave all of the instruction up to her coaches (HA!!)
Ryan has had a cold for what seems like forever. We are taking a rest and medicine day today in hopes that he will wake up tomorrow a happy little boy. He is back to normal with his potty training and next we are going to work on not eating so many hot dogs (yuck!).
Lexi is 10 months old this week. She has slept through the night for the last 4 nights-hooray!!!!
She is "talking" and "walking" and doing all the things that she should and some that she shouldn't. She is just 2 months from the bog year mark and I honestly can't believe how fast this year has gone.

On the running front. I ran the longest I have EVER run which is 5 miles this weekend. My new mantra is DON'T COMPARE because so many of the blogs i read people are training for halfs and marathons. They also have been running much longer than I have so I just keep telling myself that for me I am doing GREAT.
I did the 5.11 miles in 44' 17" which of course is a PR for me since I have never done it before- YEAH ME!!!
I was very happy with just being able to do it and I am supposed to run 5 again tomorrow BUT i will be pushing the jogger so i know the time won't be the same.

I read Isaiah 7 today. There were many verses that spoke to me but the one I will meditate on today is Isaiah 7:9b "If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all."

Happy Running!

Time flies

2009-09-10T09:09:00.001-07:00

At least it does around here and I want it to stop! (ok- reality check Jama) It is already Thursday. I have ran 3+ miles everyday this week and I really feel good. I am finally getting into a routine that I can handle but that if I have to adjust I can.
I started running with the baby jogger this week. I would much rather not be running with the baby jogger but if I want to run, then I must take my kids. I have definitely conquered the mental block of running past the light (haha) and now I know that I can run with the baby jogger so, 2 major mental blocks have been broken this week.
I also have a consistent Tues/Thurs running buddy in M. We ran 3 on Tues and 4 today. After my long runs this weekend it calls for a 5 mile run next Tues and I think that M is going to come with me. Also we signed up for the 4 mile Fit2Run race which is in 9 days. Running with a buddy has helped my outlook a lot and it has definitely made me accountable. We also are reading through Isaiah and I love being able to read a verse and be totally smacked upside my head by God daily :)
On the family front...Dave is out of town A LOT in the next 2 weeks (hence the baby jogger dilemma). Ashley has MANDATORY cheer practice on Saturday. Did I mention in their routine that she is in the front middle AND that she is a flyer in the stunt in the FRONT?!? I don't really know yet if she is going to stay there but after 2 weeks of cheer it seems like she still likes it and is improving all the time. Ryan went 2 swim classes without his bubble. I am so proud of my little frog. He also is doing wonderfully in school. No accidents since the first day-hooray!!
Little Lexi will be 1o months next week and she is going to be walking soon. She now crawls (quickly) around the house, stands up on the furniture and some days is brave enough to "travel" along the couch.
Things in Kyleland are going really well. I'm off to read Isaiah 6.

Happy Running!!

WHAT a day

2009-09-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

So after my last few days, I thought today was going to be a coasting day. Boy was I wrong.
I have had kidney stones off and on for about 7 years. Mostly they are off BUT when I exercises a lot and don't drink enough or drink too much diet coke the kidney stones reappear. I felt one this morning but when Dave suggested going to Disney I said let's go. So off we went. The kidney stones weren't too painful just a little annoying. Thankfully it left the building while we were at Disney and I felt a whole lot better.
Then my jogging stroller tire popped. NOW, I was not there at the time so I am taking Dave at his word but I did get a new jogger out of the ordeal so all is well in my world again.
I am off to read Isaiah 2.

Oh and I ran a 5K this am in 25:44 I think. It was 25 something and I am happy with the time. Tomorrow I get to run with M. Soooooo excited.

Happy Running.

So he challenged me...

2009-09-06T18:26:00.000-07:00

...and I accepted. In my last post (which was only this morning) I was so confused and trying to make sense of what God wanted me to do.

I was twittering with my running girls (M &T-love them) and they committed to backing me up. Not even 30 minutes after I wrote about my fear of making lasting friendships God placed 2 great women in my lap (not literally) and said here they are just for you- don't pass this by. He knew that I need them and I do.

We are going to do this too:

it is a 4 mile race. Once again, God knew before I did what I needed and he provided my 2 friends to do it with me.

I promised myself that I would start reading a chapter of the Bible each night to try and grow in my relationship with Christ. I randomly picked the book of Isaiah because I have never read it. It is like God smacked me in the face.

Isaiah 1:16-17 " Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow."

WOW!

I wonder what the Lord has planned for me tomorrow?

No Fear

2009-09-06T08:59:00.001-07:00

I grew up in the 90's when the mantra (and clothing line) no fear was extremely popular. But in life I honestly believe that everyone has a fear of something. I have a lot more than one. Some of my fears may be silly and others keep me up at night but to me fear in unavoidable.
I read a lot of blogs and I was wondering today why that is. I think that it stems from my fear of being friends with others and then disappointing them and letting them down. Reading blogs is safe for me. I do not know any of the people and yet I am reading about what they are doing, how far they are running, how their personal relationship with the Lord is being expanded and I am sooooo jealous. I want that but am I willing to take the first step?
In church today the message was entitled,
"How to Change Your Life?"
{do you think he is trying to get my attention?}
The pastor said that there are 3 things that God uses to transform me...the bible, the holy spirit, and circumstances. This really got me thinking about circumstances that God places in my life that I just walk right by because I am scared to do anything about it. He compared the christian walk to running often, which definitely made me think of both in my life. In running the ultimate goal is the race, the finishing of that particular run. In our Christian walk the ultimate goal is to be like Christ-IN ALL THAT WE DO. This means everything people. In eating, talking to others, my quiet time, I NEED TO BE LIKE CHRIST and that makes me ashamed. It makes me ashamed that I fail and have fear but I also know that HE loves me and accepts me with all my failures and wants me to try again. Not tomorrow but right now.
There are 3 choices to make (says the preacher) in my role in transforming my life.
#1 I can choose what I think about. {this one hit me very hard}. For a long time I allowed what I looked like, weighed, to consume my thoughts. I thought about how I wasn't worth the time to make changes in my life. The pastors advice was simple yet so profound for me this morning. He said to "Choose to think differently!"
Now why hadn't I ever thought of that before. Oh yeah, because I was so consumed by thinking of all those other silly, crazy things. So right now I choose to think differently. I choose to try to think of the things that will help me point to HIM. I can use my talents (whatever they are) to be more like Christ. I am still me but thinking like HIM.
#2 I can choose to depend on God's spirit moment by moment.
ok, i have been already trying this one this last week. If I know one thing it is that I can't do things on my own anymore. I have to rely that God is holding me moment by moment through my day and he isn't going to drop me even when I struggle against him.
This is where relationships came into play. God has placed people in my life and I have always taken them for granted. If you get too close to others they can hurt you, let you down, so I usually avoided relationships with others. BIG MISTAKE JAMA!!!
This last week, I started running with T (i know you read so I won't type your name :0)). I have never ran with anyone before. I always would just plug away by myself. I made plans to run with her and we met up at 8 p.m. (what can I say, we both have kids and they had to be in bed first). WE started our run and when we were done I felt good. Not only because of my run, but because I had someone who did it with me. Someone who was going through the same thing that I was. I had more fun that night running that in the months that I have ran by myself plus we ran farther than we thought because we talked the whole time (which is always a plus). I need these women in my life. Having Dave is a constant but he can not understand a lot of what I am going through as another mother can. Thanks T, can't wait for our next run :)
#3 I can choose my response to circumstances.
over-reacting, high drama, -do I think that is what Christ would do? NO! But one thing I do know is that God puts me in circumstances to where I need to depend on him. I need to rely on him and just plain trust. SO...I will trust that I am where he wants me to be, with whom he wants me to be and ....I CHOOSE TO FOLLOW WHERE HE IS GUIDING ME-

So, no light and fluffy post today, mainly because I am thinking a lot about my direction. Where I am headed, what I want to do, and how my life can be more of what the Lord wants it to be that what I want it to be.

On a lighter note (haha)
Since August 1st I have ran 78 miles- WOW!!!! Every mile I run though means nothing if I can not run the race that the Lord has set aside for me.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize." I Corinthians 9:24

Happy Running

If I knew then...

2009-09-02T10:54:00.001-07:00

I graduated from college almost ten years ago. WOW! Just typing that made me feel quite old. I think when you go to college at eighteen years old (seventeen in my case) and are forced to choose what you want to do for the rest of your life it does you a major disservice. How many people know what they really want to do at that age? Many people might but I was not one of them. Since I graduated, my life changed with the husband and children and all. I also developed a great love for exercise (running in particular), health and nutrition. Oh, I wish I had known that I would love this back then.

Now, I do have my personal training certification (which I haven’t really tried to use anywhere) and I would still like to become a certified running coach but these are all things that I choose now because of where I am now in my life. I want to be able to encourage and educate others on a topic that I love and that in some ways saved my life.

Now I am going to be extremely honest. I have had eating issues (shocking I know). I have a love/ hate relationship with food and I am not ashamed to admit that. I know that nutrition is very important to those training for anything from a 5K to a ultra marathon. Food fuels the body and to perform well, a healthy eating plan is needed. About 7 years ago, I hated how I looked and my life was a little out of control so I began controlling my eating. I “controlled” it so well that I was NEVER hungry. I ate just enough to make it through and my weight got extremely low. I never thought about what I was doing or how it was affecting those who loved me. One day while Dave was at a clinical at the hospital I seriously thought that I was having a heart attack because my weight was so low. I drove myself to the hospital and the doctor told me that I needed to GAIN. UGH!!!!! Now even if you know that you need to gain weight you do not want to see the numbers going up (you feel very out of control and control is the key remember). Well they wanted to me to go to a doctor and I did. You know what he told me to do- EXERCISE.

WHAT?!?!?!

I weight almost 90lbs, am never hungry, and you want me to exercise? Yes was the answer he told me, so I did. I found a husband and wife training team and began working out with them 3-4 days a week. We never discussed the fact that I was too thin. We just worked out and I started to be hungry. Those 2 people literally saved me. Exercise gave me something else to focus on. I could control my performance and I became a little healthier everyday. When Trainer M told me we should train for a triathlon I said ok. I didn’t really think that I would be able to but I would humor him. The training really gave me a purpose and it gave me something else that I had been lacking- Confidence in myself.
I finished that Triathlon and I believe that if I had fueled my body better I would have done better than I did.

Why am I telling you all this?

I thought it was time to put it all out there. My goal is to encourage. I want to help others love exercise (running, swimming, biking in particular) but really to just know that it is possible to make little changes and accomplish so much.
I truly love running and I want to be healthy. I wish I had known this then…what trouble I would have saved.

BUT…

….now I have 3 pairs of little eyes that watch my every move and want to be just like me. So I need to encourage them to eat right, to move, to play, and to make mistakes but to learn from them too.
I encourage you to try. Try to run a mile, to walk for 30 minutes. Just try it, you may like it- I know I do.
Happy Running.

Where did my week go?

2009-08-28T16:10:00.001-07:00

It seems like I have lost a whole week. Crazy as it may be I have been so extremely busy this week that now that it is 7 pm Friday evening I really am having a hard time believing the week went by so quickly. I also know that since adding cheer to our routine twice a week, the rest of my weeks may keep going this quickly. {Sigh, Sniff, WHAAAAAA!}
I like routine. To people who know me this is not a surprise. I like eating the same things, going the same places, I like the schedule. This week has been a challenge with the impromptu visit to Dynasty Elite, to having swimming cancelled not once but twice this week, my husband being out of town for 3 days (not uncommon but this week not fun), my routine is ruined. BUT a new routine is here and I have almost come to terms with it. I am going to have to be a little more intentional with my workout planning and I think morning runs are going to be the norm around here for awhile but in the end it will all be worth it.
I hope that I will be able to enjoy the ride and remember the good moments.
Last night, since swimming was cancelled, I took Ashley to her first Beginner Tumbling class. She has never tumbled before so I figured she may need a little help and that it couldn't hurt. So off we went, me and the three munchkins. About half way to the gym it started to rain buckets. Luckily by the time we had to get out of the car it had stopped. We had just stepped into the gym when the monsoon started. I guess since it was raining no one else decided to show up for Beginning Tumbling so Ashley got a private lesson. I think it really helped her to be able to talk one on one with the coach. She practiced her backbends, forward rolls, did a handstand (for the first time), worked on her cartwheel, and did jumps on the trampoline (oh yeah, never been on one of those before either). She did so good and I was able to see how my other 2 handled waiting on her practice to be over. Ryan did good. He kept checking to see if it was still raining (and it was every time) and Lexi is truly a go with the flow baby so I have to say it was definitely a successful first attempt.
Speaking of Ryan, he did so well this week for his first week of preschool. He wasn't able to go to school on Wednesday because he was sick but he actually wanted to go. Today when we were waiting at the door for him to go inside he was just super excited and (drumroll please) he came home in the clothes I sent him in. NO ACCIDENTS- hooray!!!
Well, it's time for bed. Gotta do some cross training tomorrow and a nice 4 mile run on Sunday.

Happy Running!

A Cheer Mom?

2009-08-27T06:44:00.000-07:00

Well, my name is Jama and I am officially a cheer leading mom. We signed Ashley up with Dynasty Elite. To be honest, I have been a mess over this decision. I do not like making major decisions. This stems from not wanting to fail at anything (which I do know is inevitable). Ashley is so excited and she did so well at her second practice that I know the decision to do this now is good but I am just a little scared about how this is going to effect our family as a whole. I also know that this is just the beginning and that I need to just suck it up and roll with the punches but I handle things better if I have some time to process it first and this was a decision that had to be made in 48 hours before the next practice. I think I talked it over with everyone I know and actually some people I didn't know but now that the decision is made I am happy with it and have thrown myself (not literally) full force into this whole cheer thing.
I do not however cheer leading terms by any means. Ashley needed some help "practicing" her back bends and cartwheels before cheer practice. Now, something that I know as her mom is that if you "help" her too much she will never try on her own. So.... she fell once or twice while attempting the back bends but after a few head butts on the floor she progressed to a nice fluid back bend with no help. I was very proud of her and impressed that she learned it after 2 practices. We worked on her cartwheel (which I had to demonstrate- hilarious) and she has gotten much better at that as well. She hasn't really done any tumbling so I think she might go to a few beginning tumbling classes to learn some basics from someone who actually knows what they are doing. So for now, I am just cheer mom...encouraging dancing, tumbling, and a lot of fun.

Multiple Emotions

2009-08-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

Some days I feel that I have multiple personalities. Today I am so happy that school has started yet I am very sad that I have 2 kids that are in school. I was not sad at all yesterday when I was screaming at them (haha) but today I was sad. I went for an early (5:50 a.m.) 3 mile run this morning which I think did help me to be a lot calmer today plus it definitely energized me. I had all kids fed, dressed, and ready to go by 7:30. My run went so much better than I thought seeing as I ran outside instead of my usual treadmill. When I dropped Ashley off at 8:30 I felt good about it. I then took Ryan to his first day of preschool. I am just proud that neither he or I cried a drop. When we picked him up he said he had a great day and had so much fun.

Now Ashley has been asking me if she can join a competitive cheer leading team. Up until now I have been really hesitant in allowing her to even try. I mean we do Upward which isn't competitive but it allows her to cheer. Dave feels that I should enroll her in Dynasty Elite . I think that tonight we are going to go to a practice. I don't know whether I am ready for this but we will wait and see.

I am now in week 2 of my 10K training and so far I am right on track. I did my long run on Saturday and I felt really good afterwards. If the training keeps going so well, I just may register for the Disney Princess Half Marathon in March. Maybe.

Happy Running.

Balanced

2009-08-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

This week has been wonderful and stressful at the same time. Dave had his first triathlon this last Saturday in Clermont. Oddly enough my first tri was there too, but that was SEVEN YEARS AGO! It was very nice to be able to cheer for him and be an encouragement and for him to understand that I had already swam that lake, biked those hills, and ran those miles. It was also bittersweet because it made me realise how much I miss training for something. Well, a little thing called 3 kids pops up and priorities must shift.
This is where a little thing called balance comes in. I struggle so much with this. Having played sports my entire life, you are always striving to be the best. You are competing with others and you must give 110%. I am struggling because as much as I want to give 100% to my husband, 100% to my kids, 100% to my quiet time, 100% to myself (training, running), I just can't and when you can't you feel like you are failing someone and then the guilt comes a knocking.
I need to be able to train for something and to make that training fit into my life so that I do not feel like I am taking time away from my family. Once again...I am struggling.
So, I am trying to cut myself a break on the mommy guilt and say that I am so happy that school starts Monday. School will allow me to be able to do the (minimum) training so that I can reach my 10K goal and who knows maybe even keep on training for the half marathon in March.
I will be able to give by 100% to everyone but I also have to be able to adjust my schedule and balance my time.

On a lighter note this month I have ran 58 miles. Not all at the same time but that is what training is all about. I am happy with the total so far and I am looking forward to October 11th with high hopes and a lot of happy kids too.

Happy Running!

Training Week 1

2009-08-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

Training while family is in town is absolutely fabulous. I have babysitters handy to watch my kids whenever I want to get out and run. I was able to run daily and sometimes twice a day which is in my world- pure heaven. I love my children but sometimes I need a little quiet. My kids also know that a running mommy is a happier mommy and so we will continue running. So I have run a total of 26 miles this week. I am happy with that as it is my first week trying to get into a routine. Once school starts in 2 WEEKS I will be better able to get my runs in without feeling guilty. I am so happy to be a runner again.

A Huge Joke

2009-08-04T04:44:00.000-07:00

Well after that last post running was still not a viable option because yes dear ones we have another beautiful baby girl in the mix now. Alexis was born November 18th 2008. We are so blessed to have all 3 of our kids in our lives but it takes away a lot from training time. I have officially signed up for 2 races. One a 5K in September and a 10K in October so we will continue with this blog as a journal of sorts to keep track of my progress as a "serious" runner. Wish me luck.

Vacation- Day1

2009-08-03T17:38:00.000-07:00

So the kids and I are on vacation in Orlando while my mom is going to an IRS conference. I have to admit that although I am on my own with my kids all the time it is way different when you are not in your home and there are theme parks involved. Today was check-in so we didn't do all that much. We went to lunch at T-Rex which is probably one of my top five restaurants of all time. Then we came back and went to the splash pool here at the hotel. After swimming we decided to do what else but go shopping. We went to the Florida Mall and it was AWESOME, just like I remember from when we lived in Orlando. (A lot of good shopping memories at the Florida Mall!) Well, tomorrow we are going to Animal Kingdom so PRAY- pray hard for me with 3 kids by myself.

7 Months Already

2009-06-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

Dear Lexi,

9 months ago I was in the hospital being told I had to stay until you were 36 weeks and that wa 2 weeks away. I never knew how much I loved you then or how you would brighten my days. You are the happiest baby in my world and you make me laugh and bring so much joy to all of our lives. Sweet baby girl how has 7 months come and gone already. I am sad that you are already 7 months but I am so looking forward to many more months and years with you. I love you darling girl:)

love, Mommy

Schools out for the Summer

2009-06-03T07:34:00.000-07:00

I know that I haven't blogged in a while (it seems all of my posts begin this way) but we have been so busy with the end of the school year. I am a little sad because I think this year has gone by in the blink of an eye and my Ashley is now a first grader {when did that happen}. I am so proud of her. This last week we had her graduation and awards and I couldn't have been more proud of all that she has accomplished this year. She made effort honor roll all 4 semesters and she got a special award for being the child in kindergarten who read the 5th most books(that is our of 150 kids). She loves school and her class and I am so happy that we will have the same kids and teacher next year for first grade too.

We will be starting reading camp on the 15th just to keep Ashley used to schoolwork (i know I am a horrible mom :0))

Ryan has had some major improvements since my last post. We have started routinely going to the bathroom on the potty. He now tells me BEFORE he starts which is a major answer to prayer. He has started swim class at the YMCA and although he is the youngest in the class, he is the most daring too. He loves to jump in whenever possible. He is getting so big and will be starting preschool 3 days a week in the fall.

Lexi is getting so big. She is over 6 months old now and is wearing 9 month clothes. She tries to scoot every time I place her on the floor and grabs for anything in front of her (loves my cell phone). She is so even tempered and smiles at anyone who talks to her. She is such a tremendous joy to me. Since she is big enough now Ashley loves to carry her around the house. She is such a great bog sister to Lexi (ryan is another post all together).

Well it is almost time for swimming class- round 3. Check back in for our Sun in the Summer posts :)

A bloggy hiatus- unintentionally

2009-05-14T17:34:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have had enough time to sit down, think through what I want to say, and remember to actually do it. Our house is always full of excitement. Ashley is almost finished with her first year of school-kindergarten. It has been amazing to watch her go from shy to confident in ten short months. She has mastered writing and reading (which she is gifted in) but she also excels at math and science too. She is exceeding all of the benchmarks and has only gotten a yellow light for behavior once the whole year (which went back to green before the end of the day). She is so stinking smart that I don't know whether Dave and I will be able to help her with her homework :) We are looking forward to summer and sleeping in (does 7:30 count as sleeping in?).

On to Bugga Boo- Ryan. Hmmmmm! Ryan and I have been working on potty training for a while now and everytime I think that he has it- we have an accident. We do not have many peeing accidents but oh my goodness the POOP! I have tried just about everything to get him to use the toilet but he is a stubborn boy so it is still a work in progress. Tomorrow I am going to sign him up for swim class so that he has a class to attend over the summer too. He is probably the funniest boy that I know and he makes me laugh so hard every day.

AHHHHHHHH Alexis. When I first gave birth to Lexi, people would ask me all the time, is it harder with 3, and I always would say, ask me in 6 months. Well folks, this next week Lexi will be 6 months old. I am so sad that half of her first year is already gone. She is still the happiest, smiliest baby that I have had. She is now teething and showing a little seperation anxiety when I am not around. She watches me all the time to make sure that I am still there. She eats EVERYTHING (hallelujah) and i do mean EVERYTHING. She is such a blessing!

Push Yourself

2009-04-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

I don't know if I have mentioned my love for excercise or not but I truly do LOVE it. There are a few basic reasons...makes me feel better, makes me stronger...but I also want to set a good example for my kids.

I love the biggest loser, I do, but the contestants make me a little sick sometimes. When I started watching the show I just couldn't believe how these people had given up on themselves and their families by allowing such poor behaviors to take over their lives. How does an 18 year old boy get up to 390 lbs. and then I looked to his father who weighed in at 430 lbs. WHAT?!?!?!

I have already stated my views on Ron but I can not believe how he failed his kids.

Since I have mommy guilt over leaving my kids in a childcare facility while I work out I have daily dates with my best friends Bob and Jillian. I usually do one workout during naptime and another once the kids are in bed. This allows me not to feel guilty about the time I am spending on myself. The biggest loser DVD's are great. I think I own them all and I rotate them so I don't get bored. I also rotate in Jillian's 30 day shred (which totally kick my hiney!) and I am proud to say that I feel awesome. I am also showing my kids that to be healthy you need to push yourself. Push the boundaries that you set up for yourself and believe that you CAN DO IT as long as you are willing to work hard.

I couldn't leave a post with out a pic of my motivation...

The Loser

2009-04-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I never thought that I would actually get around to writing a post on my favorite show- The Biggest Loser. I have been watching since the first week and it amazes me how far these people have come. Mt sis in law and I honestly text throughout the entire show. This week was no different and the ending made me a little angry but now for the reason one might think.

I have always loved Tara. Since Day 1 she was my pick and I decided that I would root for her.

BUT as much as I like Tara and have been following her, Mike has won me over.

Love that kid and all he has worked for.

Can not wait until next week since it is their last week there.

Busy, Busy

2009-04-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

It has been non stop going since the New Jersey invasion happened on Thursday afternoon. My in-laws are planning on buying a home within 5 miles of us so the last few days we have been visiting houses and I think they have finally narrowed it down to 2. We have also been doing "Easter" things: cooking, Easter eggs, egg hunts, and let us not forget shopping. It has been a lot of fun but I am so tired.

We watched a movie together last night (minus the kids) and it was pretty good. We watched Slumdog Millionaire and it was really hard for me to watch and not know that those kids actually live that way.

Today we went to the Easter Eggstravenganza at church this morning and the kids had so much fun riding horses, trains, and bouncing. Tonight we are going to see Hannah Montana the movie and Ashley is really excited. We are making it a girls night- ha! Well, almost time for me to go get my hair done (AHHHHHHHHHH! alone time for the mommy).

Wordless Wednesday (almost)

2009-04-08T12:43:00.000-07:00

BLESSED

Wiping our tears

2009-04-07T07:52:00.000-07:00

I have been reading some blogs that I frequent today and my heart is heavy. There are so many families that are hurting and going through change. I just finished reading Angie's blog about today and I was having a hard time keeping it together. I began to cry and Ashley wanted to know what was wrong. I told her about Audrey and Angie and I continued to let the tears fall for them when Ashley went running to the kitchen and came back with a tissue. She then proceeded to wipe the tears from my face and kiss both of my cheeks. Which to be honest made me cry a little harder. I just kept thinking that I wonder if that is how God feels when I am wiping the tears from my kids eyes. Is he proud of me? Because in the moment that Ashley wiped my tears I was so proud of her. I was proud that she was showing compassion for me in a situation that she knew nothing about. I was just proud of the little lady that she is becoming in front of my eyes daily. She has so many talents that the Lord has blessed her with but I really think that the one that I am going to be proudest of is her compassion to help others.

Please say a prayer for Angie and her girls today. Here is a pic of my girl who has made me a proud momma today.

Day Two has Begun

2009-04-07T06:05:00.000-07:00

With a little photo of my world!

Day One of Spring Break

2009-04-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

I really think that I am going to be losing my mind this week. It is not that I don't love my kids but I am not a good plannner. I am not the best at organizing and planning activities. We are kind of a fly by the seat of your pants type of family and that is how it has always been. We have family visiting this week and they are house hunting so any long distance trips were definitely going to be out for us. Under normal circumstances we would probably have made a trip to Disney (our family favorite) and that would have been great for everyone. However, since Dave is working and we have family members coming in on different days an Disney was out.

The weather is also not being too cooperative with us either. We have 80-90% rain chances everyday this week too. So...beach is out too. That leaves me here, in the house, with a little girl used to having one activity after the next in kindergarten with no activities . Today we-COLORED. Actually, I colored and Ashley played on the computer (backwards I know but we aren't traditional people).

Ryan has been doing wonderful with going on the potty which I thought was going to drive me crazy the last 2 week but still relatively sane so maybe this week won't push me over the edge either.

What kind of activities do you do with your kids on rainy days, extended breaks, or just the weekends? I can use all the help I can get.

Not so Lazy Days

2009-04-05T14:35:00.000-07:00

I love when we can have a lazy day around here. Although I don't think the term really applies to the whole day when you have kids. I seem to feel guilty a lot of the time when I allow myself to be truly lazy during the hours of 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. but today I don't think I really had a choice. We got up and went to church which was sooooo good. I absolutely love Sundays now (or Saturday nights-when Dave works on Sundays) because I truly enjoy going to church and diving into the Bible. I enjoy worshiping with others who truly want to be there too. Today was no exception. Pastor Tim spoke about the "stuff" that we fall in love with and put too much emphasis on which blocks our relationships with others and our ministry in pointing to Christ. Once again I left challenged to evaluate myself and try to make changes in the way that I think and the "stuff" that I want. Then, Pastor Tim talked a little about tithing which went ok and then the rappers came out. Honestly I will NEVER forget them rapping about tithing but the part that was so funny to me was that one of the "rappers" was Ashley's friend W's dad. The next time I see him at school I think I probably will bust out laughing and hopefully he will understand because I might be laughing too hard to explain it to him. As soon as they post it on the website I will be putting a link here because it is honestly the funniest thing I have seen in a long time.

Oh wait- I forgot completely about the seafood fest we went to last night. Dave and Eric have been roommates at work for the last 6 years and last night was the first time our families have gotten together. So, I had NO idea that this seafood festival was such a big event but apparently there was a free concert so every hick in the county was there and I would say that 90% of them were drunk too. It made for interesting people watching and Ryan and Ashley loved dancing. The seafood itself wasn't all that good but it was nice to be with some new friends and to spend a nice evening together too. I think that we have done more in the last 3 days than we did in the whole month of March combined and it is just the beginning of Spring Break.

I hope that I have enough energy to make it through the week.

LBK Open House

2009-04-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago Dave came up with the idea that to raise community support for their department that they should have an open house. He also volunteered to organize everything which was a hefty task. Today the kids got up and drove the 45 minutes to the fire station. The

kids were super excited to be able and go see daddy at work.

Once we arrived the kids got busy with the activities...

Ryan shooting the hose

Ashley shooting the hose

After taking turns shooting the hose about 10 times each (thanks Jay!) we went in and mingled with some of the other families. Ryan ate 3 hot dogs (YUCK!!!) but he loves them.

Then the firefighters did a little demonstration using the jaws of life. They cut up a car (which they were extremely excited to do) but that scared Ashley almost to tears.

After the car cutting the kids were ready to finally go home. So we decided that we would head out to try to avoid the major beach traffic. We took a few family shots to commemorate the day and home was calling my name.

I guess it wasn't as bad as I had feared. I am extremely proud of my husband for all of the hard work that he put in to this event. I heard whisperings about an annual event so I guess we will wait and see if we will be doing this again next year.

T.G.I.F.

2009-04-03T09:16:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day before Ashley is off for Spring Break. Although she has been in preschool before this is the first year that Spring Break has official meaning to us. While in preschool I wouldn't really even think twice if we wanted to go out of town and she was in school. Since we were paying for her to be there I would let her miss. Kindergarten is a whole new ball game. You can only miss a certain amount of days, and what if she happens to get sick? But we are lucky that we have family coming in to town so there will be a lot of activities planned for next week.

Today I met my friend Shannon for breakfast. She has 3 boys ages 4,3, and 1. Her middle son is Ryan's age and they had so much fun playing dinosaurs and "building castles" with jelly packets. It was nice to be able to sit and chat with a good friend and not worry about the boys because they were chatting away too. Ryan kept calling Caleb- "that boy", it was so cute. Of course Lexi just sat in her car seat, ate her apples and was an absolute angel.

When we were paying, the lady in front of me looked familiar but I couldn't place her...and then I did. She had been Lexi's nurse(one of the many) in the NICU. Now, we were not liked in the NICU and I am not proud of that but the communication between us and the doctors wasn't there and I am still not thrilled with them 4 months later. However, the nurses who took care of Lexi were great. So it was nice to see her but I am so glad we never have to go back. It also just made me start thinking of that week (not my best week) and I thought I would post a pic of our experience there and of now-Enjoy!!

One Day Old

4 months old

GOD IS GREAT!!!

Sweet Alexis

2009-04-02T10:11:00.000-07:00

Although no one really calls her Alexis but me Lexi is HUGE!!! I know people are looking at her and saying Wow how old is she a week- NOPE she is 4 months and 2 weeks old- jokes on you! She weighed in at her 4 month check up at 11 lbs. 7 oz. This is a normal weight for a baby that is one month old maybe 2 but for goodness sakes 4 1/2 months she is still tiny to others. Now to me she is gigantic. I look back at her baby pics and can not believe how much she has grown. She was 5 lbs. 10 oz. in the last 4 months she has gained 6 lbs-WOW. She is the sweetest baby that I have had so far. Her favorite things to do presently are coo at me and wait for me to coo back. Then she smiles her beautiful smile and I am lost. She is such a true blessing to me, one which I know that I do not deserve but she is ALL MINE!!!

A Long Day

2009-04-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

It seems as though my time during the day flies. If I am not dressing, feeding, or driving one of the kids somewhere, I am on my cell phone talking to Dave, Becky, Lynda, or my mom. I really need a couple more hours in my day and I refuse to wake up any earlier than I have to in order to get more done.

Dave is organizing an Open House at the firehouse this weekend and somehow until yesterday the fact that I needed to attend did not sink in. It may be because my brain is overloaded and turning to mush but I have to drive the 45 minutes or so on a Saturday to a town that is located on the beach-ugh! Just thinking of the traffic and parking is already making me a little dizzy. I am super proud of him for organizing this event and I hope that it all helps the community recognize what a great job the firefighter/paramedics to but all I can see right now is me, 3 kids, a lot of strangers, and a husband who will be overly stressed about having everything be perfect.

Also starting this Sunday we have our family coming to visit one after another. I am very excited to be able to spend some time with them but they are a little OCD with the cleaning and I am so not. So, when I think something is clean (and it is by normal standards), I have to clean it again so that it is up to their standards. I don't really know if I am up to the challenge this week but I don't think I have a choice.

And I can not leave a post without a picture so...

My boy is the best

2009-03-30T17:03:00.000-07:00

Ryan is the most hilarious 3 year old that I have ever had the opportunity to play with daily. He says some of the funniest things possible. The other day he told me , "Mommy, you are having a bad hair day". In my defense it was 7 a.m. when he said this. He loves to run around the house in his undies and shoot (spit on) everything in sight. Everyone says that Ryan is going to get forgotten in this house full of girls, but how could he be overlooked. Isn't he just the cutest boy you have ever seen?

Challenged

2009-03-29T09:05:00.000-07:00

My heart has been so heavy for MckMama. I read he blog daily and feel as though I know her and her kids. She gave birth to Stellan on the day that I went into the hospital while pregnant with Alexis. During my stay in the hospital she gave me inspiration and also knowing another person who was trapped in the hospital helped me to not go too crazy during my stay. I keep asking Dave all these medical qustions and I think he has about had it with all of my questions but by the answers I keep getting from him, Stellans heart shouldn't be able to handle all of the stress it is under. In church this morning we sand a song and the verse said " you formed my heart before I was born" and Stellan came to my mind immediately. God knew Stellan from the moment he was formed and he still knows the plans he has for him.
I was so challenged today to be a "Pointer" to Christ through my life. Let me preface this by saying that I HAVE NOT BEEN A GOOD ONE, but I want to be. I really struggled with the choice to change churches. I need to grow in my faith and be challenged and I feel that is what I am getting at Woodland. I walked in to get Ashley from kids church today and they were singing Big House. She was in the front row, doing the motions, praising God and my heart soared and I knew that I had made the right decision for our family. Ryan is almost completely potty trained. Today was our first day going to church with no diaper on. I was so nervous to leave him without one but I realised I was going to have to do it someday, so why not today. Ms. Vicki said that he sat on the potty 4 times in 20 minutes, but he was dry when I picked him up and in the same clothes so I see this as major progress.
This week is Dave's final week of Lieutenant classes, I am so proud of him and also happy for me to finally have my husband home for more that 2 days in a month. Next month is a little crazy too but what else can i expect.

Rice Cereal anyone?

2009-03-20T09:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, we use formula!

Mixin it UP!

Before

After

Yummy, all done!

4 months already

2009-03-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

Time, needs to stop! I look at my kids and my husband and think- where does the time go. Ashley is almost done with kindergarten, Ryan will be going to preschool in the fall, and Lexi is 4 MONTHS OLD!!! I think of all the things that we haven't gotten around to doing and it makes me sad. I know that kids grow up but does it have to be so fast. It seems like I can't keep up sometimes. Here are the latest pics...more to come soon.

Ashley 5 1/2

Ryan 3

Alexis 4 months!

Oh how I love these blessings!!!

I don't want them to grow up

2009-02-07T09:51:00.000-08:00

The next couple of weeks hold big milestones around our home. We have Dave's birthday, Valentines Day, and Ryan's Birthday all in the same week. It just might be one of the busiest weeks we have had in a long while. Ryan has already started talking about his birthday and he get extremely agitated when we talk about Dave's. Although Dave's is a week before Ryan's, I have learned this week not to mention that "daddy's comes first" -at least not if I do not want my almost 3 year old to scream like a girl and make a HUGE scene.

We had the worst trip that we have ever had to Target in forever. Let me start the story by saying that my actions may not have been what I would like others to see me do BUT I am human, a mom, and I do have a rough temper (sometimes). So... we were in Target and my dad has graciously come to watch the kids tonight so that Dave and I can go to dinner in Tampa for his birthday. My dad took Ash and Ry to look in the toy section while I shopped for everything else with Lexi. I had headed back to the Valentines section (ughhh-kindergarten valentines exchange) when Ashley informed me that they had the High School Musical 3 DVD out for sale. My first thought was that she was mistaken because that movie isn't being released until February 17. We have it marked on our calendar so that I can get it for her the day it comes out. So I asked if she was fibbing and she vehemently told me that they had it. I looked at her like most adults look at kids and gave her "the look" -you know the one, and we headed down the aisle to check out. We had to walk right past the toy section and what does my daughter hold up but a High School Musical 3 DVD. Now yes- I do know it isn't supposed to be out until the 17th but there was a large stack of them sitting there and my 5 year old is beside herself with glee so I said throw it in- we can get it. We then walk up to the check out counter and when the cashier rings it the screen says- CAN NOT SELL UNTIL FEBRUARY 17. I politely tell her that there is a large stack of the movies in the toy section and that it isn't my fault if someone there screwed up and put them out early. So , a manager comes over, takes the movie and just says I can't sell it to you and my temper erupted. I said, "I have a 5 year old who has been waiting for this movie for 3 months, you tell HER that we can't buy it!" It was childish of me but I live with Ashley and not this manager, well I don't think I mentioned it but Ryan was getting a movie too. When the manager said he couldn't sell us the movie, he didn't specify which one and my 3 year old starts wailing in the check out line because he now thinks he isn't getting a movie. Ahhhh... luckily I have a infant who just sat in her carrier and slept through it all, because I do NOT like this growing up stuff.

We have all had a rough day and this picture sums it up for us!

I am so excited- and I just can't hide it

2009-02-03T08:21:00.000-08:00

I love taking pictures. In college I took photography 1 and 2 just for fun, but i didn't really pay attention or read the books or anthing like that. Well, about six months ago- my wonderful parents bought me this...

little did I know what I could actually do with it.

It is amazing what you can do once you (dum da da dum) read the manual. Since I do not have enough to do today I thought that I would have a little photo shoot with Lexi and of course I had to take some pictures of the world's most beautiful boy. Uh huh- yes I did just call my son beautiful (inside and out). He has the most amazing eyes that I have ever seen and no that isn't because they are my color. Little man got the color by mixing mine and dave's perfectly. God did know what he was doing when he gave the boy beautiful eyes. I can already see the line forming of girls coming to our house just to be be seen by my boy. Ok, so off topic but that is how my thoughts flow so...on to the photography study.

I have decided to take some time and play with it a little and I love the pictures that I got with it today of both of the kids I had home. I am sure that Asha will get some time with the camera when she gets home from school.

My largest problem is I am not creative. I have no idea how to set up shots that do not look just like every other shot that I take.

Any suggestions? oh and pictures to come soon

:)So love these kids :)

What a week

2009-01-24T10:04:00.000-08:00

We have so much going on and so many good things happening that I don't know where to begin. I guess I should start with child #1- Asha ( as we call her) :) She got her report card this week and of course all 1's and S's which I guess in kindergarten means straight A's. We found out (after the fact) that she had been tested at school for being gifted. So... she since the results of the test stated that she is gifted (oh I always knew this) she will be going to a special class every Friday to learn above and beyond what they teach in her regular class. She also got her enrichment (free afterschool activity) back this week and she is taking Little Scrapbookers (hooray!) which is every Thursday. I don't know what I will do when all of my kids are in different activities but for now one child participating is just fine.

Child #2- Ry guy. Well, he is almost 3, so I figured we should try to potty train. Let me tell you, way harder with little boys than with girls. It has been hit or miss for the past 2 weeks and I am not giving up but I am going to ease off a little. Funny story though. I had to wake Ryan up from his nap in order to go pick up Ashley from school. I didn't think I had enough time to sit him on the potty so I grabbed a diaper and told him to lay down and said "Don't pee on me". Well, I take his diaper off and the 'sprinkler"started. I kind of screamed an Oh No and then told him to walk to the bathroom to finish while I cleaned up the pee on the carpet. So off he went to the bathroom and two seconds later I hear him say Oh no. So, I walk in there and he is standing next to the potty chair and there is pee everywhere. That is everywhere but the toilet (ha!). He is also crying like the world is ending. So- lesson for the day, when you don't think you have enough time to sit the 3 year old on the potty, sit him there anyways. It will save time in the end :)

Finally Child #3- Lexi Lu! We went to the doctor for her 2 month check-up and I was very nervous. I of course had no reason to be nervous but hey I don't always have a good reason for my feelings. So, we go to the doctor and they put her on the scale and it says 8 lbs. 10 oz. and I did a happy dance right there in the hallway (yes the nurse looked at me like I lost my mind). I am just so happy that she continues to progress so well. When I was sitting in the NICU the first couple days after she was born begging her to eat those 50 cc's of formula I really didn't think that in 2 months she would be eating 4 oz. every 3-4 hours. She also has decided it is time for her to sleep through the night (hallelujah!). Sleeping is not something my other children did well, so the Lord knew I needed at least one who didn't require being bribed to sleep in their own bed (yes, sadly we did do that with Ashley but she was 3). The shots went without a hitch and we don't have to go back until 4 months.

Shepherding a Child's Heart

2009-01-19T13:13:00.000-08:00

For my baby shower a friend of mine gave me the book Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp. I was super excited to start reading it and then oops went into labor and ya'll know the rest. So, I was going through things in Lexi's room and there was the book, as if God said now you need to read this girl. So, today I began reading it.
You see I have one of "those kids". You know the ones. They are the kids that pitch a fit in the grocery store and scream and carry on over the smallest thing. I have the child who talk back and says mean things to get attention. Uh huh, I have one of those. We always tell her to "drop the attitude" but I don't know if she even knows consciously what she is doing. It is just a knee jerk reaction sometimes.
Okay, back to the book. So, I read the introduction and the first chapter and a few things stood out to me.

The purpose for your authority in the lives of your children is not to hold them under your power, but to empower them to be self-controlled people living freely under the authority of God.

This really spoke to me. People in our society are not self-controlled people. They see something and they buy it- even if they are already massively in debt. The want to over eat and they do- hence 500 lb. people. So, teaching my children self control is the key right. well.....

The parent is the child's guide.

Whoa!!! I am her guide. She learns her behaviors from watching things that I do. So in order to teach my children self-control I need to be a model of it for them. I need for them to see it in my life first.

He shepherds the child to understand not just the "what" of the child's actions, but also the "why."

In the past we usually have disciplined our kids by what they have done. This is giving me another perspective to think of. Why are they doing those things. What is the motivation behind the actions.

Do i think that if I follow these principles we will wake up tomorrow and everything will be ok. No I don't think that but for things to change in our family, I have to be the best informed mom I can be. I need to love my kids and exhibit God's love to them through my disciplining of them. I want my kids to know God and to have a relationship with him but this goes back to the last principle. I have to show them God in my life. I have to be their guide to him. I am definitely up to the task and I pray that I can be the good example that he wants me to be.

2 months already!

2009-01-18T12:15:00.000-08:00

Isn't she cute? She is now 2 months old and we will be going to get her first shots on Tuesday. Since she is going to be my last baby I am very sad that she is growing up so fast. Too soon she will be 5 and I will look back and think where did all of the time go.

Do I have a choice?

2009-01-18T11:45:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I would really like to accomplish this year is to bog daily. Now, I know to many of you bloggers out there that doesn't sound very difficult but it is HARD for me. It seems like I have no choice in a lot of the things that I have to do on a daily basis. That doesn't mean that I do not want to do all of my other daily tasks but I really want to do this. We have had a lot of changes around here. 2009 is 18 days in and I have a 2 month old baby (AGHHHHH!). can it possibly be 2 months since I had Lexi- really? Has it been almost 3 months since the whole hospital ordeal- what? Where does the time go and can I slow things down a little.
Since you really don't know me, let me tell you a little fact about me- I have a horrible memory. Yup, that is right, my memory is the worst. So, I want to blog so that I can remember things about our life that at the time may be insignificant but when I look back, I will be so happy to remember. So, I am going to try to keep this promise to myself and I am going to hopefully make some nice blog friends a long the way.

I am a bad blogger

2009-01-18T11:42:00.000-08:00

It seems as though I haven’t blogged in forever, and I haven’t with good reason. At 33 weeks in my pregnancy I was admitted to the hospital and they kept me there for 2 WEEKS!!! It was a very rough time for me- no physically but mentally. It was very hard to be away from Ryan and Ashleya nd even though I knew I was there to help Lexi, I felt like I was deserting my other kids who I had never left for more than a day in their lives. We were very blessed though because Auntie Becky was able to come and help with the everyday kids activities which left Dave available to be with me in the hospital. The hardest time of the day was when everyone was able to go home and I had to stay. I learned so much about myself during those 2 weeks, some good and some bad, but in the end Lexi was born 4 weeks early (we did spend a week in the NICU but just for antibiotics) and everyone is back to normal.
Normal for me has definitely changed. I think things through a little more than I used to and I have a greater appreciation for being able to things with those I care for.
So… 2009 is a new begining. I am thrilled that I now have 3 kids. Lexi is a treat, Ryan is potty training (not very succesfully), and Ashley is in cheerleading, awana, ballet, you name it she is doing it. I am so blessed

A Beginning to my Adventure

2007-07-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

I have not run seriously in about 5 years. That was when I found out I was going to have my first child and pregnancy definitely took its toll on me. About two months before I became pregnant I competed in a mini-tri and I loved it. But once you become a parent your priorities shift. No longer was I concerned with myself but with my little girl.
Well, 5 years and 2 kids later, I still love to run but haven't had a lot of time to train. My husband is a firefighter and his schedule shifts from week to week making it difficult to get into a training routine.
My daughter is now 4 and will be going to preschool every morning for 4 hours which leaves me with my son and some time to dedicate back to myself and what I really enjoy doing.
So- I did it! Before I could back out, change my mind, or come up with excuses not to, I entered a 13K.
The Disney Tower of Terror race is going to be a goal that is for me and only me. My training will begin July 23rd and I am really excited. Hopefully I will be able to grow stronger and do this. I can't wait for this adventure to begin :)