It's a Celebration

Yesterday my Mom's group met up at Celebration Park where my marathon (in December) is going to be. That is an awesome park and I'm totally stoked that my first ever marathon will be there. Hopefully there will be kids playing on the playground on the marathon day to keep my mind off of the fact that I'm running 26.2 miles! Yesterday, we just let the kids play on the playground and talked whenever our kids were playing near each other. The playground there is pretty amazing. It was a huge play structure with multiple areas that all different age groups could play on. Of course, Piper wanted to chase her brother and try to go down the super tall spiral slides just like Danny. And of course, I was officially the meanest mom ever and didn't let her go down them (she's just so *little*). Danny did pretty good too. He has this nasty habit of seeing open fields (soccer fields in the case of Celebration Park) and wanting to just run the length of them - without me knowing about it. He really only made one or two attempts to run off, so I was happy for that.

I had totally planned on going for a walk around the park after the kids played. BUT, it was 6pm, and the kids were completely red faced and downed the juice I brought for them in about 4.2 seconds and started asking for more (guess I should start bringing juice AND water as it gets hotter out). So, I packed up the kids and convinced my sister that we really, really needed some Mexican food. I had been so excited to move to Texas because of the food: BBQ, brisket, Mexican deliciousness, sweet tea....Really, though, we haven't had too much of those things since we've moved here. Something about being on a budget and not being able to eat out as often as we did back in Spokane *sigh* Anyway, we swung by her place and picked her up and went to a place called Chuy's. I ended up getting the Boom Boom Chicken and a Texas Martini (complete with olives stuffed with jalepenos). It was spicy and oh so delicious!!

We made a pit stop at my sister's and played with her dog (my kids are nuts about dogs) and then headed home. Piper asked to go to bed as soon as we got home, but Danny, of course, wanted to play. If I had just one ounce of that kids energy.....! I ended up putting them to bed and then crawled into bed at 10pm. I was so exhausted!

Today has been a day busy cleaning. We've had pretty much non-stop guests for the last two weeks, and my Dad and Grandma are coming into town for a visit on Saturday. I have cleaned for every person as they get into town (vacuuming, washing sheets, picking up kitchen, etc), but my house is still getting messier and messier and messier. I think every grandparent has brought a suitcase full of toys and treats for the kids, and then we had Easter too. Plus I worked a lot last week. Long story short, despite all my best efforts, my house is trashed and has toys everywhere. I vacuumed the whole house, and washed everyone's sheets, and did all the dishes like normal, but today I went a step farther and cleaned out my fridge and freezer, did some meal planning, *folded and put away* all the laundry I've washed and put into laundry baskets the last two weeks, and even washed the kids' lovies. I'm going to tackle the kids' toys in a little bit. They are out of control!

And my weight watchers has not been going that great. My supper last night was beyond delicious, but when you add in the points that I already had eaten for the day, I ate approximately 91 points. In one day. Yikes! Today, I have done SO much better and am not going over my allotted points, but it's just a little dissapointing to know that I screwed up so royally. Oh well, the past is the past for a reason. You can't change it; just learn from it and move on. Luckily, as I cleaned out my fridge and freezer and cupboards, I discovered quite a bit of fresh fruit and vegetables that need to be eaten before they go bad. So I am planning my meals around those items. And I found a whole loaf of cinnamon brown sugar swirl bread. It is the best!! Especially when you toast it and put a 1/2 tablespoon of peanut butter on it. Man! Totally worth it and reasonably low-point and satisfies a sweet tooth as well :)

Doctor Visit

The doctor agreed that it was probably the shoes I was wearing causing my leg pain, and possibly overuse. He said it seemed like it was muscular in nature rather than a bone or tendon injury. I was very relieved about that. I was fearful that he would tell me that I needed x-rays to rule out stress fractures. But, it wasn't that. Woo-hoo!

He told me to take some Aleve, to run a little less for the next two weeks and try more cross training. And no weight lifting that would put any strain on my legs. I'm also supposed to use compression sleeves and ice after working out. I'm hoping that my new shoes do the trick and makes my legs feel fresh and new too.

We're going to a play-group meetup at Celebration Park in Allen, TX later today. I'm really excited about this, because this is the site of my full marathon in December. I think I might throw the stroller in the car and take the kids for a walk before we meet our group; just to get a feel for the location. I'm not sure if I'll get a run in today because my doctor's appointment was smack dab in the middle of the childcare morning hours at my gym and our play group is in the middle of the evening hours. So a walk might be the only real exercise I get today. And so far today I've eaten about a gazillion calories (okay, I had a leftover slice of pizza, coffee, and Cheddar Peppers from Sonic), so I need to do something active. A walk is a good cross-training too.

Spending Birthday Money

I'm so excited! Yesterday I went to Run On (my new favorite running store) and spent some birthday money that was burning a hole right threw my pocket. I showed up in my old running shoes and the guy helping me went crazy. I guess my old-favorite running store back in Spokane sold me shoes meant for someone that has flat feet with NO arches (I was running on Brooks Addiction 9's). They had like 5 running shoe salespeople look at how I walked/ran and decided that I had fairly normal arches and in no way, shape, or form did I need shoes for flat feet. Also, running on the wrong shoes (especially the ones that I was running on which had a thick, hard foam core thing in the arch area) can cause leg pain and injury. Huh....maybe that's why both of my legs hurt in the exact same spot??

Here are the beauties that I ended up going with. Asics Cumulus'. Super comfy - although I haven't taken them out for a run yet (today was my resting day and I'm really trying to rest my legs).

I also bought a Garmin Forerunner 210. It's so cool!! Again, I haven't had a chance to really take it out and play with it, but so far it's been fun. I haven't had a watch in a good little bit because my battery ran out, so knowing what time it is has been phenomenal. I'm kind of a nut about knowing what time it is, so I love that I can use it as a watch as well as a GPS unit. I am so excited to use this! If you've been thinking about getting a Garmin - read this review of the 210. It's what sold me on the 210.

I also stopped by and got my eyebrows threaded. That seems to be the big thing here in Texas. Forget waxing your eyebrows, threading is the new hotness. But holy crap! That hurt!! I was literally crying. It was bad. I've done pain-medication free childbirth twice. Both times having been induced with pitocin which brings on crazy huge contractions. I didn't cry then. Well, maybe a little. But eyebrow threading? I don't know if I could do this again. It was really, really painful. I did need to get my eyebrows done because they were outta control. But that was probably the most painful birthday present I've ever given myself - it even hurt worse than getting a tattoo. Maybe I'm just a baby though :)

Peace

I'm officially feeling much less stressed than I was earlier. I have even more work on my plate (this is a good thing though!), the kids were super wound up all night, my house is a mess (really it's just the dishes that need to be done and the trash needs to go out, so it's not TOO bad), and the husband is STILL at work. BUT, I went for my run. And it felt awesome! Every time I'm feeling frustrated and angry and just overwhelmed, I just need to remember to put on my running shoes and get out of the house. It really made a big difference in my attitude.

I got in 5.3 miles. I'm trying to up my speed, so I did some faster running mixed in with a little more walking than usual. Since I now know I can pretty much run a half marathon, my next goal is to run the whole thing - and do it faster! Tomorrow I'm hoping for a 7 - 8 mile run. It felt so good today; hopefully I'll feel this motivated tomorrow too. On Saturday, I'm hoping to do my first weight training class. Before I had Piper, I lifted weights twice a week by myself and once a week with a personal trainer. I was so very in shape. It was awesome. I'm really crossing my fingers that the weight lifting will re-shape my body, help me shed some of this my-husband-just-got-laid-off and the we're-moving-out-of-state-for-a-job weight, and make me stronger to go further with my running.

Anyway, just wanted to give a brief update and let you know that I am no longer frustrated. Although, when I went to pick up the kids from the gym daycare, the daycare worker told me that Danny was absolutely wild. So, I guess it's not just me that thinks he's being disobedient. He better get out of this disobedient phase soon. It's making me a little crazy!

Frustration

My father-in-law is in town for a work meeting this week and he is splitting his time doing work-ish things and hanging out with the kids things. Last night, he had a meeting (and today an all day conference), so I took him downtown to the hotel where he had a meeting and stayed the night (for his conference today). On the way there, D, my newly potty trained 3 year old, fell asleep. He had been acting out all day, so I was kind of happy he was getting a nap in since he will not willingly go down. I dropped my father-in-law off, and headed back home. I got lost MULTIPLE times. My GPS kept calling I-45S, 75S, so I was completely thrown off. I don't know if 75S really is I-45S or not, but I must have gotten lost about 5 times. I don't do well with getting lost. I'm pretty sure I was saying a slew of curse words under my breath. Little P didn't mind though because she was watching Dora the Explorer and was completely oblivious that we were circling blocks and cutting people off to try to get to exits.

I finally ended up on the correct Interstate (man! I wish Spokane with it's ONE singular Interstate!!!!) and got off at our exit. Whew! We made it! That was when D woke up SCREAMING. He couldn't tell me what was wrong; he was just screaming and crying. We were almost home, so I made the decision to just listen to the crying for a little longer and continue home. P is a sympathy crier, so she started crying too. It was ever so much fun! I pulled in, and jumped out, and got D out of the car. Turns out he had an accident and had wet his pants. I told him it was okay, gave him cuddles and took him (and P!) inside. I cleaned him up and we were good to go.

But my mood was FOUL. I was tired, hungry (it was 7pm by the time we made it home), and ready for little kids to be in bed. I made Hebrew National 97% fat free hot dogs, creamed corn, and a banana with a dash of cinnamon for supper. The corn was pretty good. I think next time I make it I'll add in a can of green chilles or a can of rotel. Or even some roasted red peppers would be good. After supper, the kids and I played trains and then I got them ready for bed. Of course, D and P wanted nothing to do with bed. After a big tantrum, I got P into bed, where she fell back asleep. D, on the other hand, was up every 10 - 15 minutes. He ended up having a bad tummy ache too, so he was in the bathroom about 5 times - poor guy! I was just TIRED and ready for him to go to bed so that I could go to bed. My patience was wearing thin.

The hubs came home about this time, and commented on my parking job. I think that was the straw that broke the camel's back! I *know* I'm a bad parker, but I was dealing with two screaming, crying toddlers and trying to get them in the house and honestly didn't care how I was parking. That was about the last thing on my mind. I'm just glad I didn't just keep driving into the laundry room. I at least put it in park. AND the hubs could fit his car into the garage. Those are the things that matter: didn't crash into house and hubs had plenty of room to park. I guess I pulled forward too much though and made it hard to get into the house. Which, looking at it this morning, I did pull in pretty far. But last night, I was fuming. I decided at that point to just go to bed. Maybe I would wake up in a better mood.

You would think that getting 8 hours of sleep would help, but it really didn't. This morning, the kids were both being super needy. And I had a work deadline. So of course D was antagonizing P (stealing her toys, her blankie, her sippy cup; pushing her over; throwing blankets on top of her; etc; etc; etc), P was crying, and neither of them were listening to me at all. I tried talking to them, I tried time outs, I even ended up spanking D for pushing P into the brick fireplace ledge. No avail. Didn't matter. They were just being WILD! I know they just wanted my attention, but my goodness! It's beyond frustrating when you are trying to get something done by a certain time and the kids are not playing nicely together - or even by themselves - and not listening to you. At all.

The good news: I got my work done. The bad news: I'm still in a funky, foul mood. I had to wash D's carseat cover where he peed on it, but as soon as it is dry, I am putting in on and we are going to the gym. I have so much pent up frustration and anger, I feel like I could run 20 miles today! And maybe that's just what I need: to run. It's amazing how good it is for you mind and attitude. After a run, I feel accomplished and like I could take on the world; rejuvinated! Here's to hoping it works!

I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore!

We survived! In case you haven't heard, Dallas-Forth Worth was rocked by some big ol' tornadoes yesterday. And the storms started rolling in right smack dab in the middle of P's nap. With the tornado sirens going off, I grabbed D, woke up P, and put both of the kiddos in the bathtub. I then grabbed D's mattress off of his little toddler bed and put it in the tub, and grabbed the kids' lanterns and my big lantern with the AM/FM radio on it (and cell phone charger!). *There* We were tornado-proofed.

I spent the next 2.5 hours going back and forth from the TV to the bathroom tub, where my two VERY restless toddlers were camped out in the tub. We ate oreos, had milk, read books, played Mobigo, watched Team Umizoomi on the laptop, played Ispy....anything and everything we could do to pass the time. Two and a half hours is a long time to keep little kids occupied and happy. Especially since I was a little scared myself! 

There was some BAD damage in Arlington and Fort Worth, but it seems like my small little town was spared any damage. A tornado did touch down about one town over, but that was as close as it got. I guess tornadoes and thunderstorms and flash floods are something that we're just going to have to get used to living in Texas. 

Today the weather was back to normal and was actually quite nice. We went outside and played for about an hour and a half. It was gorgeous! Back in Spokane, they are getting snow. I guess I can handle 2.5 hours with tornado warnings instead of days of snow and snow and ice packed roads with the potential to crash at any moment. I guess each region has it's own weather problems. 

Catch Up

I feel like I haven't been on here in forever when in reality it's only been like 3 days. I've just been super crazy busy and had taken all these pictures that I wanted to incorporate into my blog. But I've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to dig through pictures and decide which ones I like/don't like, and which to put up here. I know, big decisions, right? I was starting to miss blogging though, so I decided I would post now and do a picture post later.

So I'm officially 30 now. I used to always think that 30 was old. Now that I'm here, though, I'm starting to second guess that. I feel so much more alive that I did in my teens - so much happier! I had a lot of 'stuff' going on in my teen years that contributed to me just being unhappy. I was overweight, depressed, and listened to way too much of The Cure than is good for any one person. My 20's I was still trying to 'find myself' and still felt VERY shy. While I'm still trying to discover who I am, I feel a lot more confident with myself, my body, and my choices. I have a great husband and two amazing children, and I feel like I've found my place in the world. Plus, I am much more active and healthier, which I think affects so much in your life. I'm happy!

Speaking of being active, I have gotten a few runs in. Although, they've been pretty quick! Yesterday, I only made it 1.5 miles. For lunch yesterday, I made Pioneer Woman's jalepeno poppers (got from her cookbook), and OMG! They were SOOOOO good. So good, in fact, that I ate 22 of them. They were really low weight watchers points, and so incredibly delicious that I just kept eating until they were all gone. Awesome. Anyway, after putting it off for most of the day, I decided to get out there and run. So off to the gym I went. And discovered that eating 22 jalepeno poppers was NOT the best "fuel" for running! My stomach was twisting in so many knots that I had to stop. Lesson learned. If I'm going to eat 22 jalepeno poppers, I should do it on a non-run day!

Other than running, I've been working and cleaning house. Yesterday I got in 4 hours of work (go me!), and then cleaned like a crazy person. My father in law found out that he was going to be attending a training in Dallas, so he is coming in tonight and leaving on Saturday. It's been almost a year since he's seen the kids, so I know he's excited to see them. After he leaves on Saturday morning, my mom is coming into town to celebrate Easter with us (she arrives Saturday afternoon, and will stay until Sunday afternoon). Then, next Saturday, my dad and grandma are driving from Nashville to Dallas to spend a few days with us. It's total parent overload - and I love it! It just makes me so happy to have family around, and for the kids to be able to interact so much with their grand-parents (and great-grandma!).

My Dad is coming in late Saturday night, and then we are turning around and doing a super-sprint triathlon on Sunday morning. It's a 10 minute swim, 20 minute run, and 30 minute bike ride, all indoors at a gym. I think I got everything down except the swimming. I can swim, but I'm not the best at it. So, 10 minutes is going to feel like forever. My friend in Virginia wants to do a half-Ironman (70.3 miles) and I said that I was interested in doing it as well. We are shooting for October 2013. I really need a bike to be able to do the triathlons though. My sister said she would loan me hers, so I might get that from her and start training. I honestly haven't ridden a bike (non-stationary) in years, so I'm curious to see how that will go!

Anyway, better head off of here. Just wanted to stop in and say hi. I have to a lot more cleaning/picking up I want to do before the father-in-law gets here tonight.