oh yeah

I finished the 10k in under 58 minutes.  My "previous best" was either 65 or 66 minutes.  I've never done faster than a 10 minute mile for any distance farther than one mile.  I'm feeling really good today, hopefully I'll still feel good tomorrow.  I also have to brag about David.  He is so awesome.  He took the kids & hung out with me waiting on the race to start, he went slightly ahead of me so he could take pictures at the starting line, then he loaded them in the car & drove to a spot along the race to watch & cheer.  I saw them once & figured I'd see them again close to the finish line, but no, my wonderful husband loaded the kids in the car again & again, and they cheered for me at several spots along the route.  How awesome is that?!?!  I was so encouraged by their smiling faces, and when he said "you're doing great" it made me want to run faster.  Every time I saw them I ran over to give Matthew & Scarlett high fives and/or hugs.  Unfortunately because I was running faster than my planned pace, they did not make it to the finish line in time to see my cross, but oh well, I was amazed they kept around the course.    After the race Matthew & Scarlett wanted to run with me, so we found a couple of trees and raced back & forth.  We stuck around for a while at the post race party then wandered around the zoo for a while.  Now we're home, David's gone out for a bike ride, and I'm waiting on the kiddos to fall asleep so I can take a much needed shower.  Then I'm hoping they'll nap long enough for me to nap too.    I feel good....

random bits

My race at the zoo is Sunday.  It's a 10k and for some reason I'm thinking it will be a personal record time for me.  I have no idea what to expect though, and I'm a little nervous.  I've only run big, fun races before, and I hope I didn't accidentally sign up for something that's super-competitive.  I don't want to finish last!  On a kind of related note, I think we're going to buy a zoo membership.  It's less than what it will cost for David & the kids to get in the zoo Sunday and then for all 4 of us to take a trip back to the zoo another time.  Matthew & Scarlett like to play where they're not supposed to.  Like my bathroom.  Matthew told me "we weren't coloring, we just played with the ropes."  I asked a few questions trying to figure out what the ropes were but no luck.  A little later he mentioned they "played with the fuzzy things they took out of the box and the bag."  He also said "I like those fuzzy things."  I'm still confused so I go upstairs to see what kind of shape my bathroom is in.  There were tampons everywhere!  Fuzzy things with ropes!  LOL Scarlett has been peeing on the potty (and pooping, but pooping came first).  She's been dry several times recently waking up from nap & I've taken her to potty.  Last night when I got in from my run David had panties on her.  This morning she wet 3 pair of panties, but also peed on the potty a couple of times.  Patience I tell myself.  I restarted weight watchers last week (the day after Labor Day).  When I weighed in Tuesday I had dropped 5.2 lbs.  When I weighed yesterday I had dropped another 1.2...I won't officially count that until Tuesday but it did make me feel good.  I'm so happy it's football season.  I love watching college football, not so crazy about pro.  Unfortunately my team got their asses handed to them last night.  We looked horrible! Have a great weekend! :)

Matthew's first day at preschool

Matthew's preschool offers breakfast for parents on the first day so they can all cry together. I think it's silly but thought it would be nice to meet the other moms. My sister gave me a good talking to last night about not making fun of any parents who did happen to be crying and I knew she was right, if I wanted to befriend these women I shouldn't laugh at them, at least not the first time I'm meeting them.

David went in to work a little late so he could walk over with us. We all 4 walked over to the school and as we got close Matthew said he was tired and asked if we would carry him. David picked him up & carried him to the doorsteps and then said, "Ok, now you walk in" (wanting to get pictures, and I had Scarlett), and Matthew went into meltdown mode. "No I'm tired, I want you to carry me." "I don't want to go to school." "I want to go home." on & on. I took the camera & David picked him up & took him in. He kept crying & clinging to David all the way to the door. I didn't want him to upset any other children but we wanted to take him to his classroom. Fortunately when he saw another child go in & he saw all the toys he calmed down IMMEDIATELY & went in without a goodbye to either David or me. Crisis averted. David went to work but I stuck around in the hall for a few minutes to make sure he was settled then I took Scarlett upstairs for the parents' breakfast.

Upstairs I met some other moms & we chatted. The only one that seemed to be struggling with the first day was a mom of 3 and this was her baby. She mentioned knowing having older children how fast it all goes by & that she's just sad it's the last time she's experiencing these things. I can understand that. Hopefully I haven't experienced my last pregnancy, and I already get sad that I won't be pregnant again & again & again. All of the moms seem nice, only one dad stuck around & he seemed nice too. I was disappointed none of them had children Scarlett's age...I was hoping for some playdates & things, and just thought it was be convenient to find someone at Matthew's preschool. Oh well. I'll find her some playmates somewhere else.

Scarlett & I walked home & she played while I started laundry & cleaning up some things. I saw her throw a toy & I reminded her that we don't throw toys in the house. She said "not me, it was bruh-er." It was amazing how instinctual that was, for her to just blame him. When I pointed out that he's not home she started walking around saying "bruh-er, where are ooo?" Pretty cute.

We picked Matthew up and he said he loved school. His teacher said he had a great day. We ran some errands and he talked about his teachers, his new friends, the toys, and the playground. It sounded like he enjoyed it. Then he told me he missed me, David, and Scarlett and that made him sad. I told him that we would be there to pick him up & when he misses us he can tell Mrs. D and she will give him an extra hug.

I think I'll need to take the stroller when we walk over for pick up & drop off though, because today both kids wanted me to carry them home. It's not far but adding 70 lbs of toddlers to the walk makes it seem long!

closeness

Matthew & Scarlett have their fair share of fights but all in all they have a really good sibling relationship.  Just the right amount of sharing, helping, fighting, and loving.  A lot of days at naptime Scarlett will climb into Matthew's bed with him and as they hug, either she will say "I seep in he-ere" or Matthew will say "Scalett sleep with me."  So sweet.  (I haven't actually LET them sleep together, since I don't think they'd actually go to sleep...I think they'd play & giggle, which would be pretty sweet but it would make the rest of the evening rough on me.)   This evening while I was fixing supper*, they were playing in the family room.  I heard Scarlett kind of shout something so I said "What Scarlett?"  She replied, "I not talking to you I talking to bruh-er." and they giggled.  When I peeked in the room they seemed to be playing beautifully together.    I hope they will always love each other & be so close.  I have 2 sisters that I can't imagine life without, and while I do remember times that we hated each other**, now that we're all adults we have fantastic relationships.       *  I'm from the South, "fixing" doesn't always mean correcting a mistake.  Sometimes it means "cooking," as used here.  Sometimes, when used with "to", it means "about to", as in, "I'm fixing to pour a glass of wine and eat supper."  And "supper" is the meal we eat in the evenings. ;)   ** When I say this, I really do think we hated each other.  If not hate, it was strong dislike.  Of course those sibling bonds meant we still stood up for each other if there was someone else involved, but I can remember specific times that we really didn't want to see each other ever again, for reasons I can remember very clearly today.

growing up fast

I knew this day would come but it seemed to sneak up on me.  I think I didn't really prepare because I *hoped* we would be moved by now but once we decided not to pursue opening a business of our own at this time, I finally started researching preschools.  Fortunately for us they don't fill up too quickly around here due to the current economy, and all of them around us still had openings.  So I decided to go the easy route of signing up for the one closest to our house :)  Of course that wasn't all my decision was based on, but it will be nice to get up, have breakfast, and walk Matthew to school those 2 days a week.    Tonight is orientation for parents and he starts next Thursday.  My baby is getting big!

I'm full of myself this weekend

Not only was I able to get out of bed easily yesterday, David & I took the kids on a bike ride.  We rode 30 miles, and I pulled the trailer for at least half the distance.  That's me biking with an extra ~90 lbs.  I think I could ride all day without the trailer, but adding that extra weight and hills makes for a tough ride.  It's a great activity for us to do together though, and the kids seem to enjoy it.  I think they like it for the picnic lunch & multiple playgrounds we find along our route.    While it's not what great athletes are made of, I think running 10 miles & biking 30 is something for this fat frumpy mommy to be proud of.  To celebrate my newfound awesomeness I signed up for the Detroit Half Marathon.

oh yeah

I just got home from a ten mile run.  That's right...10 miles.  I know, for some folks that's nothing, but for me...it's an accomplishment.  It gives me the confidence that I can be ready for the half marathon in 6 weeks.  Woohoo!    I know the true test will be how I feel tomorrow, but right now I feel like I could run another 5 miles pretty easily.  We'll see what tomorrow brings, but right now I feel great!

How is it?

How is it that I can run 6.25 miles, but when I take Matthew up the stairs for bed I'm winded?  This is not where I need to be.  This is not where I was a year ago.  I'm ashamed of myself.  I need to do better.  I'll start next week.  Heh.  I said that.  Yep - I'm procrastinating.  Right now I have too much junk food crap in the house I need to start fresh after a good grocery store/produce market run, which won't happen until the weekend.  So I'm starting WW again next week.  I should be able to carry Matthew upstairs & breathe at the same time.