the best news EVER!!!

It's like music to my ears...

Like Todd asking me out for the first time...

Like diamonds and pearls on my birthday...

Like reaching a fitness or weight loss goal... on ACCIDENT (like that ever happens)...

Like finding out your birth certificate is wrong and you are actually 5 years younger...

Like having your first kiss on a romantic moonlit beach...

What?

What is this that could have me skipping and dancing as if I'm one of the Von Trapps???

JAKEY WENT PEE PEE ON THE POTTY!!! ON PURPOSE!!!

Yes people, I'm riding this train all the way to Nomorediaperville!!!

Woo hoo!! All Abooooooooard!!

this just in...

OK I know I JUST posted a video clip of Jake dancing last fall, but TONIGHT we were sitting around watching the end of High School Musical 3 AS A FAMILY and all of a sudden I realized that I was missing a GREAT (OK maybe I'm the only one who thinks it's great) video opp. Sooooo, I grabbed my camera and... well... just FEAST your eyes on this little visual TREAT...

What do you think? Juliard should be calling any day, right?

fall flashback

This video clip makes me laugh. Jake was watching a video and dancing when I snuck up and caught almost the whole thing. It gets a bit long because the others tried to capitalize on the camera opp but whatever! This was from back in the fall of 2009 sometime.

what we've been up to this summer

Julianna swimming butterfly.

Drew in lane 3 swimming the first leg of his 50 freestyle.

Drew preparing to dive.

Drew using his sister's legs for backstroke (but not really using them).

Julianna showing us her dive. I just love watching kids dive. Why does it make me laugh so?


Julianna is not going to let a little cold rainy weather get the best of her!

Look at those muscles! Yes, we do feed him!!

This summer we decided to let (make) the kids join swim team. Since we don't have a team for our neighborhood we joined a nearby team. We are the Dearbought Devil Rays!!

I am proud to say that this has ended up being one of the best parenting decisions we have ever made. Our oldest 3 have been going to swim practice daily since the beginning of June. Even back in mid June with just a week or 2 of lessons under their belts the improvement was incredible. The week before the first meet the coach spent some one-on-one time with Drew and Kyle teaching them how to float on their backs and swim back stroke. Drew did so well with picking this up that she had him swim it in the meet on Saturday. I was so proud to see him make it the whole way across the pool without stopping.

It hasn't stopped there. Julianna has picked up all 4 strokes and can now swim them in the meets. I was finally able to watch her swim butterfly today for the first time and was just amazed. She did so well for her first time!

Drew has gotten good enough to swim freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke in the meets. Today he swam the 8 and under 50 meter freestyle event as well as the 25 meter. He was so cute! He got them mixed up so when he swam the 25 meter event he touched the wall and pushed off again to swim one more length of the pool and the timers had to stop him. He got a little embarrassed because he was the only one who made that mistake. I was so nervous for him when he went to swim the 50. I thought for sure he would get too tired halfway through and need to stop and hang on to the lane rope or something like that. Nope! Not my Drew. He did just fine and came in 4th in his heat.

Kyle is doing really well for his big 5 year old self. He is swimming freestyle and backstroke and is almost able to add breaststroke to his repertoire. As a matter of fact the coach came to me the other day and told me how amazed she was at how well all three kids picked up swimming breaststroke. I think my head swelled a little because that was always MY stroke when I swam. I told her that they had it in their blood. And in my head I thought, "And their Daddy is freakishly good at all things athletic!"

All this swim practice makes our days a little hectic. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I get Julianna to practice by 8am and go home for a little while where the boys and I eat breakfast and I shower and get ready for the day. Then we hop back in the car to get the boys there for their practice time at 10am. Julianna and Jake go and play at the nearby playground while I watch Drew and Kyle practice then we all head home around 10:45ish. On Tuesdays and Thursdays their practice is in the evenings. We eat dinner around 5ish and get the boys to practice at 6:30. Julianna's practice is from 7 to 8pm. Usually Todd plays with the boys in the pool while she practices. These evenings I usually get some much needed "me" time. I usually stay home and chill or go shopping or whatever I want. The point is that for two glorious evenings I am "off duty"!! Thanks hon!!!

Today was our first experience taking the kids to a meet in a downpour. Unfortunately Kyle woke up sick this morning (fever and cough) and wasn't going to be able to participate in the meet. Being the self sacrificing partner that I am I told Todd that I would be happy to take one for the team and stay back with the sickie and Jake. Todd got Julianna and Drew to the pool for check-in and warmups and I came later with the extra dry towels and snacks and drinks. We took turns cheering on the swimmers and sitting in the van with Jake and Kyle till the rain stopped then we all came into the pool together to watch the end of the meet.

Out of the mouths of babes

My sister Meredith and I got together the other evening with our kids. Her oldest son, Danny, is not quite 2 and my youngest son, Jake, is a little over 2. So you know that is a recipe for a calm relaxing visit, right?

Here's how the boys summed it up after we parted ways:

Meredith: Danny, did you have fun playing with Jake?
Danny: Jakey fall down. Jakey fall down. Jakey fall down. (long pause) Jakey fall down.

Me: Jake did you like playing with your cousin Danny?
Jake: Da-ny poosh me. Da-ny poosh me. (long pause) Da-ny poooooooosh me!

PR!!

This is going to be quick.

I have the whole house to myself except for Jake who is napping so this report will be fast so I can join him in snoozing for a bit.

The Frederick Half for this year is over. Last year my time was 2:24:18 and this year... drum roll please... 2:18:06!! Yeah!! A personal record. Not what I was shooting for (2:12:00)but hey, as long as I beat my last year's time I'm happy.

It was seriously humid this morning and if I can lay blame for a second here I just want to say that I think I could have done a bit better if not for that. I've not had the opportunity to train in the heat yet this year because the weather has been pretty mild up till now. I mean just the other day I was contemplating wearing a headband to keep my ears warm during one of my tapering runs because it was so cold and windy. Anyway, the whole run was hard for me. I felt like I was pushing the whole time. I got really hot the first mile and never really lost that "too hot" feeling. Even when there was a nice breeze.

More in a bit:) I'm resting now!

xo

Running update!

First a quick story:

A few weeks ago I was doing my long run on the weekend. I think at that point I was up to running 6 miles and I was thinking about the next weekend when I would be running 7. That was the point in my training last summer when my knee started falling apart. So as I was completing my 6 miler for the day and thinking about all of this I ran past a home where about 7 or 8 kids were chasing each other and screaming is sheer delight. There was a woman standing out front watching all this hulabaloo. She turned to me and said, "I'm having an auction. You want any of these?" I laughed and replied, "No thanks! I've got several of these at home. This is what I do in my spare time!" Then in my head, "Yeah! This is what I GET to do. What I CHOOSE to do! Ha ha! I WILL make it past 7 miles this time around."

I am a runner.

So the next weekend I set out to run my 7 miles. I felt great. I mean seriously great. Like I had this goofy grin on my face the whole time. I mean I seriously must have looked like an idiot. At the end of 5 miles and 2 to go I actually got all choked up and tears of happiness welled up in my eyes because at that point I still felt great and there wasn't so much as a twinge in either of my knees. I knew then that my knee problem was a thing of the past.

Seems that going to those fancy shoe places really paid off in my situation. They watched me walk and fit me with shoes that support my nonexistent arches the way they need to be supported and that seems to have done the trick.

Anyway, this past week I ran my longest run (10 miles) before the half marathon that I'm registered for this Sunday. Right now I'm tapering down. 4 yesterday. 3 today. 2 tomorrow. Rest on Saturday.

You know how dogs are in the morning? How they are all morning creatures? You know how no matter what mood they went to bed in they are all prancing and playing and jumping and ready to go when they first wake up? Well that's how I feel waiting for this half marathon to come. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

So anyway I started thinking about what next week was going to be like. I started to consider how I would feel waking up on Monday morning and not have anything to train for.

Well that just won't do.

So I got online and here's my game plan for the next year. Yes, I said for the next. full. year.

September 18th ~ Revenge of the Penguins 10 & 20 miler up and back on the C&O towpath along the Potomac River. Sounds cool huh? Um, I registered for the 20.

November 13th ~ Richmond Marathon, Richmond VA. That's my first marathon people!

May 1, 2011 Big Sur Marathon in California!! My sister, Meredith, has always wanted to do this so we are going to train for this together. FINALLY, a training partner!!

I feel like I did when I first fell in love with Todd and he was all I could think about. Running is all I can think about these days. I can't wait till later today when I can run my 3!!

Anyway, that's the story of my love affair with running. I love what I have been able to accomplish. I love what it has done for me. I love how strong and healthy I feel. Most of all I love that I will be running this year's half marathon a full 13 1/2 pounds lighter than last year!!! And that's not bragging people. I worked hard to lose every single ounce. Those pounds didn't just melt off. I literally ran my hiney off!!

When Goodbye Means Hello (Pulling Random Thoughts Together)

So this is what I was thinking. There are so many times in our lives when we are forced to say goodbye to things that we are not ready to let go of.

I for one am not ready to say goodbye to baby. I love babies. I love MY babies. With Jake being the fourth and last baby, around the time I took these pictures:

I was constantly thinking: Will this be the last time I hold him as he drinks his bottle and drifts off to sleep? Please let this moment last. Let me not have to get up from this chair anytime soon. Let me not forget how he looks and how he smells. How the warmth of him sleeping in my arms just melts into all the nooks and crannies of my body. Please, please, I'm not ready to say goodbye to all this.

This poem has always touched my heart on this subject and I can never read it through without a catch in my voice and my eyes misting over.

Song for a Fifth Child.

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing, make up the bed,

Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,

Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew

And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo

But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo

Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?

Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow

But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down cobwebs;

Dust go to sleep!

I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

Then around the same time Drew or Kyle (or probably both) brought me this beautiful bouquet of bright sunny dandelions. A weed to some but to 6 & 4 year old boys they are beautiful, priceless tokens of endless love and sincere thoughtfulness.

And I realized that saying goodbye to baby means saying hello to priceless gifts of endless wonder that the world has to offer. It means that he will grow and change, yes.

The sweet moments will change... but they will not end.

Look! They are all around!

Random Thoughts

Let's play a little game!

Look at the pictures below and try to guess what I was thinking I was going to post about when I took them a year ago.

Good Luck!

PS - Anyone notice that I am on a roll with posting things on the blog?

Snow Much Fun!

Did we get snow this winter or what? Here are some pictures of our "Snowpocalypse". I loved every snowy minute of it. Can we have some more please? Next winter... not now, of course!

Here is Drew back on the morning of Saturday, February 6th standing in front of our slider giving us a bit of perspective. We are due to get 2 more feet of this stuff a few days later. And we did!! Right on Drew's birthday the 9th and on into the 10th.

Jakey isn't so good at giving us perspective as he is licking the window :)

OK this is our neighborhood mailbox that is taller than me. I had shoveled out a path to it from one side. From the other side we all shoveled out our parking spaces and added to the mountain behind the mailbox. The kids took great joy in climbing and sliding on this man made mountain.

Heavens, boys! Be careful!!!

You know of course that this is Drew... aka the "ER Magnet".

The view out our front door to the left.

The view out our front door to the right. This is after some melting had taken place. Tiercy and Emilie, see that spot in the distance between the houses? That's a mountain. It is closer than it looks! So Em if you go ahead with your other blog there is my hiking place :)

I don't know if you can see very well but to the left is the roof of a car. They are sitting level with the roofs of cars. Wild huh?

Thank you winter for "bringin' it" this year!! Now go ahead and make way for spring!