Christmas

Let us celebrate the birth of Jesus and the giving an receiving of gifts.

Here is my favorite gift this year. Don't get me wrong all of my gifts were amazing and I love them but this is one of those long term keeper types of gifts. A ring with the names of the best gifts that The Lord has given Travis and I etched in metal. I love it.

1000 Gifts

I am a ball of tightly would string and I worry constantly. Giving birth and caring for two amazing little humans has added a few more knots to the strings. I worry incessantly over many things. It starts with health. Mine, Travis', Sam's, Brett's, my mom's, my extended family's. Next comes safety. How do you ensure safety in the wold we live in today?  A world where parents drop their babies off at school and some monster prevents those parents from ever holding their babies again. Where does God fit in to this picture of evil and sickness?  Where is our savior hiding when we struggle so much?

Where is he when we lose jobs and along with it lose our sense of pride and worth?  Not to mention the true financial strains many live though on a daily basis.  Losses that leave us feeling worthless and without meaning and de-committed to working for others who ultimately appear to value our sacrifices so little. 

Where do we turn when we feel ourselves physically breaking down by running so hard all of the time but at the same time feel like pushing ourselves mentally and physically is normal and is good for us. When sitting and playing with kids or talking to friends seems like being lazy and a waste of precious time?

Where do we go when we live in fear that bad things are just around the corner, that we really don't deserve this perfect life and that someone or something is going to tip the tables out of our favor soon. The fear that typing this or actually talking about it makes it more likely to happen.  How do you live in the moment and love in the moment?  

I guess I should have titled this "what is the meaning of life". I am rambling. I drove myself to the ER a little over a week ago due to crushing pain in my shoulder, shortness of breath and feelings of fear. Everything checked out fine. They wanted to give me a sedative. Of course I refused. I drove home and committed to myself and my family to figure out how to relax more. 

I asked my sister all of the questions I have typed above in little bits and pieces over the last two weeks. She asked me if I have read "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. I said no. She reminded me that she gave it to us for Brett's baptism. Oh yes, I vaguely remembers it but who has time to read books. Well I finally found it after scouring our house and I started reading. She is tough to follow at first. She made me sad at first. If you have read the book you understand what I am talking about. 

I vow to keep reading and I vow to write down my 1,000 gifts and I commit to trying to be more thankful and less full of fear. Hopefully I will continue to post on this blog and I will look back at my journey through these 1,000 gifts as a growing up of sorts. I don't have any other hopes. I'm just going to see what happens. 

Thanksgiving 1000 Gifts. 

1.  Twenty little fingers and twenty little toes that Travis and I never dreamed we would create ourselves 5 years ago. 

2.  The strong body, loving heart and bright mind of my better half. 

3.  The knowledge and dedication of doctors and nurses and the treatment programs they prescribe. 

4. Bright white snow. 

5.  The refreshing feeling within me when I take a breath of the cool winter air. 

Thanksgiving Weekend

Happy Belated Thanksgiving.  I'm Thankful for the following:

1) My wonderful hubby - you are the best friend and daddy ever!

2) Sam and Brett - the apples of our eyes.  Daddy and I love you both more than you will ever know.

3)  My mom, sisters and their families. 

4)  My in-laws.  Travis' sisters and families, brother and mom and dad.

A little Thanksgiving morning cleaning - I love my helpers!

Thanksgiving was pretty low key at our house. My sister, hubby and her two kiddos came over to share the feast with us. We had ham, cheesy corn, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, and rolls. My older sister and family planned on coming over for dessert but my littlest niece came down with a bug and so they just brought over some pie and pumpkin bread for us to devour.

After my kiddos napped it was time to decorate gingerbread houses. Brett started eating his. I've never really seen a kid eat their gingerbread house. I tasted it and it tasted like cardboard. I'm not sure it agreed with him, he had green poo every couple of hours for about 3 days.

We went to Disney on Ice on Thanksgiving night and ha a good time. Sammy was a little disappointed because Tink was not included in the show. How can you celebrate Disney without Tinkerbell?

 

Sam and River were going on an adventure complete with her hat, backpack, boots and map!

 

Below:  Brett snoozing on my lap on Sunday after an eventful morning.  First we went to church and then to the mall to play.  He fell at the mall and cut the inside of his lip.  That little thing that connects your gums to your lips.  Ouch!  It bled pretty badly.  Then he did it again a little later.  Poor guy!

 

My sleepy little man.  You are either going 100 mph or sleeping.  There is rarely an in between speed!

 

This morning Sam finally slept until 6am.  That's a big deal at our house.  We celebrated with hugs, lots of praise and a sticker.  For the past several weeks she has been waking us up sometime between 5:15-5:45am by yelling from her bed that she has to go potty.

 

Tomorrow Brett goes to the ENT doctor.  We will be talking about tubes.  Fun Times!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

I took these a few weeks ago when my mom was in town to celebrate her birthday with us. Love you mom!



Brett and Sammy love it when she comes to visit too!

Cross country race

My sister-in-law and her hubby came over this weekend and we ran The Living History Farms cross country run. It isn't my favorite race to do. I don't generally like unsure footing or being cold and wet. Thankfully it was pretty warm so at least that part wasn't too bad. I'm thinking of taking a year or two off before running this one again though. 7,500 runners on a narrow cross country path makes for slow going and a little frustration in those of us with ADD.

On Saturday night we took the kiddos with us to a local Mexican restaurant. That turned out pretty well. Then we came home and the kids proceeded to strip. What is it with kids and their love of running around sans clothing. We snapped this picture of the three of them hanging out on the couch before they got too far!

Halloween

 

We were blessed with a little Rapunzel and a frog for our Halloween entertainment this year.  Sam had a good week of Trick-Or-Treating.  On Saturday we went to Living History Farms for Family Halloween.  Brett wore his frog costume for that as well.  We walked through the old town and got treats at all of the stores.  Then we got to cuddle close for a horse drawn wagon ride.  After that was done we toasted some marshmallows and then headed for the exits.

 

On Monday night, my sister and three of my nieces picked Sam up and took her Trunk-Or-Treating at their church.  She had fun there and according to my sister was very polite and she came home with a decent sized stash of candy.

 

For Beggar’s Night we went to my sister’s neighborhood and Sam went Trick-Or-Treating with my nieces.  In the group picture Sam is all the way to the right in the purple.  She had fun and as a bonus for me, I didn’t have to walk the street freezing my arse off. 

 

Happy Belated Halloween!!!

 

Flu vaccine and a lunch date

I had a lunch date with my favorite little girl today! Jimmy john's slim 1 for her and a #4 no mayo for me. I love lunch dates at JJ!

I took Sam to the doc this morning to get her flu vaccine. She got the mist for the first time and she didn't like it much but it was better than a shot.

Tonight when we were in Sam's room doing the normal good night routine Brettors started blowing kisses like crazy. It was so cute! Earlier he had waved bye bye like crazy to Sam and I when we left for tumbling class which he hasn't really ever done before. He also followed Dakota around and was petting her a ton. I wish I had gotten any of this on video but of course I didn't. The mental picture is there though!

Today's work out was a 2 mile run. I did a modifies version of the routine that Travis says is responsible for making him faster. I started at 6mph and bumped it up by .10 ever .10 miles until I reached 7mph then backed it down the same way. It didn't feel too bad. After that I hit the elliptical for 30 minutes.

Coloring Fun

Cats have gasby's? In Sam's world that means hair. Cows also have manes that are purple! Manes keep them warm. After a walk we spent some quality time coloring tonight. Brett even joined in the fun.

My workout today consisted of 50 minutes on the elliptical. My heel hurt pretty badly. Maybe it is the elliptical that caused the injury. I doubt it.

Sam went to the pumpkin patch with daycare today. She said her favorite thing was the pumpkins. Imagine that.
She brought home a little pumpkin too!

Family Picture Time

We finally had some family pictures taken.  We haven’t done this since a few weeks after Brett was born so it was time.  My nieces helped (one took the pictures and one tried to get everyone looking at the camera at the same time).   They turned out great.  I’ve said it before and this just proved it again, I am never paying a pro to take pictures again.  I have talented family members and they are almost always willing to snap a few pictures for us.

 

The weekend went fast.  The weather was great – almost hot on Sunday.  Travis and I went to spin class on Saturday morning.  The instructor was borderline insane and the class was tough.  It was a great workout.  I’ve been shying away from intense biking because I think my thighs are as big as they ever need to be and I’m worried that spinning will make them bigger.  Did you see the quads on those bikers in the Olympics?????  That gives me nightmares.  Then we watched the Huskers pull out a win on Saturday.  It wasn’t pretty but it is a “W”.  Travis and I went down and watched a little cyclocross on Saturday night which was fun as well. 

 

Sunday morning, Travis hit the trails for a 7 mile run then we went to the play area at the mall.  Sam and Brett had a blast.  Sam made friends with another little girl and they were chasing each other around and around and around for about a half hour.  We spent an hour at the play area then ran through the sports store to look at the animals.  Then it was home for lunch and naps.  Brettor was soooo tired.  On the way home I had to sit in the back and prop his eyes open with toothpicks.  They both had a nice nap and then at 3pm we headed to the green space behind the library for the family pictures.  When pictures were done it was time for some frozen yogurt (ice cream in Sam’s book).  We headed to TCBY only to find the windows all covered and a hand written sign thanking their loyal customers for the years of business.  What?  How can TCBY close?  It is 100 times better than these other frozen yogurt shops that keep popping up everywhere.  I think we all had a little cry while on our way to Yo2Go.  Yo2Go wasn’t tasty.  I hate to start going back to Mc Donald’s for ice cream cones in the car but I think it may come to that. 

 

I finally hit the treadmill for a 7 mile run of my own at a little after 6pm.  The run was horrible.  I always read on the ‘mill and try not to check my mileage until I think I am almost done.  My first check yesterday was at 4 miles in.  Oh how frustrating!  I ended up run/walking the final mile.  I was a hot and sweaty mess!

 

We have an evening ritual of snacks and cartoons at 7:30pm and last night while Sam was sitting on Travis’ lap she said her head hurt.  She has done this a few times over the past couple of weeks.  You ask her where and she points to the back on the right (I think).  She won’t let you touch it though.  She has been fighting a bit of a bug over the past couple of weeks.  A few weeks ago when she first said it to Travis he said it felt like she had a lump back there but he couldn’t tell if it was a lump or just her head.  I managed to get a peek and it looked a little red – like she had been scratching it.  Last night she cried out for me once – I think it was just a dream but I took advantage of it and did some poking and prodding around on her head.  It does feel a little like she has a swollen spot on the back on the left side.  Knowing that she has been fighting a bug I think I will try to get her in to the doctor.  I’m paranoid and I hope that is proven once again!

Riding horses

Sam loves going to the farm and riding Bones. My sister in law took this picture of Travis, Sam, Dakota and Bones a few weekends ago. I think I need to make it into a canvas.

Popsicle's in the tub

Sam has a bath time ritual that she inherited from me. When I was little we ate Popsicles in the bathtub all the time. Last night I snapped this pic an put it on Facebook. My mother in law posted wanting to know why she was eating it in the tub. Was she sick? Apparently not everyone does this. My hubby never did this.

I honestly don't think it is odd. If there is a more perfect place to consume a Popsicle I would like to hear about it. I can't believe my hubby has never had a Popsicle in the tub.

Sick?

Does this look like the face of a sick kiddo to you?

Tuesday, daycare called me at 11am and said Brett had a fever of 100.5 and he had been acting really tired all morning. If it gets to 101 he has to go home and he can't come back until he has been fever free for 24 hours. I made the decision to go get him. When I got there he was eating lunch and he got done and started trying to steal the lunches of his friends. Oh and he had no fever. I took him home anyway. He napped a bit and was a bit clingy. I do think he isn't feeling the best but I don't think he really needed to go home. The next day the daycare lady who called me apologized. Oh well I got to spend a few more hours with him than I normally do and was still able to work so it ended up being ok.

Happy Birthday Brett

The last couple of weeks have been pretty exciting at our house.  Brett turned 1 on September 1st and the Husker Football season started as well.  We also put new shingles on our roof and by "we" I mean Travis, 3 of my brother-in-law's and one friend.  They did an awesome job and got the house and garage all done in a day!  Travis had ripped the old shingles off of the garage and prepped it to the tar paper stage which was hard work for him but he did great.  I was on the garage for a few hours helping him out but other than that it was all him.

Let's start with Brett turning one.  I can not believe how fast the year has gone.  He is growing like a weed and when I tell you he is into everything I really mean it.  We used to say that Sam was into everything when she was his age but she wasn't.  This boy is all over everywhere all of the time!  Here are some pictures from a small birthday celebration we had with my mom, and my sister and her family.  We went to the zoo first thing in the morning then came home for lunch, naps, then cake and ice cream followed by presents.  I made him a Curious George smash cake.  It was devils food with whatever the normal frosting is out of the can.  He seemed to like it.  We also made ice cream in the ice cream ball.  It was vanilla with broken up Reese's PB cups in it.  Everyone but Brett loved the ice cream.  I think he just has a hard time with it being so cold. 

On 9/4 Brett started his first day in the toddler room at day care.  He was a little out of sorts when I dropped him off.  I took oatmeal for him for breakfast but they don't have highchairs in there.  Maybe I need to transition to finger foods for breakfast.  But then again, he can't really climb into the chairs and sit at the little table yet so maybe it isn't such a big deal.  I'm also still nursing him.  I wrapped up nursing with Sam gradually right after she turned one.  Brett had his one year appointment with the Dr. last Thursday and he said he is fine with him continuing on breast milk, or formula or whole milk.  In the end it is up to me.  I've been researching and researching trying to figure out if there is a real benefit health wise to Brett or myself for continuing.  They say that continuing benefits the baby's immune system and there are rumors that it it better for brain development.  I have also read that the longer the mother breast feeds the more she decreases her risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, diabetes, etc.  What isn't clear is how long is the most beneficial.  I want to make sure I've done enough research before I totally pull the plug on it.  I give myself a few more weeks.  I have cut back to nursing in the morning, pumping at around 2pm and pumping again around 8:30pm.  I'm thinking of cutting back to nursing in the morning and pumping for the before bed bottle.  The doc said he only needs 16 oz of milk so if I am feeding him 6 oz at night, what I would guess to be around 5-6 oz in the morning, that means he really only needs another 4 oz or so to hit the 16 oz goal. 

Fitness wise I haven't ridden my bike since 8/4 and I have no desire to do so right now.  I've been running about 20 miles/week and doing the elliptical for a few hours a week.  I'm working on a training plan for a cross country race the weekend before Thanksgiving that is 7 miles long.  We are trying to decide when our next race should be.

On another kid note, we are thinking about taking the kiddos to the Nebraska game this weekend.  I'm not sure how they will do.  The weather is supposed to be perfect though so if we ever wanted to give it a try this would be the time to do it.

A Little Hometown Birthday Celebration

Dear Sam & Brett,

This weekend we loaded up and headed to Papa and Grandma's to celebrate Bruning's 125th birthday. Going back home isn't mommy's favorite thing to do but spending time with family is important. They are a link to your past and the ones most likely to be by your side in the future. Time goes fast. I hope daddy and I help you to learn to love others and to cherish your family first and foremost. We will try our beat to make it fun along the way!

Uncle Shawn, Uncle Tracy, Aunt Krissy, Abe, Aunt Nikki, Reese and Hannah were already there by the time we arrived on Friday night. You both had an awesome time staying up late and playing with your cousins.

On Saturday morning we headed in to town as members of the Hinrichs Family Threshing crew. Sometime we will have to sit down with you and explain threshing. Now isn't the time. You both enjoyed sitting on the old tractors.

Later in the afternoon you got to be in your first parade with all of your extended Hinrichs family. It was super hot but you both did great. There was a little pool on the float and you both played around in the water to help stay cool. Brett, you are so funny. You love, love, love splashing around. Sam, you had your first peeing outside experience (actually two times). Although it isn't a great idea to pee in public sometimes you don't really have a choice. We didn't have a choice on Saturday and you did awesome.

After the parade we headed back to the farm. It started to sprinkle a bit. Once the threat of storms passed daddy saddled up Bones and Gary and Sammy you went for a ride. Hannah joined you on Bones and you had a blast!

After the rides were done we just hung out with the family. The adults had some adult beverages and you kiddos ran around playing. Brett, you got some quality cuddling time in with the adults. Before too long you will be running and riding with the rest of the crew but for now we will enjoy holding you and playing Pat-a-cake.

Love you both,
Mommy

Ironman 70.3 Racine Race Report

We all survived and finished. That really was the only goal going into the race yesterday. I finished in 7:03, had bike troubles and serious cramping on the run for 10 miles. Travis finished with me and his time was 6:58. We weren't speedy but we made it!

The weather was decent. Mid 70's at the start and upper 80's during the run. It was pretty humid though.

The wave Kris and I were in started at 8:08. We were at transition at 5:30am so it was a long morning. The water was a chilly 68 degrees and of course when I put my face in I started hyperventilating a bit. I calmed down the longer I stayed in the water though. The water was clear which is something I'm not used to so that was nice too. I had butterflies in my stomach and my heart started racing a bit when the gun went off. I started at the back on the right and got into a little groove fairly quickly.

The swim was pretty uneventful until I was getting close to the last buoy before heading to shore. By then several people in the. Ext wave and a few from the wave after had caught up to me and it became more like the "washing machine" they tell you about. I had someone swimming up my legs continuously. I made it to shore and through the swim finish arch in 42 minutes. I was more than ok with that time.

The highlight of T1 was the nice man who pulled off my wetsuit. I've never had assistance getting out of my suit before and let me say, it was AWESOME!!!!

I took my time in T1 and headed out on the bike after 6 minutes or so. Then I started cursing. My freaking bike computer would not work. No mph, no timer, nothing. The only thing that worked was cadence. I stopped at around 5 miles and tried to fix it with no luck. I was racing by feel only which isn't a bad thing to do sometimes but it would have been good to pace myself during a ride that was that long. A ride that would be followed up with a half marathon! Oh well. I knew right then that when I told Travis about it he would take the computer off and smash it. Rightly so. It has been a pain in the arse since I got it.

The bike course is not enjoyable. It is rough as a cob. Even drinking is difficult. At mile 15 my aerobars had come loose. Not just slightly loose but all the way to where they were turning all of the way out. I thought about leaving them and riding in my drops the rest of the way but 40+ miles in the drops is a long way. I pulled over and spent minutes tightening the darn things.

Travis passed me shortly after.

I tried to stay at a moderate pace.

I tried to eat and drink. More on that later.

I finished the bike in 3:17 and headed to T2. I came upon Travis there. I got my run gear on, let the race volunteers slather some sunscreen on me and then hit the porta potty. I peed a lot. I thought I must have been drinking enough to that point. I was wrong.

Travis waited for me and we headed out on the run. The first mile was ok. I think we did 9:19 pace. That is too fast. We walked through the first aid station and grabbed some perform and ice water which I poured over my head. Mile 2 was ok. I made us walk for a minute after 5 minutes then we ran to the next aid station. Again I had perform and ice water. The next mile I made us walk again after about five minutes but here is where the wheels started to come off. I started to feel like I couldn't breathe. Travis calmed me down and then we jogged some more. I started to feel some small cramps in my quads just above my knees. We made it through the first 3.4 miles in around 36 minutes. I kept telling Travis he could go on. He didn't. At first I think I was running too fast to try to not disappoint him but then the cramping started and it was somewhat out of my control.

My jog five minutes, walk one minute plan gradually deteriorated to at the end where I couldn't even jog 20 steps consecutively without my legs seizing up. I almost fell down 3 times. I'm sad that I didn't perform better and that I didn't finish in under 7 hours. I am so thankful for my awesome hubby. He didn't have to stay with me. I would have been ok. But he did stay. We talked about things while we walked. I had a good time even though I could barely walk. I really, really, really love that man.

I tried to run across the finish but my legs did not really let me. That will be an interesting finish line picture. A lady came over to too to me and asked me to follow her to the med tent. I did. They wrapped ice bags around my legs and neck. They gave me water. They said there was a ton of people who ran almost the whole race while cramping. They thought it was due to the humidity.

We he some snacks and packed up our stuff. The shower at the hotel felt awesome. Then we met some friends for a little celebratory food and drink. I slept like crap. I miss my kids.

Now let's talk about nutrition here is what my day looked like:

Dinner the night before:
Olive garden linguini alla marinara. 2 breadsticks and a salad. We had 1 beer at the hotel and I ate a banana before I popped and Ibuprofen and hit the hay. I slept good

Race day
Breakfast: 1 cinnamon raisin bagel with approx 1T Jif Natural PB, a little coffee and some water

Pre-race: approx 10 oz perform and 1/2 banana

Bike: 20 oz perform in the first hour, 2 margarita shot blocks at hour 1, 20 oz perform during the second hour, 1/2 banana at approx 1.5 hours in, 2 margarita shot blocks at hour 2, 20 oz of water during the remaining ride and 2-3 shot blocks.

Run: I had perform at all but one aid station and water at about half of them. I tried soda once but it was horrible! I had a few potato chips at mile 7 and a GU Rocktane at mile 10.

Moral of the story.....I didn't drink enough. If I ever do this again I need to figure that out. I also need to do some longer runs after long rides. It's been so hot this summer and I've been so pressed for time that the longest run after a bike was 3.1 miles. That won't cut it.

All in all, I'm glad I did it but I don't really feel the itch to do another. We will see.

Teaching Manners

I mentioned in my last post that I needed to start reading some books so I can discern a way to effectively teach Sam manners. Well today at Target I found this book. It goes over please and thank you, excuse me, table manners, etc., etc.

I figure she loves princesses and if they can help us teach her how to be polite I can learn to love them too! Of course we will continue to do our part but don't they always say that together as a team you can do more? It can't hurt.

Training: last night I made it to the pool to swim at 9 pm. I quickly discovered that swimming on an empty stomach is not a good idea. It served as a reminder to take some chomps with me to the race start on Sunday.

This morning I ran two miles on the treadmill and I think we might try to do a little swim in the lake tomorrow and then training will be officially done!

It's a Double Yolk Day

I cracked my egg this morning an look at what I got......a double yolk!!!! I don't think I have ever seen a double yolk. I think it is going to be a great day!

Taper week for IM 70.3 Racine is going as well as can be expected. Yesterday was a 4.8 mile run. Today I will head to the pool for a 1,300 meter swim after Sam goes to bed. I'm starting to feel some nervousness. My stomach feels a little queasy and I doubt that goes away until T1 on Sunday!

Swim lessons for Sam last night went a little better. She still doesn't pay enough attention to the teacher and acts like she is trying to run away from her all of the time. That drives me crazy. I keep trying to tell Sam she needs to sit and listen to the teacher and she should not run away. She says she will but then she doesn't. I hope she continues to improve.

While watching Sam at lessons and listening to he at home I have started to wonder how do we teach her manners. Right now she likes to voice demands such as "I want Mac and cheese", "I want to watch tv" etc. I always ask her to say please and then she will restate the request adding a please to the end. I want her to be polite. I want her to say "may I", "please", "thank you", etc. I also want her to be nice to others and learn to love people. How do I do that? Travis and I aren't social butterflies. I think I need to read some books quickly!

Sam's 3 year appointment

It went great. She is 62nd percentile for height and 42rd for weight. She wasn't fond of them messing with her ears though and the doc did say that one was a little red. He said a drop or two of vinegar in them after swimming should help. Her doctor is awesome with her. He is silly and very entertaining. His office is a mess. Papers are everywhere but boy he sure is good with the little ones!

Swimming Lesson #1

Tonight was Sam's first official swimming lesson. She has been to water babies at the y but this is real lessons. She was the youngest kid there by quite a bit and had a little bit of a hard time paying attention to the teacher. This was all fine and dandy until the little frog pad she was sitting on slipped down a couple of steps and her and another girl decided to try and reach them. Sam was quickly in over her head and she couldn't get back to where she could touch. She was kicking vertically but not going anywhere and she couldn't get her head above the water. I was standing with a couple of other parents outside the fence and started yelling "somebody needs to get her, someone get her, someone get her!". The teacher went over and grabbed her. She wasn't coughing at all and didn't really act scared so I know she was holding her breath but I also know she wouldn't have been able to get herself back to where she could touch.

My heart rate spiked but she was unfazed. I spent the rest of class reminding her to sit on her step. I hope she either learns to swim quickly or develops more of a fear of the water. Just enough of a healthy fear to keep her safe!

My workout on my supposed rest day was 23 minutes on the elliptical and 2 miles on the treadmill.

Taper Week and I Feel Lazy

Yesterday was a rest day and this week is a serious taper week before our first 70.3 next weekend. Today is supposed to be a rest day too but I don't think I can handle doing nothing. I may go out for a 20-30 minute jog after work just to keep my sanity.

I printed off a couple of race checklists for Travis and I. I also printed some weekend trip packing lists for Brett and Sam. I love checklists.

I hope to work on Sam and Brett's yearly photo books in the way to the race and on the way home.

Sam starts swimming lessons tonight. She goes for 1/2 hour M-Thurs for the next two weeks. I won't be allowed in the water with her and I hope she does ok. We will see. I'm a little nervous. She went to Sunday School for the first time and was a little nervous at first but they said she did great. I will have to take some pictures and post them tomorrow.

Finally a break from the oppressive heat

Today was decent. It was still around 95 degrees but it felt so much better than the 100+ temps we have had the last couple of weeks.

We had a good day. Travis and I did out last pre Racine brick. I rode 20 miles inside then 21.5 outside and I am so glad I went out. The ride was awesome. My bike needs a cleaning though. I could feel grime and salt on it from the warm weather riding we have done. We finished up with approx a mile in the pool. I didn't wear my watch and I loose track counting laps without it so I really have no idea how far I went.

Thursday

Boy, you are so tired and yet you are still crawling around and getting into everything! You also woke up coughing last night around 2am. I gave you a nebula we treatment and tried to get you comfy for an hour and a half. Finally I got out the warm mist humidifier and cranked it up in addition to your cool mist one and I was able to get enough moisture into your room so you could sleep. It wasn't an easy task since the AC seems to run 24/7 blasting cool dry air in to your room! We almost didn't go to Jimmy John's tonight. Then I decided it is tradition. Every Thursday we must go out to eat as a family. We've been doing it for 10 months now and we need a tradition so we went. I ran 6.9 today. 3 outside in the heat (heat index of 104) and the remaining miles on the treadmill. It didn't feel that bad outside but man I hope it isn't like this next Sunday for our race! Today is a rest day. We have a long bike and a mile swim tomorrow and then we are in full taper mode!

4th of July Parade

Here is a shot of Sam waving the flag at the 4th of July parade.

4th of July

Travis and I did brick workouts and then dropped Brett & Sam at child watch at the y and went for a swim. I forgot to feed Brett his morning bottle and by the time we picked him up he was cranky. I can't blame him. I felt like the worst mom ever. We went home and I grabbed my pp and a big jar of stage 3 food then we headed to lunch. After the swim we went to Quiznos for lunch. Sam had to go grab some Cheetos the second she walked in the door. Brett govbled up 90% of the baby food and a couple ounces of milk and was good to go Then it was nap time. After naps we hit a parade even though it was 100 degrees out. Sam said she was having so much fun while we were there. After the parade we went to the mall to play at the playground and get out of he heat. We had fun. Then we stopped by the store for some bananas and baby food and ordered pizza for dinner. After dinner it was bath and play time. Sm used her Quiznos kid pack sidewalk chalk on her chalkboard in her room. I swept the floor and then we watched some tv and went to bed. No fireworks for us!

6/16 - 6/23/2012

I think I am going to morph this into a daily update on the cute and not so cute things my kids do. The hubby and I have been talking about getting journals for them and jotting something down daily so we don't forget these days of their lives. Well, I'm going to start here and now:

Sam: Saturday: early this morning I was riding the indoor trainer while daddy was biking outside. You and Brett were with me in the basement. You were sprawled out in the rocking chair watching cartoons when you turned to me and said "Mommy, you are so cute!". Thanks baby girl! You are so beautiful! Sunday: nap time horror. We went to your room at 12:15. I left it at 1pm because you wouldn't stop playing and start sleeping. Daddy had to come in and get you to calm down and finally sleep. I think we need to wear you out more in the morning. Once this 1/2 IM training is done look out.....mornings aren't going to be spent watching cartoons!

Monday: We went for a walk after dinner and you picked up a big stick (probably 6 feet long) and raised it over your head and declared yourself strong! You woke up and yelled for daddy and I and when I came in your room you were sweating. I think your blanket is too heavy for summer. I went into Brett's room and pulled out a little blanket I used to have when I was little and brought it to you. I told you it used to be mine. You smiled and then said "now it is mine" and smiled again then gave me a kiss.

Tuesday: Tumbling class was tonight and you literally growled at the girl behind you who was waiting to do bear crawls on the bars when you were done. You also told her to leave you alone. I let you know that you weren't being nice and you growled at me as well. I pulled you aside and reminded you that you need to be nice but let me say, I don't think it sunk in.

Wednesday: after dinner you wanted to go for a walk so we walked down to the trail. On the way you said "mommy, that Mac n' cheese gave me lots of energy"!

Thursday: nothing too exciting today. We went to JJ then got your hair cut at the mall. They gave you your choice of suckers and not surprisingly you picked pink!

Friday: Papa and grandma arrived this evening for your birthday party tomorrow. When they pulled up you got all excited then went out to greet them with daddy. When you got out there you asked "where is the rest of the guys?".

Brett:
Saturday: you are going to be in to absolutely everything soon! I had to put your activity mat (which has tall sides) and a magazine rack in front of my bike to keep you from army crawling into my chain while I was biking. Well, that is going to be a short lived solution. You crawled over the wall this morning! Good job buddy! I'm going to need to get more resourceful!

Sunday: I held you while you napped for the first time in a long time. You were so cuddly! You helped daddy put Sam's Barbie Jeep together this afternoon and were the first one to test out the driver's seat! You looked like a natural, grabbing the steering wheel! You also face planted down the step from your room to the back door. We fed you 6oz of milk and put you to bed shortly after 9pm today. I want to get into the routine of putting you to bed instead of having you fall asleep on the couch then us waking you up to eat shortly before 10pm.

Monday: You woke up last night at 11:15 and didn't go back to sleep until 12:30am or so. At first it seemed like you just needed your paci but even with that in your mouth you cried a lot. I got up and gave you some ibuprofen thinking that maybe your teeth were hurting and then put you back in bed. That didn't do the trick either. After trying to soothe you back to sleep for a half hour we decided to let you cry it out a bit. 15 minutes of torture (to you and to daddy and I) I was back in your room. We went to the living room and rocked a bit. You let out a burp and then proceeded to wiggle around like you usually do when you are tired and need to sprawl out so you can sleep. I carried you back to your room and put you in the crib and you were out and slept until 6:15am. Hmmm, maybe the burp did it. I hope your belly didn't hurt for an hour before I figured out how to help you feel better! :-( Monday night you experienced your first real family meal. I gave you a few bites of Hamburger Helper Stroganaf. You seemed to like it. You also fell asleep around 8:30pm with daddy holding you which you haven't done for a while. Daddy enjoyed the cuddle time.

Tuesday: You had some cooked carrots and slivered pineapple at day care with your lunch and they said you loved it. You must have ate a bunch at daycare today though because you weren't very hungry for dinner.

Wednesday: I carried you in to day care without your car seat for the first time today and I enjoyed not lugging that seat with me immensely. I think we will switch out your seat in my ride soon. When I put you down in the middle of the four other girls that were already on the mat in your room they swarmed you and you army crawled away quickly. For the first time you fussed a bit when I left. Your knees are getting scuffed and bruised from all of the army crawling you are doing.

Thursday: Pretty low key for you tonight too. You hung out in your car seat at JJ and while Sammy was getting her hair cut.

Friday: You stayed awake until 9:30pm or so tonight which is about the longest I have seen you make it without a nap!

My life: Sunday: training for this 1/2 IM is getting old. Yesterday morning was spent doing a bike, run, swim (in that order) and this morning was supposed to be a 12 mile run. That didn't go so well. GI issues from the greasy pizza and beer Travis and I ate last night! I need to get more sleep. I have been relying on my naps with Sam on the weekend to keep me from dipping dangerously low in the sleep department. From my notes above you can see I didn't get that nap in yesterday and with Brett being awake for a little over an hour last night I think I'm walking a fine line here. Particularly with this training I've been doing.

Monday: 20.5 mile bike in 1:06 followed by a .5 mile run on the treadmill. It felt pretty good.

Tuesday: I slept decent again and did a 5.9 mile run in 58 minutes on the treadmill this afternoon. The run felt pretty good.

Wednesday: another decent night of sleep. The workout today was a big brick. Travis and I both took a half day off. We swam 2400 meters at the Y. Then we biked on the trail for 30.50 miles ( I have a nice red stripe on my back from a slight sunburn). Then we ran 3 miles. We were supposed to run 5 but it was 90+ degrees out with a constant 20+ mph wind and by three miles I was spent!

Thursday: was supposed to run 8.8 but only did 6. I'm tired and my heel throbbed while I was trying to sleep tonight. I really need at least one more long run, hopefully of 13.1 and one more long bike and long swim before Racine.

Friday: biked 51 on the indoor trainer.

Monday Mornings

I'm not a fan of Monday mornings. Too much stuff to do. Too early to get up. Packing bottles and food for daycare, lunch and snack for me, it all equals ick! I have a habit of forgetting things on Monday too. This morning I forgot part of my pump and had to run home to get it.

My legs are a bit sore this morning. My right heel is hurting a bit too much. I have a short bike on the calendar for today so that is good at least my feet get a rest. The bad thing is that I normally work until 4:00pm but I had a last minute meeting pop onto my calendar from 4-5pm. Who does that on A Monday?

Yesterday we hit a park after nap then got home and the neighbor girl was coming outside. Sam wanted to play but once they were together she wasn't interested. Sam just wanted daddy to push her in the swing. I don't think she grasps playing with other kids yet. She had multiple meltdowns when she was forced to share her swing.

Brett had a good day. He was his typically happy self. After dinner he was laying around on the floor and was cooing and talking like crazy. I should have taken a video.

Sam's wearing size 9 month pants!!!!

The pic above is from Easter morning.  We have started a tradition of orange cinnamon rolls for breakfast on Easter morning and although these were straight out of the refrigerated section courtesy of Pillsbury Sam still loved them and after our 9.5 mile runs so did Travis & I.

Sam peed her pants while we were at Pizza Ranch for lunch today.  Fun times.  I asked her if she had to go potty as we were going in and of course she said no.  Then about 10 minutes later she was kneeling beside me at the table and pee started running down her legs.  Lovely!  Better yet, we didn't have any replacement clothes for her so she squeezed into Brett's size 9 month brown pants.  Good thing she isn't too big.  They actually fit ok but they come down to just below her knees.  The kind of look like short tights.

Sam in Brett's size 9 month pants after peeing herself at lunch

Brett has moved up to stage 2 baby food - he generally starts the day with nursing, then around 9 am has 2T of oatmeal cereal with 1/2 of a stage 1 or 1/3 of a stage 2 fruit or a quarter of a mashed up banana and 5 oz of milk, then for lunch he's been eating close to a full 3.5 ounce container of veggies followed by approx 5 oz of milk, an afternoon snack of 5 oz of milk and then dinner of 3T cereal with fruit and approx 4 oz of milk then a before bed bottle of 5 - 6 oz of milk.  I should say, that is his schedule when at home.  At day care they seem to think he is starving all of the time and feed him 6-7 oz of milk in addition to food at 9, noon & 3pm.  I don't see how they get him to keep it all down, he is always spitting stuff back up for me if he eats that much.

Brett just hanging out outside

Training is going ok.  I still cannot believe we are signed up for an Olympic Tri on 5/20.  What crazy person talked us into that.  The distance isn't the issue, the water temp is going to be.  I'm not looking forward to 60 ish degree water and I'm sure I will hyperventilate and have a really hard time settling in.  Hopefully I calm myself down enough to finish the swim.  I'v thought about buying a full sleeve wetsuit to wear for the race and for the 1/2 Ironman in July but I really don't think I'm going to do another 1/2 and I don't plan on doing another in the freezing cold water.  That said, I am a bit of a wuss so we will see....

This week is a rest week.  We each ran 6 miles on the treadmill this morning.  Travis ran first and then I followed at around 7:30am.  I got some new shoes yesterday - Nike Zoom Vomero and tried them out.  After a mile I was begging for my Newtons.  I wish I didn't like my Newtons so much - they are too expensive.  I'm keeping track of the mileage I put on them so I can see if the cost is justified.

Here are my #s from last week:

S:

1900.00 M

45m

B:

61.41 Mi

3h 28m 39s

R:

21.80 Mi

3h 32m

Crunch

Today I left work for a lunch date with the hubby. I was excited. I never ever leave the building for lunch. I was headed to Old Chicago for some tasty pizza when I took my eyes off of the car in front of me for a second and then......crunch! The car in front of me came to an abrupt stop and when I looked back from my one second glance away I tried to stop but couldn't. Dang it anyway! Turned out the car in front of the girl I hit had to come to a sudden stop, the car in front of me was able to stop but I was not. My hood crinkled and the car I hit lost it's rear bumper. No one was hurt at all. I was going slow when I hit her. It didn't even really feel like I hit anything to be honest. I am sure there is thousands of dollars worth of damage though. Man, that $500 lunch wasn't worth it!

I got back to the office and my boss told me to leave early. I left at a little after 4 pm and came home to get in a little workout. 2 miles on the treadmill at a heart rate of approx 135. I'm trying out the Maffetone Method so my heart rate monitor and I are going to become close friends. After the run I lifted some weights. I need to stick with the regular strength training especially since I'm getting older.

We made some gnocchi (ick) and hung out with the kiddos. Tomorrow we will spend some time with my mom and sister and her family. It should be fun!

The pictures are just random sprinkled in to show what's going on with the little ones.  Sam made her first snowman and a snow cave with Daddy.  Brett is starting to reliably roll over and he is still the happiest little boy with the biggest smile ever!!!  We love you two!! XOXOXO!!!

Is Everyone a Swimmer??

We are at the beginning part of our Ironman 70.3 training and I am slowly warming up to swimming again. I loathe swimming but it isn't the actual swimming part that I hate so much. It is the prep (get the suit on, throw some clothes over top, get the car warmed up, drive to the gym, go get a locker and get dressed down to the suit then walk out to the pool only to find out I have to circle swim) that irritates the heck out of me! Are you kidding me! I'm not good enough to circle swim! Why are there so many freakin' people swimming? It's a pain in the arse and if i didn't have to do it to prevent myself from drowning in a race I would only done a suit at a beach or while on vacation. Seriously, people don't swim 36 laps for fun do they?

Other than the swimming, training has been going ok. Running was seeming hard and so I backed off a little in intensity and now I feel slow but I'm not hitting the wall during every run. Biking is all indoors at this time of the year. We usually hit a spin class once a week to try and spice it up a bit.

I also started lifting weights after 2 of my easy lunch runs during the week. It has been going well but man do I feel like a weakling. We are thinking about running a half marathon in April.

Work has been crazy busy and life is flying by. Sam is 2 1/2 and continues to amaze us every day. She graduated to big girl panties a few weeks ago and has been doing amazing. We have still been putting her in a diaper at night but tonight she really protested. I told her we would try no diaper at night this weekend. She started tumbling classes at a gymnastics and dance studio in town and she loves it! They do all sorts of fun stuff: forward rolls, balance beams, rings, parallel bars, uneven bars and more. She's a pretty strong little stinker too!

Brett is 5 months old and is such a happy guy. He is starting to really grasp things and of course once he gets them in his hands they find their way to his mouth. He's been fighting repeat ear infections and some bronchialitis and we had to give him a round of steroids, antibiotics and we are now the proud owners of a nebulizer. He is also starting to roll over on purpose.

Other than that, not much is new. We need to spend some more time with family. We haven't been over to visit my sister since Brett was born. We need to change that soon. Life is so busy and we need to carve out some time with the important people in our lives. We need a non prompted priority shift. Maybe this weekend or next?

Daddy's driving is scary!!!!!