No pain, no gain

I'm not sure I  like the saying, "No pain, no gain."  I mean, sure, it can work as motivation in some settings.  But do I really want pain?

Last week R and I were casually talking about the weekend ahead and wondering what we were going to do when he thoughtfully reminded me, "Aren't you running the half marathon?"  Oh yeah.  That.

To say that I haven't been training for it is a bit of an understatement.  After getting that nasty head cold at Christmas, my short lived running regimen was dropped and never picked back up.  I started work, we moved back into the house... all good reasons, but yes, excuses nonetheless.  Let's face it - if you really want something, you make it a priority, and training this year wasn't high on my list.  It didn't even make the list.

So fast forward to yesterday morning.  My alarm went off at 5:05 (not sure why I didn't just set it for 5:00, but I guess those five extra minutes seemed crucial) and then proceeded to close my eyes and fall back asleep until G woke up at 5:50.  I reluctantly peeled myself out of bed, went to feed him (running with the ladies full didn't sound like fun if you catch my drift), and then proceeded to get ready.  My plan was to GET to the race area at 6:15.  It was more like 6:50 but I made it and had ten minutes to spare until race time.

I didn't have any breakfast except for a few protein bar bites I forced down on the drive.  I didn't drink any water beforehand but made sure to grab water and/or gatorade at all of the water stops along the race route.

This was by far the least prepared I had ever been for any race, but I knew I was going to do it and finish it.  R suggested switching from running a mile to walking a mile so I didn't hit a wall at the end and not be able to run anymore.  It was good idea in theory but I had a really hard time trying to follow this in the beginning with all of the adrenaline.  That quickly wore off after about 3 miles and I settled in to a nice and S-L-O-W jog.  I would stop to walk as needed and just told myself I was doing an "abnormally long" Sunday morning jog.

It was the slowest 13.1 miles I have ever posted, but I finished, and I am proud of myself for that.  I honestly enjoyed myself - there is something to being a part of that kind of atmosphere.  There are SO many different people who are just as crazy as you are to get up that early to run 13.1 miles - the even crazier ones go for 26.2.  There are SO many awesome people who come out to cheer you on, to give you high fives,  to sing and play music for your entertainment, and to give you nourishment (thank you to the random lady with the bowl of candy at mile 6 - that tootsie roll was amazing).  I loved seeing all of their smiles, hearing their words of encouragement, and reading their funny signs.

This wasn't my first half, so I did know that mental toughness would make up for some of what I lacked in training.  Each mile marker I saw helped me to mentally check off the remaining miles, and I thoughtfully (hehe) reminded myself that there would be plenty of food at the finish line.  :)  Whatever works!

I am happy to say that I did not collapse in a ditch and I was able to cross the finish line running.  I plan on signing up again for next year's race.  But this time?  Maybe I'll also plan on training too.  :)

Future runner in the making...

p.s. Livestrong was the sponsor for this year's race and Lance was in attendance running the half as well.  I am sad to say that I did not see him AND that his time was half of mine.

My Little Lovebug

Today has been my favorite Valentine's Day thus far ... that I can remember anyway.  :)  V-Day is definitely very low on my holiday list.  I personally think it's over commercialized and over indulgent, but I do enjoy promoting love and kindness.  Anyway, off my soap box...

I realized recently that G's half birthday will always be on V-Day, which seems appropriate since he is my little lovebug.  (Side note: I'm not sure why I just came to this realization since his birthday is one day before mine... I'm going to blame it on PIA: Parental Induced Alzheimer's).

G's class at school had a V-Day party and the parents were invited to come.  Part of me thought it was cute, and the other part of me thought it was a little silly considering they are all 8 months or younger.  I spent a couple of hours yesterday making V-Day cards for his classmates and a personalized shoe box to hold all of his cards (yes, all 8 of them).  We also had to sign up to bring something to the party - my item was fruit punch, which was obviously not put into any of the bottles.  Admittedly, it was a nice way to celebrate G's first day of love ... and G had the best cards to pass out!  I am giving myself a pat on the back for this one since I handmade his while everyone else just had store bought cards.  This may have to become an annual tradition.  I enjoyed making my classmates their cards when I was a kid and I hope G will one day enjoy it too.  I will try my hardest to impart some of my craftiness on him.  :)

I had a moment yesterday where I just had to let some of my perfectionist tendencies go.  Two weeks ago I ventured out to the mall to have his picture taken at Picture People for Valentine's cards I was going to make and mail out.  I found this great deal online and decided to take advantage of it to force myself to send cards: http://www.picturepeople.com/_assets/docs/Jan_2011_Coupon.pdf

Funny enough, my first experience with Picture People was five years ago when I met up with my sister and my niece for her first V-Day pictures.  Yes, we have come full circle!  This was my second visit to the store, and my first as an actual paying customer, and I thought they did a great job.  I am partial to my favorite photographer Meghan Heller but decided to do these photos on a whim, so off we went!  G cooperated nicely and I was able to select my favorite pose fairly quickly without getting sucked in to buying more prints - yay for perseverance!

I knew I wanted to make the card myself but faced the problem of having all of my scrapbooking stuff still in storage somewhere in this house.  I managed to find some things at Michael's and Jo Ann's to use and tried not to set my standards too high.  I am pretty happy with the end result given my time and tool constraints...

I would have preferred to have actually had made one for each and every person I mailed a color copy to, but c'est la vie.  Once my V-Day cards were done, I faced the task of making cards for G to pass out. I had already gathered the supplies for his and had envisioned the end result.  I wanted a painted handprint to go on the back of the cards that I mailed and on the front of the cards for his little friends at school.  Only problem?  It is basically impossible to get your 6 month old to stay still while you attempt to paint his hand red and then put it nicely on said card without getting paint on anything but the card... while doing this alone.  (R left for a business trip so I am flying solo.)  We didn't make a mess, but G wouldn't unclench his fist and the handprint just didn't look as nice as the one I had envisioned in my head.  After two so-so attempts and 30+ cards still awaiting, I called it off and let it go.  Maybe next year...

Happy half birthday to my sweet (big) boy!  I will do a six month post very soon after we go to his dr. appointment on Friday.  I can't wait to find out his latest stats!

And also, why is it that I always wake up way too early (thanks to my birthday boy) and my first thought while crawling out of bed is, "I can't wait until I'm back in bed tonight!" and then I ALWAYS end up staying up late?!?

This Too Shall Pass

Anytime I am thrown for a loop with frustration, I try to lean on the saying, "This too shall pass."

G came down with a bad cold last week.  Thankfully, this is only his second cold, but it is much harder to deal with now that I am back at work and getting even less sleep than usual.  Sick baby=tired mama.  I was trying anything to get his congestion down - humidifier, sitting in the steamy bathroom with the shower on full blast, bulb syringe (he HATES the sight of this!), saline spray, inclined mattress... you name it, it was probably attempted.  He seems to finally be on the mend 5 days later.  Oy ve.

We didn't move in this past weekend as anticipated.  Awesome.  It would be easy to write a string of curse words here, but I'll refrain.  The new appliances were supposed to be delivered on Friday; however, someone from the store was sick and so the delivery was delayed until today.  I'm not sure how one person causes such a delay, but what can you do?  Today R texted me in exasperation because he found scratches and dents in the new flooring (this is the second floor to be installed after the first one was scratched during installation).  Again, curse words may be more appropriate here, but he assured me that they are working quickly to resolve this issue.  Our last attempt at moving in was delayed 4 weeks because of floor issues ... and we are still waiting because of floor issues.  All I can say is I don't think we will be using the same GC for phase 3 (adding on to the house), which I am in NO hurry to do!  Please just let me move in and enjoy our house for at least three months!

The one constant thing that always makes me smile no matter how frustrating life can be?

My little love bug.  

Five Months

It is WAY past this mama's bedtime, but that's what happens when I lay down with my baby at 8:00.  In my former life I stayed up at least this late every night, regardless of whether I had to work the next day or not. Gone are those days, but I wouldn't trade them back even if I could.

This has been a crazy month so far with me going back to work and G starting "school."  I have neglected writing so many a post, including his five month milestone.  I couldn't let that one slide by, so here I am.

G has had his own short list of accomplishments from months four to five.  He started solids and seems to enjoy them thus far with his favorites being pears and peaches.  The other foods we have tried are butternut squash, sweet potatoes, bananas, and apples.  I usually mix the food in with either oatmeal or rice cereal.  

One of my favorite Christmas presents this year was the Beaba Babycook.  I had heard so many wonderful things about this gizmo and knew I wanted it for making G's food.  I haven't busted it out of its box yet - I decided to wait until back home (this weekend - yay!), but I am anxious to start making his food.  BTW, I have nothing against store bought baby food.

This is usually where I would insert a picture of G eating solids.  Unfortunately, the two cameras holding most of the current pictures are both out of battery juice and my phone doesn't have any solids eating pics.  Sorry amigos.  I'll give you one of my current favorite pics of him, though.  It's a phone picture, so please excuse the blurriness.

G isn't quite sitting unassisted just yet but he does LOVE making laps around the downstairs in the walker.  I have heard mixed things about letting babies use walkers (some people say that it will inhibit them from learning how to walk naturally), but I think he's okay.  For only being five months, the G Man knows how to get around.  He hasn't mastered the art of steering, so someone has to be there with him at all times or he will quickly bump into furniture.  He is FAST!  It is hilarious to watch him move - tongue out with a big grin on his face.   Ever since he started eating solids, he sticks his tongue out a lot.  Such a funny boy! 

The walker my parents have is Kolcraft brand that plays classical music and has shapes that light up.  I couldn't find this particular one on Amazon (it must be an older model since they have had it over 5 years), so I bought another brand that seemed to have good reviews.  Again, I'm waiting to get it out once we are back at our house, but I hope G likes it just as much.

I thought he would be rolling over like crazy by now since he mastered front-to-back and back-to-front so long ago, but he is pretty content to stay in whatever position someone puts him in.  He prefers sitting and standing to laying down on his back and does very well with tummy time.  

Another toy he now greatly enjoys is his jumperoo.  I think we already need to change the setting to level 2 because he is getting so long.  Once we put him in it, he will immediately start bouncing away (usually hopping on one foot).  He also loves his dog Scout that sings songs to him and says his name.  He loves anything that can go in his mouth and anything that lights up and plays music.  

He still loves his bath time and is enjoying reading (and chewing on!) books more these days.  He gets SO upset when I take him out of his bath to lotion him up and put on his jammies.  I guess he would stay in his bath forever if we would let him! 

He's still not a champion sleeper, but I admit that I'm part of the problem.  The room we are sleeping in here at my parents' house has the crib in the bedroom.  This is so convenient for night feedings, but now that he is pushing six months I know that his night awakenings are probably out of habit.  It is hard to hear him cry at night when I am only a few feet away, so I will usually just bring him into bed with me and nurse him there.  Of course I usually end up falling asleep, so he then ends up right beside me in bed.  I don't have any issues with co-sleeping just in case you are wondering, but I know it is contributing to the issue at hand.  The longest sleeping stretch to date is 5 hours, which is considered sleeping through the night, but any mama will tell you that 5 hours isn't gold medal worthy.  I am pretty sure Dr. Ferber will be visiting our house once we move back home.  :)

  

He is getting better about being in his car seat (thank goodness!) now that he is in the car everyday to and from school.  It's not his favorite place to be, but he tolerates it okay.  He is usually so wiped out because he doesn't nap very well at school that he will fall asleep on the way home.  Poor baby.  When does the mom guilt of dropping your baby off at day care go away?

We have been having issues with one of his eyes being goopey and crusty since he was a newborn.  R took him in this past week and the pediatrician said to keep doing duct massage and applying his prescription ointment.  There's a 90% chance it will go away by the time G is one - otherwise, we have to put him under and they will have to open up his tear duct.  

Otherwise, he is a happy and healthy sweet baby.  The only thing he has seemed to acquire from his school is nasal congestion, but that can also be from the crazy temperature changes lately.  

Dear G Man,

This past month has been hard for me - I would much rather be at home playing with you.  I love seeing your smile when I pick you up from school.  So far you seem to be transitioning well, and that makes me feel so much better about having to leave you.  I can tell you are still a mama's boy at heart although I know one day you will probably prefer to play with your daddy.  I hope that day is still far away!   You are the most precious thing to me, and I love you to the moon and back.

Love,

Mama

Woe is me

After re-reading my last post, I realized that it may have come off as the "woe is me" syndrome... definitely NOT my intent.

Don't get me wrong - there are times when I start to feel sorry for myself but am quickly reminded of how much I have when I hear about the current situation in Haiti or Tunisia, among others, or hear an unfortunate story about a co-worker, etc, etc.

Regardless of the things I wish were different in my current situation, I am so very thankful for:
-My parents who have graciously taken us in for our second stint -  it's almost been 3 months now!
-My newish car that makes the long trek to and from work.
-The construction on our house and the amount of money R has spent to make our home practically brand new.  I can't wait to throw parties :)
-My job that comes with awesome co-workers, a class full of eager first graders, and a paycheck.
-A sweet baby boy that brings me more happiness than I could have imagined.
-All of the luxuries we are able to afford thanks to R's job - eating out, daycare, etc.  This is the first time in my life I haven't had to worry about the number in my account each month and that is a HUGE blessing.

If nothing else, all I have to do is look at this and feel immediate humility.

Long Time No Blog

Life has gotten much much busier since my last blog post.  It's amazing how going back to work full-time basically leaves time for ... nothing.

My schedule pretty much goes like this:
1. Wake up (extremely early).  For not being a morning person, I definitely picked the wrong profession!  Gone are the days when I could fly out of bed with ten to fifteen minutes to spare before I had to leave for work.
2. Groggily get ready (or get myself and then G ready if I'm taking him to "school").
3. Drop off G at "school" (if applicable) and drive to work.  Since we are still staying at my parents' house, my commute is 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.  Not so much fun.
4. Work from 7:30 until 3:00 with the kids.  Stay after school until 4:30 max to make the lovely drive back "home."  Some days I will pick G up from "school."
5. Spend time with my sweet boy until he goes to bed.  Dinner time, bath time, play time, etc.
6. Catch my breath and try to get things done - laundry, dinner, shower, school work, etc.
7. Pack my bags and get everything ready for the next day to avoid morning stress.
8. Crash in bed no later than 11:00 p.m.

I now have so much more respect for working mamas since I am walking in their shoes.  Funny how that works, right?  And being a SINGLE, full-time working mama?  Wow.... could not even imagine!

Right now my challenge is learning how to balance all of the new hats I wear.  As a teacher I am used to the many roles I am in the classroom - nurse, social worker, educator, parent (at times)... But now, I am trying to be all of those AND then some.  I asked my teacher friends this past week how they do it?  How do you give 100% as a working professional, significant other, and mom?  This stuff is hard!

The good news is there are only 39 more working days until Spring Break.  And we have tomorrow off - thank you Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho...

it's off to work I go!


It is official.  Tomorrow I start back at work (hmmm... why am I still awake?) and leave my life as stay-at-home mom to resume my teaching career.  Everyone told me, "It's going to go by so fast!" Or, "Enjoy it while you can!"

And they were right, of course.  I LOVED staying home with my main squeeze, even during the few frustrating moments.  Life is about to get a lot more interesting and waaaaay busier, but I know these months will fly by as well and summer will be here before I know it.  It blows my mind to think that G will be crawling all over the place by then.

I am way behind on my blogging - I still need to do a Christmas and 2010 year in review, as well as post about G's favorite things these days, etc.  I failed to finish my "12 days of Christmas" posts after I got sick right before Christmas and lost the zest.  I decided to spend the rest of my days off snuggling with my buddy, staying in pjs as long as possible, and watching college football games.

I will infinitely miss:
-staying up late
-sleeping in late (notice a theme?  :) )
-having the time to watch tv
-being able to run errands in the middle of the day
-eating out for lunch
-doing whatever I please whenever I please because I had no agenda!

But most of all, I will infinitely miss seeing this face all day long...

Sigh.  :(