Memorial Day 2014

What a Day. We had plans, to begin with, to go to my parents as we do every year for a grill out following the service at the cemetery. On Saturday, Asher got invited to go to the Storm Chasers game by his friend Jonah, in the AT&T skybox. We could not pass that up. So, plans changed. My mom ended up being really sick and could not even make it to the service (and the girls did not sleep over at their house as planned). But, it all turned out okay.

We got up and went to the 10Am service. It was windy, a little rainy and cold (it is always cold). After the service, we went home to pack up for the 12 noon first pitch.

The skybox was AMAZING! How cool! Air conditioned or sit outside in the shade. Wow, love those options! It was super nice and so nice of Asher's friend to invite us! We had a blast. The weather turned out to be great, too!

It was a fabulous day spent together. What more could we ask for?! We paid our respects and then celebrated summer all wrapped into one day.

At My Grandma's grave...we lost her one year ago.

Skybox view!

Happy 10th Birthday Alivia!

Alivia turned 10 years old on Sunday, May 25 (Memorial Day Eve). She celebrated with her friends for a sleepover at our home on the last day of school. What a way to mark the last day of school, right?!

Alivia invited her friends Elizabeth, Katy, Emma, Parker, Gabby, and Addison. There was a lot of girl drama as the night went on, let me tell you. From the sounds of it, Alivia contributed to the drama. Gees!

The night started at 4pm. The kids played outside and ran around. At 5:30, we had pizza and breadsticks followed by more running around. By 7, it was time for presents (where she got clothes, earrings, lego friends and things for Justice. Lots of great stuff!). After presents, Alivia gave each of the girls a thank you present - matching PJs from Justice. (Let me tell you, this turned out to be a nightmare. I would not recommend doing this, and it was quite expensive too. Alivia invited one girl last minute because her feelings were hurt. I paid $20+ for her PJs not on sale. UGH! I ended up going to every Justice store and online to buy all the sizes. Like I said, don't do this at home!). The girls all loved them! At least that was good, right?!

After that, Alivia made a wish on her icecream cake from DQ in Papillion. Alivia is very picky, pickier by the day, and asked for an icecream cake. She ate a few bites. The leftovers were finished by Addison and Asher and summer's first playdates. :)

The girls slept in a big tent in the basement after watching a movie. I'm pretty sure this party was an awake over, but I believe that is what they are all about, right?

To complete my mission (send the girls home sleep deprived and full of sugar), they all wanted Alivia's breakfast choice of Lucky Charms for breakfast. They finished off that huge box in no time, each girl having multiple servings, leaving the fruit and yogurt on the table. So funny.

They played outside until the rides arrived to go home.

Overall, it was a success. Fun was had by all, and I slept a few hours. What more can we ask for?

On Alivia's actual birthday on Sunday, she invited her friend Lizzy over to go skating with us. Little did I know that they were having a tournament and didn't have open skate. So, we stayed home and played all day. For dinner, we met the Grandparents at Mama's Pizza in La Vista, Alivia's choice. She actually ate an entire slice of pizza - so much success! Her grandparents spoiled her rotten and she was in seventh heaven.

From us, Alivia got clothes and had her room completely redone. It still is not 100% redone, but I will post before and after shots when it is completed. Her room is all grown up now, with gray walls, black bedding with pink zebra print sheets. I printed  a poster print of her friends to frame and put on the wall along with some other artwork I found. I need to buy a couple of bookcases for her lego friends now. It is coming together, slowly. But, it looks great and she loves it!

Happy Birthday, Alivia! We love you!

Birthday Questions for Age 10:
Favorite Color: Pink
Favorite Toy: Ipad
Favorite meal: I don't know, Pepperoni and crackers. (Alivia has gotten rather picky and will not eat pepporini and crackers! She is into yogurt and bananas, to go apple sauce, strawberries and smoothies. That is about it! God help me.
Favorite Game: Clue and Mindcraft
Favorite snack: Superhero Graham crackers
Favorite Book: Adventures of Santa Paws
Best Friend: Lizzy
Breakfast: Lucky Charms (but I never let her have them).
Favorite thing to do outside: Play basketball with our new hoop
Favorite drink: lemonade
Favorite holiday: Christmas
What do you take to bed with you at night? Pippa, our dog :)
Favorite cereal: Lucky Charms again
Where do you want to go to dinner on your birthday? Mama's La Vista
Favorite Restaurant: Panera (where she gets a plain bagel and a smoothie).
Favorite Animal: Puppy
Favorite Show: Jessie
Favorite outfit: New pink dress she got from Grandma Kathy while shopping the day before her birthday

Last Day of School 2014

Thursday May 22 at 11:40 AM marked the end of the 2014 school year and the end of Kindergarten for Asher, second grade for Addison and fourth grade for Miss Alivia.

Unbelievable!
I drove the kiddos to school through the rain with Alivia's friend (and running mate) Katy, took last minute pictures with their teachers and walked home. Can not believe how quickly this year flew by.
We celebrated by inviting a bunch of friends to our home to play. It was raining at first, so the park could not happen. Asher had his friends Will, Xander and Hayes (from soccer) and a new friend ASHER too, Addison had her friends Kaitlyn and Halle and Alivia had her friends Elizabeth, Katy, Gabby, and Addison. It was a full house, but they all had fun. It was good prep for Mommy for the sleepover party that night anyway (lol).
The kids each are milestones ahead of the beginning of the year. Congrats Kiddos! Now, let's have a fun summer!

First Day of school

Last Day of School (Orange You Glad It Is Summer Outfits!).

Alivia's 4th? 5K Run

On May 18, Alivia and her friend Katy ran the Papillion 5K run. OM, talk about a hilly course! I had trained these girls for a few months not knowing the course until a few weeks before (because I didn't look into it). But, the girls ran the actual course 3 times before the actual race. It was one hill after another on gravel and trails. INSANITY! They did really well considering the coarse conditions, running the final race all the way through without stopping.

In the end, they were both happy they ran it but more happy it was over with. Papillion had bouncers set up that they had energy for after having some chocolate milk and donuts (yuck, really?!). I have to say, Papillion had a good set up post race. It was nice to run into the track and have cheerleaders there at the finish. It was very fun for them.

You Go Girls!! Impressive!!

They pushed through until the end finishing in 29 minutes!

Mother's Day 2014

So, I'm ever so slightly behind. So what, right?

Mother's Day.

I was scheduled to work the night before so we didn't have any plans. I actually like it that way. But, lucky for me (this time), I was cancelled and didn't have to work. So, Mother's Day we met my Mom at Zios Pizza in Omaha (my favorite and my parents had never been there). Yummy! We got finished just in time for the storm sirens to start going off. Yummy food though.

Chris and the kids gave me 26.2 stickers for the cars (so I am one of those annoying people now) and under armour headbands (I want one of each please!). Now I am set.

Now, onto Father's Day, right? :)

Me and my Mommy :)

I am a MARATHONER!

As of yesterday, about 10:55am, I am a marathoner, finishing my first full marathon!

Goals. Okay, I knew I was setting some lofty goals. First it was 1 hr and 40 minutes, in order to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Doable? Probably. But, for the first marathon, probably not. Additionally, I ran injured for a few weeks and my training suffered. And, on all my long runs, I had difficulty keeping my blood sugars up and usually became sick shortly after finishing. I knew the blood sugar thing was going to be an issue, and I was unfortunately correct.

From mile 1-mile 11, I was rocking the thing, running under or right at 8 minute miles. My body felt great. I ran following a couple of guys that were running together and looked as though they knew what they were doing. At mile 11, I felt a wave of nausea fall over my body and I knew my sugars were dropping. I had been eating starting at mile 5. I eat cliff chews, jelly beans and gummy bears. I drank water at every water station without difficulty. What was I doing wrong. If I was doing the half, I would have fought through and perhaps beat my personal record from last time. But, I walked a bit and slowed my pace. I was sick.

Crossing by the stadium where the half marathoners were finishing and keeping going was very tough. I felt awful, but I knew I would kick myself if I didn't at least try. My mile times dropped to 9 minute miles (which is not good for me) and even made a potty stop (which was perhaps unnecessary but I needed a break more than anything). It was so hard to keep going when I didn't know for sure where I was going, how much farther until the turn around by the lake, and how could I keep myself from vomiting?

At every water station, I would slow and walk through them, taking a cup of water to splash on myself, a cup of water to drink, and a cup of ice to chew until the next water station. I took my share of orange slices in hopes that they would help (but they did not).

I have to say, the Lincoln Marathon crew is AMAZING! I would start walking and a biker would be there asking if I needed anything. I said I was low on sugar and they provided me with something. They were great! Chris, my lone cheerleader, saw the hazards in the busy intersections since the city did not close the streets. He saw many near misses with runners and with cars. I'm lucky I did not see any of that. I just kept one foot in front of the other.

As the stadium neared, I just wanted to finish in under 4 hours. Seriously, I practically walked into the stadium. I was so sick. The 3 hr and 40 minute pacer (clearly much behind pace) ran up and grabbed me and told me to get going...we are almost there. I started to run and kick it through the finish, at 3 hr and 55 minutes (my half time was 1 hr 46 minutes).

I stopped, happy it was over. Where or where is that thing they call runner's high?

A guy handing out the warming "blankets" agreed to take my picture for me and send it to Chris, who was no where to be found. I walked through the tunnel of memorial stadium grabbing some of the supplied food that I thought I could swallow. I walked out to a crowd of people awaiting their family. I had no idea where Chris said to meet and I was not about to walk any place. I sat on the curb and asked some random stranger to use his phone. He dialed Chris on his sweet looking phone and Chris soon spotted me (Chris still wanted me to walk to him!).

After a quick picture from Chris, and I slammed a banana, we were off. I got on Chris' bike to make the hike back to the hotel (We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn. It was a nice, clean hotel. But, it was expensive. I told Chris that it was the price to pay out of necessity. He soon realized what I meant).  I knew I had a short period of time between the finish and when I would start vomiting. Once that happened, I knew I would be a total mess and had no idea how I would get back to the hotel. I glided on Chris' bike ahead of him, stopping and sitting on benches to wait for him to catch up. I could tell, he was very annoyed that I was not waiting for him, but he had no idea how much I was suffering.

We got back to the hotel, taking his bike and all up to the room. As we stepped off the elevator onto the 4th floor, the wave hit me. My time had run out. We got back to the room and I collapsed in bed, thanking myself for asking for a later check out (1:30 instead 12).

I jumped between the bed and the bathroom for a while. It was coming from all ends at the same time! I was so sick. After vomiting a while, I tried to jump into the shower and see if that helped. It was amazing while I was in there, but I got up and went back to going to bathroom and vomiting and laying on a towel on the hotel bathroom floor. I was a serious mess.

As 1pm approached, I knew we had to get going. I told Chris he would have to load up because as soon as I sat up I got dizzy and nauseous. Chris loaded the car, check out and I sat out front to wait for him to come around from the parking garage. I laid in the car trying to get comfortable. About half way home, another wave of nausea came over me and I was lucky to have a Panera bag to get sick into. Poor Chris. He did not say a word to me. I was just a mess. Once at home, I dropped everything and went to bed until 4pm. When I woke, I felt much better. I had Chris order me my reward pizza where I did my best to eat a couple slices and drink a lot of water. I felt better but weird all night.

The kids elected to stay at my parents. They had a blast on the farm. I am thankful they went with them because I was in no shape to be a Mommy after my run. My parents rock!

The girls in Grandma's bath tub. Enough bubbles you think?

The goal was achieved, to finish a marathon. Now, what is my next goal? I don't know. For starters, I have to survive 5 12 hour night shifts this week. That may be worse than the marathon!

* More pics to come!

How I started out running. It was a cold start. But, once I started running, I never noticed the cold.

FINISHER VIDEO! 

April 2014 in Review

Better late than never. April was a busy month. Let's just start by saying I went from working 3 eight hour shifts every other week to working 3 twelve hour shifts minimum a week!! That was a lot to adjust to. Clearly, I did not keep up as my photo album fell way behind.

In April, we had some snow (seriously!), Addison's beautiful First Communion, Asher started soccer, Daddy had a birthday, and Alivia continued training for the Papillion 5K with her friend Katy. We celebrated Easter in Iowa on a beautiful day. We made plenty of memories, the best we have in pictures HERE. Enjoy!

Last Week Running

Down to less than a week until I run my first 26.2 miles...ever! I have ran 20 miles in training but have never ran the last 6.2. I took the week off work, having got in my monthly hours for April last week (and not wanting to start May just yet). Now I am wondering if that was a good idea.

I just want to run the dang thing and get it over with!

I am thinking and rethinking.

I usually run with a water bottle. But, now I don't want to. I mean, they will have water stations, I am assuming. I can just swing by and get water, right? But, if I don't take my bottle, where will I put my food? I have cliff chews I cut up into pieces so I can easily chew them. They make me really thirsty though. I almost need the chews with water right afterwards. That is how I practiced. But, the water bottle is like running with a 5 pound weight. Do I really want to run with that? Um, no.

So, tomorrow I will try a couple more places for a fuel belt before I just pin the gels into a ziplock onto my shorts and call it good. Really, who cares anyway, right? I just want my gels and my food. Yes, I pack food, too. I don't get hungry, but my blood sugar drops and then I get sick. If I don't time when I eat something just right and wait too long, I start vomiting and it is all over.

So, what am I worried about? One, I will wear out. Two, my right knee will act up (I take my share of Motrin before running and this seems to help) and Three, my blood sugar will plummet and I won't be able to finish.

My goal. TO FINISH THE MARATHON! I would love to finish in under 4 hours. But, I know this may not be possible. Sh*t Happens. I am no longer going in with the big goal to qualify for the Boston Marathon (yes, you have to qualify to run the Boston). Afterall, I am not even sure I want to run it! I may run another one, but it will be in Hawaii or Florida or somewhere I can take a nice little mini vacation afterwards. Really, Boston doesn't come to mind just yet. Again, I just want to finish ONE MARATHON! I have ran my whole life. My time is getting slower and slower. I am now pushing 8:30 average for the 20 mile runs! That is horrible for me. With that said, I am still in the 7 range when only running 6 miles...so it is like my head knows that I am running farther so slow down. I am starting in the 7-8 minute mile for the marathon. I want to be pacing with the group for as long as I can. Hopefully I can stick close to the 8 minute mile range for most of the race. I am questioning that from mile 18 on. I tend to start to die as I push towards 20 miles. My time slips to 9 minute miles. And you know what, I am okay with that...as I just WANT TO FINISH.

So, if you are a praying person, and I hope you are, say an extra prayer for me, my body and my soul as I run this Sunday. Chris will be there as my support crew while the kids will be at home electing not to go (to my dismay). I look forward to saying I finished come next week!

Addison's First Communion

At the 5 PM Mass this last Saturday, April 26, Addison celebrated her First Communion in front of my parents, Chris' parents and her Great Grandma Pat (and our family, of course). She was the first of 6 total kids during this Mass and she did great. She took the body and blood of Christ like a pro. She is already looking forward to being able to go to Church and participate in Holy Communion instead of crossing her arms.

Addison's comment afterwards, "Daddy, I liked the Blood of Christ."

She is one funny girl.

We celebrated with a grill out and cake and ice cream. We gave Addison a little bracelet from Stands of Grace with her favorite colors, purple. Grandma Bet and Grandpa Bill gave her a cross necklace, something she will cherish forever. The only problem is, Addison doesn't want to ruin the Borsheims box and bow it came in! And Chris' parents gave her a giftcard to Parables, bracelets and a book. She was thankful for all the nice things family gave her. My question is, what do you give boys on their First Communion. (Jill, help me out on this one as you will go first! :) ).

It was a beautiful day and moment for Addison, something she can cherish forever. Congratulations Addison!

The kids with Grandma Bet and Grandpa Bill (my parents) and Asher, the ham!

The kids with Great Grandma Pat, Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Bob

Addison and her free cake (it was free because they lost my order and made this one up in 10 minutes! Tasted the same though!).

Happy Birthday Daddy

Daddy celebrated a birthday April 6. Seriously, I am so behind.

Anyway, we didn't let Daddy's day pass without a celebration. The night before, my amazing parents came down and watched the kids so Chris and I could enjoy a quiet dinner, with an emphasis on quiet. We just went to Panera, but it was so nice to sit, talk and chew uninterrupted. We stopped by Gerta's to pick up some birthday donuts per Daddy's request, too.

What did Daddy want for his birthday this year? Well, for starters, he got 2 45 pound dumb bells. Exciting, huh? Asher bought Chris a Spider Man T-shirt as the 2 of them share their love of Superheros. The girls and I bought him Ultimate Ears Boom Wireless Bluetooth speaker. Chris was excited to get the speaker as it was an unexpected surprise.

Chris and I got free iphones (Verizon gave us free iphones since we were one of a dozen people without smart phones and they felt bad for us. And, they wanted to gauge us with the data plans!). Anyway, Chris wanted the speaker for his phone. He uses it when he works out with, you guessed it, his new weights! :) See, the gifts all go together.

We had a good, simple day, just as Daddy likes it.

Happy Birthday Daddy! Many more...

Last Training Long Run

Today was my last training long run for my first (and perhaps only) marathon. It is hard to believe I have trained now 17 weeks for this marathon with only one week to go.

Next Sunday I take on the 26.2 miles. Chris is coming to support me, and the kids and my parents may come as well.

Honestly, I'm just looking forward to crossing the finish line and being done.

One week plus...and I'm counting.

Sleepless in Papillion

I am now 6 days into the 9 days I am scheduled to work in April. Craziness! I now question how moms do it? Im Definitely not made to nearly work full time (I work 12.5 hour shifts) and be a mommy and wife.

The work itself is challenging. I call an hour before my shift to find out where I am going to work from 7pm-11pm. One night, I had left the house and got called to be switched assignments! I'm hoping that does not happen too often. Every night, I have a new group of patients, co workers, places where things are kept, and differences on how some units do things. It is difficult to keep up with. I'm typically not one to go with the flow, but it am working on it. I kinda have to.  Luckily, I learn quickly.

Some nights, come 11pm, I am reassigned to another hospital. They pay me for drive time and mileage, but that is another huge adjustment. I have stayed on the same unit twice now and in the same building a couple times, just switching units within the same building. One night I was in a new unit every 4 hours. Needless to say, my head was spinning.

All in all, the job itself is okay so far. I still want to get into pediatrics at some point, but this will work for now.

As for home life, the family has gotten used to Chris cooking, doing bedtime stories and getting the kids off to school in the mornings. Alivia is the only one that is outspoken to say she doesn't like my working. I keep reminding her, I'm just working this month until the summer, then I will cut back. And yes, I will and I must.

The money is nice, but peace, tranquility and a clean home are better. Just saying. I can do without the extra money. And, we will come June! In June my requirements are cut to 24 hours a month, but I plan to work every other weekend, 4 12 hour shifts. At least that is what I am thinking right now. Only time will tell.

Off to bed. Gotta prepare for another night shift tomorrow, followed by a 5 hour nap before repeating. Fun stuff!

My 20 Mile Run

I am almost there...almost to the 26.2 marker I set out to run. Almost, but about 50 minutes more running away.

On Saturday, I set out for the weekly long run. I normally try to run during the week, but with hospital orientation during the day last week, the 20 miler was just not possible. So, Saturday became my long run day.

I got up, ate my eggs, bacon and a banana and set off. I mapped my run through the neighborhood, to Walnut Creek Rec Area, to papio trail and back via mapmyrun.com (love it!). I was able to get a pretty good idea of where I was going before I set out. So nice. I landed at home at 20 miles almost on the nose! Perfect. I would not want to go a step farther than my goal of 20!

What I have learned.

Pack a water bottle. I have the carrying case water bottle with a pouch in the side. In the pouch, I tucked away a clementine ready to eat, cut up cliff chews and a cut up larabar. This was the first week for the larabar.It didnt work so good...or maybe it was the orange. I just know I need sugar mid run and oranges are often seen during the marathon. I wanted to be sure to practice eating them before the big day.

I was really tired. I am not going to lie. My time slowed and slowed and slowed after mile 17. Mile 20 was a 10 minute mile (with some walking involved). I was plain spent.

The sad part is...I would have 6.2 miles left to go. Really? Really?!?!? It doesn't seem like that far until you compute it would take my an hour or hopefully less to get to that 6.2 miles. I would finish the full marathon in just under 4 hours if I finished at a 10 minute mile pace to finish it out.That is my goal...to finish in under 4 hours.The Boston goal went out the window with my knee injury. And now, my right foot is swollen (after the 20 miles). So, who knows. The 800 mg of Motrin before my runs helps a lot.

One month to go. And yes, I am counting. :)

Working Life

I have not worked 12 hours as a nurse in over a year and I have not worked 36 hours a week as a nurse since before I had kids (and that was for a very brief time before I became a pharmaceutical rep).

That has all changed.

I have started the 96 hours a month requirement through my first job and I am 12 hours in. It was not too bad for the first night. With that said, I was following another nurse. Tonight will be the true test when I go at it alone. There will be another nurse there and possibly a tech as well...so that always helps. But, I will be left to figure out the charting, patient care, and everything...alone. Yah.

I have to say, working 12 hours and sleeping 5 is not very much. By the time I pick up the kids from school, prepare dinner, lunches and snacks for the next day...it is time to go again. There is not much time there. For the 3 days in a row I am on, I am checked out of the Austin reality. I don't like that, and I don't think Chris does either. He is having to be Mr. Mom at night and in the mornings (where before I was able to stay home until 10, well after the kids were in bed).

We will adjust I am sure.

For now, this is the new reality. Working life. Let's see what I think after this month.

Summarizes Spring Break 2014

To end the official spring break week, the kids and I went to Iowa to visit my parents last Thursday for what was to be a day visit. The weather was nice, in the 60s. The kids and I checked out the latest updates to my parents house, ate lunch, then went into town to play at the park. While the kids played, I ran the trail with their dog, Kota.

Kota was out of shape! I was tugging at the dog to finish our 5 mile run. It is a pretty trail to run on though (although I could see it getting really hot in the summer). After the run (and giving Kota much of my water), my Dad and I played a few games of horse while the kids played. My Dad rarely missed and I rarely made it. Pretty typical, but it was fun.

After getting back to the farm, Addison and Asher went on farm adventures looking for treasure at my parents' old pig pen. So funny. I never went there as a kid (but there were pigs there!  Yuck!). Alivia chilled inside. I also checked out my parents new shower with 5 shower heads! It was insane!

When it came time to go home, nobody wanted to leave. So, the kids stayed the night while I went home, arriving home to an empty house (Chris went out with his Dad and brother). Pretty quiet.

Friday while the kids stayed in Iowa, I went on my 18 mile run. It was really windy, but my knee held up. I forgot my water bottle. Let's just say, you don't want to ever do that. Luckily, Walnut Creek had turned on their water and I drank from their water fountain at about mile 15. I was so thirsty!

The kids came home Friday afternoon after a day of shopping and eating out with Grandma and Grandpa. They had a blast. It is always nice for them to spend that special time with their Grandparents. They (and we) are lucky they have them.

They had Monday off, too, so we hit the zoo. It was colder than expected and insanely busy, so we didn't stay long. It was sad to send them back to school Tuesday morning. We had a fun break. But, reality had to return sooner or later.

They get a couple a days off around Easter. That will be here before we know it.

Lent 2014

So this post is late. Better late than never.

What did everyone give up for Lent? I have a friend who gave up sweets. Um, crazy! I gave up chocolate one year and thought even Jesus would think that was nuts. :)

Seriously, I stuck to my tradition and gave up facebook. Funny. I like it. I mean, I like not being on facebook. I don't miss it. I find it a relief. Yes, I'm out of touch, yes, I miss coupons, deals and school activities. But I don't miss gloating, bragging, endless baby pictures and selfies. Really, your kids are adorable but they are filling up my news feed. And, your mug is handsome and all but it would be better if I did not see it with a caption of, "am I the hottest man alive or what?!" I mean really, gag me.

So, I didn't delete you as a friend (although it may look that way if you noticed I was gone. And, how sweet or you to notice. :)). I am getting more real life things done, like play Uno with my kids, annoy my husband, or work on redoing Alivia's room for her upcoming 10th birthday.

If I'm lucky, I won't log back into facebook. I don't think I would miss it.

Skating Day!

Last night Addison had a sleepover at our home with her friend Kaitlyn. What better way to keep the fun going than to go skating in the afternoon with them! Alivia met up with her friend Katy and our neighbor Lizzy came along.

We arrived at open skate at 12:15. It was not too busy, thankfully. I even skated, too, holding hands with Addison and then going and tugging Alivia and her friends. Asher wouldn't dare hold my hand in public. :( It was fun. Chris ordered me my own roller blades, and I was so hoping they would arrive in time. Guess I'll wear them next time.

After a couple hours of skating, the kids came home and rushed off to play dates, Addi and Asher went to Kaitlyn and Will's house while Alivia crossed the street to Lizzy's. I looked around, free for an hour and a half, and ran to get groceries! Yah, what fun!

Another day gone. Spring break has been so fun. I hate to see it winding down. I feel so lucky to be home with my kids. So very lucky.

The Lego Movie Review

Spring Break Day 2 brought cloudy, windy skies (followed by some rain currently) and cooler temperatures. What a great day to catch a movie! So, we went to the local movies where they were having $5 Tuesdays with Free POPCORN! What a deal!

We checked in and selected our sticky seat. :) Just FYI, our theater at least, does not allow for sling sports bags. The guy totally checked my bag (luckily missing my water bottle inside). Seriously, he gave me the 5th degree. It was not as big as some handbags! Good to know for my next visit in a year to the movies. Just saying.

Anyway, back to the movie. The previews came on...without sound. It was actually kinda nice, peaceful in fact. They remembered to turn on the sound just before the feature presentation luckily.

The Lego Movie was okay. It kept the kids' attention. It did not keep my attention as well as lets say Frozen did, but that goes without saying. The kids loved it, and I guess that is what is important. My opinion does not matter too much.

After the movies, the kids all went to neighbors' homes to play. It was pretty weird having them all out of the house! I took Addison to piano, we ate dinner, and then Addison's sleepover guest arrived. It seems as if we have a sleepover every other night (Alivia just had one Sunday night at our home). I guess it is good the kids like to stay home with friends, at least for now we are fun.

What will tomorrow bring? The question is, will I have any energy to entertain tomorrow? We shall see.

Springing into the Forest

Monday we kicked off spring break 2014. We pondered going to the Lake (aka Lake of the Ozarks) with my parents, but I did not have a plan as to what we would do there. So the kids opted to stay here.

Day one: The forest. It was a beautiful, dare I say, SPRING, day in the mid 70s! The first NICE day of the year! What a perfect way to kick off spring break. We went to the forest, played on the indoor playset, had an outdoor picnic, walked the boardwalk seeing cardinals and deer on our walk, and then played at the acorn acres.

After all the nice fresh air, we met up with friends at the Ralston park. Alivia played with her friend Katy while Addi and Asher played with their friends Kaitlyn and Will. It was so nice we stayed for at least 2 hours!

Back at home, we ate dinner before taking Pippa on her first walk of the year. It was beautiful! Wish it could have continued, but we live in Nebraska.

Day one down...and what a fun day it was!

Basketball Boy

From January through last weekend, Asher has been playing basketball through our local YMCA. His Coach, Coach Matt, was amazing. He had amazing energy and knew the game. Asher learned the basics of the game, since he had never played. Asher remains timid and was the shortest on nearly every team they played against (as well as his own team), but he loved it and did okay. He is already talking about playing next year and wants a big basketball hoop for the driveway.

Here's to keeping active!

Up to 17 miles!

I was not sure what I was going to do for a long run yesterday with my knee the way it was. I was down for 17 miles according to my training. When I saw the weather, I decided to go for it. Saturday night I got onto MapMyRun and found a good 17 mile run from my house. Gees, that seems so far! Anyway, if you are on MapMyRun, let me know. It was a great find through our neighborhood nextdoor. I took some ibuprofen before I went running, loaded up my water bottle and my cliff chews and set out.

I ran from our home to walnut creek, running around the far side of the lake around to turn off behind Jenson tire. There is a tunnel, a long creepy tunnel, that takes the trail under highway 370, connecting up along 96th street on the other side. I ran down the hill, under 96th and headed East towards Halleck park in papillion. I ran past the park until my watch said 8.5 miles, then turned around and ran the same trail back.  Total 17.1 miles.

I liked the trail. Seemed peaceful. I don't like running around zorinsky so many times, so this offered a good balance. The papio trail was busy with bikers. I only saw one runner. The winds were a major challenge, up to 25 mph (although they seemed higher), mostly at my sides and face and a little at my back (not complaining about my back though).

My knee was okay until mile 11 when it started going out a bit. I walked a bit and continued on. I ran out of water (I didn't fill my bottle) and my blood sugar dropped about mile 12. I got home and immediately ate an apple and a larabar and drank a bottle of water. Last week after running 9 miles one day, my blood sugar dropped and I didn't eat quick enough after running, selecting to shower and prepare dinner first. By the time I ate dinner,my body refused it. It was not pretty. And, I had to go to work afterwards! Ugh.

Yesterday, I felt nauseous most of the rest of the day. I spent the evening trying to do as little as possible so I would not get sick, drinking as much as possible after dinner. It worked, but barely. I think I need to eat more chews due on my run. I'll try that next week.

So, next week is 18 miles. I hope to select a nice weather day and run the same run, just running a half mile farther before turning back. And, I'll stick to premedicating. As for this week, I think I'll cross train every day but maybe get one longer run in during the mid week. We will see. My knee is so stiff today.

Moving forward...

My Decision

After a few job interviews and two offers, I accepted a job with a local float pool as a nurse. I will be traveling between hospitals in the Omaha area. I still don't get benefits but the pay is better and I can pick the hours I work (so I don't have to work holidays!). For the next two months, I will be working a lot of hours while I orient. In June, if not sooner, I will only be required to work 24 hours a month. I will work more than that during the year and about that during the summer months. I'm hoping this job will provide a good balance without the stress of my previous position. With that said, I have stayed on as a on call nurse at my old job as back up. I picked up one more shift there before I start orientation at my new job.

Getting a new job is scary. I can not see why Chris dragged his feet for so long. Ready or not, here I come!

Asher & Me Day

Today Asher had school off due to kindergarten round up for next year's kiddos. So, we had a Mommy and Asher Date day all day!

I forgot how much energy Asher has. He can go and go and go and go. He is like a little energizer bunny. We went out to the Nebraska Crossing outlet malls. I was impressed. Very nice stores but the set up is weird. It is nice to have so many options close to home. I was wishing I would have checked it out alone though. I wanted Asher to select a gift for Chris for his birthday next month. He ran all over, asking if it was lunch starting at 10. :) Typical boy in that he does not like to shop, but he does like to buy stuff for himself.

After shopping, we used a Groupon I had to Orange Leaf Yogurt. Asher and I used to go there all the time when he was at home with me. Yummy.

We did a little more shopping at Dick's Sporting Goods where Asher insisted on working out on the elliptical, boxing with the bags, and running on the treadmills. Where does this boy get all of his energy?!?!

Back at home, his friend Henry came over to play. They jumped on the bouncer, played air hockey and now have cars spread out all over the entry way. Boys...I tell you. I can never keep up with them. :)

It was fun to have him at home for the day. Next week I get all the kids at home for their spring break. I wonder if I will think that is fun, too. :) Let's hope so...

Down on my Knee

So, I took a few days off of running due to cold and injury.

It didn't help. My knee is still a mess. UGH.

So, I googled runner's knee. That's what I have. Great. Now what? It says to do strengthening exercises. I ALREADY DO THEM!

I am thinking of cross training with maybe a couple light running days during the week and try to pull of my long runs on weekends. I just don't know. At this point, I probably really need to rest it and back off the running. If the weather permits, I plan on running 17 miles on Sunday after having Saturday completely off ( and today I cross trained). I can only hope I can pull this off. If I can't, I will take a complete week off and try to pull off another long run next weeekend and see if rest helped at all. ??? I am not a doctor (not even close) and I am not one for rest. But, I am crying through my runs, and a swear work may come out uncontrollably with the last few miles. Just saying...it is brutal.

What was I thinking? My Dad always said make lofty goals, but this marathon goal is killing me.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Not a big fan of my birthday. In spite of that, another one happened to me yesterday.

After last year, Chris believed he had some making up to do (okay, he did. A napkin holder for my birthday is something he will not live down for a while. :) ).

I worked my last official night at UNMC the night before and arrived home to this...

Decorated Kitchen (Alivia's Idea), with a little cake and balloons!

What a way to come home. I thought it was very sweet. I walked right through it and went to bed.

I woke up in three hours to pull off 8 brutal miles (my knee is a mess). I quickly showered and went to get the kiddos at school. They were super excited to see me and to see what I thought of my morning surprise. I loved it!

We met Chris for dinner at Zios Pizza in Omaha at 5. Traffic was a mess getting there, but Chris had a nice spot and a pizza ordered and waiting by the time we got there. It was really good as usual, too. Dessert of birthday cake and a little wish followed at home. My presents...a running skort and sports bra that will be arriving in a couple days. I can't wait for the weather to be nice enough to wear them!

After 3 hours of sleep, I could not wait to end my birthday and just go to sleep. :) Chris worked and I slept. A perfect way to end my birthday. :) Until next year...God willing.

February 2014 in Review

February 2014 and its cold temperatures are behind us! For a short month, we fit a lot into it. The kids had sleepovers at our home (and away), met friends at Mahoney, celebrated Valentine's Day and Addison had her school concert (and was really shy!). Again, I was lucky to get lunch dates with the kids and another day with Chris! I ended the month by accepting a new job in a float pool...so bring on a lot of hours of orientation through May. Yikes! I hope I am ready! Now...let's wait right here for spring. :)

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=33a597bcb09f6dbb6d9889752d9a603c&sid=8EbNmblo3btbsClick here to view February 2014 Captured Moments

Running Injured (& Scared)

I have reached my half way point of my full marathon training. I typically feel like I can run and run and run and not feel overly winded and rarely sore.

Not anymore.

I bought new shoes in the fall, but I did not start really wearing them until I started training. I don't know if it is my shoes or what, but my body is a mess!

First, my right knee started giving me troubles. It would just give out, ache when going down hill (or downstairs in the house). It is now to wear it aches and bothers me just to walk.

Today, due to it being maybe 10 degrees out, I cross trained inside. Cross training is hardly easier than running. If I had a treadmill, that would be easier. I did a 30 minute high intensity interval training Hasfit workout followed by a 25 minute T25 gamma extreme circuit.(you can watch the whole thing on this link!). My knee did not like some of the moves in the Hasfit, something I have done numerous times, so I did not do those exercises. By the time I was ready for the T25, I was stiff and sore all over. I did the T25 as best as I could, but my back was not happy now.

After getting showered up and running a quick errand (and making a real quick batch of cookies to take to the kids), I went up to school to eat lunch with the kids. Asher needed a napkin or something at one point, so I went to stand up and could hardly move. What happened?! This happened a few more times during lunch. By the time I went to walk to the car, I was limping on my knee and my back was killing me.

Back at home, I have swallowed my share of Motrin and am going to chill for a while. I had plans to go to the running store and buy another set of shoes. I'm thinking it is my brooks that are causing my knee pain. By babying my knee, the compensation is leading to back pain. I am just a mess.

So, my marathon training is on hold. Boo. So much for big lofty goals.

Long Runs Getting Longer

I am now finishing up week 8 of my full marathon training schedule. Wow, it is brutal! I think I would be fine if the weather would just cooperate with me.

Last weekend, I actually ran my long run on Sunday. The kids were home on Friday and I worked most of the week, so I did not get my long run in during the week. I somehow convinced Chris to ride his bike behind me for what was to be a 14 mile run. I decided to run Zorinsky, running around the lakes twice. I had a feeling it may be more like 15 miles when I was finished, but whatever, right?!

Chris' Mom came by at 8:30 and we were off. We arrived at Zorinsky to overcast skies, cold air and a nice cold breeze. It was freezing.  I started running, soon finding out that there were many patches of ice and even more patches of black ice, the kind you don't know is there until you nearly fall on your ass. Fun stuff I tell you.

It was so nice to have Chris there to take my clothes as I stripped down (only taking off one layer but wearing my clothes, hat and scarf the entire time). Chris froze on his bike. We ran by the car at 7.5 miles and Chris stopped to get his winter coat and a second pair of gloves. He was froze. My face was but the rest of me was okay for the most part. My right knee had been bothering me, and this run was no exception. by mile 14, I stopped briefly to celebrate. When I started back up, my knee gave out. I nearly bit it...but limped until I finished at 15.1 miles. Gees! I had never been so glad to finish!

Today, I was to officially run 15 miles. I went back out to Zorinsky. When I charged my ipod, it erased my music libary (for the second time!! I may add). So, I had to run 15 miles without music! I was not happy! I hope I can fix this and fast because I need my music! Anyone, round one went well, but it was little icy. By round 2 the ice was melting, birds were chirping and my knee was holding up. I finished my run without limping. Success! Next week I am down to a half marathon. Funny, the half sounds so easy! It was be so nice to only do 13.1 miles. :) But I know the long runs after that are 17 miles, 18 miles working up to 20 miles. OMG! That is so far! Funny, I think that before I start but I somehow get my body to finish. It is only painful while I run...but then I am done!

I have learned a few things. I need to practice drinking while I run. Today I only drank at the halfway point as I passed the car. Also, when I am done, I need to take it easy at home. I went and ran errands today and my body did not like that. I felt sick. Not good. I could not wait to get home!

Gotta move forward. I have a big, lofty goal to achieve. At this point, I am not sure what I was thinking. I am also not sure how people do this more than once! :)

Playing at Mahoney

On Sunday afternoon, the kids and I met up with Courtney, McCartney and Ana at Mahoney so the kids could play and Courtney and I could catch up. It was good to see them all (and Alivia had been begging me for ages as she has some little bond with McCartney :) ).  The kids played and played and played (after some begging on my part to get Alivia to play). We decided that we needed to catch up more often as it was been far too long!

Happy Valentine's Day 2014

Happy Valentine's Day from our 3 Valentines. :)

The kids were lucky to have Valentine's Day Friday and the following Monday off of school. It was wonderful! Thursday night into Friday, all 3 kiddos had sleepovers. Alivia had Lizzie, Asher had Cameron and Addison had Halle. It was crazy, but fun (for them. :) ). Good thing we stopped at 3 kids! Gees!

They had opened their Valentines on Thursday so they could wear their new clothes to school for the Valentine's party. But, they each got chocolates on Valentine's Day. The day was kinda busy with friends in the morning, we ran to a far away Target so I could buy my Valentine's Day present (a pleather chair and ottoman for the bedroom...Love it!), and then lunch with Jill and Asher's little girlfriends twins Maggie and Mackenzie. Asher bought the girls (and his friend Lydia at school) a rose filled with Hershey kisses. It was super cute. He wanted to do it, and we can't stop him because I want him to always be sweet.

In the afternoon, I had my 2 friends from work come to our house with their little girls. I have worked with Siobhan for almost 5 years, and I worked with Lauren for a good 2 years before she left (she is so smart!). It was fun to get together with our kids, and all the kids had fun together, too.

For dinner, we had pizza, what else?! :) Chris liked the gift I gave me and I gave him a Spider Stocking hat (one I found too cool to not buy him). Gotta love Valentine's Day! :)

New Job or Stay Put

I have become more and more frustrated with my on call position at the med center. I increased my hours last summer, but my boss told me she could not officially increase my hours because the unit was fully staffed. When fall came, I started working 4-5 shifts every 2 weeks. I again asked to increase my status in November, and I was told again the hours were not available. In the meantime, my manager hired 2 new nurses for nights (when the hours were not available). Right after I asked to increase my status in November, my manager increased the status to the 2 new hires (giving one part time and one full time!!). I was beyond mad. Then, about 3 weeks ago, my manager emailed me and said she was cutting my hours because she gave them away to the 2 new hires. WHAT??!! I have been there almost 5 years and they have been there 4 months! I am/was beyond mad. So, I threw out my resume.

Within a week, I had interviewed with 2 pharma companies and 3-4 RN positions. In the end, it has come down to these two options/offers.

1. Stay with the med center working 3 nights every other week. Work on call at Boystown Peds in Omaha to fill in on my week off.
Pros: Flexible, predictable hours, one foot out of psych.
Cons: Still at the med center, complicated with 2 jobs to keep up with.

2. Part time, 2 nights a week with a local float pool.
Pros: Great pay!!
Cons: In psych, unpredictable work hours (limited flexibility but I am self scheduled), in order to take a vacation I have to make up the hours missed, unpredictable work environment.

I have until Monday to decide. Ugh. I used to be good at decisions. What happened to me? I like the flexibility I have now where I can take a month off if I want, but it would be nice to be paid more since I do not have any benefits (neither job offers paid vacation or anything).

We will see what Monday brings I guess.

January 2014 in Review

Brrr! Is it spring yet? January was so cold, and February has not been much better. The kids had their first "snow" day, aka, it was too cold to go to school day, with wind chills in the negative 20-30's. Brrr! Asher started basketball at the YMCA and he lost his 2 front teeth, Addison continued with piano and now Alivia wants to play (we will see about 6pm piano lessons though). Asher had her first sick days of school, getting sick after lunch on his shoe while I was at my first colonoscopy. That was fun stuff for both of us, I'm tell you. Asher was awarded Student of the Month (yeah!), Addison celebrated her Half Birthday (now 7 1/2 years old!), and I was lucky enough to eat lunch with the kids at school.Since it was too cold to do anything, I worked a lot of hours to keep my busy (and warm). Chris and I finished out the cold month staying warm at date night for our 10th Catholic Wedding Anniversary. We kept it simple going to Zios Pizza and doing a little shopping while the kids hung back at home with my parents. Oh, and I kept up with my training for the Lincoln Marathon through all of these crazy cold temperatures. How many days until spring?

Happy February and Valentine's Day!

Click here for January 2014 Pictures

My Getting Faster!!

I am still training for my first marathon, although it is a total head game. I have to fight my head every time I am out. "keep going, don't stop, your feet don't hurt (even though they do!).

Last Friday I ran 12 1/2 miles. I ran around Lake Zorinky once, then around the big lake again. I thought it would come out to just 11, which was what I was to run last week. It turned out to be 12 1/2 miles. My time was 7:38 or less minute miles until mile 11, then went to 8:15-8:20 because I was mad I was still running! I need a new hoodie to keep me warm and need to go to the running shoe store to see what is wrong with my Brooks. They are killing my feet (are they too big or just the wrong shoe for me?!).

I am happy my time is picking up now that I am off that medication. I am feeling a little better while I am running, too. Now, I just need to get mother nature to get on my side. It is too cold for 13 mile runs!

Wanna join me? Please?! :)

My First Colonoscopy

And I hope it is my last (at least until I'm 50!).

Yesterday I had my first colonoscopy. I'm not going to lie, it was not fun.

Saturday I rushed through my last meal before my day of clear liquids on Sunday. All day Sunday, I ate one package of yellow, a entire bottle of diet 7 up and about 7 werthers. I was starving! I organized Addison's room a bit in the morning and then watched TV in bed all afternoon to conserve energy. I was so hungry. You see, I had ran 12 1/2 miles on Friday and 6 on Saturday, so I was still revved up from all of that. I needed FOOD!

Little did I know that starving was the easy part. Come 5:30 Sunday night, I had to start drinking the 4 liters of crap to clear me out and send me running to the bathroom. The drink was salty, slimy and made me gag. It was like drinking a tongue depressor. I could hardly choke down the 8 oz every 10 minutes. Within an hour, I was in the bathroom every ten minutes, too. I was dizzy, light headed and quite nauseous. It was no treat! I had told the kids to leave me alone in my room. When I was at my sickest, all three kids and Chris were in the room. Gees! I went to bed Sunday night dreading drinking more in the morning.

Monday morning I dragged myself out of bed. I had gotten up once in the night to go to the bathroom and went twice in the morning.  I had no energy to get the kids going. I sat down to do Addison's hair. Alivia was concerned about me driving them to school. I was a wreck.

After dropping them off at school, it was time to drink the next half of the 4 liters of liquid Go Lightly. I tried real hard to not have it touch my tongue. I would drink one and run to bed nauseated. By the third or fourth one, I was dry heaving, shaking and could not stand. It was a nightmare. According to the directions, I did not have to drink all of the stuff if I was clear before hand. Well, I was, thank goodness, thanks to my light Saturday night meal and no meals on Sunday (the directions are for clear liquids the day before the procedure). I dragged myself out of bed and sat in the shower. Yes, I sat in the shower. I sat to comb my hair and to brush my teeth. The longer I was from finishing the drink the less nauseous I was, but I was still quite weak.

My mom arrived about 11. She was my required driver. I can tell you, there is a reason why they require a driver. I was in no shape to drive there and definitely in no shape to drive home!

We arrived an hour before hand as directed. I went to the bathroom another time (gees, never ending!) and they called my name. They took me back into a very small space with a chair, sink, toilet and a locker to get changed into a gown. The door on the other side of the room opened up into the area with my bed. I climbed and and the nurse put a very warm blanket on me that felt amazing. She put in my IV and moved me to the procedure room. She then put the warm sleeper medicine into my IV, followed by a cold saline flush. The next thing I remember was waking up in recovering hearing the nurse tell me to try to expel the air (probably a man's dream...waking to a woman telling them to fart!). I was too sleepy to comprehend what she was saying. I somehow managed to put my clothes on, but I don't remember dressing.

The nurse, I think, walked me into a room where Chris and my mom were waiting. The Dr talked, saying that I probably have Irritable bowel syndrome, nothing serious and what to do for it. (yeah for being cancer free!). Chris said he was freaking out before the doctor started talking, thinking it was either good news or news that would change everything. It was scary, especially since I have a family history of this sort of thing (my aunt died of colon cancer). Fortunately, it is treatable and not serious. Chris says he walked me to my mom's car, but I don't remember that. I do remember telling my mom to take me to Panera. I ate soup, break and a cookie, but I don't remember much of it.

My mom drove me home, I dropped my bags on the floor and ran up to bed without saying anything to her. Chris woke me up at 5. I was so confused. I felt like I just laid down. I felt bad that I just walked off and didn't say anything to my mom. I was so out of it. Wow, I like that drug! :) I spent the remainder of the night hanging out in bed, drinking 7-up.

Meanwhile, the school called while I was in the procedure saying Asher had vomited at school. So, Chris' mom when and picked him up. When I woke, Asher looked as bad as I felt and went to bed. He slept all night!

Today, Asher and I are just hanging out, recuperating. We are both much better! We are both eating, drinking, and are beginning to feel normal. Yeah!

I can't say I will be signing up to be the poster girl for a colonoscopy. I am hoping that by the time I am 50 (when most people get their first colonoscopy) they have that drink replaced because it is awful! Glad it is all over with and I will be okay. Whew!

Asher the Basketball Player!

Asher had his first basketball practice/game at the local YMCA this morning (bright and early at 8:30!).  He was so excited to play. We were happy that he knew one friend on his team and most (except his friend) her about his height! Asher was very timid, had not a clue what was going on, and kept his hands in his pockets most of the time. A boy bombed the ball at Asher and it hit him in the chest because he had his hands in his pockets! In the end, Asher thought it was fun, and he scored a point (which thrilled him). He can only improve from here, I guess. :)

Marathon Training Take 1

I started training for the Lincoln Full Marathon on Monday, December 29, Following Hal Higdon's Intermediate I Training.
http://www.halhigdon.com/training/51139/Marathon-Intermediate-1-Training-Program

Under the recommendation of my friend Jill (who has run her fair share of Half and Full Marathons), I ordered myself the Garmin 10 in pink and I LOVE IT!! It uses a GPS to track my running, pace, miles. LOVE! I found out that I am a lot slower than I was 5 years ago when I ran my half in Lincoln. I ran my half marathon in 1 hr and 40 minutes for an average of 7:38. I am running now about 8:15-8:20 minute miles. With that said, I come to a complete stop a lot to take off my hoodie, redo my head wrap, fix my scarf, etc, as I run in this crazy wind, cold stuff they call Nebraska winter. But still, I AM MUCH SLOWER. That does not thrill me much considering I was hoping to qualify for the Boston Marathon. My goal now is to finish the full marathon in under 4 hours, 3 hr 40 minutes would be great, but I just don't know that I can make that happen.

In December, I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I was put on a medication for it and it helped wonderfully. HOWEVER, it caused muscle weakness/rigidity, lethargy and I was tired all the time. Let's just say, I was a total mess. Today I got them to change the medication. HOWEVER, this medication is less effective at treating my IBS. Great. All of this is not helping with my strength and energy while running. Sometimes it seems like my legs are moving faster than my mind, so I stop to get them back together. My legs are so stiff. I am not sure if it was from the medication or the cold or a combination. I have never had that happen before. I felt like I was a running board. I lost a few pounds on it, too, which did not help with the lack of strength I was feeling, either. I have been off the medication 2 days and am to start the new one tonight. THANK GOODNESS because my IBS is back FULL FORCE. Seriously, I am a total mess. I am hoping the medication works so I do not have to have a colonoscopy (I was supposed to have one earlier this month but I cancelled it because 1. They scare the hell out of me and 2. I felt better on the medication.). And, I need to get running like my normal crazy self! So anyway...

I found this blog...
http://www.mile-posts.com/
It is a wonderful blog for any runner, but especially marathon runner types. She gives great advise about what to eat from Picky bars to Cliff Bloks during the run, to what water bottle to carry, to if you should or should not carry a water bottle. I have a whole shopping list full of things to buy. I have started using the Cliff Bloks (strawberry flavored which were a whopping $1.97 each at Target!). They taste pretty good but I have to take with water as they made me really thirsy (so thirsty in fact that I started to question if the near by snow was okay to eat!). Obviously, I have not bought my water bottle yet! You can check out my Pins on my Pinterest board titled 26.2 or my running style on pinterest.

So far, my training has been a little rough obviously. I have stuck with it for the most part. I usually run 6 days in a row, though, taking Sunday off. I do that because I have more time to run on Fridays because the kids are in school. So why would I take that day off? And, I usually work Sunday nights. I don't really want to run for over an hour and then stay up all night. COME ON. That is just insane. ;) With that said, my body is probably more tired for those long runs because I did not take that break. One of these weeks, I will try to follow the plan correctly. It is just SO HARD.

Also, I found this great place to get updated music on mile posts called runhundred.com. It has great workout music emailed to you that have great beats per minute to work out too. It has songs that I have not heard of or would not have thought to run to.

The marathon is May 4 in Lincoln. I have my hotel already booked (booked it the first of December just in case!). Now, I just got to get my mind and body ready to go! Anyone care to join me?

"Marathon Training Schedule: Intermediate 1

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	Cross	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	Rest	5 m pace	8
2	Cross	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	Rest	5 m run	9
3	Cross	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	Rest	5 m pace	6
4	Cross	3 m run	6 m run	3 m run	Rest	6 m pace	11
5	Cross	3 m run	6 m run	3 m run	Rest	6 m run	12
6	Cross	3 m run	5 m run	3 m run	Rest	6 m pace	9
7	Cross	4 m run	7 m run	4 m run	Rest	7 m pace	14
8	Cross	4 m run	7 m run	4 m run	Rest	7 m run	15
9	Cross	4 m run	5 m run	4 m run	Rest	Rest	Half Marathon
10	Cross	4 m run	8 m run	4 m run	Rest	8 m pace	17
11	Cross	5 m run	8 m run	5 m run	Rest	8 m run	18
12	Cross	5 m run	5 m run	5 m run	Rest	8 m pace	13
13	Cross	5 m run	8 m run	5 m run	Rest	5 m pace	20
14	Cross	5 m run	5 m run	5 m run	Rest	8 m run	12
15	Cross	5 m run	8 m run	5 m run	Rest	5 m pace	20
16	Cross	5 m run	6 m run	5 m run	Rest	4 m pace	12
17	Cross	4 m run	5 m run	4 m run	Rest	3 m run	8
18	Cross	3 m run	4 m run	Rest	Rest	2 m run	Marathon"

2013 Austin Family Album

Its' January and I have the 2013 album done! Crazy, considering I just ordered the 2012 one last one! I know, I am on time for once.
With the kids in school and not doing the 365 photo project, I took fewer pictures. Thus, there are fewer pages in this year's addition. We had a challenging yet fun year. Enjoy our year of captured moments, if you desire.

The 2013 Austin Family Photo Book

December 2013 In Review

We kept busy in December with Saint Nicholas Day, School Winter Party, Alivia got student of the month, Alivia's class concert, winter break, roller skating, going to the Durham Museum & Children's Museum, Tube system & more. And, we can not leave out the celebration of Christmas & New Years!

Happy New Year! 2014 is off to a great start!

DECEMBER 2013 PICTURES

Holiday Break 2013

Hard to believe the kids' Holiday break is over and they are back into the second half of the school year. The started break on December 20, going back on January 2. And, I took a little vacation from work, too. It was so nice to be able to be with the kids without juggling my night nursing schedule.

Day one of break started off with meeting friends, Jill, Maggie and Mackenzie at the Children's Museum. Since all the other kids were still in school, it was so quiet there! We even saw other friends, Albanie and her kids. There were maybe 25 people there! The kids had a blast and it was nice for me to catch up with Jill and Albanie, too.

Next up, we visited the Durham Museum, seeing their HUGE tree, Santa, and their cool science display downstairs. It was fun.

On Sunday, we spend the afternoon roller blading at Skate City in Bellevue. Asher received roller blades for his birthday and wanted to try them out. I did not honestly think he would do very well. He proved me wrong, taking off and never wanting to hold my hand! It was crazy. We were all exhausted by the end of the 2 hour skating marathon. We got done just in time to get cleaned up and go to Chris' parents for Christmas. We all slept good that night.

Monday was the day we went to Iowa to bake cookies. We are still eating them (we froze most of them). :) Tuesday we cleaned in preparation for our Christmas Day Guests.

After Christmas, we spent the remaining break at home, hardly going anywhere. The kids played with their new toys, jumping on the new bouncer and playing with the neighbor kids. Our neighbor houses got all filled up just before Christmas. The house across the street is the home of 2 girls, one Alivia's age and one Addison's age. They have already made themselves at home in our house.

On the Monday before New Years, we met our friends Bonnie, Gabby, Xander and Ben at Skate Daze to play in the tube system. Addison invited her friend Halle, too. Addison had 2 sleepover with Halle during break, Alivia had 2 sleepovers with her friend Lizzy and Asher had his first sleepover with his friend Cameron. It was difficult to keep track of their schedules! Anyway, the tube system is always a good place to go to blow off energy. They had fun and I always like catching up with Bonnie.

The rest of the break we chilled at home, watching movies, baking, and enjoying each other without being busy for once. I loved every minute of it.

January 1 at night, I returned to work and the kids were in school the next morning. It went by way too fast. I don't know about the kids, but I am already counting the days until the next break! :)

Happy New Year 2014!

Happy New Year! Wow, does time go faster or is it just me?

Time to make more goals. This year, Chris and I have set the standard high for goals. One we will DEFINITELY achieve after 3 years of making it a goal (gees!). So, here it goes.

1. GO TO DISNEY!
Chris was at a new job in 2013 making Disney out of the question. 2014...Disney here we come!

2. CELEBRATE OUR 15th ANNIVERSARY IN STYLE!
After suffering through our 14th year, Chris and I are really going all out for our 15th...going back to Jamaica man to celebrate 15 years together. OMG...we are counting the days until we are sipping blended fruit punches on the beach!

3. CHRIS WILL SUMMIT LONGS PEAK!
This is Chris' lofty goal for 2014. He plans to make the summit with his brother (so the kids and I will have another long trip to the Lake again!). I think Chris is crazy and he thinks I am. I guess we are equal, or something.

4. I WILL RUN MY VERY FIRST FULL 26.2m MARATHON!!
Yep, sounds crazy, but that's me. All crazy. Really, who isn't running a marathon. I went to sign up at 12:01 New Years morning and the site was crashed...so I had to sign up at 2:30 AM. By New Years morning, the marathon was full. So, I won't be running it alone! The training has begun, even in this cold crap. Seriously, wth was I thinking training for a spring marathon in Nebraska?!

5. SAVE ONE PAYCHECK A MONTH
Although I did not get a new job as I said I would last year, I am working a ton of hours more than I was (for me anyway). So, I think it is about time I start stuffing one paycheck away per month. I still want to find a new job, though.

6. MAKE OUR HOME A 5 BEDROOM
This project was supposed to start, well, now. But, our contractor quit on us. Boo. We loved him as he did our wrought iron spindles and finished our closet/drop zone for us. Now, back to the drawing board of finding someone else to do this project for us. We will see.

That ought to keep Chris and I busy for a while. What are your 2014 Goals?!