I'm officially planning my comeback.
It all started last week when James forwarded me an email about a price increase for the Oro Valley half marathon (well, really the Arizona Distance Classic, but I prefer to call it the OV half). The price would be increasing on September 30th.
James simply wrote "This is all you" which I take to mean as "I'll watch the kids, run wifey run!" But really, my sweet wonderful husband knows how much I've missed being able to run, and how much I love to compete.
So, I registered for the quarter marathon race yesterday. It's at the end of March. I'm hoping this will be enough time to get my body ready to run 6.5ish miles. It will at least give me a reason to get out and run (other than for my own sanity). I decided on the quarter marathon for a couple of reasons. One being that it's a distance I've never ran before, therefore no matter what time I get it will be my best time ever for a quarter marathon. Another being I know that a half marathon will be too far for me to run well at that point, and I don't want to be ticked off at myself for a week because I ran the slowest half marathon of my life. A logical person might say, "but this will be less than 6 months after having a baby." I'm too competitive with myself to be logical like that.
I'm thinking that I will be getting back into running in January, this should be after my 6 weeks of taking it easy post childbirth. And let me tell you, I plan to take it easy. At least as easy as a mom of a newborn and a 2 year old can take it.
I think the month of January will be dedicated to being able to run a full mile without stopping. Oh, it's going to be slow. And it will hurt. Then I'll use February and March to work on ramping up my mileage to a full 7 or maybe even 8 miles.
And I'm sure every single step of the way I'll be thinking to myself, "why did I think this was a good idea????"
Monday, October 1, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Woah!
I feel as though I'm growing rather rapidly these days. In fact, I was afraid to go to my last doctors appointment, simply because I was sure the scale would record a 5 pound weight gain in 2 weeks, and that suddenly my belly would be measuring ahead of schedule. I also skipped taking a picture of my belly at 32 weeks cause I just didn't want to see it. Thankfully the scale was gracious to me, recording a 1 pound weight gain, and my belly somehow managed to still be measuring where it's supposed to be.
But, when I look at the pictures of my "progress", all I can say is WOAH! No wonder I've been so tired...
Grow, baby, grow!
But, when I look at the pictures of my "progress", all I can say is WOAH! No wonder I've been so tired...
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Getting Older, and More Practical
The older I get, the more practical I seem to become.
When I turned 30, I bought myself a "sensible" wallet. It just seemed like the right thing to do.
Last week I turned 31 (which seemed so much older than 30! But, now that I've been 31 for nearly a week, I'm realizing it's no different). I spent my actual birthday cooking up a pancake extravaganza for my 2 year old pancake fanatic. Then we went to open gym together, where he played and played and had so much fun.
Then I decided to be practical and go to Costco and get a few things that we needed. Back in my 20s I would have never even considered being responsible on my birthday, that's what the other 364 days of the year were for. But, we were out of decaf coffee. And I wanted coffee. So, to Costco Zack and I went. While I was there, I treated myself to a birthday present (even though my wonderful James got me a Teavana tea maker thingy and some yummy, YUMMY tea the week before).
I bought myself memory foam slippers. They were $10. And they are amazing. Why have I never discovered such things before?!?!
I'm already considering a 2nd pair.
My birthday wasn't all about being practical, however. James and I did go out for dinner (to Tavalino, a new place for us. It was delish!). And after dinner we treated ourselves to dessert from AJ's. YUM. And all of this was sans child. Except for the one in my belly. That one goes with me everywhere.
If 30 means a sensible wallet, and 31 means memory foam slippers, I can't even begin to imagine what 32 will bring!
When I turned 30, I bought myself a "sensible" wallet. It just seemed like the right thing to do.
Last week I turned 31 (which seemed so much older than 30! But, now that I've been 31 for nearly a week, I'm realizing it's no different). I spent my actual birthday cooking up a pancake extravaganza for my 2 year old pancake fanatic. Then we went to open gym together, where he played and played and had so much fun.
Then I decided to be practical and go to Costco and get a few things that we needed. Back in my 20s I would have never even considered being responsible on my birthday, that's what the other 364 days of the year were for. But, we were out of decaf coffee. And I wanted coffee. So, to Costco Zack and I went. While I was there, I treated myself to a birthday present (even though my wonderful James got me a Teavana tea maker thingy and some yummy, YUMMY tea the week before).
I bought myself memory foam slippers. They were $10. And they are amazing. Why have I never discovered such things before?!?!
I'm already considering a 2nd pair.
My birthday wasn't all about being practical, however. James and I did go out for dinner (to Tavalino, a new place for us. It was delish!). And after dinner we treated ourselves to dessert from AJ's. YUM. And all of this was sans child. Except for the one in my belly. That one goes with me everywhere.
If 30 means a sensible wallet, and 31 means memory foam slippers, I can't even begin to imagine what 32 will bring!
Saturday, September 8, 2012
I Miss Running
I miss running. I really do. Last weekend James ran on the treadmill while I napped. When he was finished (he busted off one mile in 7:20!) I told him that I was jealous that he has the energy to run. I have the energy to nap. And make lists of things for James to do around the house. And cook. And take care of a 2 year old. And keep the house somewhat clean. And grow another human being.
In 9ish weeks this baby will [hopefully] be in my arms, and no longer in my belly. Then around 6 weeks after that I will start up [slowly, and painfully] running once again, and documenting my return. I can hardly wait. Until then I suppose I will document the hilarious/sweet/peculiar things my sweetie pie Zacky does, along with any progress we make towards getting ready for the arrival of the wee one.
Here are some of the things Zack has done this past week:
On Tuesday, I had my first BSF leaders meeting for the 2012-2013 year. I talked to Zack about it all Monday, and the whole drive over on Tuesday. By the time we got there he was quite excited to play on the playground at bible study. That day, before Zack's nap, we went to pray. Apparently I was taking too long getting started with the prayer, so Zack himself started praying. It went like this.
Zack: Dear God
[long pause]
Me: What do you want to thank God for??
[more pausing, and thinking]
Zack: Sank soou, bubble study (translation, thank you bible study).
He melted my heart right there.
He has also decided that while we are trying to get him ready for bed it's great fun to go hide in his closet. He will then poke his sweet little face out and say, "James, Karen!" Seriously!? I want to be called mommy for as long as possible, none of this "Karen!" business.
Sure do love that boy!
In 9ish weeks this baby will [hopefully] be in my arms, and no longer in my belly. Then around 6 weeks after that I will start up [slowly, and painfully] running once again, and documenting my return. I can hardly wait. Until then I suppose I will document the hilarious/sweet/peculiar things my sweetie pie Zacky does, along with any progress we make towards getting ready for the arrival of the wee one.
Here are some of the things Zack has done this past week:
On Tuesday, I had my first BSF leaders meeting for the 2012-2013 year. I talked to Zack about it all Monday, and the whole drive over on Tuesday. By the time we got there he was quite excited to play on the playground at bible study. That day, before Zack's nap, we went to pray. Apparently I was taking too long getting started with the prayer, so Zack himself started praying. It went like this.
Zack: Dear God
[long pause]
Me: What do you want to thank God for??
[more pausing, and thinking]
Zack: Sank soou, bubble study (translation, thank you bible study).
He melted my heart right there.
He has also decided that while we are trying to get him ready for bed it's great fun to go hide in his closet. He will then poke his sweet little face out and say, "James, Karen!" Seriously!? I want to be called mommy for as long as possible, none of this "Karen!" business.
Sure do love that boy!
Monday, August 20, 2012
Moving On Up!
Our sweet little Zack is officially out of his crib and sleeping in a toddler bed. Sniff, sniff...they grow up so fast!
We've been putting off putting him in a toddler bed for as long as possible. If we didn't have another wee one on the way, who will need the crib, we would have kept him in there until he was clearly too big, or climbed out. But, November is just getting closer and closer and we wanted him to be as adjusted to a new big boy bed as possible before turning his whole world upside down by bringing a sibling into this world.
The transition has gone surprisingly well! There have been moments where I have missed the crib oh so very much (mostly at nap time, when Zack was screwing around in his room, not napping), but overall, I can't complain. We got him a stop light alarm clock. When the red light is on, it's means it's night time and you are supposed to stay in your room. When the green light turns on, it means it's morning and you can come out of your room. Sleeping in is not something that Zack does much of. He's an early bird, which is fine, to a degree. But, we didn't want him waking up at 5 and then wandering around the house because he can. Beside the fact that when he wakes up that early, he's a bit grumpy for the rest of the day....nobody enjoys that.
The first morning was quite a shock to us...Zack sauntered out of his bedroom around 6:45, which is actually late for him. We are guessing he was confused as to what to do. The next morning he was clearly confused. At 5am he was standing in the middle of the house saying "mama, mama, MAMA!" I took him back to his room, where he didn't sleep, but he did stay until the green light came on. Another morning around 5:30 we heard his door open, then we hear his sweet little voice saying "hi dog dog!! Hi dog dog!!" Technically he didn't come out of his room that time....just stood in the doorway. But those have been our only extra early mornings. Pretty much every other morning he comes out of his room a few minutes after 6:15 (when the green light turns on) exclaiming "green light, ON!" His cuteness makes my extra tired mornings a teensie bit easier.
Sure do love my sweet boy. The next step is putting him in a twin bed and moving the crib back into the baby room. And then getting ready for the baby...who will be here before we know it.
We've been putting off putting him in a toddler bed for as long as possible. If we didn't have another wee one on the way, who will need the crib, we would have kept him in there until he was clearly too big, or climbed out. But, November is just getting closer and closer and we wanted him to be as adjusted to a new big boy bed as possible before turning his whole world upside down by bringing a sibling into this world.
The transition has gone surprisingly well! There have been moments where I have missed the crib oh so very much (mostly at nap time, when Zack was screwing around in his room, not napping), but overall, I can't complain. We got him a stop light alarm clock. When the red light is on, it's means it's night time and you are supposed to stay in your room. When the green light turns on, it means it's morning and you can come out of your room. Sleeping in is not something that Zack does much of. He's an early bird, which is fine, to a degree. But, we didn't want him waking up at 5 and then wandering around the house because he can. Beside the fact that when he wakes up that early, he's a bit grumpy for the rest of the day....nobody enjoys that.
The first morning was quite a shock to us...Zack sauntered out of his bedroom around 6:45, which is actually late for him. We are guessing he was confused as to what to do. The next morning he was clearly confused. At 5am he was standing in the middle of the house saying "mama, mama, MAMA!" I took him back to his room, where he didn't sleep, but he did stay until the green light came on. Another morning around 5:30 we heard his door open, then we hear his sweet little voice saying "hi dog dog!! Hi dog dog!!" Technically he didn't come out of his room that time....just stood in the doorway. But those have been our only extra early mornings. Pretty much every other morning he comes out of his room a few minutes after 6:15 (when the green light turns on) exclaiming "green light, ON!" His cuteness makes my extra tired mornings a teensie bit easier.
Sure do love my sweet boy. The next step is putting him in a twin bed and moving the crib back into the baby room. And then getting ready for the baby...who will be here before we know it.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Olympic Fever and Belly Envy
We've got a case of Olympic fever over here. I love the Olympics. James does too. And Zack is well on his way to being a lover of the Olympics as well. So far his favorite sports seem to be beach volleyball (or sand volleyball, as he calls it), swimming, and he really enjoyed watching the support cars during one of the bike road races (though I don't know if that really counts...). Zack has even taken to "swimming" on the floor in his room. It's quite hilarious.
Somehow, I've managed to be pregnant for both the 2010 winter games, and now the 2012 summer games. When I was pregnant with Zack, I mostly remember crying during the Olympics....sports made me emotional. This time around, I'm not nearly as emotional, but I did find myself tearing up after Mo Farah won the 10,000 meters and celebrated by giving his daughter a big ole bear hug. Sniff, sniff.
While these Olympics might not be bringing out the most emotional side of me, I for sure have found myself with a case of belly envy. So many of these athletes have such amazingly flat stomachs (and wildly muscular stomachs). I used to have a mostly flat belly, never a wildly muscular one, but I don't think I really want that many muscles anyway. Now, I'm 26 weeks pregnant, and my belly is far from flat. It is however, rock solid.
Thankfully the Olympics will only be on for about another week, after which I hope my case of belly envy will dissipate. And, I'll be back to going to bed at 9pm every night. If I just so happen to be pregnant during the 2014 winter games (we can't decide if we want 2 or 3 kids...) I think I will write to NBC and ask them to move their nightly broadcast up by a few hours in order to accommodate my pregnant lady sleeping schedule. I'm sure they will do it if I ask nicely.
Somehow, I've managed to be pregnant for both the 2010 winter games, and now the 2012 summer games. When I was pregnant with Zack, I mostly remember crying during the Olympics....sports made me emotional. This time around, I'm not nearly as emotional, but I did find myself tearing up after Mo Farah won the 10,000 meters and celebrated by giving his daughter a big ole bear hug. Sniff, sniff.
While these Olympics might not be bringing out the most emotional side of me, I for sure have found myself with a case of belly envy. So many of these athletes have such amazingly flat stomachs (and wildly muscular stomachs). I used to have a mostly flat belly, never a wildly muscular one, but I don't think I really want that many muscles anyway. Now, I'm 26 weeks pregnant, and my belly is far from flat. It is however, rock solid.
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Friday, August 3, 2012
My Little "Helper"
It is a long term goal of ours to have our children be productive member's of society when they are grown and out of the house. Zack is perfectly capable of contributing around here....just with small, 2 year old sized tasks.
He is becoming quite the accomplished cook, and requests the step stool whenever I am in the kitchen making a meal. And he requests ingredients for his own little concoctions that he's cooking up. Earlier this week he requested flour, sugar, baking power and salt for his pancake mix. Apparently making pancakes at least once a week lends to a 2 year old memorizing the ingredient list....
He likes to put dirty spoons and forks in the kitchen sink and loves to feed Walter dog.
Today, I asked him to take a dirty washcloth and put it in the dirty towels, a task he has done many, many times. He runs off to his bathroom, then emerges with the washcloth, talking about dirty towels. He then runs off to mine and James' room with this washcloth, where I assumed he was going to put it in the dirty laundry in our closet.
I just came out of the bathroom where I found the washcloth. It was not in the dirty laundry, it was in the garbage can. Apparently Zack doesn't like that one anymore....
I love my little helper.
He is becoming quite the accomplished cook, and requests the step stool whenever I am in the kitchen making a meal. And he requests ingredients for his own little concoctions that he's cooking up. Earlier this week he requested flour, sugar, baking power and salt for his pancake mix. Apparently making pancakes at least once a week lends to a 2 year old memorizing the ingredient list....
He likes to put dirty spoons and forks in the kitchen sink and loves to feed Walter dog.
Today, I asked him to take a dirty washcloth and put it in the dirty towels, a task he has done many, many times. He runs off to his bathroom, then emerges with the washcloth, talking about dirty towels. He then runs off to mine and James' room with this washcloth, where I assumed he was going to put it in the dirty laundry in our closet.
I just came out of the bathroom where I found the washcloth. It was not in the dirty laundry, it was in the garbage can. Apparently Zack doesn't like that one anymore....
I love my little helper.
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