"Pretty Strong"

I read this article awhile back in a Runner's World magazine. I didn't at first realize the piece was written by Kristin Armstrong(Lance's wife). For whatever reason this article struck a chord inside me, I really believe it is the driving force of my motivation on my toughest days. I have been searching for this article for months and finally found it today online......lengthy but its got a worthwhile message. Especially for us women!

"Pretty Strong"
A few months ago on a school morning, as I attempted to etch a straight midline part on the back of my wiggling daughter's soon-to-be-ponytailed blond head, I reminded her that it was chilly outside and she needed to grab a sweater."No, mama.""Excuse me?""No, I don't want to wear that sweater, it makes me look fat.""What?!" My comb clattered to the bathroom floor. "Fat?! What do you know about fat? You're 5 years old! You are definitely not fat. God made you just right. Now get your sweater."She scampered off, and I wearily leaned against the counter and let out a long, sad sigh. It has begun. I thought I had a few more years before my twin daughters picked up the modern day f-word. I have admittedly had my own seasons of unwarranted, psychotic Slim-Fasting and have looked erroneously to the scale to give me a measurement of myself. But these departures from my character were in my 20s, before the balancing hand of motherhood met the grounding grip of running. Once I learned what it meant to push myself, I lost all taste for depriving myself. I want to grow into more of a woman, not find ways to whittle myself down to less.The way I see it, the only way to run counter to our toxic image-centric society is to literally run by example. I can't tell my daughters that beauty is an incidental side effect of living your passion rather than an adherence to socially prescribed standards. I can't tell my son how to recognize and appreciate this kind of beauty in a woman. I have to show them, over and over again, mile after mile, until they feel the power of their own legs beneath them and catch the rhythm of their own strides.Which is why my parents wake my kids early on race-day mornings. It matters to me that my children see me out there, slogging through difficult miles. I want my girls to grow up recognizing the beauty of strength, the exuberance of endurance, and the core confidence residing in a well-tended body and spirit. I want them to be more interested in what they are doing than how they look doing it. I want them to enjoy food that is delicious, feed their bodies with wisdom and intent, and give themselves the freedom to indulge. I want them to compete in healthy ways that honor the cultivation of skill, the expenditure of effort, and the courage of the attempt.Grace and Bella, will you have any idea how lovely you are when you try?

Recently we ran the Chuy's Hot to Trot Kids K together as a family in Austin, and I ran the 5-K immediately afterward. Post race, my kids asked me where my medal was. I explained that not everyone gets a medal, so they must have run really well (all kids got a medal, shhh!). As I picked up Grace, she said, "You are so sweaty Mommy, all wet." Luke smiled and said, "Mommy's sweaty 'cause she's fast. And she looks pretty. All clean." My PRs will never garner attention or generate awards. But when I run, I am 100 percent me--my strengths and weaknesses play out like a cracked-open diary, my emotions often as raw as the chafing from my jog bra. In my ultimate moments of vulnerability, I am twice the woman I was when I thought I was meant to look pretty on the sidelines. Sweaty and smiling, breathless and beautiful: Running helps us all shine. A lesson worth passing along.

Friday nights

OK so i think i must have the most lame Friday nights of anyone i know. Every other Friday John is working til 9pm. TGIF what is that?? So its just the 3 of us tonight while everyone else in the world is out doing something fun as a family. Or all those single people are going out for happy hour, movies, dinner, etc.
Here's how my Friday night goes. 5:15pm witching hour strikes, never fails does it, kids are starving and crabby "as all get out"(my new southern phrase! seriously i would never actually say that but people do down here, its funny) Run to the grocery store for "Fried Chicken" more Southern stuff. Not good for the figure but its tasty. Come home, feed kids, watch them have yet another cat fight over who's turn it is to feed the fish. Wine starts pouring at 6:30pm, best drug around to calm the mama. Now its 7:35pm and i've finally snuck away from the girls who are listening to my CDs and pirroueting around the living room.
Not too much excitement over here. But the girls are happy and healthy and cute as hell. wouldn't trade it in for the world. ok so maybe this is the wine talking and I've just gotten use to my lame Fridays : )
TGIF to you all, hope you are all out doing something fun. or just sitting around appreciating your family.

"Honey"

OK this cracks me up. Logann's nickname for me lately is "honey". I'm not really sure where she got it from. I don't call anyone "honey", "babe" is my lovey dovey word. As far as I know John doesn't use it either.
Its so funny she'll come up to me and whisper in my ear, "you be the honey and I'll be the mommy" then she'll proceed to say "oh honey whats wrong do you have a boo boo?" "honey i love you" she is riot. i'm dying to know which cartoon this is from : ) Anyone know?

Rough Start

Today was the first long run of my marathon training. Every Sunday I am suppose to put in a long run to end the week. Starting with 5 miles on week One (today) through to 22 miles on week 15 or so.
So on a good note I ran the 5 miles without much trouble (at least from the ankles up). I had to go out at 6:15 am because of the heat but was still sweating my butt off! During the rough moments I would daydream of running the Warriors Path loop in the snow last year, that seemed to keep me cooler : )
Anyway all was good until 22 mins. when my feet starting blistering and bleeding once again.
I had to stop and actually take out my $402 orthotics, such a great investment! Tomorrow I am going back to FootSolutions to show the lady how well she fitted me. I took some pictures of my feet in case I need to fight to get my money back. Satisfaction guaranteed right?
I won't post the nasty photos here but if you want to take a peek at my wounds check out the link to the right My Marathon Training Blog. Just no laughing at all the wrinkles on my feet. Sophia pointed them out to me a couple weeks ago. She looked at my hands and feet and said "mommy you are getting old" so I said "why do you say that Sophia", and she responded with " because Mommy your thumbs and your feet are all wrinkled like an old person." Nice observation. Don't you love how good your kids make you feel somedays.

Sick days

What i would give to cash in a sick day today. I remember the good old days when I worked for the gov't and had 6 weeks of sick time. Lots of days off laying in bed, with no interruptions. Dream, dream,dream....
Logann has passed along her cold/sinus infection to me again. Why do I always seem to get sicker than the kids? Guess this cold is a sign Fall is on its way. Not looking forward to the next 6 months of snot and dr. appts. and probably an adenoidectomy for Lo, is that a real term nurse Meg,Jude?
hope you guys are all healthy in rainy NY. Its 100 again today!

A Princess and her Pirate

Its always Halloween around here. Last time the costumes were reversed. That was a cuter picture but for the sake of Nolan's dad I didn't include it here. Gotta love a boy that can wear pink! We love our little buddy Nolan!

"Crash"

Believe it or not, Logann and Sophia use to love to go down the "big white slide" at our pool. Well until a couple months ago when L came flying down on her belly backwards and rammed her foot right into my hip as I attempted to catch her. The impact was hard enough that I was bruised for a week.And I swear she hasn't walked right since. The doctor says nothing is wrong with her though???

Every time we go to the pool John tries to get the girls back on the slide, to no avail so far ! two nights ago he asked Lo to go down with him and she looked right at him and said "Daddy I'm limpin, I don't do the slide."

Crash baby is still a mess here in NC. Will she always be so accident prone : )

here's a couple pics of the pool I've been promising you guys. not the greatest sorry.

Lucky Dog

OK I know you are all going to laugh at me over this one.....so yesterday was Jackson's 6th(42nd) birthday. Yes I do still remember my dog's birthday! I'm good with birthdays!

So anyway the kids wanted to throw him a party and bake cupcakes for him. I convinced them that we should make him a birthday dinner instead.

Here's Jackson right after inhaling his ground turkey/rice/carrot dinner that S & L made him. I think he liked it.

addict

has anyone successfully given up coffee? if so you need to let me know how. lately i have not been able to sleep. seem to be averaging about 5 hrs a night. its ok right now but come a month or two when i'm running 40 miles a week(lets hope I am) I'm gonna need more sleep. and i can't do sleeping pills! they make me comatose.
so i'm thinking my lack of sleep is related to my new found love of coffee, at all hours of the day. without 2 or 3 cups in the morning and another cup or 2 around 4pm my head is POUNDING! but the minute i take of sip of that nasty stuff, instant relief. caffeine is a drug isn't it.
how did you girls give up coffee when you were pregnant. i never drank coffee til Logann came around so i didn't have to deal with it back then. But now that Logann has driven me to drink I'm screwed! i can't stop, Please help. isnt there some herbal drops or something you used Elizabeth.

Early birthday

Check out my new toy....its an early birthday present I bought for myself tonight. Finally got a new MP3 player after the old one got a little wet one day at the pool! I'm good at killing and losing electronics, its a very costly,bad habit of mine. So anyway this little baby is sweeeet! It looks huge in the photo but its lighter and slimer than the Nano. I love it and have been playing and downloading music all night. John is probably wondering by now where I am, hee, hee! Add that to the list of excuses ladies!

Of course John also didn't understand its necessity today when I told him I had to have it. Then again he is one of those runners that goes out to hear his breathing and foot falls, and to be one with nature. Me I'm scared when I hear all my panting ! And nature is just a little too quiet for me. I need something to jam to, or my body just stalls.

The man at Circuit City(shitty store, save that for another post) tried to talk me into the Ipod Nano. No offense to all you podders out there but I just didn't want to jump on that bandwagon. Alright.... so truthfully..... I couldn't afford the $150 right now : ) Isn't its hype just in its Apple name too? Or is it really that much better? Will you comment Sheila. I do have 14 days says the man to return it.

Happy downloading!

Mike & Mike

Most of you probably don't have the pleasure of watching Mike & Mike (ESPN) every morning during breakfast. Thanks to our TV in the kitchen it seems to be on every day. I've actually gotten use to it, and the kids even ask for it, (especially if they're trying to win brownie points with daddy).
Lately though the only topic on ESPN seems to be the whole Michael Vick saga.
I just have one thing to say about that.....if I was the judge I would have him shot immediately, no maybe i would drown him, that might be a harder way to go, just like he did to his poor dogs! What a loser! What possesses people to do things like that? How can you get pleasure out of watching something suffer? God there are so many sick people in this world, its scary!
The other thing that bugs me is how the media keeps pumping up the fact that he is such a world class athlete with mega bucks. And how could he give up all of that for dog fighting? Who the hell cares. It doesn't matter if he's the freakin garbage man, no human should be programmed to think/act like that. Regardless of what the consequence may be. So what, he just lost a 110 million dollar contract. The point of the matter is he's a sick bastard!
Touchy subject for me : )

headache

just thought i'd post something that made me laugh yesterday. i was loading up the kids in the car and Logann was doing her typical crying, whining routine. i had to run back into the house for something and when I got back in the car. I overheard Sophia giving Logann a lecture....went something like this
"Logann stop it, stop crying right now, you are giving mommy a headache! She needs a little peace and quiet right now"
I wonder how much a really say that to them : 0

Say a little prayer

......for our new Beta fish "Traxy". I think she's on her way out. I forgot she's not suppose to have tap water. too much chlorine. what do i know about fish? so anyway Sophia got this pet from grandma while we were in Vegas! grandma better come back for the funeral and the mourning tomorrow. sophia is going to be devastated. she asked me last night why traxy was floating at the top now. i told her maybe shes just sick and needs her rest. she then decided we needed to go to the store to get her some medicine.
so i went to the store ......to scope out her replacement. and they didn't have another blue Beta! so now i'm off to petsmart today. THANK YOU GRANDMA!
no more pets!

Ray Kroc

Whats up with this guy and his brilliant ideas. He must not have had any kids!!! How can he do this to us.
So some of you know and abide by the no Happy Meal rule, like me? Or should I say like I use to. I was doing good with this plan for awhile. Probably until my mom introduced the Happy Meal to Sophia way back when. Once Logann figured them out, it was all over. Logann rules the roost!
So anyway now we battle.....the gym I go to sits between Wendy's and McDonalds. Almost everytime we go to the gym(5times a week) the girls start in about going to W or M. Most days mommy wins and we go home, or we just go to Wendy's and get the 5 piecers. Which I still consider a win. $2 ok. I can round up that in change in my car : )
Well yesterday they suckered me into McDonalds so off we went to the drive through. Had to get the Happy Meal because the toy was Build a Bear or whatever. Little did I know they had been to McDonalds a few times with John and my mom since this toy came out and they wanted a particular one, the kitty. So I felt like a really annoying customer but I nicely asked the mexican guy who was working (no offense here I love Mexicans but I dont think he understood me) "Do you have the Kitty toy" He comes back with a bear, Girls start screaming, no we have that one we want the Kitty! So I ask him again if he has any other animals (and a shot of baileys for my coffee too). He then comes back with the same bear and a pink dog. The pink dog suffices, so we leave. Start getting down the road, open up the happy meals, hand them back, more screaming. "A boy toy" We don't like boy toys!!!! Super heroes yuck! They ended up getting some super hero figure, don't ask me about that stuff, and the bear they already had.
Couldn't calm them down about the stupid pink dog. They cried and cried and cried. Then Sophia actually talked me into stopping at another McDonalds on the way home to find the dog. So thats what we did. Feeling like an idiot once again I raced into McDonalds, leaving both kids in the car, (don't worry its legal here in this strange state!) and rescued us two ADORABLE pink fluffy haired dogs.
The sad thing is its been less than 24 hours and I haven't seen the dogs since! They were that important......!!Hence my hatred towards Ray Kroc! Not too mention how clogged my kids arteries will be by the time they are my age. They'll be on their meds for cholestrol and high blood pressure just like their mommy : )
So thats my story of a mothers desperation to find a pink dog for my two little whiny girls. Please no comments telling me I don't really have to succumb to the McDonalds wrath. Its inevitable in todays society. Any kid that doesn't experience the grease and glory of they toy is missing out.

Meat Cleaver

The girls favorite activity these days is helping me make dinner. I personally think they just get excited about it because I let them climb up onto the counter. Last night I made chicken piccata. They were crazy about helping me pound the chicken. So I gave them each a turn with the heavy meat cleaver.

It started out as a lot of fun, singing and pounding and crying for the the poor chicken. Then Sophia decided Logann wasn't sharing and tried to rip the cleaver from Logann's hand. At which point Logann attempted to take the cleaver to Phia's head. Sisterly love!

Moral of the story, learn from me....don't give a kid a cleaver. Even if you think it might be fun!

Snow babies

I was going through my pictures today and found these 2 that somehow never got deleted off of my memory card. Seems weird to see all that snow now. One winter away and I've forgetten all about it. Today here its suppose to hit 100 degrees, and I just heard the meterologist say that this is the 15th day in August that it has been over 90. Today is Aug 15th too! Not sure if I would want to go back to all that bundling up. I remember those days, 30 mins. spent putting on snowsuits, hats, boots, etc. Then my girls going in the sled for 2 mins and running back inside, for another 20 mins. of taking everything off. Those were the days when the margaritas would start at 4pm : ) As soon as it got dark!
Although after having just come in from the sauna outside all that snow does look a little refreshing! Even a little rain shower would be nice right about now.

Grandma's Gone

My mom came to visit for the last couple weeks. The girls and I had such a good time with her. On Monday we had to bring her to the airport so she could go home and work, as Sophia keeps reminding Logann. Its so sad to see her go. Maybe one day she will decide she loves the humidity & heat of NC and the way you get attacked by flies everytime you go outside with food! Then she'll change her mind and come live with us. The door is always open.You know you love it here!

Here's some photos of our trip to Crowder Park(similar to Beaver Lake in B'ville) on the way to the airport.

Anyone want to join me?

Finally mapped out my marathon training plan for this fall. I've decided to run Raleigh's half marathon on Nov 4 http://cityofoaksmarathon.com/ as a half way point to my full marathon in Phoenix on my 30th birthday! I'm following a 12 week schedule for the half. Starts out really easy. 3 mile runs, speed one day and a long run starting at 5miles working up to 12. Anyone want to race with me. Hint, hint, Sheila, Laura, Christy?? It would be a good excuse to come visit! I'll send you the training schedule all of you could do it.
Wish me luck I start the actual training next week. Then its 20 weeks of running, running, running, follwed by blistering, bleeding, aches, pain, and hopefully the "runners high" and shedding of some pounds. Sounds good right?
I'm excited about all this running, am I weird or what?

4 Amy

These are for you Amy. TOBY in Nashville, this guy could sing him like no other. And then the real TK in Vegas. Why was his bar not playing country music though? I was almost disowned on the trip for my new music taste.

Got a new shirt in Nashville and thought of you "Girls Get Dirty Too" its a John Deere shirt

John hates it! Other ones I thought you would like were, "Save a horse, ride me", "Do it in the Dirt! "Its Always 5 O Clock in Nashville" "I Know Jack!"(Daniels that is). YOu still wearing your funny shirts these days?

Recovery

Day 2 from being back home and still haven't quite recovered from my trips! Vegas is fun but a killer. To be 21 again as my friend put it! I'm feeling really old now that I'm back and dragging. The whole trip was incredible though. So much to do and see out there. Lots of fun! Here's a couple crazy pictures until I get the rest of them organized. Most of these were taken after we discovered the jello shot bar in the MGM, a Vegas must! Can you tell how much we like Jello Shots. The best deal in town. By the way the lion in the picture with John is real, its taken at the MGM Lion Habitat, what you can't see is the glass between them.

Crazy 'bout Vegas

This place rocks! Thanks to everyone for the recommendations. Second day here and getting sad already, how am I going to leave Friday. Having way too much fun! There's too much to do though, who was it that said 3 nights was enough??
Luck wasn't on our side yesterday though. Its a miracle we managed to get here after racing to catch our connection in Phoenix, boarding and then finding out after sitting down that we had boarded the wrong flight?? So much for airline security! Still don't know the ticket agent didn't catch that one. Have you ever boarded the wrong flight?? OK so we are partly to blame as we didn't pay much attention but stilll.. So anyway first they kicked us off the flight and then a minute later called us back probably after they saw I was about to lose it. Hell it was a Vegas flight after all it just wasn't ours?? Then we got to the hotel at noon but had no room til 7pm. Wasn't loving NYNY last night. We made the best of it though by drinking a little too much and gambling some.
John's up $50 playing BlackJack. I won $1 on the slots this mornig: ) Big spender I am. Took a crash course in Craps though this a.m. so I'm dying to get downstairs. Yesterday my friend and drank for free just by sitting in front of a slot machine and spending $2. Can't beat that. Do I sound like I am still in college or what?
Had the BEST massage this morning at the Spa. Here's a line for you John asked how long my massage was and i said 50 mins. 50 mins he said! How can you lay there that long and get massaged, don't you get bored. and tired of being touched. I told him I could lay there all day if he'd pay for it. But at a rate of $130/50mins thats all I got.

Worked out at the gym and laid by the pool today. There are some really beautiful people at this hotel : ) Thanks Amy for the tip on Bellagio, you were right,stuffy, old rich, people. The young hotties seem to be here.
Headed to Cirque de Solei LOVE tonight. Then dinner and more exploring. Hoping to make it out late tonight, so many places to go out. This morning I got up and went downstairs at 5am to find coffee and there were people everywhere drinking! Alcohol. Maybe that'll be me tonight, yeah right!
Keep you guys posted on all my winnings!

Thelma and Louise

I tell you I have the life right now! And believe me I am not taking one minute of it for granted. Because come Sept. I know it’ll be back to the daily grind, hum drum life of a stay at home mom. You guys know what I’m talking about.
So this past weekend my mom and I high-tailed it to Nashville for the weekend. Who would have thought that TN could be so far away from Raleigh. Do you know its not much further to drive from Syracuse to Nash then it was for us? Craziness! Goes to show how well we learned our geography(and I think that was my favorite subject!)
Anyway my mom and I spent 18 hours together driving across the mountains of NC and TN on 40. There were a few moments when I thought I was going to have to leave her high and dry on the side of the road to be rescued by some trucker. But no seriously all in all we had a really amazing time. Lots of laughs, (you know girls the ones where you just about pee your pants), good talks, and a few lessons (can you believe she taught me how to text message and add a ring tone to my phone, and no I don’t want to hear it Meg, Yes I am a little behind the times) . I actually just convinced John to buy me a laptop which is what Im using to write this from 30,000 feet above on my way to Vegas (more about that in the next blog) I told you I have the life right now.
Back to Nashville. We actually went there for a 50yr anniversary party for some really good friends of the family. A couple I pretty much consider grandparents.. The party was fun and really special. We stayed at a sweet hotel and relaxed by the pool most of the days. At night we checked out downtown and got hooked on all the country music venues, etc. We went on a party cruise boat traveling along some river(don‘t ask me which) that ran through downtown and other areas of the city. It was wild, lots of redneck fun: beer drinkin, band playin, and just being silly.

Four

Sophia turned 4 on Sunday. Man, my baby is getting big : ( Do all of you get saddened with each birthday? Or am I just strange and sappy. I said to her while watching her unwrap her presents last night….“oh Sophia you are getting so big, you’re not my baby anymore. You’re 4, you’re a big girl now ” She instantly grabbed a hold of my legs and looked up at me with those bewildered eyes and responded
“ but mommy you’ll still love me as a big girl right?” Of course I will sweetie I said, and then she added “and mommy don’t worry you still have Logie as your baby?“ Brought tears to my eyes!
What kind of mom am I though being in Nashville on her actual birthday. Luckily John kept his promise of not saying Happy Birthday to her until Monday, the day I got home. It is kinda nice to still be able to fool your child like that. At what age do they get smart on you and figure out the date?
So anyway we were scrambling to celebrate her birthday when my mom and I got home Monday night. John had to go out and prepare for the “party” while we were driving back from Nashville. It was nice to get a break from that task this year!
So the best part of the day was realizing that at 4 it doesn’t take much to impress them. The kid was thrilled with just a few presents(some not even wrapped), a cake from the grocery store, and her family singing Happy Birthday to her.
Her face was beaming the whole night and she kept repeating to John and I “I Love you guys!” What more do you need?
Now if she would just stop talking about that Chuck e Cheese party she wants so badly I‘d be in the clear! : )

Logann Gates

This is very sad to admit, please don’t judge my parenting…… My 2 yr old is a freaking computer junkie! The first words out of her mouth every morning are “puter game, puter game” She is hooked on the Internet. Its gotten so ridiculous that John and I finally bought a laptop as we were never able to get in “our turn.” Hence the lack of emails from me : )
I know this computer thing isn’t good, especially in today’s society of obese children and all. I do promise to start setting limits when I get home, but in the back of my mind I’m thinking “hmmm she’s pretty quick with that mouse and she can operate more programs than most adults. Hell the kid can already copy and paste, change the screen saver, and completely mess up the operating system, etc. Fun! I think I might have to begin teaching her some programming basics(wait do i even remember any?)
Seriously though the girl has found her niche. So now I have Sophia the drama queen(ballet dancer, singer, makeup artist, fashion designer, girlie girl) and Logann (the computer geek) Where’s my athlete, my soccer player, hoop shooting, lets play catch kid? I can’t even get the dog to play with the frisbee anymore. This has to be God’s way of telling me I need another. Psyche!!