School Year Complete!

What started off to be a tough and very negative start to the school year for Andersen finally came to a positive and happy end. I almost cried dropping Andersen off at his last day of school on Friday. It was a tough school year for him. He had a challenging start and we had some hurdles to over come and a change of schools but he finished on a positive and rewarding end. I handed his teacher a small bouquet of roses that Andersen had picked out and he handed her a card with a giftcard in it. A token of appreciation for taking him in half way through the year and being very understanding of his situation. If Andersen were to choose a gift he would have preferred to buy her a charm bracelet with hearts.

I know I'll miss his enthusiasm he had for going to school. Enthusiasm I haven't seen him have since his first day of school. We did see one of his teachers from the other school he attended. She kindly said Hello Andersen as he looked away with no interest in responding to her. I know he's in a better place and look forward to the following school year!

And a Week Later...

Just realized how long it's been since I've last posted. This past week was pretty crazy and went by too fast! The boys are all doing great, though had a mishap with Carter who was playing on the computer chair with Andersen.Carter had fallen out of the computer chair while Andersen was turning him around. I nor Ron saw him fall out but he had hurt his foot/ankle Monday evening. We went to the doctor Tuesday and even had x-rays done which came back negative. Carter wouldn't walk for a couple of days which seemed to get better by Wednsday afternoon. He still walks with a little limp which makes me believe he had sprained it.

Andersen did awesome at his soccer game on Saturday! On the 15th of May he didn't want to play and spent time hanging on the goalie and climbing the nearby fence. Mud was a big attraction last weekend for him as well. He played in it and showed off for his aunt who kept laughing at every thing he did. This Saturday was a focused, determined, ball kicking, scoring, ball stopping goalie. I don't know where his motivation came from since this was completely out of character for him or he and soccer finally clicked.

This weekend was great. We had a new babysitter watch the kids in which two hours before her arrival Andersen couldn't wait for her to come and us to leave. On Friday he continued to tell me all the things he was going to tell the babysitter that he was allowed to do which was completely against our household rules. I did tell him don't worry I will tell her our rules. "No!" he would say. "I'm going to tell her MY RULES!" I would just chuckle. Two hours before our double date night with our neighbors Andersen had propped up a chair at the window to wait for the babysitter. He asked over and over again when she would arrive in which I would inform him not for two hours or so. He then bugged me to call her and tell her to come right away. I've never seen him so excited about us leaving. When she did arrive he chatted non stop and showed her everything from his toothbrush to the shirt he had planned on wearing to bed.

The date was a success! We went for dinner and then out to see Robin Hood. Didn't realize it was a nearly a two and half hour movie which carried us past ten in the evening. The following morning I was going with the group for a morning run and while leaving out the door at 6:15am Carter had made his way downstairs asking for Rachel "the babysitter". He went to the front door trying to open it saying "chel-chel" (Rachel) while he burst into tears. I woke Ron up to come downstairs to take care of him and I was out the door.

Sunday run was a long and painful success. 10.6 miles done. I was exhausted due to two late nights in a row. Though was proud of my miles for the week. A nice little 39.6 miles for the week. Upon returning home from the run I was quite surprised to see Ron and the boys gone. It was already eighty degrees outside and only 9:20 am. Met the boys at the park for a couple of hours, out for lunch, and home for a nap. I put myself to bed for a couple of hours as well. The afternoon brought us beautiful though a hot 93 degrees out. The boys were hot and we spent about an hour at the park running around. The evening ended with meeting our new neighbors while grilling out and enjoying a couple of Coronas while the boys played outside. Baths and an early bed time completed the evening.

Yesterday was so hot that the boys didn't want to be outside. We ate lunch and at the park after picking Andersen up from school. It was too hot so we stayed there for about a half hour. After naps we played out in our front yard with the sprinkler which cooled the boys off and they still had some outside time. Jasper does not like to be splashed or sprayed with water. He remained with me instead of jumping through the sprinkler. He really disliked it when one of his brothers would spray him with the sprinkler. They enjoyed their snack and a Popsicle outside.

This morning I started my Tuesday off with a Tuesday thirteen mile run. It's the longest run I've ever done and it felt great! Needless to say I'm ready for the half Marathon on the 13th of June. Another busy Tuesday as usual have lots going on this morning and probably going to end the day with a nice afternoon at the park.

Happy Monday!

Great 7.5 mile run this morning. Knees are sore so I think I'm going to skip the Tuesday 10 tomorrow and stick with some low key training. Had a great weekend! Andersen had soccer which is always a blast to watch. I had a little Birthday party gathering for my Mom this weekend which was a success and nice to get together. We had planned on staying at my Mom's Saturday night though plans changed. It was nice to visit but refreshing to get home. Sunday was awesome. Great weather to be outside though a little too windy. We took the boys out for lunch and then headed to Independence Grove. Independence Grove is this huge park,beach, running, and biking trails, boat rentals, canoe-ing, and fishing. Let the boys run around at the park and went on a walk. Boys loved it as well as Ron and I. Took the boys for some Slushies and back out to another park. Great end to our weekend and we enjoyed most of the day outside.

Ron decided to work from home today so he took Andersen to school and I ran some errands. Bought a new pair of Mizunos on sale! Was needing to buy a new pair though Ron thinks I'm crazy because I just bought a pair in February. The miles I put in plus wear them throughout the day puts more miles on them than just my runs in the morning. At least now I can start separating my running shoes from my everyday shoes. While the boys nap this afternoon and if Ron's still home I'm planning on hitting the pool and I look forward to maybe breaking my new shoes in tomorrow. =)

It's at the corner of get a map and Fuck Off!

I feel the sigh of relief at this moment after dropping lots of baggage. All the bottled up aggravation that has irked and bothered me the last ten years if not more. The revelation of where I really stand with people and the ability to finally let go and say nothing that you say or think matters in my life. What I don't read on this online socializing doesn't exsist, hence won't aggravate me and make me dwell and feel bad. The non responses of people we once called a family and the lack of support. Goodbye and good night!

Run Run Run!

Sometimes I despise busy days because there never seems to be enough time in the day. Yesterday was on the go and the playdate was cancelled by Andersen's friend due to illness but the boys were already expecting Monkey Joe's so I had to take them. I was exhausted near the end. We arrived about 12 and left around 2:40 and then had to make a trip to the store for milk and bread. I hardly had time to eat yesterday or plan for dinner which left me buying cooked chicken breast from the deli and a side of veggie pasta for the family for dinner. I realized upon waking up this morning I didn't take in enough carbs yesterday b/c we were going going. My eating goal today is to load up on carbs if there's time.

I did some really good cardio this morning on the crossramp and finished it off with a 2 mile run in 15mins. Upon arriving home the boys were whinning which put a damper on my endorphin high. blah! Andersen has school today and while he's there I have some errands to run, make lunch for the boys, change into workout clothes, pack snacks and drinks, make something on the go for Andersen because once he's picked up we have to rush to the Y for his classes and he has to eat lunch on the way. While he's in class I'll get core-trainning done and then after class the twins have a derm appointment at 2. By the time the day's done it'll be nearly 4pm and then it'll be time to start dinner and prepare for my appointment at 6. Don't get me wrong I love busy days! I hate when we don't have any plans and have to figure something out. But two days in a row is a killer and drains not just me but the boys. Whew! Looking forward to a break tomorrow.

Happy Tues!

This past week was a rough one for Andersen. He did some unimaginable things. His actions were the type, as a parent, would say my child would never do that...Or that's what we thought and to our surprise it happened. Ron's been working many hours and drill weekends which are once a month seem to come nearly every weekend. We've been so busy it's felt like we haven't had time to enjoy our family. After Andersen's actions early last week Ron took a few days off and worked for a few hours from home. Some much needed down time for him and some much needed Daddy time for the kids. So far this week has gotten off to a good start and everybody and everything seems to be back to normal. The boys are having a bit of Daddy withdraw this week but everyone seems to be in great spirits despite the rain we're having now.

Andersen had soccer on Saturday in which was pretty much cancelled due to the lack of kids. I think most parents decided to keep their kids home because of the cool 40s with drizzle. My Mom and sister came out for it and instead of keeping the twins out in the cold I decided to put them in Amazing Kids at the Y and I hit the treadmill completing a short 4 miles. I figured I'd bring the twins out to the last 15 minutes of Andersen's game to find it was cancelled after 30 minutes. The kids were excited to see my Mom. Carter, like always, cried throughout the day b/c he wanted grandma to stay.

Mother's day was awesome. We don't go out for breakfast ever but on Mother's day we did. Really enjoyed an excellent veggie omelet and the boys enjoyed their pancakes in which they don't get very often. Ron changed all the poops for the day and even made dinner and cleaned up afterwards. The weather was wonderful and such a change from the chilly wind. We hit a park after breakfast and went for a walk/park after naps. Nice break from the constant hustle and bustle.

With a great start to the week and a nice little two week break from excercising. I did do a little but since Ron was off work I took off from getting up so early with the exception of a couple of days. Yesterday I started off the week with some good cardio early in the morning and then went back later while Andersen was in school for some weight training. Since having issues with my right knee and knowing I need to do more cross-training and strengthening of the muscles around my knee I've found a cool machine to help me. It's a machine that moves the legs and knees laterally, almost like rollerblading, hence, helping to build the muscles around the knee. Nice. I jumped on it for about ten minutes after my weight training. Ten minutes seemed enough b/c it was a killer on the quads and inner theighs. This morning I did a Tuesday 10 miles which will be the brunt of my miles for the week and will do short 6-7miles the rest of the week. While Andersen's in swim lessons I'll get some extra weight training in and later while the Jasper and Carter are in school I'll swim with Andersen. It's a busy Tuesday considering after the twins class we will be hoping over to Monkey Joe's for a playdate a little after 12. Maybe the ten miles wasn't such a good idea today but it sure felt great!

It'll be a napless day for the boys and possibly a long one for me. The one thing I do look forward to is an early bedtime for the boys and for myself! =)

Getting back into the swing of things

After taking it easy the week after the race I ran again this morning. I admit I put in one short though fast run last week. For anyone who knows me knows I can't half ass a workout. I really enjoy the sweat and the burn I put into my morning cardio. After a week off I went back to the gym this morning and was maybe going to do a 5-7 mile run. My 7th mile was awful and loooong! I wanted to quit but I hadn't even been running an hour. I was feeling great so trugged through the 7th mile. I finished 8 miles a little over an hour and didn't want to stop. 8th mile went fast and the last mile felt forever. Was happy when I was done and finished my 10 miles in an hour twenty. Not my best time but with two bathroom breaks I sure I can shave a minute or two off of that time. =)

While Andersen was in swim class this morning I worked on my weightlifting and core training. Look forward to my swim I'm going to do in a bit while the twins are in school. Great getting back into the swing of things again!