What day is it??

The holiday's really screwed me up as far as knowing what day it is.  Yesterday all day I thought it was Monday just to find out that it was really Tuesday.  So I missed my weigh in day but really I didn't miss much.  I expected a slight gain and that's what I got.  I gained about 4lbs which isn't a huge shock considering the amount of food we've consumed this past week.  It started with breakfast at work on Friday, continued with Christmas eve dinner, Christmas dinner and Boxing day dinner.  That's alot of big dinners.  We tried to keep it all realtively healthy but I'm a sucker for Turkey and boy did I enjoy it.  So today is the beginning of a new day.  We have no more really big dinners.  Tonight we celebrate Ashlee's 13th birthday with fondue and maybe sushi.  We cook our fondue in broth though so no heavy oils to worry about.  There will be cake but I will control myself in the icing department. 

I didn't take a picture of the scale this morning but I thought I would share a few pictures from Christmas just because I can:)  Enjoy!

Anna and Christina in their beautiful dresses from Gram

Chrisitna trying to get Drew to play rockabye baby

All the kids and the dog:)

Big kids goofing around:)

Ending the day with a movie and a snuggle:)

And it begins!!!

Well,  Adrian is off to pick up Drew and Ashlee and my brother, Laurence and his girlfriend, Emily are on their way from Florida!!!  I have half a day of work tomorrow and Anna has her last day of school then we are off for the holidays!!!  Unfortunately Adrian works and Meag will have to work a couple of shifts.  We'll still get lots of great time together though!!! 

We have lots of plans with friends and family over the holidays.  I'm getting so excited for lots of great visiting and great fun with everyone.  The kids are excited for Christmas and for Santa to come.  Christina even understands what is going on this year.  Adryanna is starting to learn what the real meaning of Christmas is and is asking lots of questions.  It's hard to answer them all in a way that she will understand but she's a smart little girl and understands more than I realize!  It's interesting right now too because they learned about a few other cultures and their holiday traditions at school.  She has come home every night telling us all about them.  It's very cute to hear.

Tonight I'll have to finish my shopping and then everything will be ready to go!!!  In case I don't get on here again before hand I hope everyone reading has a fantastic holiday!!  Here's hoping the new year brings each one of us great health and happiness!!!  CHEERS!!!

Again, I'll take it!

I started the weekend on Thursday night with a Christmas dinner, moved on to an evening with friends then had our Christmas parties with the baby group and finished the weekend with baking cookies.  That was one food filled weekend.  Add to that no running in a week and it's a recipe for disaster in the weight department.  I am happy to report that the damage was minimal.  Really I don't even consider it damage it was such a tiny difference.  At this time of year my goal is always to make it through the holidays without gaining a bunch of unnecessary weight.  So far so good!!!

I miss running right now but am having a hard time making time for it.  I have so much to do and so little time.  The girls are getting up way to early and are so tired by the time we get home that Anna is having complete meltdowns over the silliest things so I hate leaving her with anyone. I could go after the kids are in bed but by the time they are settled I'm exhausted.  Thursday I have nothing to do after work so I am hoping that I'll be able to get out then!!!!  Here's hoping the kids co-operate with that!  I'm so looking forward to my week off next week and will have lots of people here to occupy them when I need my escape to the pavement!  I will really need my runs next week just to keep me sane!

Almost Christmas!

Here are the toddlers!!  Liam didn't want to sit with the girls:)

I'm getting so excited for Christmas!!  I love the holidays and all the fun things that come with them.  We had our Christmas party with the baby group yesterday and it was nice to see how big all of the kids are getting!!  I can't believe that two years ago we were just getting to know each other and now the kids get so excited to see each other.  Today we made and decorated cookies.  Meag and Anna helped us decorate them and we listened to Christmas music. 

This week is going to be a busy one!  We have to finish shopping for gifts and get groceries to feed an army!! Thursday night Adrian goes to pick up Drew and Ashlee, then Friday my brother and his girlfriend get here.  After that we'll have a full house for the next week.  It will be so much fun.  Lots to do and lots to see. 

I haven't been running as much lately as I would really like.  I'm looking forward to my week off though and hope to get a few runs in during that time.  After the holidays I need to buckle down and get training for the Chocolate Race that is on April 29th!!!  I'm so excited for it because it will be my first 16k run and it's going to be great!! 

Conflicted

Wow what a busy couple of days!!  We have been training for a new computer program at work. The training itself was great and we had a wonderful trainer;) It's the change that is the hard part. The idea behind it is to make our jobs so much easier but I think we have some way to go before we get there.  It's a good program and will get easier once we get used to it.  I'm excited to get started using it but nervous at the same time.  Our team doesn't handle changes really well and we've been through about a million in the last while.  Some good, some bad and some just labour intensive.  I'm ok with change when it has a purpose but have a hard time when the people around me get stressed by it.  I definitely feel their frustration and understand where it is coming from.  This new program is certainly the biggest, most challenging change so far but hopefully we will get all of the wrinkles ironed out quickly and be able to start using it productively.  Until then I'll play around with it and get acquainted with the way it works.  If it ends up being half as cool as I think it will I'll be a happy girl.

Unfortunately the day left me feeling totally drained and I chose to put on my comfy clothes and hang out at home tonight instead of running.  I know running would have had the same effect on my mood and might even have been a good place to let off some of the frustration but I just couldn't do it.  Christina was being a tyrant when we got home and made a huge mess.  I just didn't feel like rushing around to get ready.  I will probably try to get out right after work tomorrow since Thursday night is our Christmas Party and I am working late to support some of our clients.  I am looking forward to getting out Saturday morning too.  We have two parties on Saturday afternoon and evening so starting my day with a nice long run will be just what I need.  I'm going to take the running easy for the next couple of weeks but come January I have to start training for the 16k that I am going to run at the end of April!

Now what I'm sure you're really waiting for.  The scale was much nicer to me this week and I am quite happy with the results.  I was careful not to just eat for the sake of eating last week and I kept busier so that I wouldn't be thinking about food constantly and the results showed! 

Clearly I need to clean up the floor before I take these pictures:)

Resolutions?

I've never been one to make New Year's resolutions.  I don't generally believe that they are good things.  So many people commit to losing weight, quitting smoking, exercise more, etc.  I've never made one and never really even thought about them until now.  Today had me really thinking about them though.  I don't think I will actually make a resolution but I will make a plan.  I'm going to start the year training to run 16k at the end of April followed by training to run a half marathon at the end of September.  I don't see that as a resolution exactly but more of a commitment.  I will be signed up for the 16k run by the end of next week and will register for the half marathon as soon as possible.  I know that I will run the 16k for two reasons.  I will have paid for it for one thing and the second reason is because there is a magazine out there right now with my picture in it and a caption saying that I am running it.  It's a local magazine but one that prints 3 articles each issue by people who I know from Runners' Edge.  There is usually a stack of these magazines on the counter at Runners' Edge which means many of my fellow runners have seen, or will see, the article.  That alone is just the push I need to make sure I do this. 

The flip side of this is that if I am going to train for these runs I am certainly not going to sit and eat crap on the days that I am not running, or for that matter on the days that I am.   I have always known that evening is my worst time for snacking so I just need to learn how to avoid that.  I'm thinking the best way to do this is to get busier.  I don't like to be busy every night of the week but I think if I can add a couple more things to my week I should be fine.  Starting in January Anna is going to be taking a Hip Hop class one evening a week and I am thinking about joining a Zumba class or maybe the YMCA.  The Y has lots of things for the kids to do as well as us so it's a win/win situation.

Now that I have all of this planned it's time to take action on it and get training!!! 

It's like a hill workout for my brain.

Well here we go again!  I know all the things I can possibly need to know about losing weight yet once again I am gaining.  I really, really need to stop this cycle!!!  Yesterday I decided that I was going to make Tuesday my new weigh day because of what I have decided to call my Monday Phenomenon.  Every Monday for the past couple of weeks I have gained weight.  I can usually lose what I have gained in one day which makes me think it is water weight because I don't drink enough on the weekends.  Unfortunately today the number was still up.  I don't have a picture of it because I forgot to bring my phone in with me but the number was 244.8.  I kept stepping off and on the scale hoping that it was wrong but no, it was right. 

So today is a new day.  I know I need to stop this cycle and I will work harder.

Anxious!!

Today one of my very good friends went into the hospital to have her third baby!!!  I'm so excited for her and can't wait to meet her new little girl.  Every time the phone rings or my cell goes off I jump to check it to see if it's from her! 

It's interesting how things in life work out.  When I met her about 12 years ago we became instant friends.  We met at work.  She was a summer student and I hadn't been there very long so it worked out perfectly.  She was the only other person my age with similar interests so it was just natural that we would start hanging out.  We spent a lot of time together and she was the person I went on my first every trip out of Canada with.  We went to Mexico and it was sooo much fun. 

We kind of drifted apart when we started having kids but never lost touch completely and still see each other several times a year.  Our kids are close in age so they play together which gives us time to chat.  We used to go for coffee all the time and recently went out without the kids!!!!  It was a nice break and I think we will start getting back into that routine.

So here I sit waiting anxiously for the big news.  I have to live vicariously through my friends now since I will not be having any more babies of my own!  That's a bittersweet thing I guess.  I definitely know I don't want anymore babies but at the same time there are days where I think about the snuggles and watching them grow and get sad.  Those are the times that I watch my two big, crazy, monsters and remember why we made it so that there won't be more:)

Just Broke!

So I don't really know what was going on yesterday but the scale was back to normal today, or at least it seems to be.  This week wasn't a total success but I'll take it.  I didn't run enough and I ate some extra snacks.  I know that this is not meant to be a quick journey and that the best way to do this is to do it slowly and not punish myself for small gains.  This week I will recommit as best I can and will remember the reason I started this journey in the first place.  It's never easy but it is going to be totally worth it in the end. 

On that note tonight I am missing running to go with Meag and my Mom to an event at our salon.  It's being called "A night of fashion and glamour"  I'm not entirely sure what is going to happen at it but I have been promised it will be a fun evening.  I'll get back to running on Thursday night and Saturday morning. 

So the big reveal is:

It's a small gain but one I will use as a learning experience.  I will work just a little bit harder this week and hope that next week's results will be more favourable.

Broken or in Denial??

OK, so I don't have a picture for my blog today and won't be posting a weigh in until tomorrow.  I don't know if I broke my scale this morning or am just in denial but I decided to leave it until tomorrow.  At about 5am I heard Christina fall out of bed so I went to check on her and when I came back to bed I, in a very drunken style even though I really wasn't, tripped and stepped on the edge of my scale flipping it up in the air and back down again.  So much for getting back to bed quietly:)  Oh just for the record I have the scale sort of beside my night stand. 
Anyway, when I weighed myself this morning I had somehow gained 3lbs while sleeping.  I know that's not terribly impossible but I also know that it has never, ever, happened to me before.  I know it was overnight because I weighed myself before bed last night.  I do that on Sunday so that I am not terribly afraid come Monday morning.  When I got on last night I was happy because the number showing was only about a pound over last weeks weight and I tend to gain two or three pounds during the day.  I totally expected a loss this morning but nope!!!  So I don't know if I am in denial or if I messed up my scale bad!!!  I will check again tomorrow morning and if it's anywhere near what it was today I will shed a couple of tears for the horrible week I had and get back on my horse.  I really hope it was just broken though ;)

Mock 5k

Today was the Runners' Edge Mock 5K race.  It marks the end of the spring and fall clinics and is open to everyone who is part of the Runners' Edge family, whether you are a runner, family member or friend.  I ran my Mock 5 last year at this time, Adrian ran his at the end of the spring clinic and Meag ran hers today!!  I had a lot of emotions going into this morning.  I am so proud of Meag for this accomplishment and so happy that she has joined the wonderful world of running.  It also made me think back to when I was getting ready to run mine last year.  I was so nervous and just didn't know if I could do it.  Looking back at it I have certainly come a long way!  I finished mine in 48:13 and think that if I were to have run today I would certainly have smoked that time.  I think next weekend I might run the route on my own and time it to see what I really can do.  It's amazing what just one year can bring.  I have run several 5k's and a 10k race, I regularly run 6k and soon will be running 10+ on a regular basis.  I plan to run 10 miles in the spring.  I can't wait!!!

Here I am one year ago finishing my first 5k

Meag did amazing this morning too!!  She finished in a time of 35:24:)  I'm so proud of her!!!

Here Meag is today!!

Running in the Rain!

Tonight was my first rainy run in a long, long time!!!  I had forgotten that I actually don't mind running in the rain.  I don't like being cold but really once you're moving it's not really cold anymore.  I like that it helps cool me as I run so I don't feel ridiculously  hot when I stop.  What I don't like it the chill you get when you stop.  It's one of those chills that takes hours to get rid of.  Either way though I feel great after rainy runs just like I do after any run.  Now I will sit with my nice hot cup of tea and a nice fuzzy blanket!!!

You'll just have to trust me:)

I was cleaning up the pictures on my phone today and accidentally deleted my scale picture!!!  I still have it as my home screen on my phone but can't figure out how to get it from there to here.  So you will just have to trust me when I say that the number was 243.4!  That's down 0.6 from last week.  Not a huge loss by any means but a loss for sure. 

So proud of Anna Banana

Well I didn`t make it to running tonight but for a very good reason.  Today was parent/teacher interview day and ours was at 5pm.  I didn't think it would be that long but by the time we got home it was almost 6pm.  I am so proud of how well Anna is doing.  Her teacher had nothing but good to say about her and how well she is doing.  She is reading very well, has great problem solving skills and amazing social skills.  The only issue they've had was that she might be too social.  She interacts well with the other kids and has a great sense of humor.  I couldn't be happier with things.  She has always been a quick learner so I wasn't worried about that but it's always nice to hear it from a teacher!

It's the little things!

Yesterday I didn't know if I was going to make it to running because I had a dentist appointment right after work but I made it!  I also had a phone message that the clothes I had ordered came it so that was extra motivation to get to Runners' Edge.  Last year I could not find running clothes that fit me anywhere!!  No one had plus sized work out clothes that weren't cotton.  I could have gotten mens shirts but pants were just impossible to find.  I ended up wearing horrible clothes all winter and wore the same shirt and a jacket that Adrian won at a golf tourny.  It did the trick but it was mens and all black.  So this year I am so happy to say that Runners' Edge is the only store in the city and I believe the region carrying plus sized running gear.  I got a wonderful comfy pair of pants and an nice womens jacket in lovely maroon colour.  I'm so happy to have these and actually wore the coat to work today.  I would have worn the pants but didn't think that would go over very well.  It seems that they stuff came in just in time too.  It's supposed to be very cold tomorrow and we're doing interval training.  I'm looking forward to running in my new gear!!!

On a not so great note little Adryanna has been swiping stuff from school.  Just silly things like a couple of marbles and this pipe thing that she was calling a microphone.  She kept saying the teacher or the daycare lady gave them to her.  Tomorrow is parent/teacher interviews and I said to her that I was going to ask about it because frankly I didn't believe her.  I know how she gets when she really likes something.  She obsesses over it until she has it.  So now we will be going to buy marbles and she will be bringing them back to the school.  Of course she lost the ones she swiped so we can't take those back.  Luckily the dollarstore sells them.  She will apologize and knows that what she did is wrong.  I'll check her pockets at the door for a couple of weeks and life will go on.  I'm not surprised this happened, I know that lots of kids do it and can accept that it happened.  I feel bad because she was so upset when we talked about it but she got over it pretty quick.  Hopefully we have all learned a little something from this and can move on.

A tiny loss is better than a gain!

That's my motto of the day.  I also think my scale might need batteries or something because it took me at least five minutes to get today's picture.  I kept having to get off and back on because everytime I went to take the picture the number would change by like twenty pounds in either direction.  I suppose it could be that something is under one of the sensors but either way it was annoying!

Nothing really exciting going on today.  Meag decided to stay in Wasaga Beach for another few days so that she could make some extra money.  She'll be back on Friday night and I can't wait to see her!!!  This week is supposed to be fairly warm considering it is the middle of November.  I was out in a tshirt most of the day today:)

I'll take a 0.2lb loss over a gain anyday!

Feeling Good!

This morning I ran about 6k and it was a hard one!  I think my legs were still feeling the effects of Thursday's hill workout and were just weak and tired.  The rest of me felt good though.  The last kilometre was into the wind and with my jacket undone it was like a parachute pulling me back.  I made it almost back to the store when I finally had to stop.  My legs just couldn't do the uphill (yes small but still up) against the wind at the end.  I should note that this is the longest I have run since I did the 10k at the end of August.

On a sadder note my dreams of running the Around the Bay relay have been dashed for the time being.  When I went to register it was sold out.  I know I should have signed up sooner and so many people told me to but I was hesitant and that has cost me the spot.  On the brighter side though I will be running the 10mile Chocolate Race on April 29th.  Registration opens on January 1st and I will be online first thing in the morning to sign up. 

I have been eating better the past couple days too and feel better for it.  The weekends are always the worst though.  I've made it through the day today without snacking and have a small snack planned for this evening.  Drew and Ashlee are here for the weekend so we usually have some snacks and play the Wii in the evening.  They go home tomorrow and Meag comes home.  She's only been gone a week but it's been strange here without her.  Tomorrow is going to be a quiet day so hopefully I can get out for a walk and enjoy some fresh air! 

One Year

It always amazes me to look back on the year and see how much has changed.  It has been one year today since my Father passed away.  He fought a short and horrible battle with cancer and unfortunately didn't win.  As I have mentioned before I didn't have a realtionship with my dad.  I saw him less than a dozen times in the 27 years after my parents separated and when I did it was a short and awkward visit at best.  I went through many emotions when I found out that he was sick.  My first thoughts were mostly anger, anger that any chance I had of having a relationship with him was being taken away, anger that I felt people were going to judge me if I didn't make an effort to see him before the end and most of all anger that I even cared.  I spent many years believing that he didn't really care about me or my brother and wondered why I should care now.  Then I felt regret that as an adult I didn't make more effort to have a relationship.  I quickly decided that I would take a trip up north and see him at least once.  I joined my Aunt Gail and Uncle Jim on a trip up there that just happened to land on my dad's birthday.  It was the last time I saw him and it was a really good visit. 

Looking back at the last year I think that if there is an afterlife of some sort and if people do have the ability to look back at their family and friends i think that he would be proud of the things I have accomplished.  When I went for that visit I was only a couple of weeks into my running journey and while he didn't seem exactly proud that I was doing it he seemed happy about it.  Since that visit when I had run 16 minutes that morning (the longest run yet) I have run several 5k races, one 10k race and have started some more intense training on hills and speed.  I'm a stronger and more confident person than I was a year ago too.  I'm proud every day of what I have accomplished in the last year and hope that others are too!

Going back even a bit further it's been just over 4 years since my Grandfather passed away and I know without a doubt that he would be very happy that I am getting healthy and happy.  He commented more than once that I was getting big.  He would joke that Adrian needed to stop feeding me so well.  I often drive past the cemetary that he is in and tell him to keep watching because this is going to be great!!!

Motivation

In the past couple of days my blog has more than doubled in readers.  Maybe it's the same couple of people coming back to check out the tagging game or maybe it's that some new people found my blog and liked it.  What ever the reason is thanks!!  I need a bit of motivation and knowing that more and more people are reading gives me a bit of that. 

I love running and the way it makes me feel and at this point I am really motivated to keep going.  Where I am really struggling is with food.  I love food!  I love junk food.  Every morning I wake up planning my day and what I can eat.  I bring lots of fruit to work and try to keep things healthy but I also have a heard time saying no to junk when it is offered.  I clean out the cupboards and for a few days things are great but then the cravings hit and I cave.  Now I have definitely gotten better.  We haven't bought a case of pop in longer than I can remember and only buy a bottle of pop occasionally.  I drink water most of the day and only drink juice on very rare occasions.  I think overall I'm doing really well but know that I can be doing better.  I know that I can lose more weight.  I know that I need to just suck it up and ditch junk food for a few weeks and in a while it will just get easier.  I know all of this but following it is so much harder than I would have ever thought!

So what I need from all of you lovely readers are ideas.  What do you like to have when the craving for a snack comes along?  What are some of your standby quick dinners?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you might have!!!

Tag You're It!!

This morning I started my day by reading a couple of blogs that I read every morning and got a bit of a surprise.  Celine from Running on Carbs tagged me as a Versatile Blogger and now I have a job to do.  There are three parts to this game.  One is to thank the person who tagged you, the second is to tell 7 random facts about me and the third is to tag someone else.

So, Thank You Celine!!!  I enjoy these games and appreciate you sending people over to my blog!!!

Random Facts:

1. I was an army brat (sort of).  I spent most of the first 5 years of my life living on or near an army base.  My dad was in the Army and serving as a Military Police.  I don't remember a lot about that time but I remember being able to play outside and wander without worry.

2. I have often thought about becoming a vegetarian or even vegan but don't know where to start and don't know if I could totally give up meat!

3.  My husband was my first ever real boyfriend.  We met when I was 23 and started dating right away.  We've spent pretty much everyday together since.  We met at a halloween party at a little hole in the wall bar.  He was dressed as a cow with a sign that said "Piss me off, I dare you" (it was during the whole mad cow disease scare)  and I was dressed as a Queen.

4.  Running is the first form of exercise that I have kept up with for more than a couple of months.  I'm not a terribly confident person and running makes me feel good.  It's like my own little therapy sessions.  I get to spend the time I'm running all alone in my head thinking about things and figuring things out.

5.  After my parents separated I only saw my father a handful of times.  I held a lot of anger and resentment in for many years and a year ago he passed away.  I got to see him one last time on his birthday about 2 months before he died and it is a day that I will forever be thankful for.  I was able to get some closure on things and move on.

6.  I have a horribly competitive nature.  Maybe that's part of what I like about running.  I hate to fail and running is something that you can't really fail at.  I can only get better.

7.  Three years ago I broke the fifth metatarsal in my left foot (the bone going up from your baby toe).   I was being silly running out of the bathroom because Adrian was on his way in and got my big toe stuck in the strap of my capri pants.  They were the kind that can be capris or long pants, the ones that you roll up and button to hold them up.  I tripped into the hallway, hit the ground and heard a snap.  I knew instantly that it was broken :(  Four weeks in a cast with a two year old sucked!

So now you know seven random facts about me and it's time for me to tag someone:
Michelle from MyGreenKoolaid, You are it!!!!

Just a little extra is this weeks weigh in.  I almost forgot to post the picture this week.  Not a huge drop but a drop all the same!

Super Fast!!!

YAY for speed training!!!  I attended one speed training session back in April but was with a huge group of people doing it and didn't get any individual instruction, then soccer started and I didn't make it to another session until tonight.  This one was the first one for our group and many people hadn't done it before so it was the basics.  It was also a very small group, probably only about 10 people.  I'm still working on recovering from my cold so I didn't want to push too hard but I didn't want to look wimpy either.  I actually spend most of the afternoon debating the sanity of going.  I finally decided to go and am so glad I did.  I was able to get some more individual instruction and pushed harder than I have before.  I did six 200m sprints and wasn't a whole lot slower than everyone else.  For me though I was super fast!!!  The important thing I learned is to not go all out on the first interval.  We were told that before hand but Benny also said that he knew we would go all out and that was ok.  So of course I got to the end of the first 200m and thought I would die.  By the end of the second it was better and by the end of the sixth I felt like maybe I could have done more.  There was no time though because I had been taking longer breaks in between.  Benny recommended I take longer breaks because of my cold and the difficulty I was having breathing.  I feel great now though and look forward to 300m intervals in two weeks!!!

OH!!! I almost forgot!  I think I've found a partner for the Around the Bay Relay!!!  Now I just need to find out if there are still spots available and get registered!

Ten Years

Ten years ago today I went on my first date with my husband!  It's hard to believe it's been that long already.  Things have gone by so quickly.  We met at a Halloween party.  I was dressed as a queen and he was dressed as a cow.  We chatted that night then the next day we went for coffee and to the movies.  It was a great time and it has been a great decade! We moved in together after a few months, got married after 3 years and had two wonderful little girls.  I've gotten to watch his other kids grow up and become their own people. 

Who knows what the next decade holds but if it's even half as good as the first ten years it will be amazing!

Happy Halloween!

Today's entry is going to have to be short and sweet.  It's halloween and I'm just not going to have time to post when I get home.  I have to do the kids trick or treating which include a car ride accross town to their Grams house then Adrian, Meag and I are heading to Fort George for the Ghost Tour. 

I wanted to get my weigh in post done though so here's the big reveal!  I'm quite pleased with this weeks weight!

Happy Trick or Treating Everyone!!!

WOW!!

So last night I shared my blog on Facebook and have had 107 page views since!!  That's insane!!  I hope everyone has enjoyed reading!

This morning was a running morning.  The group meets at 8am so that means I get to sleep in until 7am!!  That is very exciting to me especially since Christina didn't wake up at 6am like she usually does.  I was sad that it was still dark out there at 7am though.  We left the house just as the sun was coming up.  My cold is always a bit worse in the morning so I didn't know how the run would go.  Until this cold started I had planned on running 6 to 8k this morning but I decided I would listen to my body and turn around when it told me to.  I got to the 5k turn around point and decided that was enough.  I probably would have made it further but I knew Meag would be waiting back at the store and since I have shared my cold with her I figured it wouldn't be fair to keep her waiting too long.  It was a good run and I felt much better after it. 

Running with a cold always makes me feel better because it clears out my sinuses.  My nose runs like crazy while I am running and when I'm done I sometimes get several hours of easy breathing.  It's great!! 

This afternoon we're headed to Bonnie's for our annual Halloween get together.  I can't call it a baby gathering anymore because they just aren't babies anymore.  There will be lots to eat but I have made myself and everyone else the promise that I will get healthier and eating a bunch of stuff won't help a bit.  I'll eat a little of everything but I've learned a lot of self control over the last few months and I plan to use that new found control.

Happy Halloween!

That's going to hurt in the morning!

Tonight I did my first every hill training!!!  I was not really sure if I should or not with the cold but since I was super busy at work today I didn't get to consult my go to person and when I did finally have a second to send a message it was to whine that I was going to have to pull out the long pants.  I decided I would give it a try and if I was feeling too run down I would head back to the store knowing that I tried my hardest.

The run to the hill was a bit tough and by the time I got there I was a bit more winded than I would like to be.  I pushed a bit harder on the way though because I hate getting there half way through the stretches or worse half way through the instructions.  So we got to the bottom of Sawmill Hill and stretched then began our instruction.  Since it was the first hill training for many of us we did some other things first so that we could learn the proper arm and leg movement.  We then started to run 100m trips up the hill and for the first few we walked down.  Then Benny taught us the proper way to run down a hill so that we wouldn't hurt our quads and from there it was up and down over and over.  All together we did 10 repeats of up and down which works out to 2k of hill running and 1k of hills to get back to the store, plus the 1k it took to get to the hill that's 4k tonight.  Pretty good for someone on only day 4 of a cold.

Something I have found since I started running is that colds seem to last much less time and are much less serious than they used to be.  Just another perk to getting healthy I guess!!!

My legs are still shaking and I can already tell they will be nice and sore in the morning but it's a good sore and that's what matters most!

I HATE BEING SICK!

So it started Sunday and I was in denial, Monday was a bit worse and I started to accept it and by yesterday I had to accept that I have a cold.  It didn't seem too bad until last night.  I had been really looking forward to my run but on the way home the rain started and I knew that to run in the rain with a cold would just make me miserable so I left my shoes where they were and spend the evening on the couch.  I sent the hubby for some vicks vaporub and made a tea.  I figured if I relaxed for the evening I would be better off today.  Then I tried to go to bed.  I spend a lot of the night awake trying to breath and to get my nose to clear out just a bit so I could get comfortable and get some sleep.  This morning I woke up and thought that if I had a nice hot shower I would feel better.  By the time I was done, I was done!  It was evident that I wasn't going to make it through a day at work and that it wasn't fair to the people around me.  I was supposed to go to a networking event this morning and the thought of meeting people, shaking hands and having to be social just didn't work for me.  First I didn't think it was fair to the other people to spread my germs around and second because I just didn't think I had the stamina to be friendly for several hours.  So I called in sick and spent the day on the couch.  I feel better tonight than I did this morning and am hoping that tomorrow I will be feeling even better!!!  I really want to run tomorrow night and am going to follow the neck rule.  So far it's above the neck for the most part so I should be ok to run.  I have asthma though so in the blink of an eye a cold can move below the neck and that would kill my plan for tomorrow.  Keep your fingers crossed folks!!!  I want to get out there even if it is rainy!!  I actually really liked running in the rain the few times I did it.

That didn't go as planned!

Well today's weigh in didn't go the way I had planned it but I also knew it wouldn't so I don't feel too terrible.  This weekend was Adryanna's birthday parties and I have a slight addiction to icing.  We always make our birthday cakes and the instructions for the icing always have you making too much.  Every year I say that we need to dispose of the leftovers right away but for some reason I can never bring myself to do it.  I just love it so much and I keep it in the fridge and "snack" on it.  The other downfall for me is the snacks.  I made sure that we had fruit and veggies for the kids party because they really don't need a bunch of junk when they are going to have cake right after.  We did an adults party this year too for some of our close friends and family.  This is where I over did it!  Adryanna asked for stew of all things for her special dinner.  I love stew and may have eaten more than I planned.  All in all I ate way more than I should have this weekend and the result was an increase on the scale.  Not a huge one and one I am confident I can get rid of this week.

Adryanna Laura Carolyn Boulianne

On October 21, 2006 I became a Mommy!!!  It was the most amazing and exciting day.  The night before I thought I was having some stomach trouble and just couldn't figure out why my body was being so annoying.  I remember trying to watch something on tv and every commercial I was running to the bathroom but nothing would happen.  It never occured to me that there was any pattern to what was happening even when I was standing leaning on the back of the couch swaying back and forth.  I think it was about 10:00pm when I finally thought that perhaps I was in labour but then thought there was no way what I was feeling could possibly be the horrible pain people talk about.  Adrian got home from work around 11:30pm and I told him that I thought I might be in labour.  We went to bed to try to get some sleep and despite some discomfort I was able to sleep on and off until 5:29am when I tried to get up to go to the washroom and my water broke.  Off to the hospital we went and at 1:24pm after a fairly uneventful labour Adryanna was born weighing a crazy 10lbs 11oz!!!  The only complication was that she had partial shoulder distocia and her collarbone broke.  She didn't seem bothered by it and when she was about a week old they told us that it was healed.

Just hours old!

The past 5 years have been a constant source of amazement for me.  She has learned so much and become such a dynamic little girls.  She is so super smart that when she was a baby I honestly thought she was going to be a genius.  I know all mothers thing this of their children but Adryanna just did everything so early.  She sat unassisted at 5 months and crawled shortly after that.  She was very strong right from the beginning (I figure it's from all of the Tums I lived on when I was pregnant).  We have some pictures of her lifting her head off our shoulders when she was still in the hospital!  She walked at the very early age of 8.5 months and ran at 8.5 months and 1 day ;)  She started talking fairly early as well and by the time we went for her first appointment at McMaster when she was around 2.5 years old they decided to skip the speech part of the assessment because her vocabulary was so good.  Last year she started school and continues to amaze me to this day with how much she learns and knows.  Just today she was in her room writing a story on her whiteboard and had many of the words spelled correctly!

When Adryanna was just over 2 years old she had a cold and a horrible cough.  I took her to her pediatrician and he said that although she didn't have pneumonia or anything he heard for the first time a heart murmur.  This both scared me and intrigued me.  Why couldn't he hear it before but now he could?  Was she going to be ok?  I knew that murmurs were pretty common and often nothing so I tried not to worry while we waited for what would be her first of many echos.  The first one was horrible, she was scared and they couldn't get anything done because she was crying too much.  They decided she would need to be sedated so we left and I was very upset with the way she had been treated so we went back to her pediatrician and asked for someone else to do it.  Within a couple of weeks we had the sedated one done and the doctor that did it told us right away that he did see a defect and that we would go to McMaster for more testing.  So every few months since then she has had echos done.  What we found out is that her defect was so small that it couldn't be heard until her heart grew and the defect got bigger.  We then found out that the initial diagnosis of a coronary artery fistula might not be right.  In the summer of 2010 we were sent to Sick Kids for more extensive testing and finally got a diagnosis of a Tunnel from her Aorta to her Left Ventricle.  What's happening is that when blood should be pumping out of her left ventricle and up her aorta there is a small trickle coming back into the ventricle.  So far there are no complications but on her last echo in the summer they noticed a slight increase in the size of her left ventricle.  The plan right now is to let her grow some more and repair the defect when she is between six and eight.  It's a minor procedure and if all goes well she'll be back to normal in a couple of days.

So thank you Adryanna for being in my life and teaching me all about being a Mommy!

Running Naked

A few weeks ago I was introduced to the idea of running naked and thought I could never ever do it.  Tonight I did it!  Now before anyone gets any ideas or starts screaming in horror at the thought, running naked is about running without a watch or music.  It's just running for the love of running. 

Tonight was my first run in a couple of weeks and it felt great!  I got home from work with plenty of time to get ready, we got to the store in time for me to make my ritual bathroom visit and the weather was perfect.  About two minutes into our warm up though I felt like something was totally off.  I thought maybe it was because I was wearing my bright yellow reflective vest and I could feel the extra layer but then realized that I really couldn't feel it.  I went on with my stretching and finally realized what was wrong when I heard a very distinct beeping sound from behind me.  I realized very quickly that I had forgotten my Garmin watch!!!  I haven't run without it once since I got it in February.  I have logged every single running step for the past 8 months.  I had a moment of very real panic.  See normally we do timed runs and I am usually quite far behind the rest of the group, often to the point that I can't see the next person.  Without my watch I would have no sense of time and no sense of when to turn around.  I quickly decided that I would have to do a distance run and chose 5k since I know where the turn around point is on all of our routes.  Next I got scared that Benny would go and change our route and throw a new one at me leaving me totally lost again.  Luckily he sent us out on a route that I am fairly familiar with and off we went.  We got to the second stretching point and then were sent off on distances instead of times so it fit my new plan perfectly. 

Tonight's run was 5k in approximately 46 minutes which isn't totally a record for me but it's one of my faster times.  I did the first 2k at what felt like a faster pace than usual and was able to make it up a hill that I have never made it all the way up without walking most of it.  Overall a very successful run.  I haven't run that route in quite some time so it was fun to run it and realize how much easier it seemed this time than it did last winter when I did it for the first time. 

I enjoyed running naked tonight and will make a point to run without my watch on a regular basis and I never run with music.  I can't actually.  It makes me panic because I can't hear my breathing.  On my next run I will bring my watch back out.  I'm going to aim for maybe 8k on Saturday morning but will settle for 6k if I am feeling too tired. 

Give naked running a try sometime!  You might like it too!

Confession

I have a confession to make.  I am addicted to my Blackberry!!!

For those who didn't already know I am one of those very annoying people who has their Blackberry on them at all times.  The only time I don't is when I am running with the Runners' Edge group.  I am totally obsessed with it.  I have all my email, facebook, my bank accounts and everything else I can directed to my phone.   I am out of my office a lot also so check my voicmail anywhere from 3 to 10 times a day from my phone. So naturally I look at it alot! 

Today was day one of having my weight front and center on my phone. Everytime I look at my phone I see that number looking back at me.  I am very routine oriented as well.  I always check my phone when I leave an appointment and I usually have 3 to 5 appointments a day.  I check for email and call to check voicemail. Today that meant checking it right before I went into Tim Hortons twice.  I kept thinking that I wanted a treat but when I saw that number I was extra careful with what I chose.

Something else that I discovered was that the website I use to track food and exercise now has a Blackberry App!!  I was so excited about this because now I can add food as soon as I eat it rather than waiting and possibly forgetting.  This made a very big difference to what I chose to eat and when.  I think this plan could work out well!! 

On the exercise front, I did my Wii Fit exercise for 30 minutes last night and again tonight.  I also walked about 30 minutes today.  Tomorrow is running and I am going to aim for 50 minutes or whatever the group is doing if it's more than that.  If the group is less I know there are always people doing longer so I'll just stick with my 50 minutes and get back a bit later but still before someone.

I'll share my picture with all of you to help keep things honest! 

Let's watch that number drop!!!

Oh NO!!

Today I stepped on the scale after several weeks of avoiding it and was not at all surprised with what I saw.  I was annoyed and dissappointed in myself but not surprised.  I am up about 5lbs from the last time I stepped on and maybe more since the last time I blogged about it.

So what am I going to do about it???  Well I am going to get my butt in gear and stop this horrible cycle once and for all!! 

Tonight is the first night of the rest of my life!  Tomorrow morning I will get on the scale and with my phone take a picture of the number.  I will put that as my background on my phone and each week when I weigh in I will change that picture no matter which direction the scale goes.  Hopefully that will help me keep going. 

Almost two years ago we bought the Wii Fit Plus and I used it regularly but not nearly enough.  I'm going to bring it back out tonight and dust it off.  I don't have the time or motivation to go to the gym but need something for the nights in between runs.  There are some fun activities on there and there is a "free step" thing where I can set it up and then switch to the TV while I do it.  I plan to do this 3 nights a week after the kids go to bed then I will run my 3 runs a week.  If I keep it up this should really help things along!!!

Home Sweet Home

Well we made it home from Florida safe and sound!!  It was a long drive and one I'm not eager to do again soon.  It actually went by quickly but I spent all day Wednesday in a fog.  I drove about 14hrs of the return trip and slept maybe 5hrs in between.  It's hard to sleep in a moving vehicle especially when you have an almost 5 year old asking if you're asleep yet everytime you are almost asleep.  Oh well we're home and everyone is happy.

It rained for the two days after we went to Universal Studios but Monday we woke up to beautiful sunshine!!  It was gorgeous!  We packed everyone up and headed out to Clearwater Beach.  Wonderful white sand and salt water!  I loved it.  The kids loved it too! 

Christina at Clearwater Beach

Anna and Logan at Universal Studios

Now we're working on getting back into routine at home.  I am super tired right now and trying to find all my motivation to head out with the group in the morning for a run.  There is a wind warning for tomorrow which will make it all the more difficult but I know I need to get my butt back out there.  The weather is soon going to turn cold and if I am not in the routine of getting out there I know that the winter will not be pretty.  Last year I made it through a very cold winter and found comfort in my runs and really felt like they helped me get through that long winter.  I'm hoping running will get me through this winter too! 

Backing up a bit though!  One thing that has me excited for running right now it the chance to get out there and see the beautiful colours our area is full of right now.  The leaves are rapidly changing colour and everything is just so pretty!  Hopefully now that we are done with our vacations I'll be able to get back at it regularly and will get to really enjoy the Fall scents and sights!!

Florida Bound!

Wow it sure has been a long time since I posted!  We were busy preparing for our drive to Florida and the time just got away from me.

Wednesday we started our journey south at about 5pm.  I was very nervous about the drive.  Our van is old and rusty so I was afraid something would break and we would be stuck on the side of the highway.  It held up great though!  I drove the first 6.5 hours or so and we made it through New York State, Pennsylvania, and into West Virginia.  A couple of hours into the drive we passed a sign that made us all laugh.  It said something along the lines of Correctional Facility Area - Do Not Pick Up Hitch Hikers, a few seconds later we passes a massive jail!!  It was a pretty uneventful drive after that.  I didn't love driving through the mountains at night but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  At about midnight we stopped for gas and to switch drivers.  Adrian then drove the rest of the way through West Virginia and North Carolina and into South Carolina.  We switched drivers again at that point and I drove through South Carolina and in to Georgia.  We stopped in Savannah for gas and lunch then Adrian took over the driving again for the rest of the drive.  Everyone behaved until the last couple of hours or so when Anna started with the "Are we there yet" questions.  With many pee stops and a couple of food and gas stops it took us just over 24hrs to get here.

Yesterday we went to Universal Studios and Island of Adventure.  At the Universal Studios side we went on a few rides and some simulator type rides.  It was alot of fun.  Then we went over to Islands of Adventure which is part of Universal Resort.  It is where we got to go to Seuss Landing which is all Dr Seuss rides, shops and activities.  Adryanna loved the rides and even Christina got to go on a few.  We then headed over to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!!  This is what we had been waiting for all day!  It was amazing!!!  I felt like I was in the movies.  We went into some of the shops and rode a couple of rides.  The best ride was a simulator ride inside Hogwarts!!  You "fly a broom" all around the castle grounds.  It was awesome.  While we were in line for the ride we were walking through the castle it was just like I thought it would be.  There were talking and moving pictures on the walls that looked so real.  It was great.

Today is just going to be a quiet day, a bit of shopping then a big turkey dinner to celebrate our Thanksgiving.  Tomorrow we're headed to Clearwater Beach for the day.  It will be Meag and Christina's first time to the ocean.  Anna went once when she was 8 months old but obviously doesn't remember so I guess it will be like her first time too!  Well I guess it's not actually the ocean, it's the Gulf of Mexico but it's still salt water!!  I'll post some pictures tomorrow with my beach blog.

One Week!!!!

One week from today we leave for Florida.  This will be the longest trip I have taken in a car since I was a very little girl.  Well maybe ever.  We used to live in a place called Souix Lookout when I was small and I believe it was something like 16 hours of driving to get here, we came every summer to visit my grandparents.  I also don't think we always drove all the way without stopping.  Next week we plan to leave here on Wednesday at dinner time and drive straight to Riverview Florida with as few stops as possible.  Obviously we'll have to stop for gas and bathroom breaks but we should be able to make it all the way there early Thursday evening. I'm quite anxious about the drive more because I am worried that the little girls won't handle it as well.  We went on a 10hr trip when Christina was just a couple months old and Anna was just 3 and it went surprisingly well.  We left early in the morning and drove all day.  This time we will do a large chunk of our drive overnight so they should sleep maybe half the way.  Perhaps even more!!

I am looking forward to our time in Florida though.  We are going to visit my older brother, Laurence, his girlfriend, Emily and her son, Logan.  Logan is exactly one year older than Anna.  They both share a birthday on October 21st.  We may have to have a little celebration while we are there.  We have a few plans for while we are down there.  The first being a trip to Universal Studios.  I am very excited about this one.  We went there about 4 years ago when Anna was just 8 months old and she loved it then.  They have Seussland there and she loves Dr. Seuss.  We are also excited to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter while we are at Universal.  We love Harry Potter and have been looking forward to this since we heard they were building it. 
Meag is coming with us and she's looking forward to going to the beach while we're there.  She's never been to the ocean before.  I love going to the beach so I'll be happy too!  Other than Universal and the beach we don't really have any other plans.  I'm just looking forward to a few days away from reality.  I'm also hoping to get a couple of runs in while we are there.  I like going for a run in a place that I don't really know.  It makes the distance go by quicker when I don't know any landmarks!

Any suggestions for things to keep the kiddies happy on the drives???

What I learned today

So Meaghan has been living with us for almost a month now and it's going great!  We enjoy spending time together and get along well.  She's helpful with the girls and has made dinner a few times so that it's ready when I get home from work.  This week she's gone to visit her mom and some friends.  She's been there for 24 hours and has had the worst day ever.  Her so called best friend treated her like crap today and she's already had an argument with her mom.  I'm hoping the rest of the week gets better for her.  When she was sending me messages this afternoon I felt horrible for her.  She had gone to school with this friend that had a two hour break and they were going to hang out during that time but the friend totally blew her off.  Then they were supposed to hang out after school was done but she just dropped her off early so she could spend time with her boyfriend.  Meag was quite hurt by this and I found myself equally as angry.  How dare this girl do that to her when they had been planning this for the past week or more?  

When she told me that things weren't going well I decided to ask at work about ways for her to meet new people here and didn't get the most supportive answer.  I was given good answers but when I said that we were planning to get her signed up for some night classes but had to find ones that fit my schedule too and that while yes she could meet people at the mall but I would have to go with her, I was told that I shouldn't be working it with my schedule that she is 18 now and can go alone.  I realize that I need to foster independence in her but I also know that she hasn't lived here since she was 8 and that while she is capable of taking the bus I would still need to show her the first time since she doesn't even know where she is going.  I know I need to let go because I tell parents this all day every day.  I also realized today why the parents of the people I support have such a hard time letting go.  It's hard!!!  I know she needs to do things on her own if she's going to meet new people but I also don't want her to be nervous or worried.  I did let go that first night of her running clinic when I refused to stay with her group and she was nervous.  She didn't know anyone!  By the time she got back she was talking to a couple of people and the next time she was talking to more people.  I know that she's a big girl and needs to be independent but when it was shoved in my face today it bothered me.  It made me feel like I was being judged as a parent and I didn't like it.  It also made me look at the way I do things in my job and made me realize that maybe when we are telling parents that they need to let go and allow independence we could be facing resistance more because we're hurting feelings and sounding judgemental rather than because parents don't want to let go.  I will still push for independence in the people I support but I will do so in a much more gentle way from now on.  This is what I learned today!

A little rut?

So now that I am back out with the group I am finding it harder to run.  I'm not sure if it's a mental thing or a physical thing but I am finding the runs harder than they were.  I only ran about 4k tonight but by the end I felt like I did at the end of my 10k.  I've been having pain in my left leg, sort of the hip area, which I have had before and had fixed by our excellent Chiropractor.  I stopped going and maybe it's time to book another appointment.  I know that I haven't been drinking enough water either which never helps.  Maybe the almost two weeks I took off were more detrimental than I thought.  Whatever it is I don't like it.  I keep hoping that I will have an easier run next time.  I will get out there again on Thursday night and if it's not better I'll book that appointment with Geoff and see if that makes a difference.  I also know that I haven't been eating really well so I will try to eat better tomorrow and Thursday. 

We leave for Florida in two weeks.  My plan for the time we are there is to get out and run twice.  We are driving down so I'm going to need to do something to make up for the 40+ hours of sitting we will do between the drive there and the drive home!  We'll go to the beach and to Universal Studios while we are there so that will give some activity and if I can get some good runs in while I am there I will be one happy runner!!

I'm Back Baby!!!

Tonight I ran with the Runners' Edge group for the first time in a month.  It was wonderful!!!  I loved every minute of it.  It was nice to walk in and have people happy to see me and ask where I've been.  It was nice to feel like part of something.  I wasn't sure I was going to run with the group tonight but Meag wanted to sign up for the Learn to Run Clinic so off we went.  I'm happy that she's signed up for two reasons.  The first being that I get to share my love of running with her and hopefully watch it become her love too.  The second reason is that it will push me out the door and get me there.  Meag doesn't drive on her own yet so I have to go or she has no way there.  It's great!!!  I ran 33 minutes tonight but I could have run further.  Saturday I will run another short run and Sunday I am hoping to run in the Run for the Grapes which is a race I remember seeing people running when I was a little girl and always said I would run it one day.  This year I will run the 5k but next year I will run the Half Marathon!!!!

Who am I??

Today at work I had to go down to our main office to pick something up and when I go down there I often pop in to visit Celine and get my running chat in.  She's the only other person who will really listen to me ramble on about running.  It was an interesting trip down there.  Our Executive Director came along while I was getting stuff from our mailboxes and asked about my running which has never happened before.  I've never kept it a secret that I started running a year ago but it's never been anything that random people talk to me about.  Then when I was chatting with Celine another co-worker came along.  We talked about an incident that happened yesterday then she mentioned my running and commented that I look good.  As I've said before when I started this journey last year I didn't believe that I would ever get past the beginner group and I would never even consider a half marathon.  Now I am planning to run a half sometime next year.  She was saying how she could never do it and I found myself telling her that yes she could.  I saw myself a year ago in her and really believed that if I could do it so could she.  It was strange being on the other side of that conversation.  I felt both encouraging and a bit like a hypocrite.  I say that because I was telling her that she could do stuff that a year ago I didn't believe I could do.  Now I know anything is possible.  It's an amazing and encouraging feeling being on the other side of that conversation and I look forward to being there again soon!

This was me early last fall

This is me now!!!

One of the other things that happened today that was funny was that someone also asked me if I'm going to have another baby.  She was assuming I was pregnant.  This isn't the first time this has happened and I am sure it won't be the last but it came just a few minutes before I was told I looked great so I found it funny how people have such different perspectives.  When I told a co-worker about this she laughed and agreed that while I may not have lost a lot of pounds I have lost inches.  That got me thinking and those two pictures really show me that I have accomplished a lot.  I will take this new found knowledge and go forward.  Next fall I will compare these pictures to a new one and hope to see another big change!!!

Pleasant Surprises!

Well I got out there Saturday morning and it felt great.  I was nervous heading out because I hadn't run in almost two weeks and I knew I wasn't hydrated enough.  I was back to making excuses not to go when I checked my email and saw the comment on my post from Friday night.  I took that as my kick out the door and headed out.  I was heading up the canal path and feeling a bit sad that I hadn't gone to join the group when I heard someone say hello.  I turned around to see five lovely ladies coming up behind me.  They were from Runners' Edge!!  It was just what I needed at that moment.  I had been thinking about turning around early and heading home but I decided to continue on to the spot where I had planned on turning around.  I hit my turn around point and when I turned around there were two more lovely runners behind me.  It almost felt like I was with the group. 

Today I went back to work after a wonderful week off.  It was a quiet day at work but tomorrow won't be so quiet.  I have meetings right from 8am to 5pm.  I was planning to get back to running with the group tomorrow night but it's Adrian's only evening off this week so I will find time to run on my own tomorrow then on Thursday Meag is signing up for the Learn to Run Clinic and I will get out with the rest of the group.  It will be nice to get back into the swing of things.  We're heading to Florida in a few weeks and I will be sitting in a car for 20+ hours twice in the span of a week.  I need to get moving now to prepare for that!

Lazy Pants!

So I have a confession...I haven't run in almost two weeks:(  I have a million excuses but we all know that the real reason is that I just lost my motivation.  I had all the best intentions but always found a reason not to get out.  Last week I was genuinely busy planning and preparing for Christina's party.  This week I was just plain lazy.  It was a busy week again between Anna starting school, Meag is officially moved in and we have been doing stuff to get her settled and Christina finally got her cast off.  We had lots of appointments and lots of running around but again those are all excuses.  If I really wanted to run I would have made time.  I didn't drink enough water which I also turned into an excuse.  I know if I don't drink enough I don't run well.  I get muscle cramps and just don't have the stamina.  What's the real problem though??  I'm just being a lazy pants!!!  In my defense though I have walked everyday this week.  Not far or long, just to and from the school twice a day.  It's just under a kilometre each way so I guess that's around 3.5k total each day but really not enough. 

Today was a fairly productive day though.  We did a big grocery shopping this morning and this afternoon made a big batch of  veggie loaded chili and beef barley soup.  The lazy pants started to come off today and will be gone tomorrow.  I will get up and run in the morning.  Probably a much shorter run than usual but a run.  I would love to get out and run with the group but Adrian needs to leave for work early and Christina is being very difficult since getting her cast off.  She's refusing to walk.  It wouldn't be that big a deal except my mom can't lift her so someone who can lift her needs to be around.  Meag will be here but I don't want to make her get up just for me to run with the group.  So I will head out the door at 8am and run in the neighbourhood.  I will push myself a bit further than I might want to get but I need to get back into this.  I haven't weighed myself in a couple of weeks either.  I don't anticipate a loss but hope to at least stay the same.

I have been on vacation this week and go back to work on Monday re-energized.  I am making a promise to myself to get my shit together and get back into this routine.  It's been a year since I started this journey and I refuse to let all that hard work go down the drain.  It's September and the start of my favorite season.  Why not enjoy it by doing something I love??  Tomorrow I run alone but Tuesday I get my but back out with the group!

Back to School!

It's the first day of school!!  Of course Adryanna only goes for an hour today but it still counts!  She has had mixed feelings this year.  She loves school and is excited about going back and getting to do "ticket work", that's where they have to complete certain tasks to get different coloured tickets and only the senior kindergarten kids get to do this, she is excited to see her friends, she's excited to play and to have lunch in her class because she's all day this year.  She's worried though and has said she doesn't want to go a few times.  After much prodding I found out that there was a kid in the afternoon class last year that picked on her on the couple of trips they went on together.  Silly things like telling her she couldn't have treats in her lunch.  What bothers me about this is that she's only in kindergarten and has already encountered too much bullying.  We've talked alot about what bullying is and what to do if it happens.  I hope she'll understand and speak up if this happens again but what I really hope is that it doesn't.  She loves to learn and loves to be with the other kids and I would hate for one or two kids to ruin that for her, especially at such a young age.  She's always been so eager to learn and do new things.  I am forever amazed at how much she learned last year and how everyday she seemed to know something new.

Ready to head out to Senior Kindergarten!!

Christina is going to be lost without her big sister though!!  Just over the past few days she's been following her around and always wants to be where she is.  I'm going to try to take her with me to drop Adryanna off today but it's been rainy off and on this morning so we'll see what it's like when we have to leave in a little bit.

It's also the start of the new running clinics today at Runners' Edge!!  I love the first night and watching all of the new runners coming in and I love watching them go from being new runners to being just runners.  I remember that time fondly.  It's been one year since I was one of those runners.  A year ago I walked through the door wondering what the heck I was getting into.  I couldn't run one minute that first night.  It was just too hard.  I felt like crying.  I stuck with it though and now a year later I can run 10k or 1h 39mins!!!  WOW!!  What a difference!  I'm so proud of everything I have accomplished over the last year and can't wait to see what the next year brings.  I don't get to be there tonight to see the new runners on their first night but I will be thinking of them at 6:45pm tonight when they are heading out for that first 10 minute run and cheering them on from here. 

Christina Kimberly Boulianne 09/01/09

So it's been a crazy week and I totally wanted to post this on Thursday but it never happened.  We've been very busy getting ready for a very special day!!  I didn't get any actual runs in although I did run around a lot.  It was also the last week of summer vacation for Anna and we needed to get her stuff together.  Add to all of that the fact that it was our 7th wedding anniversary last weekend which we didn't celebrate until Friday night and you don't get much time for blogging.  Here's the post I planned to write on Thursday though:

On Tuesday September 1, 2009 I became a Mommy of two!!  It had been a long and very uncomfortable pregnancy.  I had a separated pelvis for the last couple of months.  It was very painful.  My due date was actually August 22nd but Christina really wanted to be a September baby.  I was induced in the morning of September 1st and despite all of the warnings that inductions can take way longer and that they often end in c-sections she came roaring into the world at 1:57pm.  The nurse had checked me shortly before and felt I had lots of time left but in the end she was wrong and the doctor didn't make it in time.  I was so happy to have my baby girl here!!

Christina on Day 1 in the world!

Over the past two years I have gotten to watch her grow and change.  She started out as a very calm, happy baby.  She didn't cry as much as I expected and everything went quite smoothly.  She was a good sleeper and while she got up once or twice a night to eat she was good at eating then going right back to sleep.  We had our challenges of course.  She had reflux and spit up alot!!  So much so that she ended up on medication to settle things down.  Just a couple of days on this though and she was back to what you would expect from a baby.  When she was just about 5 months she was sitting unassisted and by 11 months she was walking.  She never really crawled normally.  She did more of an army crawl than anything.  She always had such a great personality.  She was smily and happy except when she was hungry. 

I had to go back to work when she was only 10 months old because I decided to go off early instead of dealing with all the discomfort of getting in and out of the van all day.  I was sad when I went back but I knew that the daycare she was going to was good and that she would be well taken care of.

Before I knew it we were celebrating her first birthday!!  It was such a fun day.  I always said I wouldn't have her party on Labour Day Weekend (broke that rule this year though).  We had it the weekend before her birthday last year.  It was a given that our baby group friends would come and we also invited all of our closest friends and family.  It was a beautiful day and everyone enjoyed themselves.

Cake face at her 1st Birthday Party

The past year has been amazing.  I've watched her go from a one year old baby to a two year old little girl.  She is strong willed, as full of energy as I expected and such a happy little girl.  She's definitely a very bright spot in my days.  I look forward to seeing her when I get up and look forward to the end of long days at work knowing that when I get to daycare she'll yell and run over to me.

The morning of her 2nd Birthday feeding her new baby!

Christina really  has been a major factor in my decision to get healtier.  I want to be around for years to come so that I can watch both of my little girls grow into the wonderful young ladies that I know they will become. 

The four toddlers at the end of Christina's Party!  What a cute group of kids :)