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 :)