Let's go to Joe's!

First off, my daughter is hilarious.  I'm not sure if she is actually that funny to everyone, or if its just me, but regardless, she makes me laugh frequently.  (Which, I think, was God's design to get me through all the non-funny moments.)
We were just driving home from getting a few things we needed at Walmart when Sophie asked where we were going.  When I told her home, she said "no, I think we really really need to go to Joe's!"  Country Joe's is the little convenience store down the street from our neighborhood, and since it was pretty cute to me that she had a strong opinion about it, I took her there. 
I gave her 2 bucks to get a treat inside, and she was overly excited to go in.  Bong is the man who works at Joe's, and he is obviously from somewhere in Asia, and has an accent.  Sophie put her drink on the counter and Bong was very nice to her and talked to her a bunch.  As soon as we got outside the door, Sophie told me "he even speaks English!"
All I could think (while I laughed)  was that I was glad she waited until we got out of the store. :)

Capital City Marathon

Today, I got up at 4:30 am.  Why is it that important things in life seem to occur early in the morning?!  At least for us lately.  Since January, Ernie has been training to run the Capital City Marathon.  Which has confirmed for me that he is, in fact, insane.  Every Saturday, he's gone in to Olympia and run with a training group at 7 am.  Sometimes the runs were 8 miles, and they ranged up to 22 miles.  8 miles seems like a ridiculously long run to me, and I'm assuming to most people.  Right?  Anyway, that's not the point.  All that has been leading up to today, and the Capital City Marathon starting bright and early at 7 am!

 

Except it wasn't bright.

It was definitely early though.  Ernie ran two half marathons last year.  Put those together and he has run 26.2 miles, but not all in one stretch.  That's a huge feat to accomplish, and I didn't think he'd want to drive all the way home to Yelm after putting his body through something which I consider completely unnatural.  So, Sophie and I got up at 4:30 and hopped in the car (drug myself to the car, maybe) and off we went! 

Back to the 'not bright' part...we woke up this morning to pouring rain and gray skies.  Ernie had been praying for cooler weather, since the past few days have been warm, but I am sure this really isn't what he meant.  Especially since he wears those ridiculous little tight running shorts.  (In his defense, he does look nicer in them than most of those emaciated-looking Career Runners.)  Halfway there, I also realized that, in putting a sleeping Sophie in the car, still in her jammies, I didn't think about getting any shoes for her.  Go mom.  I loaded her up in the jogging stroller (and covered up her feet with her coat, since it was pouring) and we went and saw Ernie off at the starting line.  After getting Starbucks of course, which is located conveniently across the street. :) 

Of course, I couldn't let Sophie go all day with no shoes, so we went and got breakfast and then got to Target as soon as it opened.  Sophie considers it a success because she got to pick out some pink polka dot Hello Kitty boots.  And I got to go to Target...but I swear I didn't forget the shoes on purpose.

We got back to Sylvester Park, where the finish line was, and Sophie "made" Ernie a neon yellow sign (she told me to write "GO DADDY!" on it).  We found a place to see the people coming up the finish line, and we waited!  It was still raining a lot and pretty cold. It felt okay for a while, but it started to get sorta miserable.  Sophie got cranky standing, and in my tradition of forgetting things today, I hadn't even thought about taking the jogging stroller to the finish line, so I got to hold all 37 pounds of her, plus all the rain her wet clothes had collected.  To add to that, she fell asleep on me, so she was dead weight for quite a while.  It was still pretty exciting, watching all the runners cross the finish line and hear people cheer.  Oddly enough, they all looked excited at having run that distance.  (I know, I can't figure it out either.)

I got pretty nervous, standing there, waiting for Ernie.  So many things ran through my mind.  He tripped and broke his ankle along the way...he pulled a hamstring and had to quit running...those things didn't worry me because I thought he could fail at all.  It worried me for him, because of what it would do to his feelings.  He would feel like a failure if anything went wrong, although I think even just setting this goal for himself was amazing.

But then I saw him!  Its not always easy to pick out individual runners in these things, because they all tend to dress pretty similarly.  Especially since they get a 'race shirt' when they register, and people seem to like to wear them for the run. Ernie, however, is a different story.  Remember how I said a lot of these people look emaciated?  Well a lot of them are like, 5'8, 90 pounds soaking wet.  You know.  Ernie's about 6'2, 200 pounds, and with his shave head I can pick him out above every one else.  So I saw him coming, and I hurried to wake Sophie up so she could cheer, and I scrambled for my camera.  But dang it if I didn't get any pictures because my husband was *sprinting* toward the finish line.  As if running 26.2 miles wasn't enough, he had to run too fast for me to even get him on film! This run seemed hard.   So many people I had seen come towards me looking like death.  So many were limping, many were barely dragging themselves toward the end, taking as long as they could, with their steps still being considered a 'run'.  Some were even walking.  The weather today seemed to kick so many butts.  But when I saw Ernie coming toward that finish line, he looked awesome!  He looked far healthier than he did last year for the Tacoma Narrows Half Marathon, and he ran twice as long this time.  He ran 26.2 miles in 4 hours, 17 minutes.  His first marathon, in less than desirable conditions.  I think that time is such a huge accomplishment. Especially to do it so well.  I even got a lump in my throat and some tears in my eyes.  Seeing him accomplish this goal at all was such a proud moment for me, but to see him be able to do it so well was just so...there really aren't words.  I didn't want to be the nerd crying at the finish line so I shaped up but still.  I just don't think he realizes how proud I am of him.  Sophie was so proud, standing there yelling "go daddy go! Run daddy run!" and waving her sign.

Ernie accomplished a huge thing today, something the majority of people don't accomplish.  Not just that, the majority of people don't even attempt it.  So if you read this, honey, I am unbelievably proud of you.  You are amazing!!

Who would want to get up before 8 am?!

I'm not a morning person.  Getting up out of my nice cozy bed at 4:20 am is not my idea of a good time.  Its actually my idea of something a lunatic would do. 

However, I love clam digging.  Perhaps the only things that could cause me to (almost) voluntarily wake up at that ungodly hour are:
1) UFC (like, what if we had to get up early to travel somewhere? I could do that.)
2) clam digging
3) ....ok I'm coming up blank on this one.

So, to illustrate how much I love clam digging, I will tell you that not only did I get up at 4:20 am Wednesday, but I ALSO got up at the same time the VERY NEXT DAY.  Insanity! 
Wednesday Ernie forced me out of bed and I got dressed and stumbled around until we left the warm house and took off into the frigid cold to go to the ocean.  I was pretty jealous of Sophie.  She got to sleep until right before we left, and then she gets carried out of her room wrapped in blankets and catered to.  Dang it.  To add to the torture of this early morning, I forgot my coffee at home.  If you have any idea about anything that I love, you know that coffee is really high on the list, probably just under family.  Morning hater + no coffee = panic and weeping.

I'm getting off track. SO, Wednesday we loaded up the munchkin and took her with us to the beach, because what good are kids if you can't get their limit in clams too?  It was the perfect clam digging day.  Low tide was at 8:59, and we got our 3 limits of clams (that's 45!) and were driving away from the beach by 8:48!  That is what I call a successful dig.  We hung around in the town for a while, Ernie caught 3 dungeness crabs, and then we made it home in time to clean up and have our small group over. 

After all that, I was super tired.  But we agreed to do it again the next day.  I don't know about anyone else, but things always *sound* better to me in the evening, when I'm not being brutally torn from my peaceful slumber.  So....we got up again at the buttcrack of dawn, I stumbled around trying to get ready, and we squeezed into my mother in law's Suburban.  When I saw squeezed, I mean it.  We left our house and went to pick up Ernie's grandparents, and I was the only candidate for sitting in the third row of seats, next to Sophie in her carseat.  It must have been what sardines feel like.  Well, if food had feelings, which it doesn't.  Anyway.  Today, Friday, is Grandpa Leon's 87th birthday.  All he wanted to do when he found out there were clam tides this week was go to the ocean.  They haven't been in several years, although they used to go all the time.  Ernie has wonderful memories of going clam digging in his younger days with his grandparents, so we were happy to take them.  Ernie, Sophie, Carol, Grandma Doris and Grandpa Leon all headed off to the ocean.  (Let me say that I have to pretend to be a lot more of a morning person when there are old people there.  I feel bad acting grumpy.  So I was using a lot of energy, trying to seem chipper, wedged in beside a toddler in front of stinky crab pots, with numb feet.) 

Once we got to the beach we all made our way down there.  Grandpa Leon is not very steady on his feet, as much as he'd like you to believe he is.  It was a super windy day and I was sad that it was working against him.  He eventually had to go back to the truck, but he got to be out there at the ocean with us.  The rest of us all dug our limits, including Sophie.  Its hard work digging up clams, so we helped her with the digging part, but she was a super tough little girl and she picked up all 15 of her clams out of the sand, something that a lot of people, including our son and many otherwise mature adults, will not do because its "disgusting".  I was very proud of her and she was a really good girl. 

We went out to eat together, Ernie crabbed some more, and then we all drove back home after a very long day. When we dropped off the grandparents, Grandpa Leon said he wanted to thank us for letting them come along.  It was really sweet and I'm so glad it meant so much to him.  My grandparents are all gone now, and they always lived far from me.  Its wonderful to get to do things with Ernie's only remaining grandparents and I'm so glad we got to contribute to a great day for them. :) 

We usually take hundreds of pictures, but of course this time, when we have an extra special trip, we forgot to take the latest in our long line of cameras.  So although this was a long and rambling post, I wanted to make sure to record it because it was important for our family and I want to remember my daughter getting to do something that is special for our family with her great grandparents. 

Nice.

Okay, so...I've been having an alright day.  I took Gavin to school, got a good run in, put Sophie down for a nap and even watched a show while I had lunch.  Then I got in the shower.  All very relaxing. 
I guess that, although Sophie is doing well with potty-training, she decided it would be fun to poop during nap time instead of sleep.  AND, she also thought that it was too spicy for her butt so she stuck her hands in it because it "didnt feel gwood mama".  So I got to throw her in the bathtub and scrub her skin off (okay, I didn't scrub it off, but believe me I was tempted...yuck!), then I had to strip her sheets off and wash them along with all her precious blankies.  I have to make sure they are clean and ready by bedtime or there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth.  So I hurried through that, because I am sort of on a time schedule this afternoon and neither of those things was in my plans.  At all.  Thanks, Soph. 
We got that fiasco taken care of, clean clothes put on and all of that, and ran down the street to get some gas so we'd be able to make it to small group.  And my debit card was denied!  Not only that, but I had gone inside to pay, so I found out it was denied *after* I went back out to the pump and was trying to pump gas.  How did I find out?  Bong (honestly, that is his name) the guy that works there came out the door and YELLED across the (crowded) parking lot "miss, your card, denied.  DENIED.  Can't pump!"  I had to dig through my purse and find cash, which took up a bunch more time...while my cheeks are bright red of course because it looks like I'm someone who gets their card denied.  Anyway.  I came home and called the bank, because my account for sure has money in it.  After being on hold forever, the lady said "oh, I see the problem.  Your card isn't activated.  When you got your new card, you needed to activate it."  Odd, because I've been USING IT all month, just fine.  She said "oh hm.  Well do you want to activate it?"  Well, yeah.  I do.  I want to be able to use it.  So she transferred me to their activation line.  Which then hung up on me.

How long did all this take?  An hour and a half.  I'm pretty much over today.

Curse you cold and flu season!

I did everyone at church today at big favor by staying home. Not only do I think they would appreciate not catching my super-cold, but I also think the frequent coughing up of my lungs would interfere with ya know, listening/singing/etc. So, you're welcome Reality Olympia! :) I have been doing really well, health-wise, since taking my new vitamins. I've been feeling great! Ernie is a freak of nature and never gets sick, so when we *both* got sick this last week, I was a little surprised. I'm used to getting every single cold, stomach bug, etc., that we are exposed to, but like I said -- I've actually been taking my vitamins every day like a good little girl, something I have never been good at. And so I have surprisingly skipped a few sicknesses. This one must be a tough one though! It has gotten progressively worse for me through the week. Which means I have not gotten a work out in all week. In the not so distant past, I would have been pretty pleased to have a legitimate excuse to skip exercising, but these past few days with no working out or running have gotten me pretty bummed. Which is weird, and makes me think....who is this person?? I have actually asked Ernie each day "do you think its okay to work out today? I didn't get to yesterday." And he keeps telling me he doesn't think its a good idea. Instead of cheering in my head and going happily to do something non-exercisey, I've been let down! Creeeepy. So, I've spent the morning in my jammies, drinking my coffee (my cheat while eating paleo...sorry, me and the coffee beans will always be together), and planning our meals for the week. What is my husband doing while he's sick? Roto-tilling the back yard. We all use our "down time" in different ways... Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to sit on the couch with a blanket and plenty of fluids.

Better Late Than Never...

So my intention with this blog was to write about my family, but I've completely forgotten to write about our little trip we took last month. D'oh. Better late than never, though.

Its no secret that we have a lot of hassle/stress/heartache to deal with frequently regarding "sharing" our sweet boy Gavin. We don't need to get into all that mess... He's in cub scouts, and last month there was going to be a camping trip that he could attend with Ernie. It wasn't our scheduled time with him, so we had to go through the attorneys and all that to get things switched and on paper so Ernie could take him on the father & son camping trip. *Finally*, after lots of time, it got okayed. Unfortunately, there was so much hoopla and took so long, that the campout filled up. :( We were really sad for Gavin, because all he had been talking about was that he had always wanted to go stay in a cabin. We didn't want to just get him for the weekend and do the same old stuff, because that would be a huge let down.

So, we took a trip to the ocean!

We went to Westport, which is right on the beach and one of our favorite places. All four of us stayed in a cute little hotel about a block from the ocean. We've never stayed in a hotel all together, so that was really fun for the kids. We even took Juno, our dog! We got there Friday and got to spend the entire weekend. There was a razor clam tide that weekend, so we all got to dig clams. Our kids are trained well because they actually enjoy that. :) Good thing, because its my (and Ernie's) favorite thing to do! The kids were really excited to play in the sand dunes. Of course, this is Washington, so going to the beach in February doesn't really mean swimsuit weather, so they suited up in their winter coats and boots and had a blast. Juno loved it, too, and loved jumping around in the sand and digging for creatures she assumed were there. We also crabbed a little. We didn't catch much, but Ernie did get a big dungeness crab that a really nice man who was staying in a cottage right by the dock cooked for us, since we were staying in a hotel and didn't really have the equipment to cook it. One thing I really love about going to Westport is that everyone seems a lot more friendly. Everyone that is on the dock crabbing talks to each other. They share bait, and fishing tips, and its nothing like our normal lives here. You wouldn't assume that a stranger would cook your food for you and actually bring it back to you! :) I, maybe being slightly cynical, figured we'd give him our crab and never see it again. Not so there! Its just a nice, relaxed, refreshing place to be.

We also got to see the maritime museum and eat at some cute little local restaurants. One of my favorite parts of the trip was that a couple waitresses and people working in the shops on the boardwalk told us that our children are very well behaved. That made this mama proud! Especially in the shops filled with knick knacks and breakables, the ladies actually didn't seem stressed about seeing my kids walking around looking at stuff.

It was a great weekend. We came home with everything full of sand, and wet, with two tired kids and a stinky dog...I had lots of laundry to do to get the beach smell out and we had to vacuum out our truck. But it was worth it! The ocean is one of the best places to be and I'm so glad its such a huge part of who our family is. :)

Change for the better

I started this year on a mission to change. Most people who decide to work out and eat differently seem to make that choice at the beginning of the year...become New Years Resolution Warriors and then fizzle out. So it has been no surprise to people, I'm sure, for me to be more into "health" since January. I knew I wasn't going to be one of those resolution failures, though. You can tell when you make a half hearted decision or a permanent one. I've been trying, since having Sophie, to make changes and figure out how my body will lose weight. It has been a huge uphill battle. My metabolism doesn't want to cooperate with me...it seems to be as stubborn as I am. But 2011 has been vastly different. It helps so much having a husband who is so into fitness and health. I know I couldn't do it without him. It also helps to have constantly in my mind that my daughter will certainly learn by my example. It is already evident in the fact that she loves to exercise. She wouldn't have that excitement about it if she didn't see her mommy and daddy exercising on a daily basis. I want her, with all my heart, to grow up loving to be active and healthy. I appreciate so much that she loves healthy food because that is what we've taught her to eat. She gets treats but she never turns her nose up and fruits and veggies and I am thankful for that. When we started this year I decided to join my runner husband in his favorite form of exercise. Running has never come easy to me. In fact, I have often said that I would only run if someone was chasing me. :) But I decided to give it a try. Its beautiful outdoors here in Washington, and that is definitely a motivator...if I can enjoy the scenery while I feel like I'm dying, I'm more apt to stay with it. The first time I ran, it was awful. I felt like Ernie was the worst person in the world and that I would surely die. My legs killed me, my head killed me, I felt like I couldn't breath. It took me FOREVER to complete the run. I had to stop and walk often. The next day, I was so sore I couldn't work out that way again for several days. I alternated between that and doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. Same with that -- after a day doing the shred, my entire body would be so sore I'd have to take a few days off before I could do it again! It felt like an uphill battle, but I had Ernie encouraging me and Sophie was so excited to "exercise" right along with me, so that kept me going. Slowly (very slowly) the running got easier. Until one day, I made it all the way to the end of the trail without pausing to walk. That has been the biggest achievement this year for me. I pushed Sophie in the jogging stroller and I RAN. I still felt like I was dying...I doubt that will ever change. Running is work to me, it isn't fun. But the sense of accomplishment I felt was worth it all. I have cut about 6 minutes off my time. In the short distance I run, that is huge. I don't have to wait several days anymore between work outs. I can run for 1/2 an hour without stopping on my treadmill, and then do it again the very next day. My weight loss has slowed down for the moment...its easy to feel discouraged about that until I focus on how my body has changed. My fitness level from January 1st until now is completely 100% different. I can do the shred and then run, in the same day. I didn't think that would be possible. I have made such huge strides in just 2 months! I cannot wait to see how the rest of the year goes. It is slow going, for sure. I may not see huge physical changes until many, many months from now. But the way I feel is so completely different, that I can wait for the outside to catch up. I am excited to teach my daughter to grow up to be a strong, healthy woman. And that is worth it all.