Being a little Man!

I took pics of Jonah's new shoes! Well new to him~ Thanks Mason! Anyways his feet haven't seen socks or tennis shoes for months since it's been summer and his feet sweat like him - so sandals day after day. Well it's been chilly a few mornings so I put socks on his feet and he was eating and stopped to see what I was doing. The poor kid didn't know what socks were since he hasn't worn them since he was 9 months old. He laughed when I put them on and smiled and touched his new shoes. Then he picked up his walking stride as if the tennis shoes made him go faster than his sandals. Truth be told- I'm practicing for him to wear these shoes since we leave for WI on Thurs and his twinkle toes won't be seeing any sunlight in that 55 degree temps.

Monkey See- Monkey Do

And in the end- I completed my 1/2 marathon!

Wow- what an event. Getting up super early- 3:00 AM and gearing up to run by 7:30 was hard, but oh so worth it! I set my alarm for 5:00, but hot/cold chills were racing through me. Jonah's sick, so it must be my turn. There was lots of people, music, excitement, and nerves by me. I don't know why- it's not like I was racing against anyone, like I had a time to beat or anything of the sorts! But I was nervous- maybe b/c I knew I was embarking on something I thought I would never do and there I went across that start line with IPOD in tune and playing all of the songs Rick picked out for me! The course was good for me b/c I had never ran it, nor did I know what to expect- which worked great b/c I was so nosey to see everything around me which distracted the time or the fact that I was running.

I got some great advice for my run ~ here's some if it:

- think of a different person each mile- yea that is a great idea in theory, but my ADD had me going like this-- Jonah will be my 1st person I think about- oh what is Jonah doing now? Eating- oh yea with his Dada-- oh Rick - he's helped me so much while I train and what a good Dad! See there I went from Jonah to Rick like in 30 seconds- forget 1 person a mile. I'm more like many people a mile!

- think of something really hard I've completed (childbirth, college, etc). This helped. Although childbirth wasn't hard and college either- there certainly been times in my life where sadness was overshadowed and I was discouraged and yet I prevailed! And I was going to prevail over this run no matter what!

- Pray! Oh yea- that certainly worked. I wasn't praying to finish, but just used it as a mediation time for myself.

- Smile- even when I wanted to quit, I remember Laurie telling me to smile b/c I could say that I am in good shape doing this run and to be grateful for not being in a wheelchair doing it or that I had something medically wrong that wouldn't let me run. The only thing that wouldn't let me run was ME- and that wasn't an option!

- Think of the finish line~ I'm sure they were talking about the cheering, the crowds. Me- I think of the nice ice cold sweet ice tea Rick is going to have for me at the end.

So here is the stats: 13.2 miles in 3:08 (3 hours and 8 minutes)

I wasn't discouraged when I saw people coming back down the trail when I was still making my way uphill, I smiled and kept going. I got bored with running so I'd walk more, then I'd get bored with running and I'd walk. Do you see a pattern? I get bored quickly! I needed those aid stations! I did walk more than I planned, but my goal was to finish not run any amount of time.

There was 4 other girls who we all paced each other- a few would go ahead and then me and this other girl would go ahead. It was nice to have each other to motivate and keep us going.

But the 2 best parts were when Mom, Art, Auntie Loy, Rene met me at Mile 11 to cheer me on! What a surprise! They didn't tell me they were going to do that. And boy did I need some of that. It was Mile 11 where I was "feeling" it! Legs were tired, hungry, feet were getting sore, and I still had a few more to go. It made me smile as I "high five" them and continued on.

Then the next best part was finishing the race ~ seeing my family there at the line- long after the larger crowds had left, long after the Awards were given out, long after the "winners" were announced. But there stood my family cheering me with their home made sign and banners and screaming for me as if I was the first person to cross that line, as if I was about to receive my Award. Which in reality I did. Sure I got the medal (which I wore so proudly), but I proved to myself that I could do something I thought was out of my league, do it well (not perfectly), have fun and live to talk about it in a positive way afterwards.

There were misc quotes along the way (which I totally loved). The best one said:

"Winning is finishing!"

PS- Pics are courtesy of my wonderful sister who with all the kiddos and hubby came out to cheer me on! Love you guys so much! There aren't any pics of Jonah & Rick b/c Rick called me at 8:15 telling me Jonah had a 101 temperature! So for this day, Rick's important role was to be "Daddy, nurse, doctor, comforter, etc) rather than cheering me on. That's ok- they were there in spirit and cheered me on as I entered our home. And Jonah put my Medal in his mouth ~ And of course, I had Rick's DJ skills on my IPOD getting me through mile after mile.

The Race Must Go ON

So this Sunday at 7:30 I will start my 1/2 marathon. So if you're not busy, come on over to Irving and see me sweat like a pig, as I run / walk my 13.2 miles and achieve one of my 2009 goals! If you remember this was to be completed in May (which was carefully planned by me so I would train in the Spring time and be done by the time summer hit), well then the DFW area got hit with record setting hail storm that flooded the route. So no run in May and it was postponned to Sept 27th! Great- just what I wanted to do - train all summer in the 100 degree temps- not! So needless to say, I didn't train as hard as I did for the May one, but none the less, I am completing this run. Back in May I was running/ walking a 13 minute mile and now I'm at a 15 minute mile. Oh well- I worked out all summer which I've never done before- who knew the gym was open in June and July?? So that is an accomplishment for me in itself. So I'm excited to be a part of this event with the cheering crowds, the music, the other runners and of course knowing that I always said "I'm not a runner" and well this Sunday- I will be a runner / walker as I cross that finish line and get that medal after tracking 13.2 miles! So say a little prayer that there is no rain, no hail, pain free and injury free running / walking, that I continue to be motivated with all the good music Rick picked out for me and that I have fun! And that I don't cry as I cross that finish line as I see my "peeps" out there cheering for me! I told them there should be plenty of room for them to be near the race course considering the Awards celebration will most likely be completed before I even finish.....how dare they??? Do they not give awards for those who finish last? Actually my goal is the same as in May- to come in where the balloons are still up and there isn't a truck directly behind me picking up the cones oh and to have fun and think of my 201o goals which I can pretty much guarantee that it will not involve running- walking yes, but not running.

Priceless Photo

This weekend I had some friends from Austin travel to deliver the most precious picture of Jonah! Rose Marie drew Jonah's portrait for us and it is beyond beautiful. I cried when she unwrapped it- it was perfect- the amount of detail she put into this portrait is so evident from his brown streaks of hair between his blonde ones, how his tongue always is halfway up when he smiles with his mouth open, how his cheeks get so puffy, and more! It is an amazing showmanship of Rose Marie's talent and skills. Thank you Rose Marie for taking 5 random photos we sent you and created a memento that we will keep displayed forever and especially in our hearts.

The history of this is that Rose Marie was my Teaching Assistant when I taught Early Childhood in Austin. And she was the best Assistant I ever had! It was a true blessing that I was selected at that school and placed with Rose Marie and all of her skills working with students. I learned so much from her and we grew so close in the 3 years we worked together day by day. While we taught, Rose Marie would paint pics of the students for the parents as a Mother's Day gift or Grandparents Day or whatever. I sat there and admired her work and how much pride she took in the pictures. And I asked her years ago- whenever I have kids Rose Marie, I want you to draw one for me. She agreed so quickly- so 6 years later she kept her promise to me and what a beautiful promise she delivered - and we are so grateful!!!!

Then Stacey- my other wonderful friend. She was my Speech Therapist when I taught Early Childhood and I saw her work magic with all of her skills teaching kids to talk! And she taught me how to work with parents and Administration which was key to me coming from Corporate where I only worked with adults (who sometimes acted like kids). I saw her get kids to talk who had never spoke a word, I learned how to handle difficult parents, stressful ARD meetings, and how to get kids to talk! I am so grateful to Stacey for being my mentor so many years ago and influencing how I still work today.

Elvis is in the Building

It was done- there was a surprise party for MOM and it was fun and done without anyone or anything spilling the beans. After weeks of planning, organizing, numerous phone calls and emails between Justine, Art and I- it was done. It was Art's idea to have a party so Justine and ran with his ideas: Elvis would perform, 62 cupcakes would be baked and placed in the shape of a 6 and a 2 and each would have a candle on it, all the grandchildren would be present when she blew the candles out, Elvis would sing and perform for her closest friends and family. It was a fun evening filled with laughter, good food, dancing, and good times! Happy Bday Mom- we love you!

Grandparents that are Grand!

To celebrate Grandparent's Day we headed to Justine's house for a good brunch! Then we helped the environment by supplying Grammy & Popo their own home made and decorated bags to take with them for their groceries. Each grandchild got a side to decorate however they wanted. Thank you Grammy and Popo for spending so much time and energy with your grandbabies- your time is creating lasting memories as I can attest to the wonderful memories of my own Grandparents who are in now in Heaven.

Free & fun at the pet store

This is where we resorted to because finally a day of no heat and instead it rained all day! So to get out of the house, we headed to the pet store for some fun. And who knew a pet store could be so fun for Jonah? We let him roam around like a kid in a candy store, but instead he went from "daw" (dog) to "daw." There were so many he was so busy petting each one before moving on to the next. Of course today was an adoption day and they were some cute dogs, but we stuck to our guns and walked out of there just the 3 of us and not a four legged friend.

A new walk

This is the new walk we're seeing. Not sure where he got this "bunnytale" walk- hands behind the back. Not at Mrs. Julie's- I asked! It looks like what the Kinder class is doing at my school. Oh well, we're going with it!

Cousins are a great Sub

The joys of having an older niece and nephew is that they love to care on Jonah. And this includes getting ready for bed. If Kirsten & Jared happen to be here when we start Jonah's nighttime routine, they are quick to offer to do it. And we think about it for like a millisecond and jump on the chance! I mean really, why would we deny our Jonah or our niece and nephew quality time together???? Heck, we're just happy to have an extra 45 minutes in the evening. So here's some snapshots of K & J. J wanted to bathe Jonah, K wanted to dress him and they both read books to him. There was some serious negotiations going on to see who would bathe and who would dress. Ahhh, to be young again!! And they knew exactly which books to get (Jonah's favorite). Jonah loved it- getting so much attention. And we loved it seeing the cousins interact and build memories together. And being a good sub in our place for one evening.

All in a day's work

Jonah's new favorite toy- the lawnmower or as he says "ma moer". We trail up and down the sidewalk and he even stops to make sure the wheels are ok.

A laboring day of fun

It was a labor day filled with fun. We headed to the park in the early AM to beat the heat.....and well it didn't matter to my 2 boys- both were sweating bullets after 10 minutes. Is it Fall yet??We still had fun playing and exploring. We have certainly utilized our parks this summer. More money needs to go to parks, but then again parks don't bring in money, so we can't build those, but we can build numerous strip centers even though there is one down the street that is vacant. What a messed up world we live in! Ok, enough of my soapbox!

Not funny Dad

Rick was trying to be funny and well it wasn't. When he does this for our nephews they laugh, but not Jonah. Push play and watch Jonah.....it's great. Of course, we didn't have the camera the first time he did it, but we grabbed the camera for the next shot-- as would all good parents would do the same!

Just hangin' around

We call it being creative

Who says Mr. Potatohead can't have a nose on the side of his face or that his ears can go on top of his head and in his mouth? We see Jonah's imagination coming through, we see it as a kid who is taking the road less traveled by fellow people who put Mr. Potatohead together. We see it as the best toy that actually can keep him still for at least 3 minutes!