A Running Mother

Sunday's Dinner

2012-01-30T10:49:00.000-05:00

On Sunday I also made a new recipe that I had pinned on Pinterest. It was a Chicken, Cream Cheese, Salsa Crock Pot creation!!

Before leaving for church on Sunday morning. I got the crock pot out and put everything in it and by 3:00 p.m. it was ready to eat. It worked out really good for a Sunday meal since the girls have Little Dribblers at 4:30 p.m. We were able to eat a nice meal before they went to basketball and it required little effort on my part.

What you need:
2.5 lb bag of Frozen Chicken Breast
1 can of Corn, drained
1 jar Salsa
8 oz. block of Cream Cheese
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Tortillas

All the Ingredients in the Crock Pot.

Combine all the ingredients in your crock pot and cook for about 6 hours or so depending on your crock pot. I think mine cooks hot, so I had it on the low setting for 8 hours and it was ready in 6. Stir every 2 hours. About a half an hour before mine was done I shredded the chicken and then turned the crock pot off and let it sit for a half an hour to let it thicken up. I served it in tortillas with shredded cheese on top.

This was really different and it makes a ton. Greg wasn't crazy over it, but the kids really liked it. After basketball we were all really hungry so I heated some up and mixed in Nacho Doritos. That was really good!! Alicia preferred it that way and Lauren liked it in the tortillas!!

New Recipes

2012-01-30T10:16:00.000-05:00

On Saturday I made 2 new recipes that I had pinned on Pinterest. My new favorite website!! I love finding diy projects and recipes!

For dinner I made Pizza Grilled Sandwiches. These were super easy and great for my family since we all LOVE pizza.

What you need:
Bread
Butter
Mozzarella Cheese
Pepperoni
Pizza Sauce

Heat a frying pan or skillet. While the pan is heating up, butter each piece of bread on one side. Put your bread into the pan buttered side out, add your pizza topping and mozzarella cheese. Cook until golden brown and flip over carefully. Cut in half and dip in pizza sauce.

Greg likes mushrooms on his pizza so I added them to his sandwich and it turned out good. Since his sandwich was a little fuller I just had to be careful when I flipped it so everything didn't fall out!

Saturday evening me and the kids whipped up some Strawberry Oreo Cookies. These cookies would be perfect for a snack for a Valentines Day party. I know if either of the girls get picked to bring a treat this is what we will be making.

What you need:
1 Strawberry Cake Mix
2 Eggs
3/4 cup of Shortening

Mix together the ingredients. Roll the dough into small balls. Put 2 balls together on the cookie sheet and pinch the bottoms together to make a heart shape. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes. After the cookies are completely cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting and put 2 cookies together. Here is the recipe I used for the frosting.

What you need:
8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 stick Butter, softened
2 tsp. Vanilla
4 cups Powered Sugar

Mix all ingredients together. The perfect frosting!!

I will admit I have never made homemade cream cheese frosting and never knew how easy it was to make, and so much better than the store bought. I will be using this recipe from now on!! Also, my cookies did not stay in the heart shape. I'm not sure if it's because I flattened the tops a bit trying to get the perfect heart shape. They actually turned into big circles. So I put two together and then cut them in half, because they were way to big with all the frosting in the middle.

Make Your Own Fabric Softener

2012-01-19T14:02:00.003-05:00

Last night I decided I would complete my first project from Pinterest. I was out of dryer sheets and had found this very simple way to make fabric softener, so it just seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it out. It only cost me around $3.50 and it makes a big container!!! So here is how you do it.

Ingredients:

6 cups HOT water
3 cups white vinegar
2 cups Suave Refreshing Waterfall Conditioner {or other favorite scent}

Here are my ingredients plus the hot water. I actually heated my water up on the stove until it was just about boiling. I figured the hotter it was the better the conditioner would dissolve in it. If you get the same size bottle as I did, you don't have to measure because the whole bottle is 2 cups. Which is good to know because next time I won't have to put conditioner in my kitchen measuring cups!!

First mix the conditioner and hot water well, until the conditioner is dissolved completely. I used an old bucket to mix it together.

Then add the vinegar and mix well. That's all there is to it!! Super easy and fast. I stored mine in an old Juicy Juice container, because that's what I had but any type of plastic jug will work.

Here is the finished product. Pour it into your Downy ball or put 2 tbsp in your fabric softener dispenser and wash!

A Normal Weekend with the King's

2011-12-13T14:24:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we didn't have any plans other than lots of relaxing and reading and a little bit of cleaning. I just started reading the Twilight books around Thanksgiving and started Breaking Dawn last week. I hadn't had much time to read during the week so I was really looking forward to just sitting around and reading. I ended up finishing it Saturday night. We didn't eat dinner until 6:30 p.m., because I only had a few pages left and couldn't bare to put it down until I finished. I would have to say it was definitely my favorite of the 4 books. Other than lots of reading, here are a few highlights from our weekend!!

We scooped Goldie out of our pond in the backyard because the water was freezing, and brought her inside. Russell was super excited and likes to talk to her and ask her how she's doing!! It's really cute. Unfortunately early Monday morning Goldie died. Not sure if it was the shock of going from a totally different climate that caused her death or what happened. I'm thinking we are going to get a new Goldie though. The kids really enjoyed watching her.

I sent Russell upstairs to get some pajamas and he came down almost fully dressed. I had to help him with his shirt. It was super cute and really made me realize that he's not a baby anymore!! His socks were quite hilarious though because they are a bit too small and he only had them pulled on halfway.

Grandma Cathy took Alicia and Lauren to Chamberlain's for a princess afternoon. They each got their hair curled, a feather put in, nails painted, and hot chocolate and dessert. They had a lot of fun, and they loved their curls!! Alicia kept asking me how old did I think she looked. That was a really tricky question because I know how old she is, but I knew she wanted me to say she looked way older than what she is. I think my answer pleased her though. I don't quite remember what I said, because I was almost to the end of Breaking Dawn around this time, but I know she wasn't offended by my answer!! So I must have answered appropriately!!

Christmas Bazaar

2011-12-07T14:06:00.000-05:00

Another Christmas Bazaar has come and gone! This year the bazaar was great!! We had a great team of 5 girls working together to make sure everything came together. We had 41 vendors!! This was an increase of 9 from last year, and I believe was the same amount as 2 years ago.

62 children saw Santa and every child got a gift back with a few treats in it. We were able to talk Mrs. Clause into coming at 12:30 to read some stories to the children while Santa was parking his sleigh. It was really cute and she did a great job.

This year we tried something new and asked all the local churches for donations of hats and gloves for a hat and mitten tree. We weren't sure how this was going to turn out, and I was really worried we were going to end up with a couple things on our tree. However, it was exactly the opposite!! We had so many hats and mittens donated they didn't all fit on the tree. We laid some around the bottom of the tree and then had some in a bag of reserves. We took all that was left over and donated it to the school for kids who don't have hats and mittens for recess or for kids who forget theirs.

I found a picture online of a present arch and thought that would make a perfect background for Santa. I got my Dad to help me out and using some pvc pipe, a hole saw, and lots of boxes we were able to make an awesome arch. I thought it turned out great.

The kids had a blast and I got some Christmas shopping done and got a really nice Christmas wreath. We are already coming up with some new ideas for next year and hoping to make it even better!! I always think that my Grandma Wagner would be so proud, because she loved crafts and this would have been right up her alley!! I wonder if she enjoys it from where she is at!!

Tis the Season

2011-11-29T13:07:00.000-05:00

Wow, I can't believe Thanksgiving is already over, and we are now racing towards Christmas. I love Christmas, but I always feel like it is here in a flash and I haven't had enough time to properly prepare. I don't think this year will be any different. I have something going on every weekend from now until Christmas.

I'm ready for this weekend to be over. We have the Christmas Bazaar on Sunday and I still have quite a bit of work to do. I found a picture of an arch made out of presents, and decided that this year that would make a perfect background for Santa. I did a test run on Saturday and found out I don't have enough boxes so now I am on the hunt for about 3 more. I really hope once it's all together it looks nice and not like "what the hell is that thing".

I'm really looking forward to Christmas baking on the 17th. It's a lot of work but we end up with some deliciously, fattening treats afterwards. Ellen has promised me she will be here that afternoon to help with the baking. She has missed the last 2 years, so I'm really looking forward to having her back in the kitchen. Besides nobody makes the peanut butter balls as well as she does!

Completely off topic, the other night I went to check on Russell when he was suppose to be sleeping and this is what I found.

Look Mom, I made a pen! He took all the books in his room and lined them up. For some reason, he called it a pen.

After it was arranged then you had to walk across the books. Oh the things he finds to do when he is suppose to be sleeping.

Bunnies

2011-09-27T13:53:00.000-04:00

My Mom has been dying to get the girls bunnies all summer. I was against the idea because I was afraid they would lose interest in them quickly, and then I would be left to care for 2 rabbits that I didn't want in the first place. I was reassured that everybody was going to take care of their rabbit, and in the winter they would go to Mom's and live in the barn where it was warm. Also, if it got to the point where the girls weren't taking care of the bunnies they would also go to my Mom's. So I gave in and said that they could get the bunnies.

So one Friday night in August, Mom, Alicia, and Lauren headed over to the Newberry Fair to pick out their Lionhead Rabbits. They brought home 2 really cute rabbits!! Russell loves the rabbits which is a good thing since Lauren is scared of her rabbit and doesn't play with it much.

I have been helping the kids get them out and play with them. I am already having to remind them to feed the rabbits since school has started up and evenings are super busy!! It hasn't been to big of an issue so far, because on the nights when Alicia has tons of homework Russell and Lauren will go outside and feed them and just check on them. We try to get them out of the cage and play with them on the weekends, and so far they are still really friendly!

Lauren wears a "bunny suit" to hold her rabbit. She insists that she needs to wear her long underwear so that the rabbit doesn't scratch her. Her bunnies name is Midnight or Ninja, it just depends on the day!!

Alicia and Russell holding her bunny Fluffy. Alicia has tried walking Fluffy on a leash, but it didn't work out to well. I think it needs to get bigger before putting a collar on it and taking it for walks.

Suicide Mud Plunge 2011

2011-08-30T13:59:00.000-04:00

The mud run/obstacle course was last Saturday in Negaunee and wasn't quite what I expected! We put together a team of 4 girls including myself and registered, expecting the race to be run to an obstacle complete it and then run to another and so on. It turns out that it was basically a 5k run with a few obstacles. The run portion was really nice. It was through some trails in the woods and the running was perfect, but the obstacles needed some work!

There was a 10 foot wall to climb and when we rounded the corner we saw the line of people waiting to go over it!! We probably waited around 20 minutes or so just for our turn. We all went right over the wall with no problem. It was a bit of a bummer because I think we could have been up there in the top women's teams. Instead we finished with a time of 59 minutes and some seconds. On the positive side, this was the first time for this race and the organizers of the race are already aware of the issue and are working on addressing it for next year. When they planned this race they were hoping to have 250 people sign up for it and on race day over 700 people completed the course! The turnout was amazing.

My mom came along so Alicia and Lauren could run the kids 1k. They had a really good time and got really dirty and had fun doing it! I did not enjoy the mud pit at the end quite so much and tried going through it kneeling! It was a good time and I look forward to competing again next year!

My team before the race

After coming out of the mud pit at the end!!

After we were hosed off and most of the mud was off of us

Lauren and Alicia going through the mud pit

They had a blast and I was glad they were able to do this!!

Detroit Airport

2011-08-19T14:16:00.000-04:00

In Lauren's post about our Boston trip she mentioned the Detroit airport and how cool it was. She really liked the walls that were all different colors and the moving walkways. I didn't know it when Lauren did her post, but my Mom took pictures of the airport. So I decided to share them with everyone, enjoy!!

Suicide Mud Plunge

2011-08-15T10:22:00.000-04:00

My running partner found out about a mud run in Ishpeming on Aug. 28th and has convinced me to try it out. So two Saturdays for now I will be climbing a wall, running through tires, going across a balance beam, and running 3 miles through mud, along with some other obstacles!! It's bound to be interesting and fun. My co-worker is going to run it also so I'm really excited to run my first mud run with two really fun competitive girls. Michelle is running a sand hill tonight in preparation for the race, and I think I might join her if I can get over to her house in time tonight. Here's the link to the site http://www.facebook.com/#!/suicidemudplunge and I'll will post pics and results after the race!

Our Trip To Boston

2011-08-11T15:04:00.001-04:00

I surprised the girls with a trip to Boston to see my sister Ellen on July 19th. My mom went with us also. She had been wanting to go visit Ellen, but since my Dad doesn't really like to travel, it worked out perfectly for her to go with us.

I went to work on Monday and came home and told the girls I had a surprise for them and we needed to run the babysitter home, and then I would tell them the surprise. So we get home and I said, "Grandma is going to be here in a couple minutes. Do you know why?" Alicia wanted to know if that was the surprise. I said, "no the surprise is we are going to Boston!!" I thought she was going to cry. It was so neat to see them so happy and excited about going on a trip and flying for the first time. I was really excited about a vacation, but also very nervous about leaving Russell for this long of a time. I have only left him once for the weekend while I went scrapbooking, so I knew he was going to miss me, and I was going to miss him too.

Alicia and Lauren after I told them we were going to Boston

That night we went to Marquette and stayed at the Super 8, so we wouldn't have to get up as early the next morning. Mom did some shopping and got some new summer clothes and the girls got a couple new things also. We got up early the next morning to be at the airport by 6 am. Alicia woke up around 5:00 a.m. and sat up and said "who's excited to go on an airplane" and then raised her hand!! It was so cute and that was the level of excitement throughout the whole day. The flights went perfectly, and nobody got sick on the plane, including Mom!!

Mom wanted me to take this picture of the airplane in Marquette

Lauren on the airplane to Minneapolis

We landed in Boston 20 minutes ahead of schedule, but Ellen did some super driving and was there to pick us up by the time we had gotten our luggage. We headed back to her house for lunch and then went and got manicures and pedicures. The first night was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. It was so relaxed and neat to see the city for the first time. We just walked around and found things to look at, and got some treats from Mike's Pastries. We met Peter for the first time, Ellen's boyfriend and he joined us for dinner at Cheer's.

While we were getting pedicures, Alicia was getting her manicure and Lauren was waiting for her turn so she took pictures to keep herself busy!

Mom smelling the roses at a garden we found as we were walking around

Wednesday was a bit more intense but also had times for relaxing, which we definitely needed. We started out by walking the Freedom Trail which was much longer than I had anticipated. Lauren had a hard time walking the whole distance, so we would give her piggy back rides. It was quite warm out and with a 60 pound child on your back, you are bound to sweat. The one time she said to me, "Mom you can put me down now, your back is too sweaty." I busted out laughing and thought I wonder WHY my back is so sweaty!! We ended up skipping Bunker Hill and went to Zume's for lunch. I was starved after all that walking and ate way to much, but it was so good.

Taking a break on the Freedom Trail. Water and beef jerky was the perfect energy booster!!

Zume's were Ellen worked for a while

Next we headed to the ocean for a few hours of relaxation. The beach was nice and the water was about the same temperature as what Lake Michigan is. The girls played in the sand and went in the water a couple times, but they wouldn't go in without an adult. We layed on the blanket and rested. I wanted to go to a mall while in Boston to get some new shorts, so we stopped on the way back from the ocean. I found some good deals which for me always makes for a good shopping trip.

Ellen chilling at the ocean

Thursday the girls slept in till 10:00. I think they were exhausted! Ellen and I got up that morning and ran along the Charles River. It felt great to get some running in while on vacation. Once we got back to the house, cleaned up, and the girls got up and got ready we headed to the aquarium. The girls liked the touch tank and really liked the big shark that swam around this round tank that went through the middle of the aquarium. After the aquarium we jumped onto the train and went to the Museum of Science. This was one of my favorite museums. They had a large dinosaur area that Lauren really liked and also an area about animals that interested Alicia. The girls had a lot of fun in the kids area that let the kids play while teaching them about science. We ended up taking a taxi home that night because there was problems with the trains and Peter and his mother were coming over for supper. It was so hot that Ellen couldn't cook without turning the apartment into a sauna, so we ordered out pizza and then took the kids to the park down the road.

This is how excited we were about standing in line to get into the aquarium when it was close to 100 outside!!

Touching the sting ray

Friday was the hottest day of the trip with the temperatures reaching 103 and with the heat index 110! We drove the car downtown to the Museum of Fine Arts. By this time, I think the girls were pretty much done with museums. I know now this for future trips, don't try to go to every museum. Maybe just go to a couple and then do more unstructured activities. The Museum of Fine Arts had a really neat blown glass exhibit. It was so pretty and one of the neatest things I have seen. We ended up eating our lunch in the car in the a/c, because it was too hot to sit outside. After lunch we headed to the Prudential building which is the tallest building in Boston. We went to the top of it and walked around and looked at the city. We had planned on going out for seafood Friday night in the evening, but the heat left everyone drained so we decided to just go eat at 4:30 rather than drive back to Ellen's sit around for a half hour and then drive back downtown for dinner. We went to the Barking Crab and ate on the outside patio. Thank goodness it was shaded and there was a slight breeze!!

Blown glass exhibit

How cool would it be to swim in that pool?

That night we decide to go to a park down the street to let the kids play in the water. By the time we got there the water area was closed, but there was an ice cream truck there which made up for the kids not being able to play in the water. According to Lauren, this was one of the highlights of her trip!! Since the water area was closed at this park there was a smaller park down the street from Ellen that had a sprinkler that you could hit a button and the water would come on for a couple minutes. So we headed there and played till around 9:00 pm.

Saturday came way to fast. It seemed like the week flew by and I was sad about my vacation being over and going back to work, but I was ready to see Russell again. We talked to him on the phone a couple times a day and it was always so sweet to hear him and the girls talk to each other. He kept telling Alicia he missed her and would kiss the phone while they were talking.

Saturday we went and took a ride on the swan boats. This was what Lauren had been wanting to do all week. She had been in a bit of a funk so I was hoping this would give her a better attitude. She needs downtime and with all the activities and all of us sleeping in Ellen's room she didn't really ever have a chance to just be by herself. Her attitude was a tiny bit better, but I also think she was getting a bit homesick. So we rode the swan boats which were pretty neat and then went to the Franklin Zoo. We had a good time there and didn't rush but leisurely walked around and looked at the animals.

After the zoo we went back to Ellen's and got ready to go to Peter's sisters house in New Hampshire for a bbq. There was a ton of people there and they had a bouncy house for the kids, a swimming pool, live band, and lots of food. Lauren wanted to swim so bad, but wanted Alicia to go with her. Alicia was to shy because of all the kids she didn't know. Well she finally agree to put her suit on and sit on the edge of the pool. A ball came near her and she leaned over to pick it up and slid right into the pool!! Which made Lauren's night because she was dying to swim. We headed back to Boston at 8:00 because our flight was at 5:40 the next morning.

Our flights on the way back were excellent and we were back home around 12:00 p.m. on Sunday. It was a great trip and I'm glad the kids were able to learn some U.S. history, and fly for the first time. Russell wasn't super excited to see me when I first got home but quickly warmed up and wouldn't let me out of his sight for the next couple days!

Now I am planning our next vacation, hopefully I can talk Greg into going on the next one!!

Boston from Alicia's Perspective

2011-08-09T15:27:00.004-04:00

I had a great time in Boston. It's really big. We went to Cheers for dinner and I met Aunt Ellen's boyfriend Peter. I saw a street performer, and he had a pogo stick and he was on cement and he jumped and jumped and jumped, and he did a flip and landed on the pogo stick. After that we went to the little store downstairs and my mom bought my dad a present, Grandma Wagner bought something too. We walked to a carousel and then we walked to Mike's Pastry which Peter led us too. I got some ice cream. It was Oreo ice cream and Lauren got a peanut butter pastry. After that we saw some shooting water so we decided to go over there. Me and Lauren played in the water with our clothes on. So to dry off we did some spins. After that we went to Aunt Ellen's house. Then I got to meet Richard. Then we got washed up and went to bed.

Alicia getting her first manicure/pedicure. She loved it!!

Alicia and Lauren on the carousel

A fountain we stumbled upon while walking to Mike's Pastry!

In the morning we ate breakfast, and started to walk the freedom trail. we saw mother gooses grave and we also saw George Washington grave and we kept on asking when we were going to be there. Then we finally made it to the coffee shop were Ant Ellen used to work.

Alicia and Mom in front of a building on the Freedom Trail

Then we went to the ocean and swam!!! When it was time to go I found some seashells!!

The next day we went to some museums one of the museums there was a penny roller and I thought it was awesome! I think the best thing was the air plain because you got snacks and something to drink. I know

i already said this, but I had a great time and in two weeks I'm going to Chicago!

Alicia at the Museum of Science where there was a penny roller!!

At the Marquette airport waiting for our flight to Boston

Alicia and Grandma on the airplane, waiting to take off!!

Lauren's Thoughts on Boston

2011-08-02T19:40:00.001-04:00

I like it in Boston because the swan boats are awesome, and i think that aunt Ellen house is awesome!!!!!!!
We went to the museum of fine arts . I went to peter's sisters pool!!!! I wanted to swim really bad but wanted my sister to go in with me. She said she would sit by the edge, but then she slipped in too fast! So then we swam and played together. It is a big big place, because I like it it is super amazing.

Going for a ride on the swan boat

Lauren at the Museum of Fine Arts

I liked the airport in Detroit, because it was so awesome, I almost screamed but I didn't want to. Because I knew I was going to get into trouble. There was the colorful awesomest, coolest tunnel I ever seen in my life and there was these walking things, you walk on them and when you are halfway to the end they say, "Please watch your step".

At the airport in Marquette waiting to fly to Boston!!

I got a snow cone, Alicia got a Tweetybird bubble gum ice cream stick, Grandma got a strawberry ice cream bar and we got from the ice cream truck at the park. I had never saw an ice cream truck in my life. I think that Aunt Ellen's roommate Richard is nice and when I saw him when I got kinda silly to him. I never saw Stephanie Aunt Ellen's other roommate. I hope next time I see her, I think she will look pretty, and I she will be nice. Me and Alicia were playing hide and seek tag at the park there was a baby one and a big kid one and what was silly that Grandma slided on the zip line. It was a lot of fun and I went on it too. But Alicia didn't, she was a little scared. I love it in Boston!! I think that town is cool. I love you Aunt Ellen so much.

Lauren eating her snowcone

Lauren fell asleep on the first day in Boston on the bus!!

Alicia, Lauren, and Grandma posing on the Freedom Trail

Posing outside of City Hall with the donkey

The girls with their Aunt Ellen that they love so much!!

Lauren and Mom with a soldier!!

New Year

2011-01-06T14:44:00.000-05:00

So I haven't posted anything in forever and want to start the new year off right but posting something!! I fell off the band wagon the end of October/November. I really can't remember when it was, but I had hurt my knee on a long run and then I ended up with pneumonia. So both those things really set me back, and the holidays always effect me. I eat whatever and exercise little if not at all. So with the holidays over, I'm jumping back on the band wagon. I got up at 5:15 Wed. morning and drove over to the hospital and worked out at the Wellness Center until 7:00 a.m. and then got ready for work and was at my desk by 7:20! I am going to try and do this twice a week, run on Saturday, and play women's basketball on Sunday. I really want to lose the 10 pounds I gained over 2 months!!

Overwhelmed

2010-11-12T12:56:00.000-05:00

I've been doing a horrible job of posting anything on my blog. I feel like I don't have enough time in the day to get everything done. Usually I'm able to juggle everything and do a half-way decent job, but lately I've just been overwhelmed. I feel like we are barely squeaking by and getting just the minimum amount done. I really don't like that feeling.

I have been sick for around 3 weeks and am finally starting to feel better after getting some antibiotics. I had horrible congestion and absolutely no energy. This week has been better though, and I can stay awake past 8:00.

I ran yesterday for the first time in 3 weeks. I hurt my knee the last time I ran 15 miles and it was so sore. I got some supports to put in my shoes from a physical therapist here at work. I'm hoping they help, but I have heard some mixed reviews on using inserts. Hopefully I can figure something out. I ran 4 miles yesterday and around mile 3 it started hurting. I'm wondering if my form is off or maybe it's something as simple as needing new shoes. I'm going to try different things and see if I can't figure something out by process of elimination. I'm hoping to do a run/walk on Sunday for 10 miles and I'm going to wear the inserts and see how it feels.

College Roommate

2010-10-18T14:56:00.000-04:00

I had a lot of fun this weekend with an old college roommate and her daughter. Kari and Rachel drove 5 hours to see us and spend the weekend in Engadine. They got here around 6:00 p.m. on Friday and we had dinner and played with the kids. After we put the kids to bed, we stayed up until 1:00 a.m. talking! It was great to catch up! 8:00 a.m.came way to fast though. On Saturday we went to Mary's Garden for lunch and then to the GarLyn Zoo. It was Kari's first time, and it was a lot of fun. The weather was really nice and the kids loved looking at all the different animals and feeding the goats. We decorated some sugar cookies that Kari had brought with her, that were delicious. The best part was the silver balls that the girls called bullets. So of course, we had to joke with them a little and told them not to eat them because they would explode in your stomach. Sunday we got up and Kari and Rachel left around 10:30. I did laundry for the rest of the day and just relaxed as much as you can with 3 kids running around and getting into everything!!

What To Do

2010-10-06T10:28:00.000-04:00

This weather has been so nice the past few days, I'm really loving it. It makes me just want to go and do something. I feel like packing up and going somewhere for the weekend but unfortunately reality sets in and I realize that it's not possible right now with everything going on. So this weekend I will settle for going to the homecoming game on Friday, a 15 mile run on Saturday, and church and relaxation on Sunday. Maybe me and the kids will do a day trip or go to a pumpkin patch. I took Lauren and Russell for a walk last Sunday and we looked for pretty leaves and they had a blast doing that, so maybe we will do another nature walk. The possibilities are endless with a little imagination!!!

Question

2010-10-04T10:32:00.000-04:00

I have a question and wonder if anyone would know why this is happening. After running over 10 miles the last 3 times I have become very cold about a half hour after finishing. My lips turn blue and I start to shiver and can't get warmed up. I'm not sure if it's just because of the change in tempature or what. If anyone has any ideas leave me a comment. Thanks!

Fall Pictures

2010-10-04T10:08:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday my sister-in-law and I took some pictures of my kids. We went to the school, the Mill Pond, and the railroad tracks. We got some really good pictures, I don't know how, but we did. Russell was horrible!!!! He wouldn't look at the camera and wouldn't stand still. I think it's his age, and next year will be better, hopefully. I did some editing on a few of the pictures with Photoshop and would like to play around some more when I have more time. But anyways, here are a few of the pictures.

Before Photoshopping the picture

After

What a grin!!

Photoshopped with a brown overlay

Photoshopped with a yellow overlay

I like this picture of Alicia a lot!!

Half Marathon

2010-09-28T20:56:00.001-04:00

Saturday I had to get up at 4:30 to get ready for the race! I woke up a little early and couldn't fall back to sleep so I just decided to get up. I got ready and headed out to my sister-in-laws house since we were riding together and picking up a co-worker who is also my running partner. We got to the Soo really early and picked up our packet and starting getting ready for the race. It was 48 degrees out and windy and sprinkling off and on. I was so nervous as we stood around for 45 minutes or so. My stomach was in knots and I felt like I could have gotten sick! I think I was so nervous because it was the longest race I have done yet and in my mind I had made it into a really big deal and was starting to psych myself out.

I told Crystal (my running partner) that we should start out slow and then speed up towards the end because I was nervous about being able to finish the race, even though we had done multiple 13 mile runs and I had done fine on those. We started out in front of Osborn Hall at LSSU which was the first dorm I lived in at College probably because it is the only freshman girls dorm at LSSU!! I was freezing from the wind when we first started but once we got going the temperature was pretty good. We ran over the International Bridge and back and then made our way down Portage Avenue, crossed Ashmun, and ran down past the golf course and turned around and finished at the intersection of Ashmun and Portage.

The atmosphere along the race was great! Everyone was cheering and very friendly, it made it a lot of fun. I really liked running across the bridge because it broke up the race and made it feel shorter. The incline wasn't too bad on the bridge although the wind made it a bit challenging on the top of the second hill. You really had to push yourself because of the wind.

We had 2 people ask Crystal and I if we were sisters or running partners because we were perfectly in sync. We finished the race in 2 hours and 53 seconds and got 3rd and 4th in our age group. If I would have been back in my old age group of 20-29 I would have gotten first! Bummer, oh well. Here's the link to the official results http://www.everalracemgt.com/results/full.php?2010/sault-area-chamber-international-marathon-half-marathon.html scroll down to see the half marathon results.

We are thinking for our next challenge of doing the Chicago Marathon next year. It's in October which would be perfect because then we would have all spring and summer to train for it. I'm really excited to keep pushing myself and see what I can do!

Sunday's Run

2010-09-20T10:16:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I had a great run. I did 13 miles and felt great. I love running in the fall and yesterday was so nice. The weather was in the 60's and the sun was out but wasn't too hot and there was a slight breeze. It was good to do a 13 mile run with the half marathon coming up on Saturday. I feel ready and confident that I can complete it. I want to push myself as hard as possible so I don't feel disappointed when I finish. I would really like to squeeze in another run on Wednesday but I don't know if I will be able to arrange that with daycare. I think I'm going to work on it though, because the weather is suppose to be really nice that day, and it would give my legs plenty of time to rest before Saturday. I'll post my results from the race next week.

Wild Game of Duck Duck Goose

2010-09-20T10:09:00.000-04:00

Sunday night I was giving Russell his bath and Alicia and Lauren were in the living room playing. I could hear them laughing and running around, and I was really glad that they were getting along so I could finish Russell's bath and then get them ready for bed. The next thing I know Alicia is crying a horrible cry and she comes into the bathroom holding her wrist. I knew then that something was wrong. I gave her an ice pack and had her sit down on the couch so I could get Russell out of the tub. I yelled at Greg to look at her wrist because something was wrong. After about 10 minutes, I decided I was going to take her to the E.R. because I was pretty sure she had hurt it. I just wasn't sure if it was bruised or something worse. We got there and they took x-rays and sure enough she had fractured her wrist!! Who would of thought a game of duck duck goose would end with a cast? We went to the Soo on Tuesday and saw the Orthopedic Surgeon and he put a cast on it, and we were on our way. The hardest part of the day was deciding which color to get purple or pink. In the end, she went with pink!!

Here she is before the appointment in her sling

Here she is after w/ the pink cast and the hat she just had to have when we went to Wal-Mart

Mackinac Island

2010-09-15T10:47:00.000-04:00

The Mackinac Island 8 Mile Road race went really well on Saturday. I ran a fast pace and was pleased with my time. I finished in 13th place and my time was 1:09:38. You can view the results at this website. http://www.runmichigan.com/results/full.php/2010/09/11/mackinac-island-8-mile-run-3.html I couldn't believe all the people that were there. I haven't heard an exact number that participated but I do know it was over 1,000. It was the biggest race that I have ever participated in, so it was really awesome to finish near the top.

I caught a lovely cold from my kids on Friday and by Friday night I was pretty stuffed up. So I took some medicine and went to bed early. Saturday morning I got up and got ready and felt o.k. but during the last two miles of the race I was dragging. I didn't finish as strong as I would have liked to and I hope it was just because of not being 100% healthy.

After the race, I met up with my Mom and Alicia and Lauren. We had a picnic with my friends family and then took the carriage tour around Mackinac Island. The girls loved the butterfly house! I had a butterfly land on my ear and it stayed there forever. People were coming up to me and taking my picture. It was really hard not to smack at it to get it to move, especially because it tickled when it moved it's wings. We had a lot of fun, and I was really glad my Mom was able to bring the girls over for the day.

Next I have a half marathon on the 25th. I am going to do a big run once a week for the next two weeks. I feel pretty confident about the race. I'm just not sure if my time is going to be what I want it to be. I might be a little slower than what I ideally would like, but that will just give me something to work on for next time!!

The kids playing on the slide after the picnic

Lauren and Alicia waiting to go on the carriage ride

Addie, Lauren, and Alicia outside the Butterfly House

The butterfly on my head right behind my ear

Mom, Lauren, and Alicia on the ferry headed back to St. Ignace

Ugh, The Treadmill

2010-09-09T12:12:00.000-04:00

My plan for running on Tuesday didn't quite work out like I had wanted it to. We were going to run 13 miles outside after work which would have been the furthest we would have gone so far. But the weather was horrible. It was cold, windy, and raining! We decided our best bet would be to go down to the Wellness Center and run on the treadmills. I was nervous about going that far on the treadmill, because I have such a hard time staying on it.

We started running and we paced ourselves at a 10 minute mile and everything was good for the first hour. After that I started to get impatient and felt like I had been running forever and still had another hour to go. At about 7 miles I suggested to my friend who I run with that I was getting really bored and would be fine with being done around 10 miles. She agreed with me. For the last two miles we kept increasing our speed until we were up to 7.0, we just wanted to be done!

We finished and I felt good. My legs were a little sore the next day but I think it was from sprinting the last 2 miles. We still need to do 13 miles outside though before September 25th. Next week we are going to have to do the full distance outside no matter what the weather is.

First Day of School

2010-09-07T10:11:00.000-04:00

Alicia on her first day of 3rd Grade

Lauren on her first day of Kindergarden

Alicia is wearing her new red coat from Aunt Ellen that she loves very much!!

First Post

2010-09-07T09:51:00.000-04:00

So I've decided to start a blog about the two things I love most in life, my family and running! I have 3 great kids, Alicia is in 3rd grade, Lauren is in Kindergarden and Russell is 18 months old. It is a challenge to find enough time in a day to work full time, take care of 3 kids, and run. Thankfully my Mom helps me out a lot by picking the kids up when she gets off work, so I can do a long run on those days. I have signed up to do my first half-marathon on September 25th in Sault Ste. Marie, MI. I am really excited and nervous to do it. We have been working up to 13 miles, and today we are going to run the full 13 miles. Even though I just started going longer distances I haven't been struggling to badly. My times aren't the fastest, but I figure I can always work on that as I get stronger.