Rock the Parkway

My first 1/2 marathon is quickly approaching.  Matt & I (and several of my girlfriends) have been training hard in preparation for this race.  It's scary and exciting all at the same time! We are running the Rock the Parkway Half Marathon on April 14, 2012.  (www.rocktheparkway.com)
We have reached the point in training where the runs are LONG (8-9-10 miles) and its crucial to be well hydrated, well fueled and have good company & good music.  We have experienced sore knees, blisters, aching muscles, really bad running days and chafing . . .  Who KNEW all the obstacles that stood between us and 13.1 miles??
But nothing has caused us to stop trying to reach our goal! 

I reached a huge milestone this week . . . I reached 100 running miles in 2012!!  Very proud of myself and excited to be well on my way to reaching my goal of 500 miles in 2012.  You can watch my progress on the ticker in the upper right corner of my blog. 

I am always looking for motivation.  Here are some of my favorites!!

P.S.

The most important lesson that running has taught me is that most of our "limits" are in our heads.  We are capable of so much more than we ever imagined.  Set your goals high and your dreams even higher!  I NEVER thought I would run 3 miles, let alone 13.1.

DREAM BIG!

The Kindness Project

In one of my earlier posts I mentioned that the girls were working on a kindness project. Over spring break, I challenged them to do 10 kind things for someone besides themselves. I told them they each needed to do one thing for eachother. Here's what they came up with.

1) They threw me an impromptu "I love you" party complete with decorations, snacks & a foot rub.

2) They made dinner for our family. Tacos. And they actually did most of it without too much help.

3) They saved a dog. A dog that lives in our neighborhood (Lacy!) got loose & was in our yard. Ava came & found me, got a leash and helped me take her home.

4) They cleaned! They cleaned up toys & washed windows.

5) They helped me clean out our van. They worked hard to clean up all the trash, wipe out the inside and vacuum. Then we rode thru the car wash!

6) They each surprised someone with mail. Ava chose to mail a thank you card to a friend after a playdate. Sophia drew a picture for her Gramma & Grampa McCluer.

7) They took the neighbors' dog, Duncan, for a walk on a rainy day. He loved it & I'm sure they enjoyed a break from dog walking!

8) They gave Matt a foot massage.

9) Sophia helped me clean & organize Ava's room. We washed her sheets & even Flopsy got a bath. We put fresh flowers in her room, too!

10) Ava threw Sophia a surprise "tea party". We went to the dollar store & she chose a princess balloon and some jelly beans. We got pink lemonade & cupcakes and Ava set it all up. They had fun toasting each other.


I think the project was a success
& I know they had fun coming up with kind things to do. We talked a lot about doing kind things for strangers. I encouraged them to look for opportunities around them daily . . .
They really wanted to take goodies to the local fire department but finished their "10 things" before we got it done. I told them we would do it anyway.

Kindness rocks. Pay it forward.

My motley crew enjoying their ice cream reward.

Walking Duncan on a rainy day.

Watching Spring Bloom

We couldn't have asked for more perfect Spring Break weather.  The kids & I spent most of the week outside and we saw spring in full bloom!   I am always amazed at how my kids live in the moment and notice so much around them - they talked about the birds singing, the flowers blooming, the little buds on the trees.  Even Graham was pointing out all the different colored flowers on the trees.  *Note to self : Don't forget to live in the moment.  Don't be too busy to notice the colors, smell the flowers & play in the creek.  Be more like your kids!

We spent one day at the OP Arboretum.  We had a picnic and then walked around and found the signs of spring EVERYWHERE! 

 Ava & Claire - a toothless pair.

 G's favorite spot.  Trucks 'n' Rocks!

Feeling the cold water in the creek


Tara & the boys joined us for a day at the zoo.  It was quite busy but we had a blast.  Everyone loved watching Nikita the polar bear, and the train ride was a BIG hit!

 Waiting in line to see Nikita the Polar Bear

 Andrew

 Tara & her boys on the train

 Can you tell they are excited??

 Andrew's shirt says "My aunt is awesome!"  Hmmm, I wonder where he got it?

We met Papa & Grammy for a picnic and playdate at Blue Springs Lake Park.  We took a little nature walk and played (and played, and played) on the playground.  So much fun.

How many grandkids can Papa carry at once??

Swinging cousins - Andrew, Danny, Soph, G

Almost asleep.  Sweet boy.

We had an amazing break.  Gorgeous weather, fun adventures and time with friends and family.  We climbed trees, played in the sand, and got REALLY dirty.  We spent St. Patrick's Day with great friends and ate corned beef, cabbage, potatoes . . . and the MOST AWESOME Guiness cupcakes with Irish Cream frosting. Yumm. 

It was just about perfect.

P.S.

Stay tuned.

Tomorrow I will post about our kindness project and what the girls came up with!

Random Acts of Kindness

(This was supposed to be published the 2nd week of March . . . OOPS!)

What an amazingly beautiful week to be on spring break!  We have been filling up our time together with all kinds of fun activities!  Last week, Ava & I went to see the Lorax in 3D.  It was awesome! 

What a great message!!

On Saturday, I ran in the Westport St. Patrick's Day 4 mile Run.  Actually, my friend and I arrived early and ran 3 miles before the race . . . for a grand total of 7 miles.

It was long.  I was tired.

We headed to Crown Center for some family time on Sunday!!

We ate lunch at Fritz's. Graham was utterly mesmerized by the trains!  He loved watching them deliver food and buzz back and forth.   I wish every restaurant had such entertainment . . . we might actually be able to take our crew out to eat!!

 G kept "calling" for more food.

We visited the Crown Center Animal Tales Exhibit . . . the kids loved it.  You could swing like monkey, jump like a kangaroo, climb into an extra large birds nest and much more.

 G-Roo

 Mama Bear & her bear cubs

 My babies in the nest

There's SO much to choose from at the candy store.

 Make a wish.

 The girls at the Westin waterfall.

 Finally, we rode the glass elevator to the top & checked out the views of the city.

Whew.  What a fun day!

We have plenty more in store for this week . . .  I am looking forward to spending time with my babies and seeking out fun adventures!

P.S.

We have been talking with the kids about kindness.  Being kind to eachother and to their friends and to strangers.  I challenged the girls to do 10 nice things for someone besides themselves this week.  I told them I would treat them to ice cream if they could complete the task together . . .  without fighting.  The first thing they came up with was to have an "I love you" party for me.  They made decorations, gave me a foot rub, made snacks for us all, and we danced.  I think I'm gonna like this challenge! 

If we all do one random act of kindness daily, we just might set the world in the right direction.

~Martin Kornfeld.

Twine wreath & Swine flu. Ok, not really.

It's been a LOOOOOOONG week over here as influenza has made it's way around our house. Sophia, Matt and Ava have all been down.  (Graham & I are taking Tamiflu and hoping to avoid it!)  Needless to say, taking care of sick people and cloroxing every square inch of the house has been my agenda this week! Spring Break starts at the end of the week and we are excited and ready!

We FINALLY got our new couch! YAY!

I think G likes it.  :)

Good-bye Big Red. 

I did manage to get one project completed this week!  I have been dying to make a twine wreath.  I saw something similar on pinterest and thought it looked like something I could handle.  I needed something to hang on the front door in between seasonal decor.

 I wrapped my "M" in twine (2 layers, to cover well) and used a little bit of wood glue to secure the twine in the tricky places.  Hot glue would probably work great, too, but my front door gets so hot from direct sun that hot glue always melts!!

 Here is the fully wrapped "M".

I wanted to embellish with some fabric flowers so I looked at some online tutorials and then played around until I got the look I wanted.

 First I cut my fabric into a strip . . . about 1 inch wide.  The longer you cut your strip, the bigger the flower. 

 I tied a knot for the center or "bud"

 I folded my strip in half length wise and started wrapping it around the center.

 Occassionally, I would twist the fabric.  I noticed it gave the flower more dimensions.

 When my flower was the right size, I glued the end of the fabric to the bottom of the flower and let it dry for a few hours.

 Once dry, I glued my flowers to the twine (once again I used Elmer's wood glue).  My fabric was stringy (it was suede-like), and I actually thought the frayed look was kind of cool.  If you wanted to avoid that look I suggest using fabric that doesn't fray quite as easily. Finally, I attached some ribbon to the back with a staple gun & hung it on my door!

*NOTE TO CRAFTER: Try not to drop your twine wrapped letter on the floor in the process of hanging.  It will proceed to break in half, causing you to start over.  Ugh!
I LOVE the finished product!!



P.S.
I make an effort to be joyful every day and to be thankful for my many blessings.   This week brought to light just how blessed I am.  I have decided that I should be thankful for EVERY moment.  Even the crappy ones.  Cause they are my life, too.  I see people around me struggling with issues much bigger than a house full of influenza.   
A wise man once told me that the road of life (and marriage) will have some bumps and curves in it.  He said that you should anticipate them and you can learn to negotiate them smoothly.  They also make the smooth spots sweeter.  He was right, as usual. 
Thanks, Dad.