Ran My First 10k!

I ran my first 10K on June 2nd!

Hard to believe that only a year ago, I had never even run a mile.  I started the Couch to 5k program in July of 2012, completing it in early September of 2012.  Now I can run without stopping for twice as long!

I didn't run the 10k in the time I was hoping for or expecting (and I was being realistic based on my training pace!) but I felt really accomplished because it was 80 degrees out, sunny, and with over 90 percent humidity, something we're not used to this early in June!  My legs didn't hold me back, dizziness and managing my breathing in the heat did.  It was also a challenging course, we gained 196 feet in altitude because of all the hills.

I wanted to stop BASICALLY the entire time, but I never did, except to pause a few times at water stations.  Other than that, I kept on running.  Did I run fast?  No.  Did I even run my normal slow pace?  No.  But I kept going, even when my ipod ran out of music on my playlist because I was four minutes behind schedule.

That entire last mile took everything I could to just keep on running... especially since there were two women near me who kept walking, then sprinting, then walking.  They must have passed me fifteen times only for me to jog on by them when they started walking.  Every time they slowed down, I wanted to start walking, too.  Only my determination to run this 10k, the whole thing, without stopping, kept me going.  I was going for completion, not a time, and I did it.

There's a picture of me throwing up my hands in victory and shouting "FIRST 10K!!!" (making spectators laugh) as I ran across the finish.  I have never felt such a runner's high as I did coming across that finish line right then.  The heat, the hills, the intense, nagging urge to just give up and walk was so fresh in my memory that I knew for certain that I had just accomplished something great.  I was in a great mood the entire rest of the day.  Not a good mood, a GREAT mood.

Now, as I look at my pace (10:55 minute miles) I feel a little ashamed.  "That's barely running!" My brain shouts.  "You've run a 5k in 9:50's!  You've run 5 miles of hills in 10:04s!  You've run a 5k PUSHING BOTH KIDS in 10:15s!!!!  WHAT IS THIS?!!"

I have to squelch that voice and remember that feeling of ecstasy I had when I crossed that finish line, when I remembered exactly how hard it was going up those hills and running in that heat.  Running that slow meant I was out in the heat and the sun exerting myself for over an hour.  That is an accomplishment.

The fact that my legs didn't feel like post-race legs the next day isn't surprising - I can run a better pace than that.  But I finished, I didn't get heat stroke, and I can harness that nagging "WHAT IS THIS?!" voice on my next training run to start picking the pace up and getting faster this summer.

Was it hard?  Yes.  Did I do it?  Yes.  Am I awesome?  Yes.

There will always be people who are faster than you, and there will always be people that are slower than you.  The trick is knowing what you can do and pushing hard enough so you feel that runner's high as you cross the finish, rather than disappointment.

For your first race of any distance, you're battling that mental "can I do this whole thing?" worry that keeps you running a little slower than you might otherwise, because you're afraid of walking that last mile.  And that's ok, or at least it is with me.  Now that I know I can do it, next time I can focus on doing it faster.

Run fun :)

Will's Last Day of Playschool! (& A Thank You Note Idea For Teachers)

It's Will's last day of playschool!

As a fun idea for teacher appreciation thank you notes, I took all the craft projects Will did this year at school and laid them out on the floor and snapped a photo.  I printed the photo and put it on card stock to make a custom thank-you-note for his teachers that is a tribute to all the hard work they did this year helping him create so many fun projects that he is so proud of.  Will wrote on half the inside of the card, and I wrote on the other, and we slipped in a gift card and decorated the outside of the envelope with stickers.

You could even lay the projects out a little more neatly and take a photograph to save if you're planning to keep just a few projects from each school year so you have less clutter in your home.  I figure I'll probably ask Will to pick some favorites to keep.

I can hardly believe his first school year is over.  I feel as though I had just settled into the routine of drop offs and pick-ups, of warm cups of coffee in a quiet house while Andrew napped, of the joy I felt each time Will ran towards me, all grins, excited to show me the day's art project.

When I first looked for a toddler playschool for Will, it was because I needed the break for me.  After seeing him come home singing new songs, super excited about his school projects, and asking every morning if it was a school day, I realized that this was something for HIM.  It meant he had a scheduled time each week where he was guaranteed a chance to play with friends, do a craft project, sing songs, and be active.  I try to do all those things regularly at home, but it's hard sometimes when you've got grocery shopping, meal planning, diaper changing and laundry folding all getting in the way!

Will had a wonderful year at school, with two amazing teachers who were excellent at making him feel safe, comfortable, and happy all while managing to teach him new skills like getting dressed to go outside and doing more and more of each craft project himself.

I'm so grateful, and I look forward to sending Andrew to Miss Hillary when he is two!

Happy end of school year, and welcome, summer!

Will on his first day of school!

Will today.  What a difference a school year makes!

Mum's Birthday Afghan!

photo by Alan

My brother had the wonderful idea of making Mum a birthday afghan where each of her children (including our spouses) knit a panel. The amazing part? My brother learned to knit in order to do this!

My sister in law, sister and I each knit one of the main panels, and my husband and brother knit edge panels for this beautiful five piece afghan.

My sister-in-law found the pattern, chose the yarn, and ordered everything and got us organized! She also taught Alan to knit and helped him and my sister with any mistakes since they live close to each other.

Some things I learned knitting this afghan, that are probably obvious to more advanced knitters:

When cabling, the pearl stitches are ALWAYS going to be held to the back.

If you pay attention, you really can learn what each cable instruction/pattern is doing, and then you can pay slightly less attention to the pattern.

Reading on your kindle isn’t the best idea while you’re trying to establish a cable pattern.

PIN the panels together before you seam the two smaller edge panels on, because even though you can add length if it’s still on the needles, if you seam it without the appropriate tension, it’ll look all wavy and weird and you’ll have to rip the seams back and pin it. (See photo.)

I would err on the side of having the edge panels taper IN rather than OUT as you’re trying to seam them on so that it’s a straight line, because it looks really funny if they flare out and it’s kind of hard to get them exactly straight (see photo, I ripped it back twice)

I used mattress stitch to seam them together, which was a little strange because it was hard at first to figure out where to go in and out since you’re not connecting two like pieces together. But this is clearly the way to seam them together.

If you’re knitting this with other knitters, YES do a gauge swatch, but unless it’s crazy off, I would recommend using the same size needles. My husband and I knit a little tighter than my siblings, so we went up a needle size, and I think it made the drape of my center panel look sloppy in comparison despite the fact that the width and lengths were to measurement. I think I could have compensated for any slight discrepancies by seaming, and then the drape for the whole afghan would have been the same.

Overall, we’re really thrilled that we did this all together and gave it to Mom for her birthday! She’s the most prolific, inspirational, talented and giving knitter I know and it was such a joy for us to pull together and make something for her.

Only 15.5 pattern repeats of 24 rows left to go!

Please don't let your children play with scissors and pins, it's not safe.  Don't try this at home.

She did not do a pattern repeat while she was in there.  Darn cat.

I'm not sure what I would have done without all of Nemo's help.

5:00 p.m., on Mom's birthday, the day before her birthday lunch!  WE DID IT!!! 

photo by Alan

Andrew took his first steps!

Just had to share this beautiful photo that Greg took just before Andrew took his first steps.  The joy and pride on his face is so beautiful, and so pure.  Is this the natural state of the human spirit before we accomplish something new, something big, something amazing that we've been working towards?  It's as though he knows he's about to succeed at something incredible.  No fear, no hesitation, no apprehension, no worries of failure - just pure joy and pride and excitement about the possibility of success in those next few moments.

I love it.

My Favorite New Artist

Andrew's elephant

My sister has opened an Etsy shop with her paintings!  It's called "Roots Awakened" and she already has 12 paintings up for sale on the site.  We've been in love with her work ever since she gave us our first set of her paintings.  Her classic animal portraits with solid backgrounds are perfect for our children's rooms.  (They'd look nice in an office, library or grownup bedroom, too.)

I love the simplicity of the backgrounds for our kids' rooms that are visually busy with toys and books.  I love how well the animals stand out and how recognizable they are for our boys.  I love listening to Will talk about the seahorse, crab, and octopus while I'm getting him into his pajamas in his bathroom, and seeing him offer his monkey a drink of water at night.  He loves them, and he likes to tell me that "Aunt E painted them for me!"

The reason Will can say "octopus".  He likes to tell me which painting is his favorite.  It changes.  Mine is always the crab.  He says Daddy's is the seahorse.  I haven't asked Greg for confirmation on that.

The bird that perfectly complements Andrew's jungle curtains

I'm excited that Elizabeth has decided to make her paintings available for more than just family!  She has three sets of paintings up online available individually or in groups of three as a discount, and I suspect she'd be willing to do custom work again as well.

We love the custom paintings she's done for us - we requested Andrew's elephant, and later she surprised us with the wonderfully fun painting of a monkey for Will.  The monkey is painted to mimic the facial features of Will's favorite lovey, Mr. Monkey, and looks like the monkeys and background on his favorite dishes.  The painting will be a keepsake long after Mr. Monkey is tucked safely away in a memory box in our closet.

Will's monkey painting, inspired by Mr. Monkey and Will's monkey dishes

While I'm talking about favorite artists - I also have been meaning to make a note on here about my friend Abby's new book called "Stuffed Animals: From Concept to Construction".  It's available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble and it is AWESOME.  Abby has been designing stuffed animals (or "softies") for years, and she's taken all of that experience in design work and poured it into a comprehensive book that takes you through the steps of designing your very own original stuffed animals.  She helps you understand how to draw patterns and sew all the different shapes that become components of stuffed animals.

The book is brilliantly laid out to include lessons and then projects that incorporate the design / sewing lessons so you can read about a design feature and then have an opportunity to use it (or see how it would be used) in a real pattern.

Everything is explained so you understand the importance of different shaping techniques, which parts of the sewing instructions are responsible for making the legs or arms etc. look a certain way.

The book includes great technical guides so that even a beginning sewer could be successful, and it would be a great reference book for anyone who sews.

For anyone who is interested in sewing and stuffed animals, this book is a must have.  It's incredibly well written, comprehensive, and includes such great ideas.  She shows you how to adapt a pattern to make a puppet instead of a stuffed animal, how to take a child's drawing and turn it into a softie, and includes sixteen adorable patterns that you can make while you work up the experience and courage to design your own.  It's great.

I feel privileged to know such talented people!

I Am Mom

I am your nutritionist, meal planner, chef.  Your activities planner, chauffeur, and concierge.  I am your translator, your literacy coach, your walking coach, your moral compass.  I am your laundress, your personal shopper.  I am things there aren't even names for. 

I am your gardener, who helps you push the seeds in the soil and helps you open the pea pods.  I am your first teacher.

I am the one who puts the toys away where you can find them, fluffs your pillow, washes your sheets, and produces a clean lovey in time for nap or bed.

There are things I do that go unnoticed and unasked for.  I do them anyway, because they make your life better.

I am never really on vacation.

I know your favorite food, your favorite color, your favorite animal, and your favorite book.  I know they might be different as soon as tomorrow.  Ask me tomorrow and I'll still know.

I operate 28 buckles every time I make a grocery trip.  I can get perishable groceries into the fridge, diapers changed, and lunch on the table in less than fifteen minutes.

I am the luckiest, and the happiest, my days are filled with joy.  I am doing the most important thing in the world.  I am the most exhausted, stressed out, and overworked... and I can never quit. 

My patience is not unlimited.  You think it is.  I do my best to find time to be me, so I can be your everything.

I drink a lot of coffee.

I teach you caution instead of fear, and I keep you safe until you've learned to do it yourself.

I put your sweater on before you shiver.  I get out of bed to give you a drink of water when you call for me. 

I am the embrace that makes your tears subside.  I am the audience for your achievements.

I capture your life in photographs and written memories, and live it with you every day.

Before you were born, I was your world.  Now you are mine.

I will always love you, forever and ever and ever.

I Am Mom.

 

To all Mothers - For all the ways that you are Mom - Happy Mother's Day.

Photos of Earth in Honor of Earth Day

To celebrate Earth Day, here are some of my favorite photos that Greg has taken of our beautiful Earth.

Happy Earth Day!  Throw some bags in your car for your groceries and shopping, drink your tap water and use a water bottle, and plan a picnic or a take a walk outside... it's beautiful out there.