Bike Riding Red Neck Zombie

Well, I've been meaning to post for this week but I've been dealing with a very sad baby. He got a bug and has some serious poopy issues. Poor thing! I really just want him to get better already. He's losing all his cute baby fat...and I'm losing a Lot of sleep, hence the zombie reference. You may have noticed the grammar, punctuation, etc, in my last post, being really awful. I never did recover from last weekend because when I got back from the volleyball tourney, Lincoln was sick and it's been a gruesome week since. For the first few days, I literally smelt like poop- I'm sure you all want to know this, but it's my life- deal with it! So, by day three of smelling like poop, looking at everything and thinking it was poop...well, I made up a poop poem. Something silly I would say to Lincoln every time I was changing his diapers. No, I won't tell you what the poem was because I forgot it. I think I have intentionally blocked it from my memory.
Hahaha!!!  I just realized that if you've read this far, you've read an entire paragraph on POOP! ...and well, I just wrote an entire paragraph on POOP! You can tell I'm still suffering from sleep deprivation.
     Unfortunately, all of this and more has gotten in the way of me being able to run so far this week, but yesterday, somehow, my mom talked me into riding bikes to town. I wasn't sure about it but we did it anyway. I pulled the kids behind me in the bike trailer. We ended up getting started later in the day so it was Hot and then when we got started, I realize the wind is blowing pretty good Against us, We get down to town in about 40 minutes and we were stopped by the large construction crew working at the bottom of the hill. "Sidewalk closed", the sign says, before we made it to our destination. So, here we are sitting at the chuck-a-walla trail head under the tiny bit of shade available, waiting for our ride. Then we get a call saying our ride had just been rear-ended and it might be a little while before he gets to us. So there you have it- Our wonderful idea was hot, windy, closed, and caused an accident.
   We ended up getting my dad to come get us instead, with his beasty work truck that has no ac and only fits three. Yeah, it was totally illegal and brought back a whole lot of my redneck childhood memories. Pretty funny, actually.
I'd say we had a few more red neck moments with me climbing a tree in my bathing suit and buying a frozen yogurt Mountain (because when you get what you can fit on the cup, it's still just a dollar) at the Maverick. Who am I kidding! My family is So red neck.
  All things considered, I got a great workout and I was able to return my redbox that Rick forgot to take back earlier that day....And let's face it! I laughed A Lot.

Midnight 5K

Well, It was the Midnight 5k this last weekend. It started Friday at 11pm and went until a little after 12am. My goal was to have a better time than I had the first year I did this race...and I DID IT! I beat my 2009 midnight 5k time and I beat my best time I've had just in training. So that made it totally worth it.
To begin though, I was So nervous, my hands were shaking. I don't know why I get nervous but the Huge crowds of people don't help. There was over 700 people there (That's much bigger than my first year doing it). They also make it more official now with the shoe clips that keep track of your time. The first place kid came in with 5 minute miles. He completed the race with 15 minutes and something. The top female to cross the line was a 14 year old girl and she passed with 21 minutes and some. I came in at 23 something with 7 and a half minute miles....and there was no puking on my end this year. Happy Face!!
There turned out to be a couple of downfalls to this race though, unfortunately...First of all, I didn't get anyone to run the race with me. I felt So Awkward, standing around all by myself. It also felt like there were a hundred eyes on me at all times. The wind was crazy! ..and I managed to lock my keys in the truck with my phone!! Yep! Total lapse of thought there...
      On the upside, I made a friend. Her name was Kim... And I ran into an old college ward friend (the same friend I ran into at the last midnight 5k I ran-only he wasn't running it then. He was there helping with the paramedics). He turned out to be my life saver (no pun intended)- He found me a phone to call Rick to come rescue me and he made the next half hour after I finished the race go by extremely fast for me.
    So, for future reference, I'm not sure I'll run it again unless I have some people to run it with me. It's definitely more fun when you have someone to cheer for and someone who cares what time you come in at. But I had fun nonetheless. My overall standings were:
                                           Me- 67th place with 621 people running
                                                    15th place in Gender
                                                  4th place in Age group

     Other than the race. I ended up getting home around 2am because of the key locking stupidity and Rick and I played in a volleyball tourney that same morning. When I got home, needless to say, I couldn't get to sleep. So, Rick and I played some awesome volleyball games after me getting maybe 2 hours of sleep. We played with another couple, friends of ours from the co-ed league we played in earlier this year. We placed 2nd and had a blast. Best Weekend Ever!!

Wishing

I'm wishing I had company on my runs. The long distance runs are much more fun when you have people/person to run with. My running buddy has been out of town. I miss her. She makes the long runs go by faster and they are much more entertaining. I had a good run the other day. I felt great and the more I ran the more I felt I could keep going which was a good sign for me, I only wish I had kept going, but I'm hopeful I'll make my goal for this month.
P.S. I'll be posting about the Midnight 5k soon

Notes to Self:
4.5 miles
42 minutes

Just Great!

Well, I had a Great run the other day. It felt Great. The weather was Great...everything was Great!! The more I write this word, the more weird I think it looks and sounds. I am so excited for this weekend race. The midnight 5k has snuck up on me faster than I thought it would but I can't wait. It's a busy week so I've been trying to sneak in running time whenever I get a chance. I'm a little bummed that I didn't get anyone to run it with me, you know, the more company, the better. I guess now, I'll just have to cheer on some strangers-Maybe, I'll make some friends while I'm there! Well, it's not too late for anyone that wants to run it with me. It's going to be a blast, but I'm hoping there won't be puking involved this time around.

It's Official!

I am officially signed up for the Midnight 5k! Yay! I'm so excited.
Rick and I ran our usual yesterday, only Rick hasn't been running with me for a while so it kicked his butt. He started cramping up half way through and hurt his back. The run didn't agree with me either but for different reasons. I don't think it was the smartest thing to workout as hard as I did earlier in the day. I'm making a point to not workout quite so hard the days I plan to run. It's just too much right now. So, Better luck next time!

Entering New Territory

The other day, I rushed Lizzie into the MEN's bathroom. Yep! I'm pretty sure I came out a Bright shade of Red. I could have sworn the women's bathroom was on that side the last time I was there, but the Big white urinals are a sure sign That I was not in the right place!
I laughed my way back to the right bathroom and swatted Rick in the arm for not warning me of my idiocy.
   On a different note, I feel as though I'm entering New territory with Lizzie and it's kind of nerve-wracking for me for reasons I can't explain. I'm an amateur mom and Preschool and play-dates, and all the extra-curricular  are kind of intimidating to me. Has any other parent felt this before?! It's really been bitter-sweet for me to even think about. So, as I'm writing this, I get a call from a mom/friend in the ward asking if Lizzie can come play with Jessica.
"Of course", I say, because any chance I can get to have Lizzie get together with kids her age is going to help. This is something I'm not good at, arranging play-dates or get together's.
I have to laugh at this next thing because if I don't I may cry, This mom has gotten to know well enough that she knows I have no transportation aside from a kids stroller, a bike or walking/running to get my way around Diamond Valley. I have become a charity case, and my Proud self doesn't care to be called a charity case but I also don't mind the exercise and the friendships I've made through car pool services.
My point though, is that as I talked with her about Preschool and my own feelings of inadequacy, she gave me just the advice I needed! It was so nice to hear and I'm feeling So much better about this new territory I'm entering. It will bring me out of my oh-so-comfortable bubble I've made for myself and my kids but I think it's about Time.
As a side note, I am truly grateful for the ladies in the Valley. The friendships I've made. I am surrounded by wonderful women and it's entirely Intimidating, but inspiring. Lots of Thanks to them.

Lincoln's First Haircut

Well, I'll have you all know, Lincoln received his first haircut by the one and only Elizabeth Rae Snodgress.     Yep! Check it out...

 1, 2, 3, 4 swipes of mommy's razor later (Don't worry-no one was harmed in the process)

 So, I decided to even out the other side just a bit- I was NOT ready to cut those sweet blonde curls away...

 but he's still adorable as ever and he still loves his Big sister more than ever!

I'm So sore!!

So, I learned some more exercises and thought I'd give them a try again, and again, and again. My legs are So sore, but I didn't let it stop me from running. Actually, I had volleyball prior to my run. I played a little at the church with my mom and the cute old ladies and then went from there to my grass games at the park. I ended up staying later and played a couple of games of some hard core 2 on 2 and then ran over to Smith's with my  running buddy, Nicole to meet up with Rick who, so kindly, took over the grocery shopping for me. I worked my freakin butt off and I'm totally feeling it! Such a good feeling

Notes to Self:
I don't know how far and what all that adds up to but I do know it hurts- Smiles!

Back to it... Again

I ran with my sister, Cami the other day. We took easy since she hasn't been in a while, but I'm trying to talk her into running the midnight 5k with me. We did about 1.5 miles and then I went to volleyball and then had Rick drop me off at the entrance of Diamond valley so I could run home from there so about another 1.2 miles. It went well but taking a week off because of my back has made it more difficult.
Great News is that my back is feeling better. Now if I could just stop injuring myself.

Organized Chaos...and the moments that give us a perfect excuse to run away from it

In my attempts to Simplify my life over the last week, I realized why I felt the need to do so...This is my scattered self:
   I'm in the middle of five books, all of which are great books. So, I'm having a hard time picking the one I want to eliminate for the time being.
  My projects are endless which I wish was not the case- 3 crocheted afghans (1/3 of the way through each one), several pages of scrap-booking, 2 baby seat covers that need to be sewn, 1 baby blanket, about 2 or 3 patchwork quilts, bags of fabric scraps for baby bow flowers, and need I go on...this is giving me a head ache.

   I think I have a problem and just one of them is that I hate wasting. So your small measly scraps of fabric left over from saving a perfectly suitable piece of fabric for a quilt square, is then turned into another scrap of fabric for a small flower that can be used for a hair clip, which Lizzie can wear (Wow! Talk about run-on sentence). My point is, why don't I just throw away those bags of fabric scraps like any Sane person would do?! I don't know.
  So, you can see why I Need to simplify a bit....and there will come a day when I will finally decide to throw out a bag of scraps, but maybe not today. HAHAHA!! Aside from my organized Chaos...Thankfully, there are things that keep me from drowning in all of it. For example- My kids! -my wonderfully, needy, funny, beautiful babies. I have them to thank for pulling me away from the insanity to a different kind of insanity. A better kind of insanity, when it's filled with moments like these

Tea Party Time

In the midst of chaos, I find a way to smile, laugh, and love the moments that make it all worth it.

What a Treat

It is such a treat to me that I get to be home with my kids and do all the mommy things that I do. They make me smile, laugh, love every day. A few of the things I get to do and enjoy with my kids from day to day.
  As I've mentioned before, Lizzie is a baker at heart. She LOVES to cook with me, which I really love. Today she woke up and said, let's make cupcakes and I said let's make caramel apple cheesecake bars (a recipe I have been eyeballing for sometime now). In the morning, after breakfast, is the time we usually take to prepare a dessert for after dinner. We don't normally pop it into the oven until we are sitting at the table eating dinner- that way it's fresh but this one you serve cool so cooking it in the morning was perfect.

That's not my big thumb by the way- That would be Rick pouring the caramel all over his dessert. This dessert was more for Rick than for me so I think I was more excited to see him try it than I was to try it myself. I'm not a baked fruit kind of gal so the apple part didn't really appeal to me, but even I liked it.
  To go on with Time spent well, aside from my attempts at running while pushing my kids in the stroller, we have another regular exercise routine we like to do- Have any of you tried "Just Dance 2"??

Yeah, needless to say, my kids love it and I'll admit, I kind of do too.
    More recently, there's been more time spent outside playing and working hard. The kids playing...

(Haha! I should've cropped my skinny chicken legs out of this picture)

  ...and the guys doing all the hard work.

They're making a playhouse with the scraps from Dustin and Jennie's (my brother and sister-in-law) wedding dance floor. If you were wondering.
   Other than that, Lizzie is going through her little girl phase of Not wanting to help me clean. (she used to be so good about it or maybe now it's just Not wanting to clean when I want her to clean). Lincoln likes to double my load by his enjoyment of pulling the dishes out as I put them in and pulling my clothes apart just as I fold them. Boys will be boys and girls will be girls.  All included...I LOVE MY JOB!
   Sorry there's no update on the running for now- I hurt my back and it has consumed my thoughts. The moment I think of doing anything physical, my Back reminds me how much it hurts--when did I get so old?!
   So, these are things my day consists of most often and I wouldn't change a thing!