Happy Thanksgiving

The boys have been playing school the past few days.  Kevin has been the teacher and Berry, Zach's stuffed animal, has been the student (with Zach being Berry's voice).  Kevin took his job as teacher very seriously and planned out craft activities, printed some out on the computer, and helped Berry with them.  Here's what he came up with:


But the best thing that I learned from his teaching wasn't while they were playing school.  It was on Tuesday when I was spending all day cleaning the house.  Half way through the day Kevin just said plainly, "It's not about rushing around and getting all ready.  It's about being thankful."  

 

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving.  I'm thankful for all of you!!

Missing the Beach

Saturday we took a spontaneous trip to Ventura for a few hours.  I miss living so close to the beach.  Even though 50 minutes is not that far of a drive, we still don't get there as often as I would like.  As we parked near our old house and walked down the path to the beach, we were reminiscing about how Kevin learned how to take some of his first steps down that same path.  And we enjoyed looking at the houses that are right on the sand and choosing which one we would live in if we could!

 The boys had a fun time, even after complaining about not wanting to go.  They didn't want to have to take showers when we got home and get all sandy and itchy.  Once we were there though there was no stopping them.  The water was pretty cold, but not cold enough for them to stay completely out of.  They managed to stay semi-dry, but just wet enough to get their shorts.  

Ahhhh, the beach

The Incredible Shrinking Garrett

June 2008

It was just about 4 months ago, the end of July, when Garrett decided he was going to loose weight.  When Garrett decides to do something then that is it...... he does it.  So for the past 4 months he has been doing the same things pretty much everyday, with a consistency that I just cannot believe.  Every morning he has two packets of instant organic oatmeal.  For lunch he eats a 6 inch Subway sandwich.  Then for dinner, it is whatever I make or a few times a week we have take-out.  Add in a yogurt and a piece of fruit for a snack plus a daily workout on the eliptical machine and we now have a 40 pounds lighter Garrett.  I'm so proud of how he has been sticking to his plan!  

I just can't understand why I can't loose the 10 pounds that have been haunting me since having the boys ("sure, I'll have a cookie").  I mean I exercise ("ok, I'll have a piece of your Halloween candy Kevin").  I eat right ("well, it's a party....I guess I'll have a piece of cake").  I ran a marathon for goodness sake! ("yeah, I deserve three desserts!!!")  Can anyone help me figure out what I'm doing that Garrett's not??? :)

Anyway, now you all know his secret.  Eating right and exercise.  Maybe he should write a book!

November 2008

Catching Up

So, I guess I've had other things on my mind this week and haven't known what I should write about.  As many of you have heard, my mom had surgery this week to remove a cancerous tumor from her breast.  While the thought of breast cancer has been scary, the results from the surgery and recovery have been nothing but positive.  My mom is recovering well, hopefully enjoying some "time off", and they plan on being here next week for a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I am looking forward to having my parents and brother and family here for a few days.  I am also looking forward to all the smells of Thanksgiving in the house!!  I'm planning on doing it all this year and my hopes are that I can be all organized enough that I can go over to Central Park for the Santa Clarita Turkey Trot on Thursday morning.

Now, that I've written this I feel I can move on and continue with other posts.....such as "The Incredibly Shrinking Garrett" to come tomorrow!

Happy Birthday Paula!

We had a fun afternoon yesterday celebrating Paula's birthday in Redondo Beach. Hope you have a great day today, Paula!

This picture was from Garrett's birthday last year

the big 17!

happy birthday to my nephew Cody!! We are really looking forward to seeing you at Thanksgiving. I can't believe you are 17!!

P.S. Your card is in the mail. :)

What's Next?

That seems to be the question I am hearing most lately.  Not only from others, but from myself.  I had read somewhere that after you run a marathon it is sometimes followed by a sort of depression.  Not so much that you are feeling sad that you ran it, but more about all the hard work is over and now what....  So that's where I am at now, not the depressed part, but the "now what" part.  

I have started making a list of new things I would like to do.  I am trying to get back into an exercise routine after taking most of last week off.  I ran about 3 miles today while Zach started a new gymnastics class.  That will be a good thing each Thursday!  So here's what I've come up with so far:

1.  Conquering "The Beast" on December 13th.  The runner's club is hosting its 2nd annual run here in town which is a difficult, uphill run for a total of 9 something miles (that's why they call is the beast).  I will not be running the whole way, I already know that, but it is to raise money for the Food Pantry, which I know does a lot of good around town.  If anyone wants to join me on this one, it's a $20 registration fee and all the money goes to the Food Pantry.

2.  I'm thinking that 5 hours and 12 minutes just is not going to cut it for me.  So I am hoping to run in the San Diego Rock and Roll marathon on May 31st.  After having a week and a half to recover and think about it, I'm thinking it would be fun.  I was thinking about training with "Team in Training" who raises money for Leukemia and Lymphoma because the first time was just for me, but now I feel like I should do it for something else.  But, that brings me to my third thing on my list.

3.  The Susan G. Komen 3-day walk in San Diego, November 2009.  A walk for breast cancer has now become something that will be at the top of my list to sign up for.  Cancer seems to be popping up all around me and I know I can't raise money for everything, so I am choosing this one as it has become closer to my heart over the past week.  I haven't signed up yet, but am looking into walking with a former client's mom who has done the walk previously.  So, you know I will be looking to all of you for support during this one! ;)

Those are my 3 biggest things I've planned so far.  And in between all of these I am going to be continuing to spend time doing my everyday mom activities.  We had a nice short week this week.  Kevin stayed home on Monday with the sniffles and cough. He entertained himself at my work for 2 hours by playing chess against himself.  I'm sure he will be challenging anyone who comes his way soon.   

Zach and I are off to the store to buy some more clothes for these boys who are growing too fast.  Kevin went to school yesterday with pants and a shirt that were way too small for him!  

Roughing It With Zachary

First time roasting his own marshmallow.  He barely let it get brown before he said he was ready to eat it.

This weekend Zach and I are on our own.  Garrett and Kevin have gone to a Boy Scout camp in Pacific Palisades for the weekend.  Zach, upon hearing he was not going to be going with them, asked if we could sleep in the backyard.  Who could resist such a cutie pie?  So we set up camp, roasted hot dogs, and then marshmallows.  We managed to stay out all night and actually slept, off and on.  

Today we had a mellow day, with the exception of heading over to My Gym for an Open House.  Now, we are going to get all cozy in my bed and watch Underdog!  I hoping to stay awake for it all so that I can then have some time just to myself..... I may get that only while I'm sleeping though.

Slideshow

Maybe soon I will have something else to talk about, like politics or sports.....but for now, here are more pics from Sunday.

marathon pics and a Happy Birthday Wish!

First off, Happy Birthday to Susan!  Hope you have a wonderful day!!

Next, hope you enjoy some of the pics from Paula.  I will be putting up the slide show from Dennis later today......

26.2 Miles!

I did it!  After approximately 11 months of training, off and on, the day finally arrived and now it's all behind me!  The day couldn't have been better, weather wise, and I was so happy to have such a great cheering section around me.  The first 13 miles were fairly smooth sailing.  I was feeling good and keeping a good pace.  It was right around the time that all the half-marathoners turned off to their finish line that it hit me: "I have to go another 13 miles!"  I began doing my running/walking after this point, but I think the more I walked, the more my legs were telling me, "STOP!!"  At around mile 17 1/2 both thighs cramped up so bad I couldn't walk, but I pushed through, taking one step at a time and trying to stretch them out.  All the while thinking of Rochelle pushing through on out Half Dome hike during her cramps.  Thankfully they went away, but the rest of the run was slow going.  Matt, my brother-in-law, joined me around mile 18 1/2 and that couldn't have been a better encouragement.  He continued to go at my pace, but encouraged me to keep going even what I felt like just walking the entire rest of the way.  

After 5 long hours and 12 minutes I crossed the finish line and was cheered on by all.  The boys were especially cute, giving me hugs and kisses.  We enjoyed pizza and a variety of desserts following the race back at our house.  Then after everyone went home I enjoyed resting on the couch, reading, watching t.v., and napping.  

Today I am feeling pretty good.  A little sore, but not as bad as I anticipated.  So I am off to help in Kevin's class and then go to work for a few hours.  No time to sit around!  Thanks to everyone for your encouragement over the past year!!  I could not have done it alone!!