National Running Day

I was going to post this yesterday but after my unexpected run life happened. Busy busy.

I thought I was taking the day off from running. It started off wet. When that sun came out I couldn't resist. We spent the gorgeous afternoon at the park and squeezing a short run around the neighborhood. I've never tried to photograph myself while running. There's a lot going on.

Watch for traffic.

Push the stroller.

Keep pace.

Keep form.

Smile? Haha.

1,2,3,4 Running Mantra

First, I can't believe it's June!  What happened to May? 

We hit the road for a few trips last month and returned last night from our latest adventure.  But trip information will come later.  Now, I'd like to share my half marathon story.  :-) 

The hubs and brother pressured me into registering.  In other words, signed me up.  They are my "trainers."

Two weeks before the big day, I ran 13.5 miles.  It was hard.  I was cursing my husband (since he did the actual registering).  My longest run prior to this was 8 miles.  Those 8 miles were not planned, they just kind of happened.  And they happened years ago!  I survived.  I knew I could complete the half.  I wasn't going to set any records or win any prizes, but I knew I could finish. 

I kept my usual running and in-home workout routine going up until the day before.  Normally when nerves hit, I go for a run.  I work out.  I had all this energy and desire, but listened to my "trainers" and took the day off.  It was a LONG Saturday. 

Sunday morning.  Race day.  T was full of energy, excitement, and coffee.  He was pumped.  We loaded up the car and headed out arriving with plenty of time to spare before the 7:00 am start.  The weather was perfect.  Chilly if you weren't running.  I was ready to get it over with!  The majority of the run was on bridle trails and the rest on a paved greenway.  There were climbs.  It was out and back.  At first, I hated the mile markers.  Tiny reminders of my snail pace.  Especially when I've barely passed mile 4 and runners are approaching in the opposite direction.  Then, I learned the turn around was not half way!  I stopped at the porta potty at the turn around, but caught up with those I was keeping pace with.  By mile 9, I was done.  Not cooked.  Not tired.  Done.  I wanted it to be over.  I picked up the pace.  Started counting steps and watching my form (which I should have done from the beginning).

I thought of Lil'T.  I thought of T.  I thought of my brother.  I wondered it Lil'T was eating for Daddy.  Was he playing?  Was he crying?  His new thing is crying whenever I leave the room.  Eek!

Anyway.  I finished.  2:01.  Yay!  Should have skipped that potty break! ;-)

Post Race - Still Smiling

All I wanted to do was change my clothes.  Lil'T was ready to eat and nap, so we didn't stick around.  There were lines for post race goodies.  Luckily, I brought my own.  On the way home, we stopped in for bagels.  I also had chocolate milk and coffee. 

Lil'T decided against napping that day.  Refused.  We tried walking him in the stroller.  Yes.  I kept moving.  I felt fine.  I even felt good the day after. 

I'd like to add more distance to my regular running schedule.  Since the race, I haven't ran more than 4.25 miles.  Sad.  Traveling will do that to you, I suppose. 

Do you have a running mantra?  What do you think about?

Road trip lessons

-pee pee in the car seat less than an hour from the house

-Christmas CDs. Since lil'T arrived 17 months ago, I have added two children's CDs to the changer. The other four disks are the same.

-4 books is not enough


I need new music and car seat liners. Children's books are really short.

Book worm

Salad Challenge!

Instead of completely squandering away today's nap time perusing WIAW posts, I thought I would post my own.  I'm not ready to link up to the blog party just yet.  Maybe one day when our schedules are not so erratic, I develop a knack for this stuff, and the stars magically align.  Or, when I stop chickening out.  :-)

A week of soups was a breeze.  A week of salads, yes please.  Thank you delicious, giant garden salad I had for lunch for reminding me. 

Here's what we ate:

Warm Confetti Rice Salad with Tofu (usually its corn and black beans - this is carrots and pinto)

Spinach Cherry Quinoa Salad

Egg Salad with Turkey Bacon (well done...eek!) and Roasted Broccoli

Pizza Pasta Salad

Not pictured:  Garden Salad.

We kicked it old school with the egg salad and turkey bacon.  Took it back to the bagel shop days.  The menu featured an egg salad sandwich with bacon and lettuce called the Cuckoo's Nest.  Oh man, I hope we have a sandwich week soon!

Soup Challenge!

A week of soups.  We could not ask for better timing, since a  few days of winter weather settled in.  

Why stop at just 5 days?  Yes, we enjoyed 6 days of soups and/or chillies.  Seven, if you count the leftovers.

Here's what we ate:

White Bean and Hominy Chicken Chili

Cream of Veggie (Bob's Red Mill soup mix)

Sausage, Spinach & Bean Soup with...

Garlic spirals!

Chipotle Sweet Potato Soup with Roasted Okra

Red Bean Chicken Curry (also Bob's Red Mill - pic of the leftovers)

Two Bean and Beef Chili

The soup challenge was far easier than the tortilla challenge.  And far more satisfying.  Next up, Salads!

My Little Helper

This chair needs some fixin'

Now, I think it looks better over here.

Tortilla Challenge!

Challenge?  Sure, I’ll give it a shot!

Previously, T challenged me with single ingredients for single meals like radishes or sardines.  This past week, he challenged me to a week (5 days) of quesadillas.  I argued for ‘tortillas’ instead of ‘quesadillas,’ knowing I would tire of cheese.   

Here’s what we ate for the Tortilla Challenge:

Pizza Dipper - Broccoli, Tomato, & Cheese

Classic? - Black beans, Egg, Tomato, Avocado, and Cheese

Buffalo Chicken!  (T had Blue Cheese)

Um...Sweet Baby Ray's Buffalo Sauce was HOT!

Ham Wrap with Butternut Squash Soup (I skipped the Cheese)

Asian - Tofu, Sauteed Broccoli Slaw & Avocado

I switched to whole wheat tortillas at day two.  By Friday, neither of us wanted to see another tortilla.  Overall, I would rate this challenge a 3.  Next time, I try to find a variety of cheeses and tortillas. 

 

Do you have any food challenge suggestions?  Ingredients or otherwise?  I could not convince T to challenge me to a week of pizza or ‘burgers.’  What gives?  Next up…SOUPS (& Chili)! 

Lil'T joined us in the tortilla challenge, but tortillas are a little difficult for him to eat.  He mainly ate the fillings.  Poor Lil' guy has been sick.  We overcame one cold, and then another one set in.  He had no idea this was on his face:

Snot = Glue (yes I threw the snotty Cheerio away)

I'm a walker now!

      

Good Idea?

I'm treating myself to a delicious beverage while I shop for some necessities.

Lil'T should have a treat too. How about some organic vanilla milk? Sure.

He hasn't mastered straws.

Lighter Macaroni and Cheese

I was inspired by a pouch of baby food. Ran some google searches. Took the lazy route. I could shave off a few more calories and lower the fat if I start with a homemade base. I wasn't sure if I should go through all the peeling and chopping if no one was going to like it. T liked it. I made sure before I revealed the secret ingredient. Lil'T did not eat it. At all. A noodle didn't even make it near his mouth. But neither did the fattier version I made weeks ago.

Lazy Butternut Squash Mac 'n Cheese

2 C Butternut Squash Soup from the box
2 C whole wheat pasta (I used rotini, ww elbows are hard to find in these parts)
1 C shredded cheddar
1 C shredded mozzarella
1 C low fat (or non fat) Cottage cheese.
Some breadcrumbs
Paprika
Black pepper
Sage

Preheat oven to 425 and prepare 8 inch square dish or similar casserole dish. Boil the noodles for four minutes or half their cooking time. Drain and set aside. Heat soup. Add cheeses to the soup until melted. Stir in noodles and transfer mixture to prepared dish. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake for 30 minutes.

I turned the oven off but did not remove the dish so ours was well done. Eek. Next time I'll do better.

What kind of kid doesn't like Mac n cheese?? He'd probably love the blue box easy Mac stuff. Lil'T snubs homemade pancakes, muffins, and French toast. Not that he's had a packaged version of any of the afore mentioned. Hmm. Green beans and broccoli it is!

You Probably Saw THIS one coming...

Oat Bran Cakes!

For this first one, I used the same recipe as oatmeal cakes substituting oat bran for oatmeal.

Oat Cakes:
1/2 c oats
1 banana mashed
1 egg
Whatever extras you like: blueberries, nuts, raisins, etc.
2 bowls

Spray one bowl with cooking spray and set aside. Mash banana in other bowl and combine other ingredients. Pour mixture into prepared bowl. Microwave for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Plop out onto plate and devour. :-)

Lil'T prefers the oat bran cake, but I think it needs some tweaking. It's drier than the oatmeal. But I guess that's what most bran muffins are like, right?

Fashion Accessories

"The best fashion accessory you can wear is your smile."

Forced or not, it's pretty much my only fashion accessory. :-)

At least it doesn't go out of style, right?

Weaning: Days 2 - 5

I obviously did not resolve to be a better blogger this year. I should try to write out 'to do' lists that include blogging, then maybe it would actually happen. It's not that I don't think about writing, I'm just tired and ready to veg out at the end of the day. Especially this week! Also, I should try to write out 'to do' lists in general. I seem to accomplish more with an outlined set of goals.

All in all, a less than stellar week:

Day 2: Near melt down in Target parking lot. Me, not Lil'T. After leaving story time, my anxious indecisive self couldn't decide what to do. Lil'T was so tired. I didn't want him falling asleep in the shopping cart again. Almost in tears, we bailed and went home. I needed some endorphins. Despite the head cold, I rocked an in home workout I front of Lil'T in the high chair. Lunch and a show. No morning nap. No morning breast feeding. Not a lot of sleep that night.

Day 3: Exhausted Mommy, baby, and Daddy resume normal nursing schedule. Backsliding is okay.

Day 4: No morning nursing. Lil'T napped in the stroller while I ran. Pleasant outing before a little winter chill settled in on Friday.

Day 5: Yep, back to breast feeding in the morning.

Once these two front teeth break through and our night night sleep is relatively normal, we will give the weaning another go. Until then (which is hopefully only a matter of days), I will concentrate on NOT nursing him to sleep. No cry sleep solutions, here we come.

Weaning: Day 1

I realize that I won't be able to schedule this whole weaning from breast feeding thing, but I had to make it start sometime. I started today. I set some goals. I am fairly certain we are expecting new teeth. Any day. Any minute. They are right there. All three of us were awake from 3:30 to 5:30 this morning. I cannot withhold comfort so we are starting off on the wrong foot.

I eliminated the nursing before his first nap. While somewhat unintentional, the morning nap was skipped. Lunch was unhappy. Somewhat because our sleep schedule is all off. I can't decide if I should concentrate on NOT nursing him to sleep and then dropping the sessions or drop them and deal with a not sleep trained baby. I mean big boy.

I am hoping he will self wean. A mom can dream, right? Even if he did decide to boycott the boob, I would be crushed.

Growing up is hard to do.

At home work out and park

Old man winter has been pretty good to us this season (so far).  I've been able to run on a regular basis, not daily as I was in the summer and fall.  On days I deem too cold or declare myself too bored with the same loops, I work out in home.  It goes something like this:

Jog in place
Mountain climbers
Hamstring curls
Ski squats
Lunges
Jumping jacks
High knees
Mermaid squats
Mountain climbers*
Maniacs

One minute each.  Three repetitions.  Silly faces.  Singing songs.  Dancing and chasing at times.  Sweat.  Soreness.  I finish each rotation with 'Row your Boat' arms, bicep curls, and two other arm exercises.  Whew.

*Twice because I loathe them.  :-)

Just because I didn't run doesn't mean we stay inside...

 

Napper crafter

Back in October (or so, I don't really remember), I thought it would be great if I could make something for everyone on my Christmas list.  Ha.  I should have thought of that in February!  Not to mention, what do you make for the guys?

Anywho.  I made a few things during Lil'T's nap times but didn't photograph them all.  Too busy trying to complete, package, and ship to snap a photo. 

 Roll-Up Tote (tutorial): 

Monogram Burlap Wreath:

Fabric Yo-yo Wreath:

Wanted: FWB

Friends with Baby (babies and/or toddlers). Prefer active couple with similar attachment parenting style and interests. A marathon training mommy and/or cycling daddy would be ideal. If your little one is between 9 And 18 months, please apply! :-).

What's the fastest way to lose friends? Make a change. A major one. Or two.

Get married. Bye bye single friends, hello Dinks.

Have baby. Bye bye Dinks and few remaining single friends. (but you do gain the best little buddy ever!)

Perhaps I should've participated in more pre-baby preggo activities. The whirlwind weekend baby prep course didn't really provide ample friend making time. T and I were too busy paying attention to the 'what to do' details to try and socialize with other expecting couples. Oh well. Looks like we will try another round of mommy and me classes. Too bad they don't have daddy and me classes. T is much more social.

New year-better communication??