Running

Me, and the craziness of my home after returning from my first ever race (5K) this past April. Not glamorous:

Another thing that has been taking up my time is running. I am training to run a half marathon. I am trying to follow through on my goal of running the Paris marathon 2011, and so I thought a half marathon about a half year before it was a good goal.

It has been fun....but it sure is time consuming! I do long runs on Saturday mornings (I leave the house about 5:45) and shorter runs during the week, a combination of road running and treadmill at the gym. A road run for me is only 2 miles though since I do it after Jon gets home, and the twins and Caed are manageable for him. It really is a sacrifice on the part of my family for this. I am hoping that somehow we make it through the 7 months after this for the Paris marathon.

I sometimes debate the wisdom is doing it next year, since it's been a hard few months for our family for the half marathon, but I think it's best to just keep going. I am proud of myself for keeping it up. I wish I was faster, but I'll take what I can get.

I am learning so much about running too, it's a lot of fun. I find that I am really enjoying it (besides the bit of a wall I've hit the last two weeks) and want to just keep doing it because my body can do it. Although I probably can have better posture/form, it's not like swimming where I've got to be taught certain strokes, or bike riding where I've got to own a bike, it's more accessible then that and I like that. I recently finished the book Born to Run. Loved it. But I love that style of writing anyway.

I am still figuring out my preferences as far as carrying water, when to wait to eat, listening to music (which is at a bit of a negotiating stage right now. My ipod isn't working, and I've been listening to Pandora on my phone with headphones. I have an arm band for the ipod, but for now I am sticking my phone in the tiny pocket in my running shorts, which gets the phone wet from my sweating!) do I carry some energy things with me for the longer runs, and talking while running when I'm with friends.

I was supposed to run 12 miles last Saturday but was in a bit of a funk, and ended up only running/ walking 6. This weekend it's back down to 10. I'll go with that, and get 12 the following weekend. That's the farthest this training plan has us go.

So here's to a little more time come a month, but only briefly, because I'll need to train to run 26.2 miles soon enough!

May

Back in May, Caed "graduated" from his little preschool! The program is run for 2 + 3's as to not interfere with many children moving to schools at 4. (it's easier to get into a school you want to get into at 3+4 rather then waiting until kindergarten) Myself and 3 other mom's started the school 2 years ago, and it's going strong! We are so thankful for a place to have our kids at and where we can be involved. Unfortunately since there is demand on the space, we are limited to meeting only 2 mornings a week. (we meet at our church's coffeehouses' basement, where they currently hold 5 services a weekend) I am going to stay involved this year that I have no kids there, and we'll be back once the twins are 2! Yay!

Next year Caed is going to a charter school nearby. It has a Spanish and French immersion program. You pick the language. We picked french (of course!) and I am looking forward to getting involved in this new community....Here's my sweet boy, getting so big! We are so proud at how much he's grown and learned! Thanks in part to his sweet teacher, we're so happy she's there! (we didn't have a teacher the first year, and this year we do, and will keep her!)

guess I haen't posted in awhile..

Man...i have wanted to post in the last month and a half...I have many excuses why I'm not documenting a single thing.

1) some guilt that I have over non organized photos on my machine and the photos I owe people on our shard machine downstairs have kept me away...

2)Twins are down to one nap, leaving valuable bogging time to nothing. I barely have time to get the stuff done during the one afternoon nap from everyone.

3) Twins are both walking!

4) I have been training for a half marathon in September. This is HARD WORK. I do my long runs Saturday mornings, at the crack of dawn, leaving my tired in the evenings. But proud of the fact that I am training. (thanks to sisters for some motivation to actually do this!)

5) I have three kids

6) it's hot out, but despite that I get the kids out as much as possible.

7) I like to read other people's interesting blogs through my google reader then come over to my blog and pretend I've got some interesting documenting going on.

8) some more guilt over not blogging people's birthdays, anniversaries, milestones...

9) I can't blog from my pre. I need an app that lets me blog from my phone.

10) I will be back...I got those photos organized, and I'll be burning two discs soon. I have to.

a day at the arboretum

One day my friend and I decided to take the kids and meet their friends at the National Arboretum. It's beautiful there, and there were going to be kiddos and bikes and picnicking...

To say getting C to pedal is a test of patience is an understatement.

To say that it required composure of the greatest kind would not reach far enough.....

We made it. I can't remember how we made it from the parking lot to the columns, but we did, and that's all that matters now. I refuse to take the trike out since, until I get a new pole to help push him along. Something happened to our other one and I think it had to do with the construction and the cleaning up, and the guy who wasn't so careful with the throwing out. grrr. Anyway. We had a lovely time. The day was beautiful. The twins did mostly okay but "lunching" on a blanket is fruitless. I always try, but they do better when strapped into their car seats.



Theron didn't venture too far. He didn't like getting far from the blanket.


Aldan's hair is extremely light and with the nice wind blowing...it ended up looking like George McFly from Back to the Future. Ha. Didn't know I could pull that out of my memory.

Here are the columns...and we can go play in them any time we want. We are lucky! (next time I'll park at the lot right behind them and walk the kids across...may save the whole day that way.)

And we went before they filled this fountain...it was filled with nasty water which the kids stayed out of, until they didn't. Now this fountain is all pretty and clean. too bad we were a little early.

I might as well

just keep going with the old posts...not even sure if I posted Easter at all, and I'm not willing to go back and check and risk never actually posting some of these memories.


After Aldan and Theron's birthday party on Saturday, Sunday was Easter! I didn't have enough time to plan through the two celebrations and our good friends invited us over.


We had a yummy brunch, the twins napped through, and C and A had an Easter egg hunt in the yard. It was so sweet watching them look together, I hope some of these things are memories that C keeps for a good while.

They made over a pound of bacon, and we ate it all! Yummy!

We are so happy to have the opportunity to celebrate these times with friends, who are generous in opening their home up to our family of 5!

There isn't anything C wouldn't do to spend time time with A. He wakes up most mornings asking to play with her. And although most days we don't have a plan with her, it usually comes around to that...

I love A and how kind and generous she is to my son. She loves to play similarly to him, and she'll even get him wrestling, and it's usually C who wants to stop first! The thing is A is so sweet, and girly...you'd never guess it running into her on the street. What a good match for C. I remember one of my first conversations with her mom at our mom's group through our church. I told her an easier way to get to the group from where she lived. Their family lived closer to me then some of the other families, and so I was excited to connect. But we were both hesitant at the time. It wasn't instantaneous. But it's awesome to see how it's all fit so nicely. Now they are expecting another, and I can't wait to meet the new babe at all! So lucky to get to share life with them!

We like to party!

Back in March when the twins turned one, we had I think 3 parties for them. One with Jon's parents, one with my family who came to visit (and get sick! :)), and one with their "friends"! Whew!

All the parties were so much fun, and I felt really excited too! It was certainly the best way to celebrate getting through that first year! I still can't believe we have twins! Aldan and Theron are such characters....all these boys will keep us busy for the rest of our lives! I think it's fun that they get to celebrate turning another year older with each other, how fun to have a partner in life like that for the rest of your life!

So for the party with their friends (read, Caed's friends with younger siblings :)) My family helped me prepare the details. My mom and sisters had been here the week earlier and were heading home be back for Easter- so it was great to have their help. I wouldn't have been able to have the nice finishing touches if it weren't for them, and what's a themed party without finishing touches?! It turned out to be the perfect day for celebrating and grilling outside too! What a blessing, because all those kids would not have fit inside our house!!

So it was a Monkey theme, Martha Stewart has some good ideas for the theme, and I went with some of my own.

The goodie bags- brown bags filled with a monkey washcloth, soap, barrel of monkeys key chain (not suitable for little kids at all), banana & banana cookies. Kik did the outside of the bag nice and simple- so glad to have had her input, I was starting on a much more complex design that would not have turned out so nicely!

My mom spent a decent amount of time putting these adorable cups together. She cut out and glued all these pieces onto the brown cups! Aren't they adorable? It looked like an army of monkeys when put together. And actually, I think they were a bit too cute. People didn't end up drinking out of them because you didn't want to ruin them of course!

My first ever attempt at a cake design other then rectangle! Did you know you could bake in a Pyrex bowl? I can't believe this thing turned out half as good as it did...I had low expectations.

and here are the birthday boys....we love you Aldan and Theron!

So at their birthday Aldan and Theron were not walking...Aldan was closest, and luckily Theron made it to crawling before his 1st birthday!

And their stats at 1-

Aldan: 25 lbs 13oz 31 1/4"

Theron: 26lbs 14.5oz 31 1/4"

two pounds difference and same length...now that's fluctuated of course, and when we were in the ER (yes...pneumonia two weeks ago) Aldan weighed more then Theron. So you just can't tell at this point...

I'll be playing a little catch up with more up to date things...man it's amazing how when the twins go down for only one nap a day it takes away the extra free time to blog!

College roomie vacay!

My college roommate, Janet, who I was placed with randomly our first year became my roomie all 4 years- on and off campus. We got together in williamsburg a month ago! We had a great time- They have two girls, and she's pregnant with a 3rd, which will be a surprise what it is until the birth. All the kids got along and we really had a great time. We did family stuff together, the guys golfed one day and we got pedicures. It really was so much fun. We even got to see another roomie of ours too! I miss them so much!

The Woof clan on the boat:


Jon and I had to take turns since we couldn't bring the stroller on board, so here's me with Caed:

Haley and Caed in the burned out boat:

fun jamestown stuff...

C in the gear!

holy gimoly!

I found this picture tonight. I usually blog from my netbook, and tonight I am working on some photos I recently took and so I'm on my desktop. I ran into this picture....38 weeks....wow. I thought I would have delivered by then.....but no. Delivered at 39 weeks, so here you have it...it doesn't help my shirt doesn't fit over my belly either...

Birthdays

Today is my dad's birthday- he would have been 68. I went and visited his "spot" with the three kids and took a picture, I did it because I know the rest of my family would have liked to do it if they could have. Tonight Caed asked why we didn't have a cake! We should have, next year I think we'll celebrate his birthday with cake, maybe small personal square cakes because my dad liked the corner pieces of cake! Yum, I'm hungry thinking about it! Here's to next year.

nearly 1 month ago my Nana turned 90!! I didn't do a post because I was in the middle of getting my computer returned and trying to catch up on all things with the hulabaloo around the twins turning 1! Although we couldn't make the celebration, we were celebrating in our hearts with her! (which hers is going strong, thankherverymuch!) I value all the conversations and time spent with my Nana. She holds a very special place in my heart of course! If I had to choose the most valuable quality about her, it would be her faith in God. Growing up we had the opportunity of living with my Nana and Grampy for a bit- in that time I really got to live her faith, experience it. She's an incredible woman and knows the Bible back and forth (right Nana?) and has read it through so many times! One of things I loved was looking through her clothespins and finding my name. she wrote people's names on the clothespins and would pray for them as she hung out her laundry. (and there was a lot of laundry to be hung then with all of us together!) I value her faith also because it's laid such important roots for me. I so valued living and growing up in a Christian home, and it's because of her continuation on in her faith that has me believing and living it as well.

Happy very Belated Birthday! And here's to at least 10 more!!

At Christmastime:(where is my flash?)

oh there it is- too much!! She's holding Theron and I love that it appears that he's looking up at her.

And for Mother's Day sake, My mom and Nana with my mom's grandkids and some of Nana's great grandchildren. (taken Aug. 2009)

zoo

i am going to skip ahead a little here, but I'll be going back. Just wanted to get these photos for family. I took the kids to the zoo all by myself and we had a great time, I even had time to take pictures! I napped the babies in the morning and got us all ready and then got them up changed them and put them in the car. We ate lunch there, and it was so cute to do together, they did really well! I didn't push it or have any expectations, and when I sensed reaching the end, we packed up and left. we'll be back!