Friday, August 23, 2013
"I Broke the Tiger."
Will is going through a throwing phase. He throws rocks, toy cars, trains, forks, food, and yesterday he threw his daddy's Detroit Tigers gnome and he broke it. We were outside and Erin and I were weeding the flower beds. Will was playing on the front porch when all of a sudden I heard a crash. I looked up and saw Mark's Tiger gnome in two pieces. I immediately knew that Will had gotten a hold of it. I asked him what happened and he said "I broke the Tiger." I sent him inside for a timeout and he walked there just like a big boy. I told him how sad I was which he replied with "make mama happy." He served his time and I told him that he was going to have to tell daddy about the Tiger when he got home from work. Will took a nap and as soon as he woke up he said "I broke the Tiger." I said yes and daddy's home so you have to tell him. Will walked out into the living room and told hi daddy "I broke the Tiger." Daddy was very patient and had a good talk with him about it. All of a sudden Will's chin stared to tremble and he started to cry. His daddy gave him a big hug and told him that it will be okay and that he shouldn't throw things anymore. It was the saddest and cutest moment. Will felt remorse for what he had done and wanted his daddy's forgiveness. Of course, daddy gave it to him and Will hasn't thrown much since that day (besides a ball or two).
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Summer FUN
We are slowly working on potty training. I call it dabbling in potty training. The kids get the idea, but aren't able to tell me before they have to go potty. It usually ends up on the carpet or running down their leg. If I ask them if they have to go potty, they always answer with "get a M & NM" and they can usually perform. Will usually goes back and tries again because he wants more M & M's. We'll keep working on it. 
We ran a few errands today and Erin had to wear her hat, pack her purse (with a truck, trailer and a necklace. While we were out, she was upset because she forgot her phone - my old purple flip phone) and bring it with us.
Cheese!!
They love to play on the "soft warm blanket." Today's activities included Minnie Mouse matching game, cutting with safety scissors and tracing their hands on the Magna Doodle. 
A morning snack on the deck- now that it has finally warmed up and feels like summer.
The kids LOVE sheet changing day because they get to play on their mattresses. Erin loves to "go to sleep" on her mattress. She and Will kept fighting over who got to lay on her be so I just brought Will's mattress into Erin's room. She made us both lay down and covered us up. She got me a tiny blanket and put it on me and said "go to sleep mama." Will kept talking so she told him " Will stop talking and go to sleep." Which he replied with "no Erin." It's very cute to listen to them banter back and forth. 
Working hard for M n m's. 
I spent many wonderful hours cuddling with these cuties this summer. 
Erin got her Mickey couch, pillows and blankets set it up and insisted on watching Mickey downstairs (which is something we don't usually allow , but how could I say no when she went to all that effort?) 
Another sheet changing day. 
Erin's going to the gym Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Mark did it too!
Mark did a great job at the Tri too. He has done a lot of Tri's in the past and has worked hard over this past year to improve his times. It was fun to compete with him and share in the fun he has had doing Tri's.
Place Overal Age Place Rnk Time- Swim -Pace Time T1 Rnk Time- Bike -Rate Time T2 Rnk Time- Run -Pace TimeTotal
I DID IT!!!!!!
Here are my results from the day.
Place Overal Age Place Rnk Time- Swim -Pace Time T1 Rnk Time- Bike - Rate Time T2 Rnk Time- Run -Pace Time Total
20 347 35 23(out of26) 15:43 2:42 21 55:05 16.1 1:39 17 31:35 10:11 1:46:45My goals were:
1. Don't finish last. I finished 20 out of 26.
2. Swim in 20 minutes. I did it in 15:43.
3. Bike in under 1 hour. I biked the 14.8 miles in 55:05.
4. Run under 10 minute miles. I ran 10:11 which gives me another goal to work towards next time.
5. Finish the whole event in under 2 hours. I finished in 1:46:45!!!
A pre-race picture with my supportive and fit hubby!
We did it!!
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Gotta Tri!
Back in March, we went to see the butterflies at Fredrick Meijer Gardens with our college friends Brad, Meg and their adorable daughter Isabelle. Meg and Brad both rode their pedal bikes with Mark for the March of Dimes Bikers For Babies event two years ago. Meg and Mark were talking about doing a sprint triathlon (500 meter swim, 14.8 mile bike ride, 5k (3.1 mile) run) and Mark was trying to convince Meg to do the Millenium Park Triathlon with him on Aug 3. While they were talking I impulsively said that I would do it too. They both looked at me with a surprised expression because I don't swim, never rode a road bike and couldn't run. We said our good-byes and they headed back to Kalamazoo. I kept thinking about doing the Sprint Tri. That night Meg and I were on Facebook chatting about signing up. After looking at the course maps I realized that I could do it. I've been to the beach a lot, Mark has biked on the course and I've been on the running course before too. I felt like I could be in control (which I need to do) of this race. So I impulsively signed up with Meg and got to work. I was the most scared of the run. I ran a 10k (6.2 miles) 6 years ago and haven't run much since then. I downloaded the Couch to 5k app on my phone. I started getting up early and walk/ran on the treadmill in our basement or went to the gym. By May, I could run almost 3 miles without stopping.
Once summer vacation started, I could focus on training. I downloaded a training schedule for Tri-newbies and got to work. I would get up at 6 am and ride my mountain bike or go for a run. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed those early mornings workouts. I was always the girl who made fun of my friends for working out early and now I understood why they did it. I felt like the World was all mine. It was so peaceful and calm.
Sometimes, I would run at night and Mark would push the kids in the jogging stroller. I was able to swim at Millennium Park which was great. My wonderful friend Delia has loaned me her road bike so that I can be more official and ride faster during the race. My mom would watch the kids so I could train or Mark and I could go together. We also had neighbors and Mark's parents help with the kids. Mark has been an amazing support system for me. He's done a lot of triathlons and is a great coach (even though there were plenty of times I wasn't very nice to him) he never gave up on me.
So here I sit the night before the eve of my first Tri. I did a one mile run tonight (in 9:58 min.-I used to run 12 min. Miles) and started thinking that it was my last run before the big day. I've never trained so much for something before and I am proud of myself for sticking with it. I've done ALOT of positive self talk and visualizing myself crossing the finish line. I am excited for Saturday and can't wait to see what happens! My goal is to swim in 20 min (I'm slow and never learned how to do the front crawl so instead I do whatever it takes to get through the water- side stroke, breast stroke, a modified front crawl). I can bike it in under 1 hour and I hope to do the run in 30 minutes. I've practiced the transitions and did a mini-Tri training with Mark so I've got the feel for how it goes. I want my overall time to be under 2 hours. I think I should be able to do it. Wish me luck and please say a few prayers for me on Saturday morning at 8:12 (my official starting time)!
On a side note, Meg isn't able to do the Tri because she hurt her back. I'm so bummed and feel terrible for her. I'll be working extra hard for her on Saturday. Since she can't do it, Mark is taking her place and is super excited to do the Tri. He's really good (and fast) and hopes to place in his age group (which he's done before).
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