I'm Back!

I have not written on the blog in a while.  So, I'm back. 

We just had a great weekend!  I FINISHED the Monument Avenue 10k with my twin sister by my side!  I got emotional during the walk when I got half way (3.1 miles) and as we got close to the finish line.  I thought about how I felt this time last year.  I remember my days were full of muscle spasms that would leave my left arm stuck until the spasm ended.  And I was having about 50 spasms a day (when I was able to actually keep count).  I was just going through the motions to get through the day and for my children at home and at work.  So, Meg and I walked most of the way but had some short jogging moments.  Overall, we finished it in 1.5 hours.  I can't remember the last time I exercised for an hour and 1/2 straight.  I guess it would be the last time I did the 10k, before Ian was born, so 5 years ago.   It was chilly at the start but it turned out to be a perfect day for the race.  I loved seeing Rachel and Meredith at the CJSTUF cheering section.  And then I saw Chris, Ian, and Ruby in the median watching me.  That was really special!  So, I'm feeling really accomplished.  My only complaint is the large blister on the ball of my foot.  But I was able to walk to the playground w/ Ruby yesterday afternoon.  And today we walked all around Maymont, so I'm really doing great!   Thank the Lord!  And thanks to all of my friends and family who donated to CJSTUF!

We chose to skip church this morning and go to Maymont.  We enjoyed the morning.  The children loved the animals.  Ruby would say, "Bye pig", "Bye Goat", "Bye Sheep" "Bye Horsey Nay".  She loved the animals and following her big brother around.  Ian was so cute.  He wanted to pick the daffodils and "pick one for Mommy".  He's such a dear little boy.  We tried to explain that they are not ours to pick.  I gently suggested that he and Daddy could buy Mommy flowers for Easter.  I thought that was a good idea!  Ian said something cute as we hiked up the big hill back to the car.  He started to slow down and he said, "Daddy, I'm all out of energy!"  He makes me laugh.  

This afternoon was spent with playing outside and errands.  Later, I went to help stuff eggs for the neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  I struggled to keep from eating all that candy. 

So, over the weeks we've been busy...  I had all 3 of the Helsleys over for a sleepover on 3/12/10 so that Erik and Meg could go to see Wicked.  Chris was with me until he had to head to work at 10pm.  Overall the kids did great and enjoyed their time together.  Ian's behavior was the most challenging and he was mainly tired and excited to have his cousins over for a sleepover.  Landen had a cute quote after watching Shrek II.  He said, "I'm going to go home and look in my big book of fairy tales because the story of Shrek is in there."  He then said, "In Shrek II they said, this is the best fairy tale of all time!"  So cute.  I didn't dash his hopes.  Cohen was cute when he was playing w/ 2 cars and named one car Emily and the other car, Chris.  Kate was so sweet and affectionate to Ruby.  She introduced Ruby to blueberries in yogurt.  Now Ruby always requests "berries" in her yogurt. 

Cohen turned 2 on March 21st.  Shocking!!  Here's a photo of the precious little boy.  He's wearing a shirt that was Ian's and it's one of my favorites.  I love seeing Ian's clothes on Drew and Cohen.  Mom and Dad were here for a week around Cohen's birthday so they helped with childcare and cooking meals.  And Amanda, Chris C., and Drew came for the birthday party.  It was great to see them.  Drew is so cute!  

Pop Pop (Allen Jr., Chris's dad), saw the oncologist and they have a plan for treating his lung cancer.  He starts radiation and chemotherapy on 4/5/10.  I think he and Mom Mom are pleased to have a plan.  Please keep them in your prayers.  Mom Mom still hopes to go to Orlando with us if Pop Pop is doing okay. 

I need to start preparing for the Orlando trip.  We're now flying instead of driving so that adds a different level of preparation.  But, hopefully it will be low stress and we'll be happy we flew.  :)  We're looking forward to Disney World!  I've tried to read and look at info. but I feel so overwhelmed by it all.  But, I figure if I can navigate through NYC, I can handle Disney World and the Orlando Area. 

I've got to get ready for the week... 
 

Ian's QOTD: Dreaming of Candy

It's a busy week of Ian's quotes.

This morning Ian said, "Mommy I dreamed about candy."  I said, "Really?"  He said, "Yes, I had sugar plums dancing in my head!"  Clearly, last night we read The Night Before Christmas at bedtime.  And, he's definitley my child since he's "dreaming about candy". 

Ian's QOTD: The Sun

This morning on our drive to daycare, the sun was shining very brightly.  :) 

Ian said, "The sun says, 'I'm going to shine you up' and we get warm from the sunshine." 

I hope that the sun continues to "shine us up".  :)   Very cute, but I'm biased.

First Warm, Sunny Weekend in 2010

We had a great weekend!  I had Friday off so I was able to have lunch with my friend, Deanna, at a yummy Thai restaurant in Carytown.  The rest of the day was spent sorting the kid's clothes and shopping.  On Friday evening I took Ian and Ruby to First Baptist Church so that I could go to dinner with Nichole and Wendy.  First Baptist Church was offering babysitting as a fundraiser and Wendy had signed the kids up for me.  Wendy, Nichole, and I went to Bandito's for burritos and Bev's for ice cream.  We had a great time and I was in Carytown twice in one day.  That's crazy for a suburbian like me! 

Saturday was busy with Ian's haircut, Target shopping, playing with the cousins, and birthday parties.  We really enjoyed the day.  Ian loved the birthday party at SCOR with the indoor soccer field.  His face was plastered to the glass watching a soccer game when we first arrived.  I guess we need to sign him up!!  Ian had a great time playing with his friends from daycare.  After we celebrated with Gavin, we hopped in the car and headed north to Will's 5th birthday party.  We met Ruby and Daddy there.  There was a bouncy house that Chris seemed to enjoy as much, if not more, than the children.  There was some serious wrestling going on in that bounce house.  I let Ruby bounce quickly and then we headed inside where I didn't have to look.  The negative part of being a pediatric social worker is that I've seen some horrible accidents happen to children while they were "having fun".  You don't understand until you've walked into a Pediatric ICU.  So, I just went inside.  Outta sight, outta mind.  Will's party was lots of fun and we enjoyed hanging out with some our favorite people.  And thankfully, no one got hurt (well Chris was a little sore the next day). 

Sunday was spent OUTSIDE!   Ian and Ruby "helped" Chris outside early in the morning and then we all headed to the playground.  Then we all napped.  YEAH!  After naps we played outside at the playground behind our house and in our backyard.  Ian and Ruby had a blast and we all enjoyed being outside.  Ruby, especially, is just so happy outside.  She's such a big girl!  She's able to walk up and down all of the stairs on the deck and kick the balls.  She runs everywhere and loves to swing and slide.  Ian had a great time playing baseball with Chris.  He really is doing well with hitting the ball.  I got a lot of "watch me Mommy"!  Also, inside, she went pee pee on the potty.  Not much, but she tried and I was really impressed with the little drops she left her her tiny "big girl potty".  Mommy did the big girl dance in celebration! 

Ian said something really cute tonight.  I was reading a Curious George book and there was a sentence with an exclamation point.  Ian said, "exclamation point" and said, "We need to say that sentence again and say it like we are excited".  So we did.  We then "pointed out" every exclamation point and question mark we saw.  Ian is learning so much, it amazes me.  He tells me about  animal's habitats and points out patterns of different colors in pictures. 

Some prayer requests...

1. Kiki, my boss, was approved for a lung transplant.  That's great news but scary news too.  Please keep her in your prayers.  She has been battling pulmonary fibrosis.  Her daughter is getting married in Atlanta in 2 weeks so I pray that she will be able to get brand new healthy lungs right after her daughter's wedding
2. 
   
   Of course, please continue to pray for Allen (Pop Pop).  Allen has a 2nd biopsy on Friday afternoon.  I pray that it gives the oncologist more information to help determine the best type of chemo to help him fight the lung cancer. 
3. 
   
   Nicole, my sister-in-law's sister, is home from the hospital. 
4. 
   
   A child on my caseload is having a big orthopaedic surgery tomorrow, she is 3 months younger than Ruby. 
5. 
   
   My friend and colleague, Laura, is having her little boy, her 2nd, tomorrow if the induction goes as planned. 

Please keep them all in your prayers, I know I will. 

Oh, and please pray for more sunny weekends so we can play outside.  :)

Ian's QOTD

Ian made me laugh this morning.  He was getting dressed for school and said, "Tomorrow I will wear my penguin shirt and waddle down the stairs.  Today I'm wearing my dinosaur shirt and I'm stomping down the stairs because I'm a dinosaur.  Look at my tail".  He turned around to show me the back of his shirt that had the dinosaur's tail that wrapped around from the front.  Too funny.

Landen is Missing a Tooth!

Today, Meg called and said that Landen, my 5 year old nephew, lost his first tooth.  She put him on the phone.  He was so cute saying, "I lost my tooth."  I asked where it was.  He said, "Under my pillow."  He went on to explain that "Mommy has the telephone number to the tooth fairy and will be calling her to let her know about his tooth."  Too funny.  Then I asked him what he wants from the tooth fairy for his tooth.  He said, "3,000 pieces of money."  So cute! 

It seems like yesterday that he was a chunky baby boy.  Here's a photo from him at 2.5 months.  Time flies.   

I Didn't Win the Contest

So, I didn't win for the month of February.  We decreased the pot so it would've only been $25 for winning the February weight loss challenge, but it still would've been nice to win.  Oh well, time to get focused!  I've done great with continuing to walk and limit my treats, but I haven't been tracking my food daily.  So, I've definitely fallen off on watching my intake of yummy things.  I just went on a nice walk in the sun and decided to get focused on my diet but also reminded myself about the positive changes that I've made and stuck to during the month. 

I'm proud of my coworker, Pat G., for winning the challenge this month.   

I need to go heat up my Lean Cuisine meal and then log it into my "nutrition tracker" on Sparkpeople.com. 

Yeah for March.  It's a busy birthday month for the family (Amanda, Allen, Erik, Cohen).   Lots to celebrate!  Oh no, that means cake and ice cream... :S