Happy Mothers Day to me....

Was not Mother's Day invented to give us wonderful mommies a break? Sometimes I wonder...To all you moms out there who got breakfast in bed, a clean house, a break from the everyday stressors, well you are the lucky ones.

My husbands birthday falls on Mothers Day Weekend. Which is fine except this year he was out of town at a Bachelor party! I have to admit it was sad to not have your children say, Happy Mothers Day because they don't even know what that is? They are 2 and 4 after all. Once we got to church, they figured it out quickly and told me hundreds of times! Christian was especially sweet about it. He is just the most loving little boy. Henley made me a sweet picture in the nursery and the day started to get better.

After church we all three decided to go out and eat lunch. We ate at a place called Zaxby's. This is a chicken place the kids love to eat at. Not exactly a wonderful Mothers Day Lunch, but I had my sweet babies with me and that is all that mattered! After my rubbery grilled chicken salad that took me forever to eat because my children were acting like hooligans...we left Zaxby's. I was thinking to myself...what a great day this is turning out to be.

After I snapped out of my pity party, I got a great idea. We were headed to the Home Depot. For months I have been searching for the right tree. The right tree to plant in honor of our son Gabriel. Recently, I found a tree that just seemed perfect. Perfect in the way that I will always weep for the life we lost, but beautiful in the memories we got to share with him. The tree is called, A Weeping Cherry Tree. If you have never seen one, they are beautiful. I had seen them at many nurseries and had not yet had a chance to get one. Since Brian was coming home that afternoon. I knew exactly what I wanted to do this Mother's Day. This day was not about honoring me, not this year. It was about honoring Gabriel, Christian and Henley. I am the mother I am because of them. These children bring such happiness and joy to my life regardless of the length of time I have known them. They make me who I am today.

When Brian got home, I put him to work. He had to dig a big hole. This was difficult because we don't have good dirt here. We have rocks and clay. I had bought everything we needed to make this tree thrive and be beautiful. I can not wait for the day that it is at it's full potential. He spent the afternoon digging and I went to the store. I was getting dinner cooked for me, which was a nice treat.

After dinner the kids gave me their cards that daddy helped them with and gave me a gift. We then planted our tree in honor of Gabriel. It was a special Mothers Day and a great way to end the weekend. Thanks to my family for reminding me just how much I love you all!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

If anyone knows my husband than they would know just how much he DOES not care to
celebrate his birthday. This year Brian was out of town for his 36 birthday. He was at a Bachelor party in Hilton Head. Not to shabby of a way to celebrate your birthday in my opinion!

We would never let this occasion pass us by without celebrating. Brian did not want to do anything, but I just won't allow that to happen. He was out of town the week of his birthday and came home for one day before leaving again for the weekend. Well, that one day was all we needed. We were going to celebrate his birthday before he left. The kids and I made a birthday cake and they helped decorate it. We wrapped his presents and told him we were celebrating that night. At the last moment, he decided he wanted to go eat at his favorite pizza joint, Davenport’s.

We went out to dinner that evening. When we got home the kids could not wait for him to blow out his candles and sing Happy Birthday to daddy. Then we opened gifts. It was a nice and quiet birthday, just what he wanted. I am sure he did enough celebrating on his actual birthday though, with his friends.

I did It...

Last weekend on May 1, 2011 I ran my very first 1/2 marathon!  For those who do not know how many miles that is...it is 13.1 miles! I have been training for this run since February and the day finally came and went. It was called the “Flying Pig” and held in Cincinnati, Ohio. The race actually took us through two states, Ohio and Kentucky.

My mother, sister and I all ran the race. It was actually a very interesting weekend to say the least. My mom and I flew into Louisville, KY on Friday morning. We rented a car and drove over to Covington, KY, which is right on the border of Ohio. Where we stayed was in close proximity to the race.

If anyone has ever ran a race of any kind than you are aware of the Expo’s they have. This is where you pick up your packets and goody bags. There is also hundreds of vendors there to sell you every product imaginable that has to do with running, at a discount. The newest and the best stuff out on the market. Needless to say, it was a little overwhelming. However, once you got in there, it was a lot of fun. Excitement was in the air. Everybody there had been training for something and now the day was quickly approaching. We got to the Expo around 5:00 and stayed until 7:00pm. We had not even gotten half way through the place before they closed. We were going to come back the next afternoon.

The first "Flying Pig” marathon started in 1999. The city goes all out and there are festivities on every corner. He had dinner that night out by their square with a band playing the entire night. It was very fun and relaxing. It was nice to have a great meal with my mom and sister and just take our time.

The next morning we all got up and went down to eat breakfast. This is where the weekend took a turn for the worst. Heather started feeling really sick. She was nauseous, dizzy and over all felt a little weird. We thought maybe she was just tired from a long week...little did we know what was coming. Heather, like a trouper trudged on and we continued on our day. We went back to the Expo, did a little shopping and than had a pasta dinner through the “Flying Pig”. They have these big before the race dinners that are nothing but, pasta and marinara sauce, bread and salad. The dinner was not that great, but it was a meal. My sister started to feel worse, so we went back to the room. We had to be up at 4:30am anyway so, we all turned in early.

The race started at 6:30am, but we had to be there around 5:15am because they were closing the roads. I jumped out of bed at 4:30am...excited! I had been training hard and now I was ready to run this race. It could not have started soon enough for me. I would of ran in the dark...

Unfortunately, my sister did not share the same excitement. I quickly discovered that she had been up all night vomiting! Oh no, she was not going to be able to race with me. Heather and I run close to the same pace, so I would normally expect her to be in the same area as me during our run. I was disappointed that   she did not feel well. Selfishly, I wanted her to be able to run side by side across the finish line! She was determined to be there though and she RAN the race? I can not believe she did it either...dehydrated and nauseous. I think she stopped to walk some, but who cares? I probably would of stayed in bed.

Now, the on-line course description of this race made it sound very easy. I had no idea that Cincinnati was so stinking hilly! There was supposed to be a 3 mile incline at mile 6,7, and 8, but nothing that was that bad. We  decided to drive the course the day before and to our surprise... it was extremely hilly! I do not mean that there were rolling hills, I mean the whole damn race was UPHILL! I would venture to say, 70-75% of the course was uphill. It felt like we were going up a mountain in the car...now imagine running that!

The morning of the race, I was hoping that it would not be that bad. I was wrong! It was brutal! The incline started at mile 2 and leveled off around mile 4. Around mile 5 it started back uphill and did not stop until around mile 10!!! I am not lying! There were people cheering on the sides and they were saying, “ it is all down hill from here”. I kept wondering where in the hell is the down hill...I sure was not running down! Finally, the down hill came and it lasted maybe a mile or so and then it was just some rolling hills to the finish!

I am so proud of myself and that I ran the whole time. I would of liked to have finished with a better time, but the hills really slowed me down. A person can only run so fast uphill for so long! My time was 2hours and 16 minutes. Not bad for my very first race!

I am addicted now! I have already signed up for another 1/2 marathon in October in St. Louis. It is there inaugural “Rock N Roll” marathon. These races are supposed to be super fun. I have a ton of family in St. Louis, so it will be fun to go there for the weekend. I am even contemplating the Chicago FULL marathon next year. This year is full because it is such a great race. We will see, I have a friend who wants to train together for Chicago. She is already a marathoner, so she could help me out? I think mentally it would be tough...we will see!

An update on my sister...she had food poisoning! She is finally feeling better, a week later! We will hopefully, cross the finish line together next time! :)

I have to order my pictures from the race. I could not carry a camera with me. I did take some pictures of the city and the three bridges we ran across. I also have a picture of the great medals we won. Christian was so proud, he took my medal to show and tell at school! Once the other pictures come in, I will post them!

Its Official...we have a Kindergartner!!!

Brian and I decided to go ahead and start Christian in kindergarten this upcoming school year. Initially we were going to hold him back because of his late birthday, but decided not to. Where we live it is more common to repeat children in kindergarten or 1st grade than it is to have them move forward. Since we are positive that he will not be the only one of his friends to stay behind, he is going to the big school!

We could not be more excited to start this adventure with Christian. He was a little apprehensive at first and kept telling me, “he wanted to stay at his school”. However, it quickly changed when we talked about all the friends he would have there with him. In Liberty Park, our neighborhood, they make a big deal out of starting kindergarten. A week ago, I helped a group of moms put out huge crayola crayon balloons on all the mailboxes of the upcoming kindergartners! This has been a long standing tradition out in our neighborhood. It gets the kids really excited to go to the big school. There is nothing more exciting to these little ones than to come home to a huge crayon on their mailbox. It is a symbol to them, that they are big kids now and they get to go to the “big" school. We have lived out here for five years. The past three years we have seen many crayons on mailboxes. I would always have to explain what it meant and why Christian could not have one, but that one day he would! Well, that one day is now! He was so excited to come home and see the big crayon tied to the mailbox. We drove around the neighborhood so he could see all the kids who also got crayons! I loved watching the excitement as he would point out the crayons and say, “ they are going to kindergarten too mommy!”

Can I use this as a sword!?

He took that balloon down and played with it for awhile...I thought he might sleep with it! The orientation is this week and I can not wait to see what he thinks of his new school!

Angels among us!

About two weeks ago my mom and I met up for our long run on Saturdays. The half marathon is coming up and we had a 9 mile run this particular morning. We met at 6:00am because Christian had a t-ball game and pictures too. I needed to be done early to help out with the kids and pictures. It was a really humid and hot morning despite the fact that it was 6:00am. The trail we were running has a lot of wooded areas, so we decided to wait until there was more light out to start our run. My mom and I run at different paces, so we are not usually together and we wanted to be safe. Unfortunately, in our world you never know what or whom might be lurking...Little did we know that when this day was over that would be the least of our worries!

We started our run about 6:45. When I was finished, I called Brian to see if he needed my assistance with the kids. Brian did not need me there until later, so I decided to wait around for my mom. I was there for about thirty minutes and I kept wondering where in the world could she be? What was taking her so long to finish...she should be almost done by now. Then I remembered that I had forgotten to put snacks in the car for the kids after the game was finished. I raced off to the grocery store to buy some and then headed to the t-ball game. When I was leaving the store, I called my mom to see where she was? She was just finishing her run. She had to stop a few times because she got over heated. The humidity was horrible and you could of cut it with a knife. I asked if she was alright and she told me she would meet me at the ball field.

Jumping ahead...we are at the ball field. My father comes running over with Henley and throws her at me. He told me that Mom had passed out and been in a car accident...then he ran off! I sat there for a minute trying to process what he just told me before I ran to get my phone from the car! I immediately called my mom! She answered the phone and told me she was alright? I heard all theses ambulances and fire trucks in the distance and I asked her, “ is that for you”? She said, “yes!" I ran back to the field, ran out on the field and told Brian I was leaving to check on my mom! A huge thank you to all the other moms who took care of Henley, so I could leave so quickly!

Now, I have to back track for a moment. My mother has this disorder. It is a form of Syncope (fainting). There are many forms of this disorder, her’s is called Veso Vego (spelling)? Basically, if she becomes to dehydrated her blood pressure plummets and she just passes out! She has had many episodes throughout her life, but was diagnosed correctly about 10 years ago. My mom has had some serious calls and even stitches, but this by far is the most scary of them all!

The accident took place not even a mile from the ball field. When I turned onto Hwy 31 I instantly saw where it had happened. There was just one thing...I did not see a vehicle anywhere? I stopped and ran up to where the fire trucks and ambulance was. They told me I had to step back...where they @#$% crazy? This was my mother! There was no option of standing back! I ran pass them to where my Dad was standing. My mouth dropped in disbelief to what I saw next. My mother’s car was in the trees! THE TREES!!! She had crossed over the MEDIAN and THREE LANES of traffic and flew into some trees! The fire men were cutting down branches to pull her out the passenger side of her car! If she were to even try to get out of her side door...well there would of been about an 8 foot DROP! Yep, she was in the air! Her air bag had gone off and she seemed to be in more shock than anything! No broken bones, no stitches and no scratches! Now, tell me if angels don’t walk among us? God was in that car...at the very minute, at that very second when she passed out! I am so thankful! My mom is one of my best friends in the world and I thank God everyday for keeping her here with us! My world would of been turned upside down that day and changed forever if any other scenario would of played out!

My Mom’s car in a TREE!!!

They had to cut this side off to pull her out!

When I imagined the unthinkable things that could of happened...I just cried. My Dad is an amazingly strong man! I was the one standing there crying, knowing she was alright, but it was just terribly scary to think about the what if’s! I won’t write them down, but I am sure that everyone can imagine all the other scenarios that could of been!

They took my Mom to the ER to have her checked out. Some of the EMT’s told her that she seemed to be very dehydrated. There you go...there is the culprit! I went to the hospital after the game to check on my mom. A little shaken, but otherwise fine. She usually knows when theses fainting spells are about to happen, so I was not to happy that she did not call after her run. I have to admit I was upset with her for getting behind the wheel of a car when she felt so bad. She told me that she thought she was over heated. Never the less, from now on I told her to always assume that this is the case. The case being she will pass out if she does not feel right.

She has seen her cardiologist and has given the ok to keep running and the go ahead with our race next weekend. The doctor told her that her blood volume is a lot lower than normal and water just goes through her body faster. She should be drinking gatorade when she runs instead of water. He also put her on medication to increase her blood volume and this also will increase her blood pressure too.

This past weekend we did a 11 mile run. I ran with my mom the whole time! This was not the time to worry about pace, time or anything else. The only thing that mattered was that my mom was safe and alive and I was able to run with her!

Look at our Garden!

I think it was around six or seven years old that I can first remember my parents growing fruits and vegetables in a garden in our back yard. I can not remember if I ate everything they grew, but I know I loved to pick things fresh from the ground. My moms tells me that Christian and Henley remind her of me because they love to pick the fruit and veggies too!

My parents have probably grown or tried to grow just about anything you can imagine. From strawberries to corn and everything in between. Both my parents have green thumbs and have always enjoyed working in the yard...in fact it is one of their favorite past times. I can always find them outside their home on a nice sunny day in the yard! I did not seem to get that gene! I love flowers, but can not seem to keep them alive! Although, the past few years I have been very successful in growing tomatoes, cucumbers, jalapenos and green peppers. These are the things we eat a lot of in our house, so it just seemed like a good idea! There is nothing like a vegetable straight out of your own garden! They are so fresh and yummy! I have been a little crazy about eating organic since the day we had children! I do not go over board, but the basics like milk, meat and a lot of fruits and vegetables ( at least the ones we eat a lot of). When I grow things in my garden, I do it organically! I am telling you there is a huge difference in the taste....yum!

The kids really get into helping me each spring! This year especially because Christian is planting a garden at school and he loves to talk about what he plants! He has shown me many times the flowers that his class has grown.This year I let him help me choose what we would plant in our garden. Wow, I never thought the list would end. I was thinking, I am going to need a bigger garden! He wanted to plant strawberries, watermelon, carrots, corn and just about anything he likes to eat! I had to limit it him to picking a few things on top of the regulars we plant each year. So, we ended up planting tomatoes, a purple tomato (which is supposed to be fabulous), green peppers, red peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, jalapenos and Christian’s picks...strawberries and carrots!

My Strawberries!

Cant wait to pick these!

Usually, I have these huge terra-cotta pots that I plant in, but this year we switched it up! I decided to buy an above ground garden. I think and hope that with more room to grow, the plants will thrive even more! I will keep you posted!

Hope this fence keeps the dogs and critters out!

One afternoon, Christian and I went outside and put our garden together! We added all the soil and the vitamins and began to plant! I am most excited about the new things we chose this year. The strawberries are by themselves in pots because they overtake a garden. We have already eaten a few and they are delicious! The carrots are starting to sprout up out of the ground. We had to use seeds for them because they do not come any other way. I know one excited child who looks everyday for growth in our garden! We are looking forward to some very tasty food this summer!