National Marathon 2008

On Saturday Nathan ran the National Marathon through D.C.. They have these cool things called "Pace Tat"s- that you put on like a fake tatoo and it has what all of your projectied times should be according to what you want to run- so that all you have to do is look at your arm to see if you are on track etc. pretty cool I think...and maybe in a strange way a little sexy...I'm just saying! ;)

It was a lot sunnier and colder -go figure- this year than last and with the wind chills at 7am it was straight up frigid. I wanted to quit and I was just a spectator. Nathan's cousin Peter and his *girlfriend Jen (*read following post for the changing of Jen's girlfriend status) came down and rode the Metros all over with me to catch him at different mile markers and cheer him on- I was so grateful for their company and Metro hopping skills -the kind even Napoleon would be jealous of. Nathan tried a new thing this marathon called Negative Splits (I know, sounds like something only the Peking Acrobats should be doing) where basically you really hold yourself back in the beginning and then continually go a bit faster and you end up passing hundreds of people which is super good mentally, and supposedly you aren't feeling like you are going to die mile #20. Well, apparently it worked because Nathan beat his best time by several minutes and finished in 3hours, 39 min!!! Trust me, that is good. He said that mentally it was his best race ever because by holding back in the beginning and not getting caught up in the initial excitement of the race and overdoing it, he took his time and didn't even feel like he was running a race until mile 17-never thought I would write the last 12 words.... I am SO proud of him and impressed with this race...in the freezing cold...running (voluntarily, mind you)...for 26.2 miles.

March 29, A Big Day

So Saturday, Nathan's Marathon day, is also his Big Tom's birthday. Happy Birthday Tom!!!!! We all went out to eat at Outback to celebrate. But it turned out to be an extra special night because between the time Peter and Jen left Nathan and I at the marathon and seeing them at dinner- Jen's girlfriend status changed to that of Fiance'! Peter and Jen are engaged!!! We are so excited for Peter and Jen and grateful for their example being all "smoocherations" (a favorite word coined by Big Tom) lately, causing Nathan and I to reflect on that special time in our life and not forget to do a little "smoocherations" ourselves. Congratulations Nathan, Congratulations PB&J, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOM!

Side Walk Chalk & A Time Out

My parents sent some sidewalk chalk for Easter and it has been 7 days of nagging to go out and use it and the kidlings have been denied each time for several reasons, weather being numero uno. So when Nathan came home from work on Friday (oh wait that means it's only been 5 days of nagging...it's seemed like a lot more than that.) he took the crew out to play. As you can see they had a merry old time and Kennedy drew several things that were cute and Nathan drew them a 'scop-scotch' so Kennedy could play and Kohen could chuck a rock around without getting scolded.

Then we have Aly. Aly has decided it is funny to run out into our street. Our street is not busy, we are always near by, but she thinks it is hilarious to run out and have us come after her. Today as a van turned the corner onto our street she decided it was time to make a break for it. Don't worry, the van totally saw her and stopped far back and Nathan was right on her and this time she was in literally zero danger. But it is the principle- and I don't expect a 23 month old to understand why it is dangerous- just that it is and we don't go out in the street- especially not laughing and running! So Nathan picks her up, carrying her inside and sternly telling her 'no'. Aly doesn't appreciate sternness and so she was crying by the time he got her inside for her time out. She cried big 'ol crocodile tears (tangent: has anyone actually seen crocodile tears? And what classifies them as 'big'? Anyone?) and I couldn't resist the compulsion to take a few pictures. I love the last one. She looks pretty sitting there all seemingly repentant and, you know, not run over by big van.

Spring Favorites

Daffodils. They are my most favorite spring flower. Not just because they are a cheery bright yellow and such a sight for sore eyes after months of gloomy winter greys, but also because they appear to be heralding in spring time. They are always the very first flowers out and they trumpet the chilly weather away. By their very presence they assure us that warmer spring weather is mere days away. I totally couldn't resist running out to the median where these are planted to snap a picure.

This was one of my favorite Easter pictures. Moments like this are so rare and to catch it in a picture is just a treat because it is tangible proof that stuff like this does happen once in a while!

When I tried to get the three children to stand together for a picture, out of nowhere Alyssa turned to the nearest stair and totally lost it. But one of my favorite things that she does when she cries is cover her eyes- so dramatic- and even though none of us know why she felt so strongly about not taking a picture with her siblings, her break-down was pretty funny.

Easter Pictures

Sunday afternoon this was what I was doing making us late for church- taking pictures. If you have ever seen my children post-church you know why the 'before' picture was imperative. Earlier we had skyped (web cam) with Papa John and Papa Dixie so they could get a preview of the Easter clothes. Kohen was told many times that morning how handsome he was- and though he was looking pretty dapper it was more of an attempt to get him to keep it all on, as far as Nathan and I were concerned.

At church we sat next to a cute 16 yr old girl named Lauren. Kohen, apparently feeling confident in his stylish vest and tie, was talking in his man-voice to Lauren at one point saying all casually, "You can come to my house and watch a movie and we can have pizza, how 'bout that?" Everyone on the row with us busted up. A few minutes later, still using his man-voice he says, "My Dad has a Dad, his name is Norm. Don't worry, you'll meet him someday." Where does this stuff come from? I guess a little confidence goes a long way. After Sacrament meeting Lauren even took Kohen to Sunday school class- He wasn't acting all shy or smitten- he was totally casual and like it happens every day...what a boy.

The Easter Bunny Visits!

Trying to distinguish between the traditions of Easter (bunnies, eggs, candy, etc.) vs. the true meaning of Easter (Christ's Resurrection) we have started doing the traditions on the Saturday before Easter Sunday. So Saturday morning the children were so excited to come downstairs and hunt for where the Easter bunny had hidden their baskets. When it comes to Easter Baskets the bunny who visits our home keeps it under $10 per basket, and she is totally chintzy on the candy. One Peep, one Reeses egg (leaving 3 from the 6 pack for me) and two plastic eggs with jelly beans in them. I have no idea why I am so stingy with the candy except for that I hate having it around cuz they are always asking for it, crying for it, and causing me irritation. It wasn't much of a problem though this time because they had all eaten their candy in a matter of moments and it was done...phew. It's not like they don't get candy from 'Papa's' and teachers and friends so don't even try and make me feel guilty. Love how Aly is frantic to tear open her treat...those Eggs are my favorite too.

Old Habits

Man. This post is a bit embarrassing to share. I have to apologize to my Dad in advance. He has disliked this habit of mine since as long as I can remember. And I so wish I could say that I had kicked it but to be honest, since I've had children it has only gotten worse. So often I will think of something I need to do or buy and the only way to ensure it might happen is to write it on my hand. Papers get lost, planners aren't always readily available, sticky notes get misplaced...you get the idea... I'm making excuses. I know. I feel sheepish every time I am somewhere with other adults and my juvenile compulsion is exposed or discovered. Anyway, I'm not just sharing this to humiliate myself. I was wondering if any of you have any ideas for me that might work as efficiently and be a bit more discreet???
Speaking of putting writing where it doesn't belong...Kohen found a pen and out of no where did a little drawing on the wall. He then proceeded to draw a line as he walked all the way upstairs and into the kitchen...Nathan and I estimate it is about 30-35 foot line. Arghhh! He was set to the task of scrubbing the wall but it is quite a large job and I fear you will always be able to see where the wall was scrubbed in certain lights...Is it me or does he look proud of his handy work in the first pic? Nothing a bit of elbow grease couldn't fix. :)

Are Sisters the Crabgrass in the Lawn of Life?

My my, how times don't change. I took the picture of Kennedy working on Kohen's hair and the look on his face was total dejavu to about 3 years ago. Poor kid. Kennedy somehow talked him into letting her do his hair and when I came into the bathroom I found that about every hair product we own was now being generously applied to Kohen's head. Kennedy was super serious about her work. Like an artist in creative anguish she would get frustrated when he moved his head and when his hair wouldn't 'stand up' in front like how Dad does it. Notice how in the last pic she is holding Kohen's face so his hair can be properly seen by the camera and Kohen is giving his best fake smile and just hoping the torture is almost over and he has earned some sort of special sibling points with Kenna.

Okay, I had to include the video so you could see Kennedy in action. Don't miss how she tells Kohen to turn the other way at the end, lol, she cracks me up. PS- please excuse Kennedy's post-braid scraggly hair.

My 28th Birthday

I swear I just did a post like this for myself...I can't believe I have had two birthdays here in VA. It was a bit of an odd one in that Nathan was at work all day and so I was doing all of my regular Mom duties. But my phone rang off the hook with birthday well-wishes and my email too, was full and made me feel loved. As I said my morning prayers I found myself thanking Heavenly Father for allowing me 28 years and unexpectedly I started thanking Him for gifts I've been given, a wonderful husband, 3 healthy children and the list went on and on until my legs started cramping. Taking a hind sight view of my life all I could see were the blessings and there were literally too many to count. Even the trials I have had are really just hard-earned blessings. When you overcome an obstacle in life you usually gain an amazing amount of knowledge (that by then seems like, 'duh. why didn't I realize that before,' for me) and strength, patience and who knows what else. After my prayer I just sat there amazed at all that I have been given and even more amazed at how little I recognize it. Birthday spankings? I'm thinking I need all 28! I hope that I can be better this year in appreciating blessings as they come, in whatever form.
Anyway, thanks for indulging my little rant there. Nathan made dinner and had even gotten and ice cream cake -cake batter ice cream, my fave- and I opened a couple of gifts and cards when Kohen suddenly decided that I didn't have enough and was trying to get Nathan to take him to the store so he could get me 'some-ping' else. I eventually convinced him that one of his colored pictures would be great and so he and Kennedy sat right down to color me birthday pictures which was sweet. The best treat of all was when I got to for go putting the kids to bed with Nathan and head out for some relaxation at Target...by myself...Happy Birthday to me.

Van Metre 5 mile

This morning Nathan ran a 5 mile race put on right in the heart of our community. We got up and walked down the street to see Nathan at the beginning of the race. The above picture doesn't show our kid's enthusiasm very well. Aly is staring at me like "I don't know these people." Kennedy is trying to oblige but has the sunrise in her sensitive eyes and Kohen is looking like a goob making a cheezy smile but obviously distracted by something other than his crazy mom in the middle of the street with a camera who was sporting her signature 'just rolled out of bed' look (created by rolling out of bed and walking out the door). I was channeling Scary Spice which is why you won't see me in any of these little pics this post...trust me, your welcome.

And the race is on! There he goes. Those are our townhouses in the background- how convenient is this race? Nathan is all smiles as he heads up quite the hill. He does his first mile up the hill in 5min 34 sec.

And when we saw him at almost mile 3 he looked a bit like he'd run a mile up hill in about 5 minutes. :) No, he had paced himself by then and was doing fine.

Nathan finished in 34 minutes and 16 seconds and came in 47th out of the men- woo hoo! Stay tuned for Nathan's 2nd annual National Marathon in 2 weeks. In a random side note: Check out this guy juggling as he runs the race. This is the second time he and Nathan have been in a race together and as I have started to become desensitised to his little show (which by all accounts is impressive) I have started wondering, what's his deal? Running in a race just isn't enough satisfaction? Or maybe he needs the extra attention? Or maybe it is to cover up that he is a really slow runner? Or maybe he really likes to have a kink in his neck and a dried out mouth from looking up while jogging with his mouth open? I'm so curious as to why. I would ask him myself but I'm afraid he would just answer, "Why not?" and then I'd have to slap him. I think this is where I am supposed to say, 'each to their own'.

Jumping

It was a beautiful day yesterday and though Nathan didn't get home until 7pm we decided dinner could wait and we all went out and jumped on the trampoline. My sinus infection has come raging back so every bounce hurt my head but I wasn't about to be left out- and, you caught me, I wanted to snag some pics for the blog. The above 2 pictures are my favorite cuz everything but Kennedy and Kohen's faces are blurred from jumping. Kennedy wanted to know why the pictures were 'washing away' so she got a lesson on blurry pictures (which, with me as the family photographer she should be very familiar with) and then we let her take a few pictures. Considering she was on a moving trampoline I thought she did pretty good.

Dad's In Charge

The kids love it when Mom is gone and Dad is in charge. Mainly cuz they can work their Dad over and get away with stuff like this. And apparently Nathan even encourages this type of behavior by video taping and taking pictures- k, does Kohen really need help injuring himself?! I have to admit that they all had such a fun time engaging in play I would probably not permit- and no one got hurt... but seriously, using a belt like an Indiana Jones whip? sheesh.

Kenna Stalls

Whenever we tuck Kennedy in she pulls out all the stops to delay the inevitable. She will start talking really fast and telling you a million stories. Last night as Nathan was tucking her in she had been babbling for a few minutes and was running out of things to stall with. Finally she says to Nathan, "Before I go to sleep let me tell you about my day-" and Nathan replies, "Well hon, I was with you all day so I pretty much know how your day went." Never one to be put off Kenna says all matter of fact, "Okay, how 'bout yesterday then."

Allergic Reaction

We were having pizza the other night- we bought it from the only place we buy it from here (Dominoes cuz it is cheap and close) and as usual all the children had Ranch dressing to dip their pizza in. Towards the end of dinner I look over and realize the red on Aly's face isn't pizza sauce but that she is having an allergic reaction to something. I grab her and hurry up stairs and put her in the tub and Nathan and I start washing her face. We gave her some Benadryl and after what seemed like a long time her face started to look better. She has had an allergic reaction before which involved hives and throwing up. Unfortunately there was no conclusive info after the testing that was done then- they just gave us the Epi Pens and sent us home. And since she was eating a meal she has eaten many times before we really have no idea what caused the reaction and probably never will. I really dislike not knowing. But I love how she is so serious about washing her face in the video :)

Beauty School Dropout

I have been putting off cutting Kohen's hair for a week or so trying to give the cut on his head a chance to heal. Unfortunately Kohen pulled off the super glue I used to seal it up and pulled off some hair as well (ouch!) so I was letting his hair grow over it a bit cuz truly- with the cast and the shaggy hair trying to cover his picked over head wound, I mean seriously! how broke-down-white-trash can we get? Apparently very. Cuz then we throw Aly into the mix with her crusty nose and her hair that has continued growing faster in the back (aka: The baby mullet- and just cuz it's curly doesn't make it okay) and even though her little piggy tails were so cute I knew at some point I needed to even it out.

Looking around at my scruffy little hooligans this morning I decided it was time to put on some 'Beauty School Drop-out' and get down to business. I couldn't believe the furry animal I took off Kohen's head- someone call animal control! It was so good to see my clean cut Kohen again. And though I was so sad to cut off more of Aly's curls, it was either that or put her in some mini-hammer pants and let her rock the mullet. I have to keep telling myself her hair will grow back. And though it is dangerous to pat yourself on the back with scissors in your hand, I have to say I am pretty proud of the mornings handi-work.

Spring Teaser

Today and yesterday we have been having spring teaser days. It was almost 70 degrees yesterday and so I pretty much banished the older two outside in the afternoon. After jumping on the trampoline for a few minutes Kohen abandoned his sister for dirt. He played what felt like forever shoveling the dirt from the garden into buckets and his dump truck, and he actually listened for once and kept his cast clean.

Then taking my cousins suggestion I filled a bin with rice, laid out a vinyl tablecloth and let Kennedy 'cook' to her hearts content. She is so meticulously clean that when she plays not a grain of rice is misplaced. I can tell the rice is going to be a favorite around here.

Nathan had gone running for an hour or so before dinner and so after the kids were down it was my turn to go indulge my addiction. I know it is an addiction because I can feel the anticipation building as I get closer to getting a fix. I round the last corner and there it is in all it's red and white ringed glory...my Target! Just seeing the sign gets my endorphins going. As usual I find a front spot because let's face it, the store is happy to see me too. I am convinced the store somehow saves front spots for it's favorite customers. I practically skip inside and head for the Customer Service counter to do my ritual return- I've always got one. Then I browse the $1 section and see if there is anything that I don't need. This is where I get out impulse buys, it's much safer here. Then the search is on for the little red tag. I don't know why I get such a high off finding stuff that is on sale at this store. But on the tag there is always the 'was' price and the 'now' price just in case I'm too delirious with my find to do the math on 50% off myself. Now that is customer service. I often put several things in my cart as I stroll around enjoying hearing the occasional crying child and though I always feel empathy for the mother, it is pure j-o-y that for once it isn't me and my little ones. Eventually I put 9 out of 10 things back and drive away in a relaxed and fulfilled mood.

When I get home Nathan plays along as I show him some stunning find with an impressive red tag and I always point out, "look honey! It was this and now it's this!!!" and though he is smiling and nodding proudly and playing his part, I know inside he is thinking, 'yes dear, 30% off an orange and puce Christmas Tree skirt ...this will be very useful for Easter'. He has long since learned he can ruin the night by sharing these thoughts out loud. And it wouldn't be worth the ruffle anyway cuz by now he knows that next time I head to Target the tree skirt will be returned anyway. You can judge my admittedly ridiculous behavior if you want but let's just say this: Some people drink. Some people do drugs. Some people jump off skyscrapers attached to a rubber band. I, do Target.