Second Chances....

Remember last year about this time? Probably not. But I won't ever forget. I vowed after that day that I would redeem myself one day. Only. Winter hit and I vowed I would never run another half marathon again in this lifetime. Every time I ran with my girls they'd talk about training for one. I'd completely ignore the conversation. I ran a 10k in March with them and renewed my feelings of complete devotion to the 10k. I love them. Summer hit and I started training with a personal trainer. My running severely suffered because I was sore and exhausted all the time. But I still managed 3 or 4 miles a few days a week. My trainer moved, summer ended, and I somehow was convinced to run 7 miles with a few of my girls. One girl (Michelle) that particular day needed to run 8 because she was training for a half. Guess what? After 7 miles I felt good. Good enough that I went the 8 distance. It was that day that I decided it was time. Time to redeem myself. And to prove to myself that distance isn't my mortal enemy. So I did it. I signed up for the Waddell & Reed Half Marathon slated for October 16th. This was early September that I decided. The race? Today. This morning. Some of my girls got the bug too, so Jennie, Sarah, Michelle, and I headed down yesterday afternoon. We shopped our way to our hotel, then headed over to the race expo to pick up our packets. We were a giant bundle of nervous energy. So was the feeling of the entire expo. Glorious.

We were starving after the expo so we headed to Noodles & Company to load up on carbs. No pictures taken because by the time we got there I was starving and inhaled my food too fast to even think about photo ops. Back to our hotel and all ready for bed by----8:45. We couldn't believe how early we were ready to settle down. Of course, we chatted until 10:30 or so. But. We were actually in bed. Fabulous.

5 AM came pretty early. Because it is just that. Early. Nerves. What to wear? Long sleeves? Jacket over short sleeves? Too hot? Too cold? We questioned every move we made and everything we put on our bodies. We opted for short sleeves and shorts because it was 55 degrees out. Exactly what weather we'd been training in. Perfect running temperature.

We drove to the race start, parked our car, then waited. And waited. For 1 hour. With 2 bathroom stops to kill time. Nervous bladder. Gets me every time. We lined up at 7:15 with 11,000 other runners. Amazing feeling to be surrounded by so many people. Excitement was abundant for sure.

The race was hard. We knew there was a nasty steep, long hill at mile 3. We were mentally prepared for that one. It was the other one at mile 4.5 that I didn't know about that caused a little bit of psychological warfare on my mental status. And then when I read that the last 3 miles would be completely downhill, but they weren't, I was almost spent. The wall at mile 8.5 was hard to push through. And then mile 12. My brother Ben recommended a song once that he used to run to that helped him push through tough spots. That song started to play. I started to cry. Ben was recently diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease). Running isn't in his future. And it hit me at that moment. Hard. But then I couldn't breathe. So. I tried to calm myself down. But I had to slow down to do it. I honestly didn't know if I could make it the last mile. I also knew that I was too close to stop. So I pushed through. And I finished. 10 minutes faster than that dreadful last years race. I was tired. Shaky. And actually dizzy enough I thought I was going to pass out. We grabbed some water and made it inside the Crown Center where we laid down for a bit. Something we knew we shouldn't do for fear of seizing muscles. But had to do to avoid passing out.

Once we felt good enough we headed back outside to enjoy the sunshine. And of course document our accomplishments.

Then we headed back to our hotel to shower, get dressed, check out, and head to the cheesecake factory for lunch. But stopped for a photo op on our way out.

I've officially re-affirmed my feelings that I'm a 10k girl at heart. My body loves them. My mind loves them. I'll be rocking some of those out this next year for sure. As for Half Marathons? Right now I say I will never again participate. But. Sometimes words are just that. Words.

Running Girls. You. Are. Awesome. You make getting up at 5:30 to train for races enjoyable. Thanks for letting me be the one graced with your early morning presence, and the joy of finishing something we worked so hard for together.

The Picasso Period....

Sunday was one of those glorious stayinyourpajamasalldayandeatcinnamonrolls type of days. Because it was General Conference so church was on TV, it was easy to do. At noon, Presley went down for a nap. She kept chatting in there. I'd hear her every 15 minutes or so. This went on for close to 2 hours. But. She exhausts me and I needed the break. She wasn't crying or anything, so I let her be. She started to scream and cry after 2 hours, at which point Shawn went to get her. She'd served her time. After opening her bedroom door, Shawn says "Jayne. You need to get in here please. Now." As calm as usual. Only he never commands me to do anything now unless it's urgent. That's his panic word. Funny. I know. Unless he says it. Upon entering Presley's bedroom, this is what he found:

What the?! Her crib is behind her, you just can't see it. How she ended up managing to get into the drawer, I'll never know. How the dresser managed to stay upright and not tip (which would have crushed her chest, or head, or both) was a blessing. You think that's all for little miss mischief? Wrong. That was just her grand finale. The dresser was once full of "you can't touch these things" kind of things like markers and nail polish. Notice how it's empty in the above photo? She'd already used said items and had abandoned them to climb into the drawer. She used them on things like this:

And this:

And don't forget this:

These pictures don't even do her masterpiece justice. She had covered her shirt and pants as well. And her blankets. And the actual dresser itself. And pretty much anything else in her cribs radius. Did I mention the purple marker was permanent? It was. Thank goodness for Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. We did some serious bonding that day. So much for the sanctity of nap time. Good thing she's so cute or she'd be on the doorstep with a FOR FREE sign around her neck.

Family Time...

Two weeks ago Shawn checked into a hotel for an entire week. Only an hour away from us. He has his oral anesthesia boards coming up and has been seriously neglecting the books. The week gave him time to see "where he was at" and gave himself a jump start into diving in before the big test. It also gave me and the kids an excuse to meet him for dinner in the city. We chose Fritz's. Definitely for the novelty. The food wasn't anything to write home about.

The restaurant has a train theme. After you order by phone, a small train runs on a track above your head, places your food on a conveyor that runs down to deposit it on your table. Pretty cool for kids. And they thought it tasted better than anything they've ever eaten. I beg to differ. But the experience made it worth it. Because the weather was unbelievably gorgeous, we took the opportunity to run around outside for a bit afterwards. Too cold to play in the splash fountains, but perfect for running near them. And wearing out their little bodies.

Unfortunately, the pictures I have don't actually depict very much movement, unless you count thumbs hitting buttons as exercise. But I promise. Those kids ran. And ran. And we made it home just in time to get to bed.

Because this post seems pretty lame to me, I'm adding a picture of a recent activity between Jack and Landon. Jack likes to carry Landon around like this. And Landon actually encourages it. Crazy kids. But pretty creative if you ask me.

Seeing Clearly....

Presley is sporting a new fashion statement.

Hopefully these babies will correct her far-sightedness. And that she'll keep them on longer without a battle ensuing.

She calls them her "sunglasses". Only she forgets how cute she is in them, rips them off, and says, "No glasses for me". I think this battle is going to take awhile.

Closet Extras.....

My husband. How he would love to live in a house that isn't really lived in. A showpiece for him alone. That isn't going to happen. Not in this lifetime. I would probably also love to have a place where everything is neatly tucked away and appears to be perfect. But. Our home is just that. Our home. A place where everything is used. A lot. Because I have 5 kids I need to stay on top of things like appointments. School meetings. Church activities. And all the other bajillion things I need to attend. When Shawn was a second year medical student he made this magnetic board to hang on his office wall. He lived by that thing. Then once he became a resident and our home became a place where he'd just drop in every once in awhile, I confiscated it and hung it in my kitchen. That magnet board served it's purpose and did it well. And he did a really good job making it actually look nice instead of tacky. Perfect. When we moved here into our rental, it went back on the kitchen wall. I depend on that thing. Without it I'm totally lost. Once we moved into our new house it got put in a back closet because I didn't have a place for it. A few weeks ago I found a wall that I perceived as being the perfect location. I even went to the paint store, bought black paint, and painted it as to match our decor. When Shawn came home and I asked him to help me hang it you'd have thought I asked him if I could paint the cupboards pink. He refused. I also wanted one coat hook per child lined up down the hallway leading to the garage. Nada. Nope. Not happening. "It's so messy looking. All those papers and calendars and junk". Hmmm. I reminded him of the 3 doctors appointments I'd missed in the last month because all that "junk" was stuffed on the catch-all counter and got lost in the shuffle. And showed him how in order to stay organized my kitchen counters were becoming a giant bulletin board. Ridiculous. So. He came up with a plan. I wasn't too thrilled at first. I admit it. Actually. I was irritated. Why can't I live in my house and use space that makes perfect sense to me? But. I relented and let him try this little experiment. To my surprise, it turned out pretty awesome. I love it. Well. I will love it once I get some magnets to use, and once the file shelving is actually purchased and hung.

This is Before:

Just your typical coat closet with the wooden rod to hang coats on. This type of closet never really gets used like it should in my house. So. This is what Shawn turned it into:

Each kid has their own hook with their name above said hook. And the hooks are child height. Then a small shelf above that for things like pencils, envelopes, or whatever the heck I feel like that will fit on a 3 inch shelf. The entire back wall is sheet metal. A new magnet board for me to clutter up. And then on each side will be a filing system for incoming/outgoing mail, bills, kids papers that I feel obligated to hold on to, and anything else that suits my fancy. I'm also willing to admit when Shawn turns genius and fixes our dilemma to where we're both happy. This time he was successful. Now. I just need to find a place to stash all the extra coats that were once living in this closet.........

Terrible Two's Aren't That Terrible.......Yet

My baby is officially two. Her birthday happened to fall on the same day the BYU Cougars opened their season. Meaning that the party was actually cupcakes at half-time. Didn't matter to her. She was handed a cupcake without being strapped down in a high chair and stripped to her nakeds. And she loved it.

Because Shawn video taped her blowing out her candles, that is the only still photo I have. Sadly it's not that great. So I'll continue this post. For the sake of Grandmas.

The thing that can't be conveyed via blog is this little chubs personality. She is full of it. If music starts to play, she wiggles to it. Always. Drops everything to dance. She reminds me of those Santas at Christmas where you push a button and they wiggle their hips side to side. Sometimes she shakes her bum and says "shake your booty". It just depends on the song. At church she leads the music instead of wiggling. Maybe she'll have some sort of musical career?

Here she is ready for church. She's mid-twist so it's kind of blurry.

She's still young enough to let me decide how her hair is done. I'm just waiting for the day she changes her mind. Hopefully later rather than sooner.

She's found a new love. The water/ice dispenser on our fridge. Thank goodness for child lock functions. If I catch her soon enough.

She was angry that I locked it before the ice shot out into her hand so she's telling me what she thinks of me. Lovely.

Presley is every one's favorite. How could she not be? Most of the time she is a very easy going girl. Of course, all the other kids always give in to her every whim. We'll see if that continues. I'm already seeing some wavering of stubbornness in this little person. Not too surprising. I am finding that when she gets upset and starts to throw a tantrum, or shows extreme stubbornness, that I just laugh. It's so funny to me to see personality coming through. It's probably the fact that she's my fifth. Or. The fact that usually when my baby is this age another baby is about to replace it. So. I just laugh. And enjoy all the funny things she does and says.

Her catch phrase this week is "check this out!" while she's doing some kind of trick, like holding her foot in the air, or sticking out her belly. Last night Shawn put her in bed. After he shut the door she started yelling, "Jayne? Where are you?". Hilarious. I could go on and on with the things she says. (I probably should so I don't forget). We love you little miss Presley. Oh. So. Much.

Back To School Shots....

Here are the obligatory back-to-school-in-front-of-the-front-door photos. Only. Poor Landon. I neglected to take a picture of him on his first day back to preschool. Next year when he starts same time as the others I'm sure he'll be photographed. If I remember to take pictures that is.

Jack. Ethan. Kennedy. Wow. They sure do look old. I remember when it was just Ethan getting on the bus solo. Now he has two siblings to join him.

Ethan is officially a 5th grader. (Didn't have time to take one with his eyes open, the bus was rounding the corner) I have to say I have not missed teaching all these years, until this one. When I entered his classroom on back to school night and saw the 5th grade textbooks, curriculum for the year, and even the novel sets to be read, I got a little..........sad? No. Nostalgic for teaching? Probably that is a better description for what I felt. I can't believe I have a child the age I taught so many moons ago. Next year we're on to middle school. Ugh. No nostalgia there.

Kennedy is a 4th grader and attends the same school as Ethan this year. She's so much a pre-teen already. In every aspect of the word. She's one of the absolute youngest in her grade due to where her birthday falls. But. I also think she's one of the smartest.

And Jack. He's a 1st grader this year. Even though he says school is boring and stupid. Probably because he's reading chapter books like Diary of a Wimpy Kid while his peers are sounding out Go Dog Go. Jack is also smart enough to realize that staying home with Mom when you are supposed to be at school is more boring and stupid. So. He decided he'll stick out the year. And the million others he's got ahead of him too.

I rejoiced as they got on the bus. Three hours later I realized I sent the wrong kids away. Landon is good at entertaining himself. But. Presley. Man. She suction cupped herself to my thigh. The. Entire. Day. Long. And has continued to do so every day since. My new little shadow. I'm trying to embrace it because I know that in three years she'll be climbing on the bus with the rest of them.