Hey Mom, Look What I Can Do!

Being a mom is by far my biggest and most defining accomplishment.  It means more to me than any degree or classwork I've completed; more than any athletic achievement I may have trained for and completed; more than buying my own house or owning my car.  M has helped give my life meaning and every day adds a wonder and excitement to life I never knew existed.

Lately, I have been noticing that she picks up on everything.  It's made me more conscious of what I say and do, as it is very apparent that she aspires to follow in my footsteps.  In many ways, I'm honored; but I am also terrified.  I make mistakes, lots of them, and have learned much from these mistakes.  My biggest wish is that M can go through life without these mistakes, but I know that they will happen.

So I choose to focus on the present.  M is turning into a mini-me, and I couldn't be prouder (because seriously, who doesn't want a mini-me).

For Halloween, she wanted to be a marathon runner.  She said it was because she was so proud of me.

She has picked up my eating habits, and is one of the only 5-year-olds I know who requests quinoa for dinner or can identify what gluten is.

Most recently, she has decided to start coming to Team Adrenaline workouts with me.  She used to come so that she can play with the other kids.  Now, she actually tries to do parts of the workout because she, "wants to be a champion someday."  

It's a profound thing when you realize that the changes and decisions you make are so easily passed down.  My biggest hope is not that my child becomes a track star or nutritional expert.  Although I would be proud of her, my biggest hope for her is that she can use these lessons to live a happy, healthy life.  In the meantime, I guess I really need to watch what I say and do, because I never know what she might pick up.

Enjoying the little things

“The most important thing is to enjoy your life—to be happy—it's all that matters.” ― Audrey Hepburn

It's been over a week since I last posted, and what a whirlwind of a week it has been. 

I had my three week checkup with the foot doctor and was told that I was cleared for activity again.  I made a point to get to Team Adrenaline that night, I couldn't wait to work out with everyone again.  I don't know which I missed more, the work outs or the people.

We had planned a run around Findley Lake and then a stop for ice cream.  I originally planned on riding my bike, but was thrilled to be able to run it.  I ran the entire 5+ miles and felt great.  That is when I made up my mind to still run the half marathon on the 16th.

I finally got into my classroom Wednesday and Thursday and started to sort through the mess of unpacking.  In a way, having to move my classroom for a year has been a blessing.  I've been able to clean out and go through things, a task I never would have gotten to otherwise.  Even though it is work, I don't really mind it. 

I participated in a Zumbathon Thursday, two hours of Zumba with some great friends.  And Saturday we worked out at the beach to get ready for the Beast.

To say I looked forward to getting back into things would be putting it mildly.

With Tim enjoying a little time off, we've also been spending a lot of time as a family.  We made good use of his birthday gift and roasted marshmallows.

The biggest event in our house this week was M's birthday.  I still can't believe that my baby is 4!  I never believed people when they talked about how fast kids grow until I had one of my own. 

We got M the bike she had been begging for.  Her tricycle was getting a little too small for her to really enjoy it.

She is still getting used to riding her big girl bike.  So far we've only had one major crash, straight into the pine tree.  We've even made it around the block once! 

We had M's birthday party at Claytopia this year.  As much as I loved planning the big parties in the past, this party was probably one of my favorites.  It was easy, which is always nice, but still a lot of fun. 

 

 We actually had more trouble with the adult table than the kids.  Leave it to my mom and my aunt: dumping water, spilling paint

 

After, we had one tired birthday girl.

The week was capped off with a picnic with some of my Team Adrenaline friends.  There were turkeys:

 

And minion cupcakes....

 

 

And of course, there were shenanigans.

 

 

Overall this week helped me to appreciate the little things in life.  Good friends, a happy family, the ability to move without a boot again. With the beginning of school creeping closer and closer, it is my plan to enjoy these little things as much as possible before my time is again devoted to lesson planning and IEP writing.  





What the South taught me

“Every person needs to take one day away.  A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future.  Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence.  Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.  Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.”  ― Maya Angelou, Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now

When I last wrote I will admit I wasn't in a very good place.  My foot injury came at quite possibly the worst time.  Between grad school, the impending school year, and many other stressors, I had begun to rely on running and exercise to help manage my stress (it did a pretty awesome job).  Take that away, and I was just a ball of nerves.

Call it perfect timing (or not), but all of this happened just in time for vacation.  Earlier in the year M and I had agreed to join my parents in a trek down to Durham to visit my sister, followed by several days in Asheville for a music festival.  Overall I was looking forward to the time away.  Still, I tend see vacations (especially those with my family) as more of a stressor than anything else. 

Our first few days in Durham provided a mish-mash of miscellaneous activities.  Shopping with the family (always an interesting venture) helped to highlight some of the vast differences the South provided.  Everyone was so much nicer.  Store clerks said hello, not just because they had to, and inquired about the boot (now lovingly known as Bertha).  We were in one store that provided free balloon animals and face painting for M (she still says it is one of the highlights of her trip).

We were planning on attending a Durham Bulls baseball game, however soon realized that with a 3-month-old and a 3 year old that may not be the best idea.  Instead, my sister directed us toward the restaurant that was located on the far wall of the stadium.  Here we were able to pay attention to the game, and eat some wonderful food all at the same time.  Plus, when the kiddos were ready to go, we could easily leave without feeling guilty for spending money on tickets.  This was especially nice, since we ended up seeing only an inning and a half of baseball.  Through this experience I got to try both fried green tomatoes and hoppin' john, two southern staples I had never tried before.

Monday and Tuesday of our vacation were pretty laid back.  Both my sister and her husband had to work, so we were staying home with their daughter.  My mom had that job taken care of, so M and I decided to use those afternoons for some quality bonding time.  Our first afternoon consisted of a lunch date to Red Robin, another first for both of us.  It was nothing spectacular, although M is still raving about the delicious milkshakes.  Our second afternoon had me venturing to Chapel Hill to the KidzU Children's Museum.  Although small, M had a blast!  For me, just the drive into Chapel Hill was an adventure.  I don't do well with directions, and have been known to get lost even with a GPS.  So I was pretty proud of my self for navigating the 5 lane highways of Durham.

Wednesday we left for Asheville.  A three car caravan, led by my dad, seemed like a good idea at the time.  Still I soon realized that I much rather driving on my own that following others.  As we approached Hendersonville (where our cabin was located), we were quickly reminded of the mountains surrounding us.  We left the highway only to be greeted with winding mountain roads with steep cliffs to one side.  Definitely not ideal if you are afraid of heights.  As we approached the road for our cabin, we first were greeted with a sign indicating that only four-wheel drive vehicles were recommended.  Seeing as my parents were in their mini-van, this was going to be interesting.

Turns out, the road up to our cabin was a mile and a half of winding dirt road going up the side of the mountain.  I think my sister said that our cabin was at 2800 feet. The driveway to the cabin itself was even more daunting at just about 45 degrees!  Luckily, we all made it and were greeted with a gorgeous cabin.  We spent the rest of the afternoon just enjoying the accommodations.  Although I'm not "into nature" I definitely enjoyed spending time out on the deck, just me and the trees (and M singing another one of her made-up songs).

Thursday we decided to venture out to get some BBQ.  My brother-in-law had gotten a recommendation from a buddy of his, so we ventured down the mountain and into Hendersonville to 12 Bones Smokehouse.  Talk about some of the best bar-b-que ever!  I enjoyed the pulled pork sandwich (yes I know it isn't sugar free but it was TOTALLY worth it!) while others in the group tried the ribs and the brisket.  No one had anything negative to say.  Even M loved the mac and cheese.  I loved it so much that I had to get the T-Shirt. 

Friday was the first day of the Bele Chere music festival.  My dad is a music fanatic, and is always looking for new bands and places to hear good music.  Finding this festival helped to solidify the Asheville portion of the trip for us.  I will admit I was a little worried about taking M.  It was a lot of walking, in the sun, with some pretty sketchy characters.  But, we had a good time.  Once again, I was amazed by the food selection.  You could get everything from fried candy bars to fried rice, BBQ to seafood to vegan fare.  Just choosing what to get for lunch was a daunting task.  I chose the crab cake sandwich from a local restaurant (Yes, I am aware this is again not sugar-free.  I was on vacation, give me a break!).  It was delectable.  M had some freshly made chips with some ice cream.  I learned that I was quite fond of the food in the South.

Just the people watching was entertainment.  You had all walks of life including hippies, the street corner preachers, and the occasional girl walking around topless (apparently you can do that in Asheville).  We spent a lot of time looking at all the different vendors selling just about anything imaginable.  The festival had a children's center that took up the entire floor of the civic arena.  M got to enjoy several bounce houses and slides, a tea-cup-like ride, and even bumper cars.  This was all on top of enjoying the live music.

Our original plan was to stay through Sunday.  However, over a week without daddy was proving to be difficult for both M and I (and I think daddy was a little lonely too).  Friday we found out he would be going back to work the following week, so the decision was made to leave a day early.

Waking up to rain Saturday morning, I was happy that I made that decision.  The rain would make it pretty hard to enjoy anything outside, and that is what most of our plans consisted of.  So I packed up the car and M and I were on our way.  Back down the treacherous hill and through four states.  I will say, the low clouds laced through the mountains made for some spectacular sights along the way home.

Going into the vacation I was in a rut.  Partially depressed because my "stress reliever" had been taken away, I needed a change of pace.  The South provided just that.  I learned a lot from the South.  It taught me to slow down a bit, enjoy the moment and enjoy some good food.  Be kind to one another and have confidence in yourself.  I learned that riding in the middle seat in the back of my parents van is a recipe for nausea.  Sometimes it is the simple things in life that are most valued, like sharing a milkshake with your daughter on a random afternoon.

Day Home = M & Mommy Time!

For the past few days I've been listening to my poor daughter hack away.  This cough of hers disappeared for a little, but came back last week with a venegence.  The poor girl is barely sleeping because she is coughing so much, even with the humidifier running.  So I decided it was time to go to the doctor.  Because of the timing of the appointment (and the fact that she wouldn't be going to school) I decided to stay home with her.  This meant a day full of fun for both of us! 

After making the blanket fort and watching a movie, and playing princess for a good hour, M said she wanted to exercise.  I think some of my incessant talk about healthy living has rubbed off a bit, as every day she insists on doing "her exercises."  Today she chose yoga.  I love doing yoga, especially when I incorporate my daughter.  She has always shown an interest in it, and at two years old had perfected the downward dog. 

We have tried several different yoga videos made for kids, but by far are those put out by Cosmic Kids.  These videos incorporate the yoga moves into a kid friendly story that also tends to focus on different character traits as well.

M's favorite video is "Squish the Fish"

It's a great video that focuses on being brave, especially when we aren't around our parents (like when kids are at school or daycare).  It incorporates yoga in a short, 15 minute story that M can practically recite by heart now.

M loves the story because it is about a fish and you get to pretend to swim (her other favorite activity)

At our house, we've had nights when all three of us do a video together, always an interesting thing when Tim is involved.

Although it stunk that M had a cold and couldn't go to school, I was happy that she was well enough for us to have an enjoyable day together!