7 Quick Takes

1) We've been swimming lots.  I should say "swimming" because Maggie thinks she can swim but doesn't realize that bulky bright pink and orange accesorry strapped around her body is what's actually doing the trick.

(being held by our amazing babysitter)

2) John-Paul was so excited that he ate his apple this far down to the core.  Hey, whatever makes you happy, kid!

3) I was sitting across from Phil the other day and I got that rush of puppy-love-adrenaline that we all used to get in the beginning of our relationships but now sometimes take for granted.  Luckily, I still feel it very often.  And even though love is not a feeling, I sure love the feeling!!  You can understand why my heart still beats faster whenever he comes in the room, right?  Vavavavoom!

4) Track Club 2012 has begun.  It runs Mondays and Wednesdays from 6-8 pm all summer.  And it's awesome.  The kids have so many friends and cousins that participate, which means Phil and I have friends and siblings that we can hang out with twice a week.  It's a win-win!

5) My not at all professional sports video of the kids doing relay races at track:

6)) Alexander turned 11 months!  He is getting a little more brave in the walking department...still not walking on his own but needing less and less support from furniture.  He can also say mama, dada, and uh-oh.  And of course, he can recite the rosary perfectly:

Sometimes I just want to kiss his chubby cheeks all day long:

And so I do. 
And he likes it:

7) Oh, and he learned how to play peek-a-boo, which just might be the cutest baby trick ever:

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Morning Run Meanderings

This week started my reduced hours at work, which means I don't have to be at work until 8 am, which means that when the baby wakes us up at 5:30 am I have a good half hour to whine and complain about his early internal alarm, 10 minutes to talk myself into going for a run, 5 minutes to get ready for said run, and then 5 minutes to explain to the other early morning risers that Mommy will indeed come home from her run to shower and eat breakfast with them before she has to leave again for work.  And after a 5 minute goodbye hug, kiss, wave, high-five, hug and kiss again, then a final smooch all from Maggie, I am ready to hit the road.

The first mile of all my runs, but especially morning runs, is so incredibly awkward.  I feel like a newborn foal learning how to walk, my back and hammies are stiff, my breathing is off pace, my clothes aren't hanging properly, and my ipod decides to play those slow songs that somehow got mixed up in my running music playlist.  I love Alan Jackson's "Remember When" but it's not exactly the tempo I am striving for.

I start to hit my stride in the second mile and play games in my head to help me not look at my Garmin to see my pace and time and distance.  I either try to just look at my pace without getting depressed that I've only gone 1.1 miles and still have a million to go, or I want to see the time to make sure I can manuever my way back home to shower and eat in time before work, or I look at my pace just to punish myself into picking it up a little faster.

By the third mile I am in the zone.  My breathing is even, my body is loose, my pace is established, my route is determined, my fast tempo songs are playing, and I just start thinking.  I think about how beautiful the weather is, how lucky we are to live so close to the ocean, how much I love my husband and kids, if and when we are going to expand our family, how God has blessed me abundantly, you know deep stuff like that.

Mile four is about the time I start writing blog posts in my head.  I'll see three cute bunny rabbits and think about writing a post on procreation.  I'll pass by two elderly ladies out for their morning walk and remember the importance of friendship and relationships and wonder why I am so bad at cultivating them in real life.  Then I'll remember all of my bloggy friends and wish that they could all be my neighbors because it is slightly stalkerish to know so much about someone you've never met.

This morning at the 5th mile marker I received my first cat call ever.  At least I think it was a cat call.  Two  50-something men were sitting outside their shop in lawnchairs and I'm pretty sure drinking beer at 7 am, and one of them said "Heeeeeeyyyyyyy!", and I look over (force of habit) and they smiled.  That's the perfect definition of a cat call, right?  The only thing that didn't completely send me over the edge with fear is that I knew I could run away faster than their beer bellies could carry them. 

As I approached the sixth mile, I was so close to home and picked up the pace to finish strong for all the non-existent crowd support.  This is when I always wonder how fast I could've run if I had this much energy and speed saved up for the end.  Maybe if I had spread out my energy better I could have run sub-9 minute miles.  Oh well, I'm not running for training, I'm running for eating.  And on that note, I am off to prepare lunch and think about what's for dinner while eating it :)

Creative Help Needed!

Hey all you creative writers out there....my husband needs your help! 

He has to give a talk about Catholic morality, specifically: abortion, IVF, contraception and stem cell research.  That part he's got down.

What he needs help with is coming up with a catchy title for his talk.

(obviously not this)

Can you think of anything?  Thanks in advance!

Beautiful Days, Ugly Weighs

After an incredibly hot week, the weather this weekend was perfect!  We met up with some friends and played on the beach:

Beach baby, emphasis on baby:

Looking for flat shells/rocks for skipping:

Making sandcastles:

Enjoying wet toesies:

Family picture:

After eating brownies and onion rings and mozzarella sticks and fried clams and ice cream all weekend, we woke up at 5:15 this morning to do P90x.  And then I made eggs and veggies for breakfast, and packed a healthy lunch to take to work.  

Hopefully this week will be better in the eating right and losing weight department.  It's a battle my body and mind never seem to want to win together.  My mind says eat healthy, work out, fit into your summer clothes....and my body says eat fried food, lay on the couch, and enjoy yourself!   

Today ends the first week of the Lose a Half-Marathon challenge (see sidebar) and I actually gained a pound!  I shouldn't be surprised with the way I've been eating.  But I have been working out bunches (as usual). It's like we are stuck on vacation mode because it's summer and Phil and the kids are home all day.  

All I can do is try to be better!!

7 Quick Takes Friday: First Week of Summer

1) School's Out and it is HOT!!!

(and pollen-y, apparently!)

2) There's been a lot of outside playtime, trips to the park, and sidewalk chalk:

3) The kids found a kitten at the park and fell in love:




4) A wonderful little 5 year old learned how to ride a bike:

5) And injuries occurred... 

Eamon fell off his bike (but could he look any prouder?):

And John-Paul got a black eye while helping Eamon learn to ride his bike (something about a handlebar and Eamon tipping over):

6) The kids got a new water toy:

7) And Xander reminds you all to relax....

....and stay hydrated!

Have a beautiful weekend everyone!!!

Girl Fight

The boy worth fighting over is here (so you can see what all the fuss is about - isn't he so cute?!?!?!).

And there was no real "fight" just a back and forth with words, exactly as Maggie tells it.

See why girls are harder than boys?

Wordless Wednesday: Baby Love (photo by Cari)

Keeping the Beat

Notes:

I love John-Paul's concentration face.

Andrew just makes everything look so easy.

Maggie is a ham.

See That New Button Over Here ------------->

Thanks to Katie's inspiring post, I have signed up to lose a half marathon!

There are over 450 people signed up who want to lose a half-marathon (13.1 pounds) or a full marathon (26.2 pounds) between today and the end of the summer.  That's about 13 weeks, so for me the goal is just a pound a week all summer long. 

I hope this challenge will help keep me accountable, since nothing else is at the moment!! 

And I'm officially starting tomorrow because we have oodles of leftovers sitting in the fridge that aren't exactly diet friendly.

Gosh, I'm making excuses on Day One!  Sounds about right....

Anyway, if you want to join, go visit Run with Jess and sign up!  I look forward to seeing less of you :)

Weekend Update

Cari and clan came to visit on Saturday, and we took them to a little beach, old Fort, and hurricane barrier in our town:

It was awesome, and we wish they were our neighbors!  The kids get along so great, and every time after they leave, John-Paul tells me that he thinks Lotus wants to marry him.  Ummm, yeah, that's why YOU were attached to HER side the whole time she was here.  Ahhh, a mom can dream!  It was only in the low 70's but that didn't stop the kids from getting in the ocean.  Next time we get together, we'll make it a true beach day with warmer water temps.  But not too warm, because that's when the jelly fish come and Cari will get scared ;)

Cari's hilarious recount of the weekend is here

Sunday morning (after letting Phil sleep in until 7:00,  what, you think that's early?  The baby wakes us up at 5:30 every single day....so 7 am was a loooooong sleep) was the Father's Day 10k race that goes right by our house.  We're on Mile Marker 3, and a perfect water stop.  The kids love going outside and handing out water.  The first runners by are obviously the fast ones and don't even stop for water, which of course disappoints my kids to no end.

C'mon, you want some water?

 Water!  Free water!

I swear, we didn't drink it, it's fresh!

 You look thirsty!  Take some water!

My arm is getting heavy because no one wants my water!

 We have a winner!  John-Paul gets the first water cup out:

OK, he's back in with one in each hand yet no runners to be seen:

 Score! Of course it would be a lady taking it from my handsome Andrew:

 Boom! J-P gets another customer:

 And this lady grabs it from Maggie at the last second (must have felt sorry for her!):

Finally a nice young man pries the water cup out of Eamon's hand.  Hope he wasn't going for time!

We went out to lunch with the kid's babysitter, who's like our adopted teenage daughter, we love her so much and will miss her dearly when she goes off to Steubenville in the fall.  And then to a park for the kids to run around.

Xander learned a new trick.  He now turns himself over and pops out of his car seat if we don't get him buckled soon enough:

Finally, we visited with my Dad and Mom, and then took them out for fried seafood (hot dogs for the silly non-seafood eaters), onion rings, and ice cream for Father's Day dinner!

I hope you all had great weekends too!