What's in a Name?

10.30.2006

we do what we can

We recently attended a Halloween party hosted by the March of Dimes at the Children's Museum. All the little ones were in full costume and a lot of fun was had by all. However, what struck me at this event was that the King and I were the only people there who did not have preemies (and given the size of my kids, I felt like we stood out...). It was a little strange, and I almost felt like I needed to justify our attendance. I explained to one very friendly woman that we support the March of Dimes. I told her that when my niece Brianna was in the NICU for her heart the nurses called her the "big sister" because at 8lbs 5oz she was huge compared to all the preemie babies. I guess seeing all those little ones touched me in some way. And lets face it, the March of Dimes helps kids. They help babies. Why wouldn't we support them? When that same woman got up to speak at the event she started talking about how everyone in the room knew about the struggles and joys, fear, anxiety and hopefully relief that comes with having a preemie and then she mentioned meeting me, a mother who doesn't have a preemie, and she said that we were there because we support children and support organizations that help children. I was a little embarrassed then, but I realized that she was grateful for our support - especially since we weren't in the same situation as all of the other people there. I guess for me, helping any organization that helps kids makes me feel like I am doing something good and positive to honor Brianna. Since I can't bring her back, I guess that will have to do.

10.19.2006

why weigh on a sunny day??

We have been busy again. I feel like that is our norm though, and the King and I are periodically taking steps to try to slow our lives down. For instance, we decided not to go to our vacation place this weekend even though a nearby town over is having a big pumpkin festival that the kids would probably love. However, it will be a full house with all the owners (and some guests) there and we know it would be anything but restful. Since we are coming off a week where Devin had (has?) a stomach bug and I have a cold, we need restful. I hope we can stick with it... In other news I am trying to figure out a way to stay motivated and get into better shape before I start tri training again. One would think that I would be in amazing shape since I was training so much, but I was also eating a lot. After my last race I started dieting and lost a couple pounds, but I think that I have found them again. I think I'm just not motivated to constantly watch what I eat. When I reflect on when I lost my baby weight after William was born, I feel like once I made the decision to get healthy I just stuck with it. But then over time I eventually snuck up a few pounds (ironically to the exact weight that I am now). The same thing happened after Henry was born. I decided to lose the baby weight and got down to a good weight pretty easily (I actually got down to the same weight as I was after having William, but was a size smaller. How cool is that?). I'm not saying it wasn't hard work, but I had an easier time doing it for some reason. I think I was in the zone; I was just really focused. Again though, over a few months my weight climbed a few pounds and I am having a really hard time getting them off. I almost feel like my body wants to be that weight - that my "normal" is slightly overweight. Man do I want to change that. Time to get motivated again. BTW - the title of my post is from the Phish song "Weigh". Seemed appropriate.

10.04.2006

Miss me again?

Funny how this happens. I can't believe that a month has passed since I last wrote. My loyal readers are probably terribly disappointed (sic). A lot has happened this month. I competed in another tri, William started preschool, the King abandoned me for a week (work travel - a likely story) and I had a birthday. I am officially 30 (again!).
The tri was the 9th of September, and it was really pretty tough. The half mile swim was really flipping cold; I now realize that wetsuits really aren't optional for September races. The bike was a little longer than expected (16 mi) and it had a giant climb that really kicked my butt. There was a 1.5 mile uphill that was so steep that some cyclists were having problems staying upright (you know how you go so slow that you can't balance... yeah like that). The rest of the course was hilly, but more of what I am used to. However, that huge hill just did me in - and we had to do it twice! Then the run was your normal 5k. It was also hilly but again what I am used to since its quite hilly where I live. I was glad to have done it and overall pleased with my results (strong swim, crappy ride, decent run). I think my recent health scares took some focus off of training for my race, so I think that part of me was just glad to be past the race and have the good results (race and health) to celebrate.
Another reason to celebrate is that Wills started pre-school (3 mornings a week). Wooohooo! He likes it, although he still would rather be home than there. He learned something pretty important the first day of school - he learned to pee standing up. Pretty funny... he's all proud of himself. We are finally getting into a pretty good routine with school and its impact on our lives (getting the boys out of the house before 9:00 seemed a pretty daunting task before). All in all things are really good.