Run Like A Mother

I went for my first run with the double jogging stroller today. I've been on plenty of walks, but this was the first time trying to move faster than a steady saunter. It went great. I can't tell you how much I love this stroller. It has a really smooth ride, handles like a charm, and isn't too heavy even with the car seat and both kids in it. 

We registered to run a 5k on June 2nd. It doesn't sound like much, but for someone who hasn't run in over a year, it's a worthy goal. I'm really looking forward into getting back to running regularly and doing the occasional race. I really love races. They give you something to work towards, you get fun shirts, the people are great, and it just feels good. 

I'm trying my best not to over do it. I put on my running shorts and my St. Olaf Track and Field shirt and my head suddenly thinks my body is 18 years old again and has been training for both cross country and track. I've always been pretty good at the mental side of running, so I push through a really hard, long run. Then my 28-year-old-mother-of-two body spends the next four days saying 'I told you so' while I audibly groan every time I move. 

It took everything in me to not let that happen today. It was sunny, 70 degrees, a light breeze, on a flat running path. Perfect. I could have just started running and gone forever. But I didn't. Instead I stuck to the plan, and am taking baby steps to getting back into it. While training for the half marathon I did in 2011, I found that doing a run/walk combination was the easiest thing to help my legs get used to the longer distances without making my bones hurt. So that's my plan this time: slowly increasing the running to walking ratio, with the ultimate goal of running the full 5k with the stroller. 

So I did it. I ran some, walked more, and it felt good. It felt good while I was running and it feels good now this evening. I definitely feel like I ran, but I'm not in pain and I'll be ready to do it again on Wednesday no problem. 

Lily even ran with me for part of it. That girl really loves to just run. While I was doing a brisk walk to warm up, she ran along side for a full quarter mile. She can easily walk for a mile or more, but I didn't know she could just run for that long of a stretch. Must be those New Balance shoes I bought her. And don't worry, I'm not one of those crazy parents that forces their kid to exercise to extremes. She wanted to run and as soon as she said she wanted to stop she hopped right back in the stroller. Will I encourage her to do it again? Sure. Will I suggest she try to go a few steps further? Sure. Will I make her do it? Absolutely not. 

So yeah, I'm feeling good. Still got some endorphins from the run and happiness from the sun.

Big Girl

Lily is becoming such a big girl. Talking in full paragraphs, making up stories, helping me with cooking, cleaning, and watching Thomas, getting excited for preschool in the fall, wanting to be friends with everyone she meets, sleeping like a champ, eating a ton, running, jumping, dancing, everything. 

This morning was our last Wiggleworms class ever. Wiggleworms is a kids music class offered by the Old Town School of Folk Music at the HPNC near our house. Lily has been going to this since she was nine months old, and Thomas has been going since he was 5 days old. Miss Shanta has taught Lily to sing, skip, hop, dance, play the mbira, and to sit still and listen to music. She has seen Thomas go from a sleeping through class newborn to a wide-eyed baby wiggling on the floor and playing with the shakers. It was more emotional for me than I expected. I was actually a bit teary at the end. As we're getting ready to move there will be lots of 'lasts', lots of things I will be very sorry to say goodbye to and they're all making me realize how fast my babies are growing up. 

We all know Lily is a girly girl. She loves all things frilly, flouncy, and purple. She is also obsessed with wearing slippers, as in Cinderella slippers. Basically, these are fancy little girl shoes. Unfortunately, those kinds of shoes just don't hold up to running in the park, hiking, or walking around the zoo all day. So I bought her a pair of big girl New Balance gym shoes. I think brand name shoes are ridiculous for little kids because they fit for three weeks and cost a fortune. But my experience with cheaper ones is that they just fall apart. So I got these a half size to big, and I'm hoping they last through the summer. They're super comfortable, really well made, and of course extra girly. Lily calls them her beautiful shoes.  

And finally, this is probably the cutest thing you will hear all week. Lily frequently sings You Are My Sunshine to Thomas when he is crying to help him calm down. And he almost always does. I've been dying to get a recording of it, but she has been camera shy and Thomas is usually crying in the background. Today I asked her to sing but kept the phone on the table so she didn't know she was being recorded. I love it so much. 

Beach Day!

Thanks to the new jogging stroller, I was able to take the kids to the beach this afternoon for the first time this Spring! For the first time since Thomas was born! For the first time since the last time! Ah! Beach! 

Can you tell I like the beach?

This will probably be the thing I will miss the most when we move. I LOVE LOVE LOVE being able to just up and go to the beach on a whim. 

Tiny gnome and beach towel. 

Baby toes in the sand!

Big girl digging.

I love the beach.

March and April Resolutions

I'm only writing this post for house-keeping purposes. Basically I've just been treading water on these. I've been thinking a lot about my 'last year of my 20's' resolutions and even getting some things going with them. The weather has been crappy, I've been in kind of a funk, and these were just really place-holder resolutions anyway. 

1) Exercise 5 times a week. This did not happen. Between bad weather, bad colds, and just general laziness it just didn't happen. I've also come to realize that it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to work out at home with the two of them. Lily wants to copy everything I'm doing and if I'm not watching out super carefully she's likely to get smacked in the face during jumping jacks or she'll crawl under me doing pushups or she'll try to do squats/curls holding Thomas. Just general chaos that usually ends up in me shouting and one or both of them crying. 

So I gave in and bought a double jogging stroller. I was really opposed to getting one at first. Personally, I believe kids Lily's age should be walking or riding a bike or something more active than just sitting and riding in a stroller. But Thomas is getting too heavy to carry for a long time while she walks or is on the push bike. There are times when we just need to go faster or she has been walking for a long time and is legitimately tired. So I caved. It came last week and now I can just strap them both down and go for a walk/run without either of them crying (much). So far I love it. I'm looking forward to nap time walks instead of drives, going to places like the zoo where Lily walks most of the way but can crash after a while, and being able to walk to farther places again.

I absolutely hated the double wide ones I tried, so I searched and searched for a tandem. I finally decided on the Hauck Freerider. It came with a rain cover and a car seat adapter. It's too heavy to run with the car seat on it, but Thomas only needs that for 2 more months. I can walk with him just in the regular stroller seat, but he's still a little small for running that way. Lily loves it. She calls it riding in her fort. 

2) Keep up with the housework. Eh, this is fine. I freak out about once a week and demand that Joe take the kids SOMEWHERE ELSE while I manically clean for a couple of hours.  

3) Cook dinner once a week. This is also just kind of eh. Mostly we tag team dinners. I get things going and then Joe finishes things up. So we both end up doing some cooking. Probably my favorite thing we've made in a while was the Irish Soda Bread. This is a non-traditional version from Ina Garten with currants and orange peel and is absolutely fabulous. And really easy to make to boot. 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/irish-soda-bread-recipe/index.html

For Easter I made a lemon lavender cupcake bouquet. This is so easy to do I would highly recommend trying it the next time you need a pretty, baked good. The icing was getting a little warm, that's why the leaves are droopy. 

http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/lavender-frosting/

http://cakecentral.com/a/rose-bouquet-cupcakes