13.1 Miles

It has been one week since I did my first half marathon and I thought I needed to write something down to remember for posterity's sake.

Jan. 14, 2010.

All the training came down to this one day. Unfortunately I came down with a crappy cold. I woke up the Wednesday before feeling like crud. I tried a few runs and had I hard time even getting through 2.5 miles. Royal asked if I was still going to despite feeling as badly as I did. My answer, "I spend the money and have been running for months there is no way I am not running."

Jan. 17 2010

The night before I set my alarm to get up earlier than I have in months. 4:30 am to be exact. Before the ass crack of dawn as Royal informed me. We were all set to have my in laws watch the kids. Royal and I went to bed around 10 and slept very soundly (Tylenol PM will do that). The next thing I know I am being shaken awake by Royal telling me that his parents were here. Oops I set my alarm for the PM not AM. We fly to get dressed and out the door. On the way into town we picked up my friend Michele who was also running the half marathon.

We got into down parked and walked over to the GRB where we were meeting my brother and mother. Anthony ran his first full marathon (Go Him!) By this time we had to potty and get to our corrals. Royal and my mom wished us luck and headed to find a place for breakfast. We walked out Anthony went to his start and Michele and I went to ours. I was in the second wave (slow runners) and Michele was in the first, but she decided to start with me. From where we were standing we couldn't here anything. Finially we heard the gun for the first wave and everyone cheered. We walked up to the start. Stood around for 10 minutes and waited for the second gun. It went off and it was actually another 5 minutes before we made it to the start line.

Off we went! Now Michele had warned me that she would weeve in and out...well she did not disappoint. I had a hard time weeving and keeping her pace. I lost her after the first half mile or so. The first mile is up and over the aquducts which is very cool because you can see the sea of people ahead of you. It was so cool. I stayed with the pack and at mile 2 we merged with the full marathon people and we ran with them until mile nine. Around mile 4 I began to realize how much being sick had affected me. Normally by them I would have found a rytham and would be doing great. That day I was huffing and puffing and all I could think was "how do I still have 9 miles to go???CRAP!" I kept going. Then I saw Pecore and realized that I was in the Heights and needed to start looking for my friends. I spotted Viula out of the corner of my eye, but she was across the street, so I didn't get to say hi. This was around mile 5. I perked up because I remember Carrie said she would be at mile 6 with oranges. She did not dissapoint. They were deliscious. Then at mile 6.2 we sae the Conoco Phillips Biker Chicks with a sign that said if you were running the 10k you would be done by now. I wanted so badly to be done. I kept going. Around mile 8 we passed a donought shop and thought for sure there would be doughnuts being passed out. No such luck. Because I was running the half we u-turned around at mile 9, so I got to smell the doughnuts twice. Not Cool doughnut people! At mile 10 I called Royal to let him know were I was. He and my mom headed out to the finish line to watch for me.

This is where I hit a wall. I walked so much at the end. I finially reached the 1.5 to go mark and I honestly didn't think it would ever end. This is where the mental game comes it. unfortuanlly I gave up and gave into the pain. I walked quite a while. I picked it up at the last mile. I ran the last mile, but I was numb. I hurt! I couldn't hear anything and actually missed Royal and my mom at the end. I crossed the finish line at 2:41:06. Eleven minutes slower than my goal time. Oh well I did finish! I got my medal and finisher shirt. I met up with Michele and Royal and my mom and got congratulations from everyone. I am proud that I finished and next year I am going to run with my friend Sarah and hopefully not be sick!

New Camera

For Christmas this year I told Royal all I wanted was an SLR camera. Well ask and you shall receive. Last week a Nikon D3000 was delivered to the house. I have had a lot of fun figuring things out.

Here is some of what I captured.

The Month of November

November is a busy month in our house. We have three birthdays (10, 21, 29th) and Thanksgiving. This year Royal and I turned 29 and Joshua turned 3. This year we decided to have a big party for Joshua. We went to Monkey Bizness and invited all of his friends. A good time was had by all to say the very least.


Kicking the balls all over the place.




Joshua and his friends Michael and Callie




Joshua and Michael in the obstacle course.

Are you ready for some football???

About two weeks ago mt friend Sarah and I took our boys to their first football game. Joshua and Michael are best friends, so we figured they would have a great time together. We went to the Jersey Village homecoming game.




First arrival. They ran to the railing and just stared.

Pumpkin Patch

I have been begging Royal to take us to the pumpkin patch. This was the first year that my begging actually turned into doing. The boys had lunch and we headed to The Old Time Christmas Tree Farm. We are lucky that this place it right down the street from our house, maybe five minutes. We took some pictures and picked out a giant pumpkin. A good time was had by all.



Me and the boys.




Yep, it's a great place to rest.





Daddy and his boys.





Taking a bite.











"I like this one."





"No dad, I am going to do it."










Never mind. He would rather ride.

Houston we have a walker!

Gabriel is 12.5 months old and WALKING! He started right around his birthday, but I had trick him into doing it on his own. A week and a half ago he started walking (short distances) on his own without me tricking him. The little stinker finally cooperated and let me get it on tape. So here he is. (Sorry it is tiny, the big stinker got a hold of the camera and messes with the settings).

365 days later

September 11, 2001 was a national tragedy. Last year it became a wonderful day for us. Our second son Gabriel was born at 4:05 pm. Oh yeah, then hurricane Ike hit.

Gabriel's birth story:

Gabriel was born on a Thursday but his story starts on Tuesday September 9th. All the weather people had been talking about was Ike and that he was headed toward Houston. I headed to my weekly check up 39 weeks pregnant with the thoughts of Ike coming toward up. My doctor checked me out and I had progressed from 1 to 2 cm and was 90% effaced. I was happy to hear that there was some progress. Then my doctor starts discussing his plan of action. He tells me he would like to get me in tomorrow (Wednesday Sept 10) and asks the receptionist to call the hospital to see if they have an opening. They don't...go figure! I guess all of the other doctors had the same idea. "Get the babies out!" First choice wasn't an option, what's the other option? Dr. M says he wants me to come back first thing Thursday morning and they will check for more progress. If there is more then they will send me over to the hospital and tell them I am in "labor."

The rest of Tuesday passes with nothing and the same on Wednesday. Thursday morning rolls around. I get up and get Joshua ready to go over to my parent's house and get myself ready to see the doctor. Royal got dressed for work. He figured there would be no change and I was going to be sent home to ride out the storm pregnant.

We were the first appointment of the day and go figure Dr. M was running behind. They called me back, weighed me, took my BP and had me pee in a cup. Dr. M came in and checked me. Low and behold we had progress. I was now 4cm and 90%. While he was down there Dr. M stripped my membranes and said with a walk to the hospital I should start having contractions. Woohoo I was having a baby. They called the hospital to let them know I was on my way.

We walked over to the hospital (still no contractions) and into L&D. They took me to get changed and then we went to my room. This was around 10am. They got all of my IVs in and got me strapped to the monitors and we were set to go. All of this was about 30-40 minutes of paper signing and poking and prodding. After I was settled Royal left to go home and change clothes and get lunch. No biggie I wasn't going anywhere. I watched the Ike coverage all day. The nurse came in every once in while to turn up the pitocin (sp). I could feel the contractions getting stronger but nothing too bad. At 1:15 pm Dr. M came in and checked me. I was now 5cm and 90%. There was progress but not much. He let me know that after lunch he was going to break my water and if I wanted to get the epidural I should get it now. I was having back labor again and opted for the epidural.

The nice epidural lady came in and started getting everything ready. She was in a bit of a hurry because they had an emergency c-section coming. Well, in her haste she messed up and instead of pressure I was getting stabbing pain in my spine. She took it out and did it again. Ahh, much better. Dr. M came back around 2pm and broke my water. Things really started progressing quickly after that.

TMI following

About an hour later I started really having the urge to pee. I tried to ignore it but it started getting worse the longer I sat there. At 3:30 I decided to call the nurse. When she got to my room I told her I thought something might be wrong because I really needed to pee. She said everything was working right. She decided to check me-sure enough I was 10cm and ready to go. They called the anesthesiologist back in and she gave me a second epidural. The first one was wearing off. Then the nurse called Dr. M to let them know it was time. He got to the room at 3:50. I started pushing and Gabriel Joseph was born at 4:05pm.

September 11, 2008



September 5, 2009 at his first birthday party.

Ready to Run

In the last almost three years a lot has changed about me. I had a baby, left my job, and had another baby. In between all of that I started something just for me. I started working out. My dad told me about this group called StrollerFit. For those of you who know me I am not a joiner. I sit back and watch but it takes a lot to get me involved. So much so that my dad told me about it in December and I didn't go until the end of March. I had to talk myself into it.

I joined this group and loved it. It was hard in the beginning and I HURT most days. After a while I started seeing changes. I firmed up and lost weight. I eventually dropped down to a smaller size than when I was in HS. Then a few months after I finally got to where I wanted to be I found out I was pregnant again. I was excited, but not looking forward to losing all the weight again. The good news was I was starting out smaller.

Well Gabriel is now 10.5 months old and I am still working on the last 10lbs, but I am nursing so I am not stressing about it. All of this to say I am proud of what I have done and am now setting forth with a new challenge.

A few months ago my brother approached me about running the Half Marathon with him. I thought and thought about it. I told Royal (the hubby) who quickly laughed it off as a hair brained idea. It stuck in the back of my mind for a month or so. Then the day to sign up came and I figured what's the worst that could happen and went for it.

On January 17, 2010 I will attempt my first half marathon.

Sleeping in the Nude

Joshua likes to sleep in nothing but his birthday suit.

It started when we started potty training. He started sleeping in an over night pull up. Pull ups open on the side to make it easy to get them off in case of an emergency. Joshua starting taking them off after we put him to bed. Every night I would go back in and redress him before I went to bed because I didn't want him to have an accident during the night. After a few weeks I noticed that he was waking up dry, but he was still taking the pull up off. I figured I should just let him sleep in his big boy underwear since he didn't seem to like to pull up. I also thought maybe he would leave these on. Well the first night I went to check on him and his naked bottom was sticking in the air. Not only that he took off his shirt too. Most nights when I go to check on him he is not fully nude and has happy as a clam.

Starting Over

It was my hope to have lost the last 10 lbs months ago but I have not. Then I told myself it was staying because I am still nursing. Well I think it really has a lot more to do with me not sticking to Weight Watchers as closely as I should. Starting now I am going to be very strict because I want my body back. In other news Gabriel is almost 10 months old and my plan is to start weening him at 11.5 months. I would like to have him completely weened right around the time he turns one. I can't believe that we will be celebrating another first birthday in just two months. We are planning on having a pool party.

Back among the living

We were all sick two weeks ago. Three of us had pretty decent fevers. We are all doing better and the little one has a new tooth to show for it.

We also had hosting duty for just about everything.

June 22 we had a strollerfit play date.
June 28 a baby shower for Brooke
June 29 Bunko

I don't think we will be inviting any more people over for a while.

Tiny Boy

Today I took Gabriel to the doctor for his nine month check up. He is perfectly healthy and hitting all of his milestones.

Weight: 17lbs 10oz (10%-up from 5% at his six month check up)
Height: 27in (10% down from 55%) (but I think at least 27.5 because he was worming and all scrunched up)
Head: somewhere between 50-75%.

We have been given the all clear to start table food just avoiding eggs, honey, fish, shellfish, and peanut butter until later. Shhh we already started last week with chicken. Last night he had chicken and green beans and loved it.

A sad, sad milestone

I put Gabriel down for a nap this morning, so it was just me and the J man hanging out for a while. At one point I asked him for a kiss and he puckered up to kiss me. I gave him a kiss and the next thing I see broke my heart...He wiped it off. I thought I would have a few more years before he did that.

Sneek Peaks

Last Tuesday Royal and I got the boys cleaned and dressed and headed to Collins Park. We had our first family photos as a family of four. My friend Kelley took the AWESOME pictures. Here are a few sneak peeks and a look at the rest of her blog.

KD Loftis

Five Years

Well today is out fifth anniversary. At this time five years ago we were fast asleep at the Hotel Sofitel(SP). The next day we were headed to Vegas.

We have gone though a lot in the last five years.
*Moved in together
*Bought our first house
*Bought my car
*Had a baby
*bought Royal a car
*put a pool in
*found out we were expecting #2
*Bought Royal a more family friendly car
*had #2
*Ike

Goodness we have been busy over the last 5 years. It's no wonder we are both tired. Royal you have been with me through the highs and lows and no one loves you more than I do. Happy Anniversary.

Pool Time!

Now that the weather is warm we have been enjoying the pool. This is not the first time this season that we have been in, but it is the first time I have taken pictures. Joshua loves "swimming," which mostly involves him playing on the tanning ledge and never getting his face wet.













And just for good measure Lucy Goose. She is 10 year old.

Looking for Opinions

We are taking family photos on Tuesday with Kelley from KD Loftis Photography. I needed opinions as to what we should wear.

I plan on wearing a black cotton dress. I am not sure what to do with all these boys.

Option #1 - all boys wear black polos
Option #2 - Royal in a black Polo, J&G in a different color polo (maybe blue)

Any other suggestions are welcome too.

Not me Monday

Inspired by Jess I thought I would give this a try.

Today I did not:

• I did not give my two year old candy every time he used the potty. And I don't do this everyday.

• I did not spend half the day taking said child to the potty.
  

• I did not take a shower at 7:15 in the evening and then sit in my towel all night because I was too lazy to go put on my jammies.

• I did not walk out of the room while Gabriel had a wall eyed fit because I needed a break.

• I did not waste a ton of time playing bejeweled

• I did not have a good evening playing with my kids and husband in the pool.

• I did not ask my husband if there are miniature cows knowing very well that he was going to laugh his ass off.
  

Oh the milestone they will meet

We have been all about growing up in our house. With two little ones you just can't stop it.
Joshua first
-he is still working on potty training. This weekend he started telling me when he needed to go. He still has accidents but there is a lot of improvement.

-He has a best friend. There is a little boy in his MDO class and they play together all the time. It is really cute when Joshua gets to school this little boy is always so excited to see him.

-He will talk on the phone. He told Nana (my mom) Happy mother's day.

-He has become very affectionate. He doles out hugs and kisses with such delight. There is nothing sweeter than having your little boy come up to you and say, "momma, hold you." Melts my heart every time.

Gabriel is growing just as much
-He has started army crawling. It will be interesting to see if he moved beyond this because Joshua didn't.

-With this new found movement he "chases' after his brother. This boy is constantly on the move.

-He has learned to drink out of a straw.

-He has learned to feed himself. He is eating puffs.

Just Cuteness

Joshua was eating a banana nut muffin.