Wiped Out

I am completely wiped out. I caught a bug/cold sometime Wednesday, felt a little better Thursday, was miserable Friday, and just struggling to get through the day today. I can't even remember the last time I felt this sick! It took everything I had to shower this morning and muster up the energy to take the kids to the park. I am going to complete this post and then take full advantage of nap time by taking a nap :)
Typical Noah pose:
Such a happy guy:

Evelyn - looking a little like Gene Simmons? Can you believe this is the best picture I could get of her?! She is a quickster -- and loves to avoid the camera!

Rise and Shine?!?

This morning Evelyn looked up from her bed and said to me : "Mommy, I want to stay HERE!!" (this is almost a daily occurence) I know how you feel baby girl... I know how you feel.

Where did my little girl go who used to wake up smiling in the morning? She somehow got replaced with a crabby-patty who doesn't want to get dressed, eat breakfast, get in the car to go to daycare, etc.

I think it is payback time... My mom used to tell stories about my horrible antics in the morning, too. (Note: I finally became a morning person somewhere around the age of 19-20) I just hope she grows out of this phase sooner than I did or it is going to be a long 16 more years.

VIDEO HERE of the kids playing together outside the other night.

Fun on a Monday Night

I picked up a new trike for Evelyn from a consignment shop today -- she loves it! Travis spent a lot of time tonight trying to teach her how to ride it. She is figuring it out and will be cruising in no time :) Here is Noah watching Barney -- he loves Barney so much that sometimes he can't concentrate on anything else -- not even eating!! Yes, he pretty much constantly sucks his index finger these days... super cute at 17 months... let's just hope he outgrows it before kindergarten!! :)

The Run of Life

We headed to the zoo this morning -- it was member appreciation day. Here is another carousel pic -- but wanted to point out Evelyn's glasses. To use one of my grandma Marcie's favorite words... She looks like such a little "cooley-bug"!! She put them on her head by herself -- melts my heart a little that she wanted to be like her mommy :) My boys deep in concentration -- they were watching the giraffes. Family pic:Not much else to report. Had kind of a tough Friday/Saturday -- not sure why. I've decided that my life is sometimes similar to my running. I don't know about others... but I experience different streaks/phases/emotions during every run. It is usually pretty hard the first 7-8 minutes. My legs feel heavy, and I start to wonder why I am even doing it at all. Once I get past the first mile I start to feel pretty good. There is a point somewhere in the middle where it starts to feel effortless. This is my favorite part -- I can enjoy the view, think about my to-do list, and solve world problems in my head :) Somewhere around the third mile it gets pretty rough -- but if I can stick with it, this pain usually goes away within a few minutes. I can usually coast after that for another 20 minutes or so.

I guess the last two days are just one of the rough points in my "run of life"... I'm looking forward to the effortless part again :)

Another Kristin Armstrong favorite... (click here) Such a precious interaction between her and her "Bummed Out Athlete"

"Finding Ways to Bring Life to Your Passion"

As much as I loved and enjoyed the challenge of training for the triathlon, I couldn't help but have a little bit of guilt about the whole thing, too. I felt guilty taking so much time for myself when I could/should be spending more time with the family, doing chores, working on baby books, etc. I do most of my work-outs at night (after the kids' bedtime) or early morning (before work), but sometimes I still get a pang of guilt when I spend some extra time going to a class at the gym or heading out for a run... and if I am not taking time for myself I immediately feel frustrated and overwhelmed by everything else that is going on, and don't feel like I have time to do anything...

I found something great this morning though... I read Kristin Armstrong's blog (Lance's ex-wife) on the runner's world website all the time. All the moms (or wives) with guilt (and/or excuses) about their "extra" activities need to check out this post -- she is a very talented writer - and so inspiring. I loved the last part: "Remember what you love to do... Let your children see you do your thing. Let your friends come watch you. Let your husband fall in love again with that cool, interesting chick he married. Let yourself be you."

Not sure if Travis loves me any more after the triathlon... but I guarantee that I am a much better & happier wife/mother/daughter/employee etc. because I am able to fit training/exercise into my routine... and that makes me happy :)

Carousel

Well -- the labor day weekend brought a lot of rain with it. However, we managed to find plenty of things to do to have fun as a family :) Here are the kids checking out the big carousel at the outlet mall:Noah loved it -- until it started moving. Travis said he was a little scared -- but he's tough, he didn't cry. Evelyn loved watching and waiting for Noah to come around -- she would yell his name and scream and laugh every time she saw him. It was adorable!