The Month of May

There has been a lot going on lately.  A lot that I have chosen to keep off the blog.  However, it sounds like the plans are actually finalized and we now know that Quentin will be deploying to Russia in June.  I am less than excited and starting to stress about how Adyson is going to handle it.  I think Cooper will be ok for the most part, but Adyson is a HUGE daddy's girl.   We are going to start watching the Elmo Deployment dvd tomorrow. 

On Mother's Day we went for a 10 mile bike ride at False Cape State Park.  The views were beautiful.  It rained on us on and off, but we had a great time.  We cam across a turtle nest and had only missed the eggs hatching by a few hours.  We also met up with a nasty cotton mouth water moccasin and he was NOT happy!!

Friday, May 27th was Ady's last day of pre-school.  She has had a wonderful year.  They 3 and 4 year old programs put on a little show which I recorded and you can see it on YouTube by clicking HERE.   (It is just over 20 minutes long).  Cooper was a great "help" keeping the camera steady.  Or not. 

Quentin spent this week in New York City.  I will post lots of pics once he gets home and I can copy them over.  He has has a ton of fun.  But I will save all that good stuff for another post when I have the pictures to go with it.

This past Saturday, the kids and I ran in the Elizabeth River Run 10K in Portsmouth.  It was a great race.  I set a personal record (PR) for 10K (this was my second 10K).  My first 10K was the Turkey Trot last November and my time was 1 hour 24 minutes.  My time on Saturday was 1 hour 13 minutes!  Woot woot!!! 

March of Dimes - Marching for the Munchkins

On May 1st I will be "Marching for the Munchkins"

While I do not have a story to share about how March of Dimes has helped me personally, there are many, many parents out there who do.  I have many friends who have been through premature births, NICU stays, and an uphill battle since day one. 

While I cannot show you the pictures of my own children fighting day after day, I know you have seen them. The babies so small they look like dolls, with parent's wedding rings worn around their arms or legs. 

This is why we March for Babies.  Every dollar counts. 

When you walk in March for Babies, you give hope to the more than half a million babies born too soon each year. The money you raise supports programs in your community that help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies. And it funds research to find answers to the problems that threaten our babies. We’ve been walking since 1970 and have raised an incredible $2 billion to benefit all babies.

Please help me in my goal of raising at least $100 for the March of Dimes.  Maybe you can help me double that goal.  Every dollar counts.  You can donate online by clicking the banner above, right here on my blog.

Thank you for your support!

What? I have a blog? That hasn't been updated?

As usual, times have been crazy around the Lease household.  Since my last post on Feb5th, here is a quick recap.



On February 12th I ran the Virginia Is For Lovers 14K.  This was/is my longest race to date.  That is 8.69 miles.  It was a great race, though at times I had a hard time convincing myself to keep running.  I did.  And I crossed the finish line in 1:42:14.  Here is a post race pic of myself and my good friend Andrea.  I only wish I could run 9 minute miles like her : )

There was a huge group of us who ran wearing tutus.  We got tons of compliments and even made the J&A Racing 2011 Calendar!  Woot Woot! 


And yes, that is beer.  Yuengling to be exact and it was GOOD!!

(In our defense, we were all about to jump up for a "let's all jump and someone will take a picture" shot)

The loot.  And no, the Avocado seed didn't come with the glass... ha ha!

Adyson had a perfectly timed field trip to Chuck E Cheese's on Friday, Feb 25th - her birthday!  We brought cupcakes to share with all her classmates in celebration.

Cooper was all over the rides, but if you put a token in and made them move, he immediately wanted off. 

Twins?

The Birthday Queen

The Queen, the cupcakes, and Mrs. Stark (one of Ady's teachers)

Aaaaaaaaaaaand then we moved.  And boy was it a pain in the butt.  I don't have any pictures of the new house yet, as it is still pretty much chaos.  Most things are where they are supposed to be but there is a never ending pile of papers/crafts/mail that I just keep moving from place to place.  One of these days I will sort it all out.

On March 19th I ran the Shamrock 8K.  This was the "end in sight" to all my training.  And while it was a great race, and I finished in under an hour (my goal) I couldn't help but feel disappointed.  I had already run the 14K so the 8K felt like a step backwards.  However, I know that there is no way I could have run the half marathon (13.1 miles) with all the injuries I had been battling, so I have decided to hold my chin high, knowing that I shattered that goal of an hour by FOUR minutes, and start looking for more races! 

Haircut!!

We went to this great "kids' salon" called Pigtails and CrewCuts this week to get Adyson and Cooper's hair cut.  This place was great!  There was a train table in the waiting area and a separate room where  a movie was playing with even more toys to entertain the kiddos.  There were also smaller tvs at each station so the kids could watch tv while they got her hair cut!  Ady flew an airplane and Cooper drove a police car, all while getting a hair cut!

Ady just got a trim!

Beauty Queen, ready for her close-up!

Cooper on the other hand.... It doesn't look like he has much hair, but I was having to use more detangler on his hair than Adyson's hair.  It was buts.  All that baby fine hair in a HUGE mess on the back of his head every single morning.

This is the "detangled" version of the above mentioned mess.

Vroooom!! VROOOOM!!!!

The last "long hair" picture.

Cooper did great, despite this escape attempt.  He sat still and never even flinched.  No tears.  No screaming.  He wiggled around a lot but that is pretty much expected of a 15 month old boy!

All done.  So handsome. AND the sucker was a nice  reward!

This was Cooper's first sucker.  He seemed to know just what to do with it!

Eight.

This morning I ran 8 miles.   On trails.  Pushing the double stroller. 

That's all. 


You can see my run HERE.



Ok, not really.  I wasn't really sure I was going to make it back to the end.  I turned around at 4 miles and headed back and at just shy of 6 miles, Ady had to pee.  So we stopped, busted out the folding potty (LOVE that thing) and she did her business.  We hit the trail again, but all my momentum was gone.  I hit a wall right at 6 miles.  I was sure I was going to have to crawl back dragging  the stroller behind me.  I sucked it up and started running again.  And it was horrible.  But I made myself keep going.  Once my watch chimed I was back in business and finished the 8 miles.  (My Garmin watch is set to chime every half mile)

This was my longest run to date.  I feel incredibly accomplished, but I am already sore. The stroller definitely adds some weight and drag. The stroller doesn't SEEM that heavy but it weighs 34 lbs and I put 60 pounds of kids in it. 

Also, once I hit the wall and was paying more attention to my watch than I should have been, I noticed at 6.13 miles my time was 1:14.  In November I ran a 10K (6.2 miles) and my time was 1:24.  So I shaved 10 minutes off my 10K time.... What's that??? Ah ha!!! Motivation to finish!! So we plugged along and made it back to our starting point. 

Everyone on the trails (which are very popular for running and biking) was very friendly and I think often amused that I was pushing a stroller while I ran. There was one group of bikers (3) that I must have seen 10 times (obviously they were looping me not vice versa) and the last time they past me I heard one guy say "I CANNOT believe she is still going!"    Several people asked me as we passed the 2nd time (most people run "out and backs" so you see them all twice) "How FAR are you going?!?!?!"  Of course they were surprised when I said 8 miles.  More motivation.

Once we finished, stretched, and loaded up I took the kids to Dunkin Donuts.  They LOVE Chocolate Munchkins (donut holes)!!  I didn't have a single bit, but I did splurge on a Latte Lite :) (And yes, they are in their pajamas! It was cold this morning!!!)

Anyway, I am very proud of myself and cannot wait for the approaching race days (at which I will NOT be pushing a stroller!!). 

And for those of you wondering... Anyone who WANTS to run, CAN!!!  I am.

It is.... My drug of choice.

Running, that is.  I am completely addicted.  I used to wonder how people could just go running for fun.  Miles.  People run MILES for fun???

Yes. WE do.  And now, I am one of them.  I am so, so ready for the weather to warm up so I can just get behind the stroller and go without bundling the kids and fiddling with gloves and earmuffs. 

I am planning to keep myself busy during deployment (gasp, it is looming in the oh so near future) running.  I am already registered for 4 upcoming races, and I am sure I will add more to the list.  So far, I have these races planned:

I am training with an AWESOME group of ladies, and we run long runs every Sunday (weather permitting right now of course) and training is going well.  I can officially say I "Run Like a Mother"

So far, I am registered for:

Virginia Is For Lovers 14K - (Feb 12th) This is a lofty goal.  I will probably be running intervals for this race, taking two minute breaks between running spurts.  This will be the longest distance to date.  (That is 8.69 miles)

Shamrock 8K - (March 19th) When I registered for this race an 8K sounded HUGE.  Now, I am almost disappointed that I didn't register for the half marathon! But, I will be able to run it and set a new time for myself to beat...next year :)

Metro Dash - (April 17th) This is a team (of 4) event and it is pretty much going to be insane.  It is a series of 30 Obstacle Courses  and we already have 5 (I think #6 is in the works or already a done deal) Stroller Strides teams.  I am really looking forward to this.  It is going to be a great time with friends, and quite the accomplishment to finish!

Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon - (Sept 4th) Yep.  You read that right.  I am going to run, yes I plan to fully RUN a half marathon.  13.1 Miles. 

I am not registered for these yet, but I will be....

Wiked10K

Surf n Santa 10 Miler

Even after I had started running, I had this "mindset" that I wasn't ever going to be interested in running long distances.  I would never run more than 5 miles and didn't really plan to participate in races.  Something happened when I crossed that first finish line.  Aaaaaaand, it doesn't help that I have some incredibly encouraging friends that I want to keep up with!  But all in all.  It is for me.  When I am running, I am free.  Well, almost.  Free between the callings from the stroller "Mooooooommy!! I need a drink!  I need to pee!  I want a snack......" Yeah, that's it... free! 

January...oh, January...

has been relatively uneventful.  I have spent practically every spare minute looking for a now rental house for us to move to in March.  Our current landlords want to raise the rent, even though they have not made any of the requested repairs, most importantly the dang garage door that has a mind of its own.  Anyway, all my work paid off and we will be moving March 1st AND saving $100 ($150 if you count the increased price) a month!  Yay! 

This is our new house...

After Ady returned to school from Christmas break, I was faced with a BIG decision.   They sent home registration papers for next school year.  Ady will be attending the same Pre-School but the 4-Year Old program has two options, three or five days a week.  I cannot believe my little girly is big enough for "full time" Pre-School.  Well, it is still three hours int eh AM not all day, but she is enrolled in the 5 days a week program starting in September.  Dang, they grow up fast. 

There is also a 2-Year Old program, but the cut off for age is Aug 31st and of course Cooper won't be 2 until October 23rd.  I have talked to the Pre-School and they said that he could probably start after his birthday as long as there is an opening.  He would go 2 days a week (Tu/Th) for the same 3 hours as Ady.

Cooper is finally getting big enough he knows to run from Ady to save himself... I guess her forgot this day...

"Look Mommy!! I am making Cooper a duck hair do!"

Cooper's duck hair

Playing babies...

and Cooper too!  He LOVES "Sid the Slog" (Ady can't say sloth - it always comes out 'slog')

"Coffee" time with Adyson

(It is really frothy milk with a little honey in it and cinnamon sprinkled on top!)

Cooper says "Cheese" when you point the camera - he was mid "Chee" when I took this picture.  He is gonna hate this one when he gets older, but I LOVE it.  It makes me laugh every time I look at it...

You laughed... Didn't you?