Tea Party

What a good dad to have a tea party in a blanket fort with his little girl.  He can't tell her no (much). Anthony joined in too.

St. Patrick's Day

Several years ago, I think when he was five, Brendan dreamed up and built his own leprechaun trap.  He helped Rita and Anthony build one of similar design.  The idea is simple.  You post signs saying "gold this way" at the bottom of the ladder.  Once on top, he will see the rainbow and run toward the end of it.  At the end of the rainbow is a trap door leading into the box.  Inside the box are Lucky Charms cereal to keep him occupied until we can see him the next morning.  As with Brendan's attempt, we did catch one (muddy footprints all over are the evidence), but the rascal got away.  The picture of Karl and Anthony is nearly identical to the one taken of Brendan and Karl.  Same shirts, different kids.  All in all, a fun "leprechaun day".

Brendan and Karl

I Know Sring is Here When...

Mud happens.

Having a Little Time to Myself

I am like a magnet.  If I sit down for one second, the kid blanket descends upon me.  Sometimes I get irritated, but then I remember that some day I will have lots of time to myself and will be very lonely.  I do love my kid blanket.

First Ski Lessons

I don't ski.  I never have and have not the slightest interest in strapping boards to my feet and hurling down a mountain.  But I want my kids to have the opportunity to decide if they like it.  Brendan has been skiing, though not frequently, since he was three.  So I thought that since the twins were 5, it was high time to try it.  Karl was unavailable to take them due to work deadlines.  So, I put on my big girl pants and took them to that foreign land know as a ski resort, Black Tail Mountain.

This was nerve racking for me.  Since I don't ski, I don't know anything about skiing.  Like how to put on boots and things that are basic.  So I was nervous.  Plus I had never been to BTM before. 

Anthony was sick that day, so I kept him with my mom and me and Rita and Brendan did their lessons. 

All went fine, but the funniest thing was that I didn't even know how to attach the pass to the kid.  I asked Brendan, who said "I don't know."  I thought he might know since he had done this before.  It earned him a mommy growl.  So, I covertly glanced around and saw the sticker passy thingy attached to the wire thingy called a wicket or a widget (can't remember).  I ran down, grabbed a wicket/widget and put that sticker right on their.  So proud.  The looked at thingy and realized I was supposed to put wicket/widget on kids zipper BEFORE putting the sticker passy thingy on it.  Ack!  I ran down the stairs in a panic and the kind lady gave me a new pass and asked if I understood the use of the wicket/widget now.  Yep!  Back up I ran in my excitement and proudly attached Brendan's pass to him.  Back down I ran to get another because I forgot I needed one for Rita.  Whew!  After all said and done I got both kids to lessons on time and joined mom and Anthony in the restaurant for a snack and a beer.

 Rita's Lesson

 

After Brendan's lesson, he took of on his own, but begrudgingly gave me a pic first.

Two weeks later, Anthony was well and did his first lesson.  At first he didn't want to, but once he started he didn't want to stop! Karl was able to come that day, which made my life much easier.

Fairies and Superheroes

Rita and Anthony come up with some pretty creative ways to play with both the "girl" toys and the "boy" toys together.  Rita set up her Playmobil fairy pond set and Anthony's Super Hero Squadies came over for a dip in the the pond.  As things with boys goes, they got a little rowdy and got kicked out of the pond eventually.

Couch Potato to Spartan: an Update and a Little Bragging

Wow!  I was awesome today!  I was Spartaneriffic!  Yeah, I know, patting myself on the back.  But really, I accomplished something I haven't done in more than 20 years, since I was in the Army.

Backing up just a bit.  In December I posted that I had committed to running the Spartan Sprint here in Kalispell (OK, it's in Bigfork).  You may recall that my neighbor got me off the couch in August and gave me a goal of just finishing.  "Just finish the race, Carmen. It will give you motivation."  So, I got up and started moving.  My sister, Lisa, turned me on to a program called C to 5K (couch to 5K), a progressive running program designed to get you running 30 minutes solid in about 12 weeks.  So, I started with that.  On my treadmill.  I was too heavy for my joints to take the pounding of running on pavement.

Within 5 weeks, around October 1st, I could "run" 30 minutes.  I started adding in variety with workout DVD's and weight training.  I was still too embarrassed to go to the gym, for which I pay every month to be a member of, but hadn't seen the inside of for a year, so I stuck it out at home.

Around the end of October, we visited my dad and step-mom in Idaho for a weekend.  I brought my running shoes and did my best to run the three mornings we were there.  Brendan and I headed down the farm roads surrounding their property.  20 minutes.  Even though I could do 30-40 on the treadmill, it only took 20 minutes for the outside world to tire me out.  And running on uneven terrain with my unstable ankle didn't feel very good.  I came home from that trip and focused on running.  I ran outside.  I made progress, but because of my excess baggage, my knees and hips started to complain.  The weight was coming off slowly, but coming off.

By mid-November I needed a new routine.  So I went to the gym.  I got some great advice from a trainer who told me "lose 50 pounds, then start running".  She also directed me in upper body strengthening.  I took her advice, mostly, and left the treadmill alone.  I fell in love with the elliptical machine.  And more weights.  And abs.  And soon, I began to feel really dang good.  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I lost 5 pounds.  And I kept working.  On my night shifts at the hospital I started power walking the hall on my lunch break.  I know EVERY picture, ornament and decoration along that hallway.  I also squat, lunge, plank and do sit ups in empty rooms with my ear tuned to the alarms and call lights.  In the last month, the treadmill died, so I got out my old aerobic step (remember those from the 90's?).  I can blast at that thing for 45 minutes and love it.  The biggest change is that I now make exercise, i.e. taking care of myself, part of my daily routine.  And I'm down 30 pounds since Jeanne's wedding on March 31. Thank you very much.

So today.  Today I needed new running shoes so off to Universal I went.  I left with two pair, one for indoor/treadmill, and a pair for trail running.  The season has changed here in Montana. It's now early mud season and 12 weeks to Spartan Sprint.  I decided that increasing the frequency of out door running is in order.  Not too much, since some more baggage needs dropping.  So after the kids went to preschool, I laced up my new trail shoes, hitched up the dog and headed outside.  After all, it was a balmy 35, so no excuse to stay indoors!  I walked/warmed up for about 5 minutes or however long that first song was.  Then I started to trot.  At first, it's a little embarrassing.  I mean the dog doesn't even have to trot to keep ahead of me.  But after 15 minutes, I found my groove and the mutt had to trot a little.  There is a park near my house that basically lives down in a river bottom.  I ran down to it, doing some interval up and down sprints on the switchback leading to the river.  I ran over the river and through the park and up the other side of the bowl.  Then down and and back up that side.  Then down, through the park, with a detour to run the muddy hill (OK, it was a rapid walk up the hill but I made it to the top, which hasn't been possible for years), down the hill, back over the river and up the front of the bowl.  I did two up, one down on the switchback path back up.  I rested and stretched for a minute, then jogged for a little longer and walked home.  I estimated that I ran or made running motions for at least one hour.  Not bad for a girl who had trouble making around the block at a fast walk 10 months ago.

The best part was when I picked up Brendan and Rogun from school.  Brendan asked me how I was and I told him "awesome".  He grinned and asked why and I told them what I had done.  Brendan and Rogun started clapping!  And they were sincere, not the tweenager smart alec clapping.  Both said they were really proud of me.  That won them not only my heart, which they had anyway, but a frosty after middle school orientation.

So yeah, I'm feeling pretty Spartan today.  It won't happen every day like that, but I bet once a week now, me and the dog are going have some fun at the park and other hilly places.  Oh, and my bad ankle?  What bad ankle?