Friday's List of Ten X

Ten reasons clothes shopping (for me) with the boys turned out much better than I expected:

10. In and out of the Jeep X 6, in and out of the stroller X 6, no tears!

9. Two words: store toys! I had stuff for both boys to keep them happy, but everyone knows that other people's stuff is way more fun than yours. And Owen was persuaded to put everything back and leave when it was time to go with the vague promise that "the toys will be here when we come again".

8. Store was almost empty, in spite of it being half-past lunchtime on a Friday. (Yeah, I had planned to be there when the store opened. Boys did NOT have a good morning.) I could take over three changerooms, and no one was inconvenienced. (1 for the stroller, 1 for the boys to play in, and 1 to actually change in.)

7. Charming, charmimg boys, a.m. antics to the contrary! Manners and conversation from Owen, invitations to the sales girls "Would you like to play cars with me?". "Hi!" with a smile and a wave for everyone from Jake, and adorable brother-interaction to boot. Jake crawling after Owen, Owen deciding Jake needed a different toy and getting it for him. Those two flirted their way through that store on teeth and charm.

6. Stand-alone stores (I went to Tall Girl, more about that in a minute) are a lot more kid-friendly than stores in the mall, or giant -Mart stores. Small stores meaning never losing sight of exploring boys when they are encouraged by staff to drive their cars out of the changeroom.

5. I actually found a great outfit to wear to Grace's baptism (they made me an offer I couldn't refuse - I'm her Godmother). I would post pics from the online catalogue, but I really hate it in the catalogue. And the one I thought I liked online looked terrible in person. Which just goes to show, I should browse and try on different things in stores more often, rather than my usual MO of running into the GAP, cornering a salesperson and saying "I need jeans, size 10, 36 inseam. With a fit I can wear to the office. Meet me in the changeroom." It's a summer suit, with short sleeves on the jacket, in light grey with a white pinstripe. And I got a turquoise sleeveless shirt to wear with. Snazzy, and office friendly! I am over the guilt of paying specialty store prices - even Stacy and Clinton would rave about the fit.

4. Tall Girl finally has a rewards program! Once you make $500 worth of purchases (um, not difficult, I'm halway there on the one outfit, ouch!) you get 25% off one item. As reward programs go, it's not yje most exciting, but considering how pricey their stuff is, any money saved is good news.

3. I discovered that I am back to my pre-pregnancy size, the aforementioned 10. Maybe if I got serious about eating well and ran not just because I have an event coming up, I could get down to an 8. But at 6 feet 1 inches and a mom of two, I am quite pleased with being a 10.

2. Mall tailor took pity on me and did my hems while I waited, when others were being told they could pick up their pants tomorrow afternoon. Score one for "it never hurts to ask...really politely!" And they didn't charge me any extra. I took Owen to the potty, picked up a few more odds n ends, and voila, pants! Pants that actually got taken up (even with heels, TG pants are tres longue) rather than let out and a false hem put on, something I have been known to do to spare myself those TG prices.

1. Both boys fell asleep in the Jeep on the way home, and stayed asleep for the house-transfer. Which means that after a very pleasant afternoon out, I still got to enjoy some quiet time to get stuff done around the house. I thought for sure I was looking down the barrel of missed naps and cranky p.m. boys as well, but fate smiled on this well-dressed mama.

Clearly Speaking

Busy, busy, busy. Of course, whose life isn't these days? I did my EndurRace, with a personal best in both distances! I was hoping to do the 5K in under 30 minutes, and I did it in 30 minutes, 26 seconds, so I was quite pleased (my previous time had been about 34 minutes). My previous 8K time (two years ago, the last time I ran it) was just under 55 minutes - I was just hoping to beat that time. I blew it away, finishing in 49 minutes, 51 seconds! I'm so proud of myself!! And so, so happy to finally have completed both races that make up this event. Yay me! The best was having Steve and the boys cheering for me - nothing motivates you for those last hundred metres like hearing your little guy yelling "Go Mommy go! Go Mommy go!"

Lots of other stuff has been going on, some good, some not so good. The really sad news is that we lost Steve's Grandma last weekend. She had been ill for some time, with growing tumours in her lungs. At her age (94) there really wasn't anything they could do for her - her body wouldn't have withstood radiation or an operation, so the doctors just did the best they could to make her comfortable. We will be getting together with family to celebrate her life next weekend.

The boys are growing like crazy. Jake has two teeth, and is the fastest thing around here on all fours. He's literally crawling the knees out of his pants! And speaking of pants, Owen keeps getting taller. I bought new pants for him, but since we're nearly done with pants-wearing-weather, I bought them big enough to (hopefully!) fit him this fall. Which means we're currently rolling the cuffs, and he finds that annoying. Thank goodness most places are putting the adjustable waists into pants, because he's still a skinny minny. Also, those pants are staying completely dry during the day, and Owen is finally telling us when it's time to go on the potty, instead of the other way 'round. Life is good!

I will be trying to post more regularly, evenings have been kind of full of late, and while I've been wanting to post, my brain hasn't been able to handle it. But I do have to quickly post this conversation we had with Owen in the car yesterday before I forget it. (If I don't put these stories down somewhere, I'll never remember them!)

(Owen was playing with a pair of sunglasses.)

Owen (putting on sunglasses): Wow! These sunglasses are really queer!

Mommy: (Sharing a "did we just hear that?" glance with Steve) Pardon me?

O: These sunglasses are really, really, queer Mommy! I like them.

M: Um, where did you hear the word "queer", Owen? (Wondering how I'm even going to start a conversation about the heady semantics of that word with my two-year-old...)

O: On Sid the Science Kid.

M: What???!!! (Mentally reviewing recent Sid episodes... love that show, but pretty sure there hasn't been one about sexual orientation recently... wait, there was one about glasses... making your vision....) OHHH! The glasses are really CLEAR!

O: That's what I said, Mommy. These glasses are cwear.

Owen pronounces his L's like W's. It's something I don't even notice anymore, we're so used to it. Steve and I laughed the rest of the way home.

Neither Snow Nor Sleet (um, Ice!)

The first weekend of the EndurRace is less than two weeks away. I'll be running 5K on the 18th, and 8K on the 25th. This means that I can no longer slack off in my running, because come hell or high water, I'll be out there on the 18t,h wearing a number, and I'd really prefer not to have to get picked up by the cleanup crew that comes out to round up stragglers. (I'm pretty sure they only do that during marathons, but I really don't want to find out!)

SO! Owen was off to daycare today, and Jake and I had to run. Notwithstanding the 15 cm of snow we got yesterday, we had to run. Nevermind that running with the stroller in the wind is like running with a parachute (and that's without the storm cover on...) we had to run. So, I gave Jake a teething biscuit to keep him happy, strapped him into his fleecy stroller bag, and covered him with his plastic bubble. (Um, I dressed him in winter gear as well.)

Thanks to the lovely Auntie Erica, with whom I had the most amazing extended-birthday-afternoon on Saturday, I am now the proud owner of a pair of Yak Trax to fit under my shoes. I'm sure she thought I wouldn't be getting any use out of them until next winter, but they were just what I needed today! Outside is a mess of sticky, blowing snow on top of a crunchy, icy crust - pretty much the worst running surface ever. But my Yak Trax gave me the traction necessary to push Jake up the hills, and the control to keep my stride up down the hills. We ran on the sidewalks, which we don't usually do. Ashphalt is easier on the knees, but on a day like today, we don't trust the drivers in our neighbourhood to be looking out for us. (Or to be able to stop on the ice even if they are looking out for us.)

They were great! Jake and I did 7K. That's right, in the ice, snow and wind, we did 7K. I'm pretty sure my Trax would have stayed attached to my shoes even without the velcro attachment overtop, and the rubbery/springy traction pieces were comfy to run in over the snow and ice. I wouldn't want to run on them all the time on a dry surface, but for the few places where people had shovelled down to bare sidewalk, they were fine, and even helped absorb some of the pounding that makes me avoid concrete .

EndurRace, here I come! :)

Go ahead, make my day!

Okay, remember this lady? Well, I meant to blog about a discussion with another stranger at the track that totally makes up for that one, but I'd forgotten about it, until seeing the same gentleman there again this past Thursday. He totally made my day last week!

I was there with my StrollerFit class (which I also really love, it's offered through Belly Buttons, and the instructor, Trish, is awesome. She's going to do the EndurRACE 8K with me in April.*) Trish works us in intervals: we do a lap of the track, and then some weight work with resistance bands, or lunges, or crazy-butt-working-kick-things. The point is, we run a lot. (Well, not everyone runs - you go at your own level.)

ANYWAY! I had just finished a lap, and an elderly gentleman came up and said to me that he just had to ask: had I ever raced track seriously? He said that I had a fantastic running stride. He told me that he used to be a track coach, and that I had great form - good leg turnover, a long stride, keeping my head level, and making it look effortless. After joking that I'm glad he thought it looked effortless, I told him I'd actually been really working on my form, so he had just made my day. He told me he was at the track training to do a 10K run with his daughter this summer, so I'm sure we'll see him again. Jake liked him too - he had a big smile for him again when we saw him there again this week.

I've actually been working really hard to lengthen my stride, (it's easy to shuffle your feet when you get tired, and then I lose all the benefit of having long legs!) and keep my head up, and steady (legs doing all the work of moving me horizontally, instead of wasting effort in bobbing up and down. Think of the marathoners you see in the Olympics - the girls' ponytails don't even swish!) By concentrating on form, I'm doing the same distance with less effort - running upright with a longer stride, I cover more ground in fewer steps. (Um, this is the theory, anyway. It still FEELS like a lot of effort, but the math works.) But it's hard to evaluate myself, so it was super great to be complimented like that. (And honestly, this man had to be in his seventies. He was not hitting on me. Or maybe he was, I guess you never know, but I'm still taking the running compliment at face value.) Am superwoman running goddess. Go me. :)

* Yep, I'm all signed up for the EndurRACE: 5K on April 18, and then 8K on April 25. Both races at 6 p.m. - come cheer for me, locals! ;)

Taller Than Your Mama!

I was thinking the other evening, as I hung upside-down over Jake's crib, arms around him, giving him kisses and shushing him to sleep, how do the short moms do it? When Jake (and Owen too, back in the crib days) needs comforting at night and not to eat, I don't like to take him out of the crib. If I get up on my tip-toes, I can bend at the waist right over the crib front and snuggle him. I get a bit of a head rush when I stand back up, but he knows mommy isn't pulling him out of the crib, so it's time for sleep. I also don't have the issue of "baby fell asleep in my arms, but wakes up when I put him down". So there you go - using my height to my mommy-advantage!

(Our crib converts to a double bed frame, so I don't have the drop-down option on the front.)

Heh, my height and more specifically my long legs also work to my advantage the odd time I am putting him down all ready asleep, but forgot to pull the blanket back fully when I last got him up. I stand on one foot, kick my other leg up and over into the crib, and pull the blanket aside with my toes. All while holding the sleeping baby! I never thought of this as an accomplishment until Steve saw me do it the other day. He was mighty impressed, so I just thought I'd share.

Oh Baby!

Jake and I just got back from our Fit Babies fitness class. In spite of the name, Jake is not working off his lovely baby chub, it's all about mommy. (Fit Babies is the class for mommies, Fit Bellies is the class for preggos.) Our instructor, Leigh, mentioned that she has room in her Monday morning session that is starting next week, so I just thought I'd give her a bit of a plug here. (Not that I have a big enough audience for that to make a difference, but I'm really enjoying this class, and I really like Leigh, so I'm plugging away anyway.)

We're three classes into this session (I've done a fourth class, a "sample" one before Christmas) and I'm loving it. Leigh is a great instructor. She's a mom herself, and after a sedentary first pregnancy, and still having the "baby weight" three years after the birth of her son, she got fit, got active, became a fitness instructor herself, and started Oh Baby Fitness. She maintained her fitness level through the birth of her daughter, and is helping other mommies.

The class is great. She works us pretty hard. We start with cardio, and she always shows a few different intensity options (there are moms with TINY babies in our class. I'm talking 6 weeks old when we started! Those girls are awesome. I, on the other hand, have no excuse at 7 months postpartum, and try to keep up at the highest intensity. I certainly have the highest intensity of colour in my face during the class!) For the cardio session, the babies chill on mats, playing with their toys. The really little ones doze in their car seats. Some of the older babies are moving, and we all keep an eye out for them, as they can sometimes get underfoot. It's a bit crazy, but so FUN! And like Stars and Strollers, everyone has a baby, so no one cares if there's some crying, or if you have to stop to soothe or feed your little one.

After cardio, we do some "weights". Usually by this point, the babies are ready to be picked up, so we use them as our weights. Jake was at the doctor yesterday for his shots, and he weighs 18 pounds. Big boy! So this is fun. We hold the babies for squats and lunges, and do bicep curls and shoulder lifts with them. Leigh is really good at making sure everyone keeps proper form, even with a baby in our arms.

Finally, we do some work down on the mats. We get in a big circle, alternating mommies and babies on mats, for some leg lifts and ab work, ending with stretching. When we're done, everyone grabs a snack, several of us are usually feeding by that point, and we stay in the circle for a discussion. We've had a guest speaker from Talking Hands talk about infant sign language, last week we discussed daycare options (those of us with older kids did most of the talking about what is out there locally) and this week we talked about how life has changed. I think next week our topic is postpartum bodies - how THOSE have changed. Happily, this postpartum body is starting to make me smile again. I've still got a way to go before I can fit into all my lovely work clothes, but I'm feeling strong and capable these days, which is great.

Jake has done really well for the classes. In fact, the first class we tried out, he slept through most of it! This class starts at 10:15, which is usually his morning nap time. We drop Owen at Patty's house a little later than normal, then head to the gym for 10. This give me time to get him settled and nurse before class starts. He naps in the car while we do the running around, but won't nap in class. Luckily for me, we've always been in the "cool down" portion of the cardio before he's lost it and needed to be picked up, so I've been able to "cool down" with him in my arms. He loves to laugh in my face as I'm lifting him, and loves to snuggle in to my chest for squats, so after those cuddles, he's quite happy to sit right next to me on the mat for the end. Not sure how things will go once he starts moving, but so far, so good!

So, if you're interested in a great mommy workout that's fun and baby-friendly, I highly recommend Leigh and Oh Baby Fitness. (Um, I'd probably recommend her for a pre-natal workout too, but I have no direct experience with those.) And if you're not in KW, but you're a mommy who thinks this class sounds like a good idea, google "Post Natal Fitness" for your city - chances are, there's a similar type of class near you. (Although you won't have as great an instructor as I do. Just kidding!)

YES!

Today I managed to get in a run. And not just any run, a GREAT run. Jake and I did 5K, outside. Hills. I felt STRONG. It's a good feeling. My first outdoor run since before Christmas, and as sloppy as it is out there, I felt great the whole way. And is it ever sloppy out - we're having a slight thaw, mostly because of how sunny it was today. Which means lots of melting, but the drifts are all so high and come so far into the roads, the storm drains are all still covered. Which means HUGE puddles. (Yes, I run on the road in the winter. People around here are good at clearing their sidewalks, but not everyone can get them clear down to concrete every time, and it doesn't take much to slip. Also, with the drifts as high as they are, not everyone on a corner has cleared out to the street, so I can't follow my regular routes. So I run in the road. I run facing traffic, I wear my day-glo safety vest, and I always check over my shoulder before going around parked cars. I also make eye contact with all drivers headed my way. I've been surprised - most people who refuse to even move over a bit or even slow down seem to be women with kids in the back. Most people who slow up and give me extra space also give me a huge smile. I'm guessing these are the other people I tend to see running in the neighbourhood.)

Where was I? Oh yes. Huge puddles. So my feet got very wet, very fast. But the thing I had the most trouble with were the ice/snow chunks. Lots of people were taking advantage of the slight thaw to chip up the last bit of snow/ice covering their driveways/sidewalks to get them completely clear. However, lots of these people chose to push this heavy stuff out into the road, instead of trying to throw it up onto the 8 foot snowbanks (not that I blame them). Now, I LOVE my jogging stroller. It handles like a dream, through snow, slush, dirt, gravel, and puddles. But not through ice chunks. It's light (as a jogging stroller should be) and easily gets misdirected by these huge chunks, especially when I'm only guiding it with one hand. I got hung up twice, when oncoming traffic made me hug the snowbanks as much as possible, and the chunks directed my tires into the snowbank. Happily Jake slept through the slight jar both times, but I did my best to steer clear of the piles of chunks whenever possible.

The best part about a day with a great run in it? Aside from my running high, I want the good feeling to last, so I want to eat better. It's Superbowl Sunday, and it would have been easy to pick up all kinds of goodies in the name of the game. Steve requested Timmy's this morning, and I obliged him. He's been feeling pretty under the weather, so I've done my best today to keep the kids occupied. I took the boys to Timmy's, but I stuck to just my coffee-with-milk, no treats for me. And after dinner, I took Owen to the store for ice cream. Brought home strawberry and chocolate, as per his instructions. Owen and daddy happily had ice cream for their Superbowl treat, but I made myself take a long look at the nutrition information on the labels, and passed. I didn't work this hard today to blow it all on one bowl of Haagen-Das. This needs to be my mindset - I can't reward "good behaviour" with food.

In other news, I'm back in my pre-pregnancy jeans as of today, which is probably what inspired me to run in the first place. Not my "skinny" size 10 jeans, but my size 12s. For a girl who's 6 foot 1, size 12 is awesome. But I'm coming for those 10s!

Try a Tri, 2007

Here is the note I wrote in Facebook back when I did my Try-a-Tri, at the end of the summer of 2007. (Owen was 14 months old, and I was just about to get pregnant with Jake). Can't wait to try it again this summer, with all 3 of my boys to cheer me on!

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So, as you can see from my pics, the Try-a-Tri was this past weekend. My first ever Triathlon, and even though it was just the baby one, I am still just as proud of myself for doing it as if it had been the Ironman. :)

We couldn't have asked for a better day, the weather was sunny, not too humid, and hot enough to be comfy coming out of the lake after the swim. The total distances were to swim 375 metres, bike 10 km, and then run 2.5 km. I was feeling a little nervous - I knew I would finish, but didn't know how my knee would hold up, since it had been giving me some trouble the past few weeks. I hardly did any training at all the last two weeks leading up, opting instead to rest my knee.

The day of, Valerie came to pick me up (after a brief mishap where she nearly lost her bike on the expressway!) and we headed out to the Conservation area. We found the transition area easily and racked our bikes, then went to sign in and gather our freebies. It was a little overwhelming to see everything there, and I was nervous, but pumped. We got our numbers, our hot-pink bathing caps, our timing chips, and then we got marked. The write your number on your arm, and your age on the back of your calf. I guess the logic is that if you're competitive, you can identify people in your age group to pass them? We were joking with some other girls that rather than having to walk around with our age written on us, they should write how many kids we have, and how old they are!

We laid out all our gear on our towels next to our bikes, shoes and socks neatly lined up for easy put-onability (that is too a word!), and did a brief warm-up run. Before we knew it, Val's entourage had arrived, and she got to give her little girl Sadie a quick hug before the race. We grabbed our goggles and headed down to the lake, keeping an eye out for my family on the way down. We started the swim in several waves, and our wave was heading out at 6 minutes after 1. I slithered into my wetsuit, and tucked my hair up into my cap. Just as we were wading into the water, I saw them: Steve, Owen and my parents had arrived to cheer me on! Yay!

Standing at the start was an incredible feeling - with all the other women in our category, all laughing and joking about how we all just hoped to finish vertically! Then, the start! The swim was crazy. Legs, arms, thrashing and splashing, I have never felt so crowded since the mosh pit at EdgeFest a long number of years ago! I was glad I was wearing my wetsuit - the little bit of added buoyancy gave me the extra confidence to stay calm and "just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming swimming..." The turns around the buoys were especially crowded, and I swear I didn't even swim around the first one, just rode the crush of bodies around it.

As we headed back to shore, I got my first boost of confidence: passing some lighter-coloured bathing caps that were parts of the groups that had left before us. We got to shore, and as I was wading out of the water, I ripped down the zipper on my wetsuit, and had it down around my waist before I even got out of the lake. Swim cap and goggles came off next - my mom didn't even catch me with the camera at this point, because she was looking for wetsuits! Luckily, Val's group caught a few shots (not that they're flattering or anything, but still, glad to have the memory captured, thanks Ian or Ian's parents!)

Of course, when they tell you the distances, they don't mention the HUGE hill you have to run up from the lake back to the transition area. Barefoot. With jelly post-swim legs! But of course, we all did it, and then it was time for the first transition. I ripped off my wetsuit, leaving it in a spent, rubbery pile where it fell, grabbed my sunglasses and helmet, pulled on socks and shoes, clipped on my number, and grabbed my bike. Ran my bike over to the road, crossed the "On Bike" line, and hopped on. The bike was probably the least-strenuous part of the race, because of the opportunity to catch your breath on the downhill portions, even while you're still pedalling like mad. And while I was passed a few times, I passed my share of people too, which felt good. My mountain bike was obviously not the conveyance of choice, but actually, I was fairly happy with how I did. My only preference would have been for a different style of handlebars - it's way too hard to try and stay bent over to maintain a low profile with your hands spread out across mountain bike handlebars.

I got to get in a few sips of water on the bike too, which really helped. Before you knew it, you hit the turnaround, and headed back, and before you knew it again, everyone was skidding on the brakes, to avoid everyone else stopping at the "Bike Off" line. I didn't see it, but my dad saw a few people get assessed a penalty and made to go back across the line because they rode over it. Glad that wasn't me, although I did have to lock up my tires to avoid running into the guy in front of me, who was doing the same thing to avoid the guy in front of him!

The transition from bike to run was easy - rack the bike, throw down my helmet, and grab my ballcap (I can't stand to run with sun on my face!) That run was the longest 2.5 km I've ever run. I'm not ashamed to say that I walked on a few of the uphills, but since I was doing them at a fast walk (and passed other walkers, thanks to my long legs!) I don't think it hurt me too much. A little more disheartening was the little boy, about 7 or 8 years old, who was running along with his dad. Or I should say, running ahead of his dad, then back to his dad to encourage him along, then ahead again, then back again... this little guy did the whole run portion with his dad! The run was where I was really glad to have my cheering section along - they helped me pick it up. At one point, I heard Steve's voice from way far away - I could feel the energy flowing back into my legs from that! And as it turned out, I had a little bit left to sprint at the end. Turns out it was a good thing - I ended up finishing in the top 20 for my age group, and no, I wasn't 20th! I was 19th, I beat the girl who ended up 20th by just 2 seconds!

I could not be happier with my finish. I was hoping to come in around the hour mark, and felt I'd be SOOO happy with that. I did it in 56 minutes, which was awesome. Overall, I was 186 out of 348 participants! My best segment was actually the swimming. For that portion of the race, I was 139 out of 348, which is fantastic. You can see my results at (omitted).

Valerie did a great job too, finishing in just over an hour, 1:01! She also had her best performance in the swim, which really is an accomplishment, since that seems to be the hardest part for a lot of people. And she did the run without stopping to walk! So we're both feeling like Super Mamas these days. Especially considering that not only do we both have 14 month old babies, but it's not like we were doing anything like this before we had the babies either. I could not have done it without Valerie, knowing that she was out there training too, doing those hated bricks, having good days, and the "days of doubt". Not to mention all the advice she had from friends who had raced before! Thanks Val! :)

So, my first Triathlon attempt was a rousing success. I would definitely do it again, and maybe even eventually attempt the "Sprint Triathlon", which is a little longer, but still not quite full length. Who knows when that will be, but I really enjoyed myself, and can't wait to do it again. I'd like my next challenge to be the Oktoberfest 10 K, but we'll see how my knee is feeling over the next few weeks before I make a decision. In the meantime, I'm feeling very happy with what we've accomplished, and can't wait for Owen to be old enough to be cheering along with all the other little ones I saw yelling their little hearts out for Mommy or Daddy!

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postscript: I was too busy throwing up (thanks Jake!) to do the Oktoberfest 10K that year, and no where near 10K after Jake had been born this past year. Oktoberfest 10K in 2009!

Ow, ow, OW!

It's the good kind of sore, but owie! Getting back in shape is never fun. I totally thought I'd be up for the Refridge-Eighter in February, but I'm just not getting back up to 8K in time. I'm sitting solidly at 4, and you know what? I'm okay with that.

I'm really only getting in one good run a week. Tuesdays Jake and I are doing Mommy and Me aerobics, Wednesdays is StrollerFit (where we run, but not exclusively) and Thursdays is when I'm at the track. Saturdays I'm trying to get in an outdoor run, but with both boys having colds, a mommy who gets up a million times a night is a mommy who opts for the nap instead of the run. (Even though I KNOW I'll feel groggy after the nap, and awesome after the run. But I'm all about living in the present. And the here-and-now is that a nap will feel better than getting on my shoes.)

And in the evenings, if there hasn't been a run or a fitness class in my day, I'm getting my 90's on with Billy Blanks and Tae-Bo. (Did you know that TAE-BO also stands for Total Awareness and Excellent Body Obedience? Just one of the many inspiring things I've learned from Billy while paying attention to his patter. I have to say, out of all the workout videos I've ever had, I love Billy the best. He makes mistakes, which I LOVE, since it makes him human. And I've never felt so cheered on in something. And I love his relationship with daughter Shellie. They have so much fun. Seriously, Tae-Bo - for a workout that DOESN'T make you feel inadequate!)

So, that's the fitness schedule for the next little bit. As weather picks up, so will running. And I'm VERY excited to be able to get my bike out this year, since by then, Jake will be big enough for the trailer. Can't wait to see how Owen and Jake do together in the bike trailer for rides. (Mental note: must get helmet for Jake.) Valerie and I are talking about training for a Triathlon again. (Did I post that here or on Facebook? We did a Try-a-Tri when Owen and Sadie were 14 months old: 375m swim, 10K bike, 2.5K run. It was awesome! I was top 20 for my age group.) I am determined to get back into my nice work clothes again, so even though it hurts, right now, I'm am relishing the reminder from muscles that have gotten little use over the past few months.