Happy December 1st

Hope your 1st of December is extra sweet!

And as the old cliche goes:  ONLY 24 more shopping days til Christmas!

December also means that we are on the downhill slide to an end of another year.  2011 will be closing another chapter in everyone's personal book of life.  I want to cherish the memories.  The laughter.  The love.  Because in 20 years time, I don't know if I will remember the "little things" that make each day special.  And frankly, that makes me want to cry.  The kind of crying that can only make one look absolutely and dreadfully UGLY. 

So, there are also plenty of moments I don't want to remember either or for you to remember.   Like the time I had surgery.  Three surgeries, to be exact.  Just 6 weeks ago.  Three incisions.  This was so NOT elective.  I had two hernia repairs and another prolapsed something or other.  For some unknown reason, my 45 minute surgery was 180 minutes in length.   And my wakeup was not easy.  In fact, I did not want to wake up.  The recovery nurse spent five hours trying to get me to wake-up and go home.  Apparently, I had overstayed my welcome.  Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I only slept three hours the night before surgery.  I sure was tired! 

Now that I am somewhat healed.  I ventured out on a 5K with my family.  The Turkey Trot was a great way to begin the Thanksgiving holiday -- running before a day of feasting.  It was a beautiful morning and I believe that is what the other 11,995 people were thinking too as they donned their running shoes.  The crowd!  I don't believe the streets in my city are wide enough for that many people.  Perhaps, 2000 runners wore chips to actually try and compete... while the other 10,000 runners were just there for the *fun*.

At the race's end, my darling husband and elated eldest daughter were waiting for me and my two riding littles to cross the *finish* line. 

Me:  "How did you do?"

DH:  "We did okay, but there were a lot of people to *run* around?  How was your run?"

Me:  "I don't know... WHY don't you try SHOVING 120 POUNDS UP SIX HILLS?  Oh, and did I mention that the front wheel sprung off its quick release hinge and I had to carry the wheel while balancing those 120 pounds of children and stroller?"

Other than the mishaps and the hills, it was a great run.  Luckily, the endorphins were kicked in and I was just happy!  And then the results:  My eldest placed in her age group.  I am so proud of her. 

Part II, Costume Contest!

Continuation from yesterday's post:

We won the Costume Contest!  First Place. 
Prize:  more chicken!! 

I liked living a quiet, unknown, wallflower-kinda, introverted life ... until the 5K/1 Mile run, that is.  I saw a "quote" that was NEW to me.  But, it may NOT be new to you...

But I laughed when I read it, the kind of laughing where you could pee your pants!  Aw, maybe I did - just a little. 

So, based on the quote, I created T-shirts for my husband and me.  Actually the T-shirts are our NEW Halloween Costumes.  For all the extroverted parties we attend!  But since the run came first, I got my adrenaline rushing and my bum in gear to get the T-shirts done before the School Run.  And so this is how we got our new nicknames at my daughters' school:

"SPEEDBUMP" and "FASTLANE" 

(I think my oldest may be embarrassed by us, but I'm not sure, she doesn't seem to acknowledge us in public any longer.  Because when we walked into Church to attend the evening Mass and some unknown person in the pew across the way greeted us with "HEY, it's SPEEDBUMP and FASTLANE!!" our eldest went to the restroom and returned to sit with a new and different family.)

the quote: 

My T-shirt:  FASTLANE

My husband's T-shirt:  SPEEDBUMP

The backside of FASTLANE T-shirt was changed to accomodate the run; live was replaced by run.

The backside of SPEEDBUMP announces... "AND PROUD OF IT" 

PS  The running adults got a big laugh out of it.  Especially the "MOMS".  

PPS  I am so not doggin' my husband!  He thinks the quote is funny too... maybe not "pee your pants" funny, but "chuckle, chuckle" funny.  And he is used to my sense of humor by now.

PPPS  My husband is actually a FASTLANE kind of RUNNER with a sub 2:46 Marathon time.  Yup, that's right, I can brag about my husband running 26.2 miles in less than three hours.  Because I think his marathon time is approximately my HALF marathon time.   And I am proud of his running talent. 

PPPPS  To all my neighbors, yes, that was ME on the ground taking photos of speedbumps.  I apologize to those of you who did NOT know what I was doing lying in the middle of the street.  I am not upset at the phonecalls to the police.  But I did have a difficult time explaining myself. 

PPPPPS  Halloween costumes will be for sale soon!

Part I, We Won!

The finish!  And the baby is sleeping!  Whew!



Preparing for the start



Petra crossing the FINISH and receiving her Participation Ribbon. 
She ran the ONE MILE in 14 minutes. 
Way to go my 2 year old!!



Victoria and Coach Daddy finished 7th OVERALL. 
She was the first girl to cross the FINISH. 
We are so proud of her.  She is a great runner! 

Ahhh.  Done for the morning.  Now it's pancake time. 
And then off to Victoria's Soccer Game!

Second place, that is!
Winners of a "Chic-Fil-A" meal.
Woo-HOO!

Wanted:  one decorated stroller for our elementary school run!

There was a contest for this "sillyness".  And Victoria wanted to enter the stroller contest because we, in fact, DO have a stroller to push during this 5K/1mile run.

How does one decorate a stroller?  Balloons?  Streamers?  Frankly, my sleep-deprived brain cannot even begin to be creative for this Saturday endeavor.  Besides, by Fridays, I am so out of it... I am amazed I even remember to pick my children up from school. 

So, there you have it.  I have NO idea what to do for a stroller?!  Originally, I contemplated decorating for Halloween but then I decided that since it is actually a school spirit run I should focus on school colors and symbols. 

Plus, a sidenote:  my husband is in Turkiye (as IN the Country that lies within two continents -- he is in the Asian continent) and I was clearly NOT invited on this trip.  So, I had to manage the home and the children and life all on my own.  Which is not too difficult nor is it stressful, but it does make me extra tired especially knowing that my loving husband is actually getting a wonderful 8 hours of UNINTERRUPTED SLEEP with ROOM SERVICE while I get to wake every three hours or so.   And adding a decorated stroller into the mix makes me extra extra tired. 

The stroller idea blossomed from a "Halloween Mantle" I saw ...
We made two Pennant Banners with Red and White triangles.  Red and White being the school colors.  The pennants were then sewn to Red, White, Blue ribbon for easy tying access to the stroller. 

The first banner read:  "SAS   W I L D C A T {paw print} R U N {school symbol}".

The second banner read:  The class of _________ .  On the red triangles, we displayed the Class 8th Grade Graduation Years for each of our daughters. 

Class of 2017.  Class of 2022.  Class of 2024. 

We were asked several times if that was High School Graduation?  or College Graduation? 
No, people, it is 8th Grade Graduation ... Graduation at the end of SAS!  There is an end.  But really, 2024 seems so far away.  Almost a JOKE.  Because one needs to add 4 years to each class year to obtain the High School Graduation date.  And add another 4 years to obtain the College Graduation date.  Do the Math.  My brain cannot comprehend those numbers.  UGH.  Can that even be possible?

Well, We WON!  Second Place.  The first place winner was a Rocket.  That's right, a rocket.  We lost to a rocket. 

We did beat the stroller with balloons and streamers!