26.2

We recently had a fun, quick trip to Santa Barbara to support my husband in running his first marathon. It was a completely crazy trip, but luckily my mom offered to watch Baby C and Miss R for us. Thank heavens!!!

G trained hard for his race, spending many, many hours running. This was his first race to exceed a 5K, so it was a pretty big jump for him.

We had the opportunity to meet him at the 18 mile marker to cheer him on. The girls made a cute sign for him. When he ran by, everyone around us was cheering, "Go Daddy!" It was really cute!

It was cold, so the girls wore Gma's jacket.

All of us waiting at mile 18.

And there he goes.....

For the first 22 miles, G was running at an awesome pace...and he expected to reach his goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. However, at mile 23 he became severely dehydrated and all of his muscles locked up. He had to walk (hobble is probably more like it) for a while, and then was able to run the last mile or so (thanks to his sister who went and found him and cheered him on). He was very discouraged when he crossed the finished line, but I cannot even begin to tell you how proud I was. It was so amazing to watch him accomplish something so challenging. It was pretty dang cool!

FINISHED!!!!

Wiped out.

Ouch. Yes, those are blood blisters.

Getting iced up.

After the marathon, G could barely walk for 2 days. But now he has fully recovered and is actively looking at a spring marathon. I've been told marathons can be addictive, and it looks like my husband has succumbed to the temptation! :D

THANK YOU

First off---I want to say thanks to all of you who responded to my last post. It made such a difference in my morale---SERIOUSLY! And you all had great ideas too! Thank you so, so, so much!

I am feeling much better this week. I think part of it was your encouragement and part of it was giving the South Beach Diet "da boot!" Why? Well, I ran into a friend last week who also started the South Beach Diet a few weeks after me. She told me that she became violently ill. After we talked about it, I came home and did some research. Hmmm....seems nausea is a common side effect of the diet. And I have definitely felt nauseated the last couple of months. I kept wondering if I was pregnant or something because about 3 days a week I felt like someone had kicked me in the gut. So I decided to give up South Beach and start Weight Watchers again (informally--on my own). This week went really well. I am happy to report that I've lost 2 of the 3 pounds that I had gained. So I'm back on track and hoping for an even greater loss next week (since it really has only been 4 days since I started WW again).

Thanks again for your help!!!

AN HONEST POST

This isn't the best time for me to post something---I'm in a pretty bad mood. But I've been avoiding this long enough...it's time to blog about my weight loss. Or in this situation, my weight gain. In the last 2-3 weeks I have gained 3 pounds. Lovely. Apparently avoiding the scale doesn't work for me.

I have a bunch of theories of why I have gained weight. But I have to say that in the end I really have no idea what is going on. I am really frustrated. I do feel like I've been giving up a lot of things, and so I don't understand why the scale is moving up instead of down. The most likely truth is that I've stopped nursing---I don't need as many calories, and yet I'm still eating the same amount. I've also been struggling with finding time to eat. Weird, I know. I usually have a good breakfast, but after that I pretty much starve myself all day because I'm running around with my kiddos. When I fix them lunch, I remember I should eat, but we rarely eat the same things since PB & J is full of carbs, and kids aren't exactly fond of salads for lunch. And so I put off my meal, until I realize around 3:00 that I'm STARVING. Then I end up eating something that's easy to grab (and usually not as healthy). So frustrating. My other problem is that the weather has turned cold---so cold veggies don't sound that good to me. Salads are not as appealing, and to be honest....I'm just sick of them.

It's pretty humiliating to blog about this. I mean, it's embarrassing to admit my weaknesses to the masses. But I promised myself I would do it (and believe me, I have thought a million times about breaking that promise). So I'm sorry about the whining. This is truthfully where I am at right now. So please, if you're reading this, please, please, please tell me to shape up and get back on track! And if you struggle with weight loss yourself, please share your experiences. I need some help. And please, if you have any ideas that could help me---SHARE THEM!

Thanks everyone!

School Days

I have been having so much fun homeschooling my kids this year. I was a little nervous to teach two kids at once, but it has been going really well so far. We spend the morning doing "book work" and then the afternoon doing more hands-on, fun kind of learning. Here are some pictures from some recent school days.

A typical morning at our house:

Miss L received some butterfly larvae in the mail. After reading her the "rules" she decided to write them down and post them for all to see. :D

Gross, huh? It was pretty cool though.

We have butterflies!!!

Time to let them fly away.

Miss L working on her caterpillar/butterfly field journal.

This is our most recent science/history project. The girls had TONS of fun with this! They could not believe that it actually erupted!

They were so proud.

Every Friday (and often other days of the week if there's time) the girls get to choose an art project. Most recently they have been having fun doing mosaics. I would have LOVED something like this when I was a child!

Miss A's artwork

Miss L's artwork

We also recently had some field trips. That's one of the fun things about homeschooling. When you go somewhere fun, you can call it school. :D

First the pumpkin patch...

Then pony rides....

Then Apple Hill....I forgot my camera, but we took some pics of their painted faces when we got home.

I never thought in a million years I'd homeschool my children. But I do have to say, we're having a blast!!!!

Do-Over

I would love to have a magic rewind button for this week. I made WAY TOO MANY poor food choices. We had such a fun week, first at the pumpkin patch and then at Apple Hill. How in the world have I lived in Sacramento for 3 years and somehow neglected to go to Apple Hill? Apple Cider Donuts. Apple Pie. Caramel Apples. Hmmm, maybe it's good that I didn't discover this yummy place until now. Haha! :D

This week I am going to take a "pass" on the scale. The numbers are such a mental game for me. I either get discouraged and give-up, or get excited and eat a little extra---neither of which is good for me. So I'm going to try something new---and avoid the scale for 2 weeks. It may or may not work for me. We'll see.

I'm also thinking of going back to Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. I have slowly strayed from Phase 2 of the diet---and have found myself enjoying too many sweets. The good news is that I'm still eating lots of vegetables. In fact I found a DIVINE salad at one of my favorite restaurants (Tower Cafe) that I crave. For all of you locals--you have to try the Thai Steak Salad. YUMMY!!!!

Anyway, I should really stop talking about food....

Big Ideas

I have a dream.

It's simple really.

I'd like to use my bathroom one time without being interrupted by my children.

Do I need to say more?

My Baby is One Year Old

I can't believe an entire year has passed! My sweet Baby C turned a year old yesterday. I am so grateful she is a part of our family. She has such a sweet disposition and loves to tag along after her big sisters. Her favorite activities include playing with dogs, hugging baby dolls, chewing on books, and going on walks. Her favorite foods include black beans, edemame, rice pilaf, blueberries, and juice. I don't have her exact stats, but she is smaller than my older girls were at this age. She still hasn't reached 20 pounds....

We had a small family party with a smash cake (which she would not touch), a few presents (which she loved), and her favorite dinner--black beans. :D

She almost grabbed the candle.

She LOVED being the center of attention! She was a total ham for the camera--posing and everything. It was cracking us up.

She finally agreed to touch (and eat) the cake after I cut her a piece.

Loving the attention...

Love this expression, scrunched up nose and all. :D She looks a lot like Miss A in this picture.

Opening presents (sorry about the red-eye; I should have edited the pics before posting them--oops).

Playing with the Roper traditional 1 year old b-day present--a box of kleenex. She had a blast pulling them all out. And of course, the girls loved helping.

Happy 1st Birthday Baby C. WE LOVE YOU!!!!