Catching up

I have been looking through the endless pictures on my computer from 2011 trying to decide which ones to use in order to catch up my blog, and I have realized that we really haven't had much going on.  Well, besides being busy with a full time job (3 if you count Scott's 2) 2 kids, one on the way and an energetic dog.   Our days are busy and fun and my house is always a mess.   Instead of creating a separate blog entry for each of the "events" over the past 6 months, I figured I would just create on entry and try to hi-light on the big ones.

In February, after recovering from strep throat I starting training for a 1/2 marathon race (against myself) in April.  My original plan was to run a 15.3 mile race in White Sands in March, but with having two kids with Chicken Pox, one with possible encephalitis and strep throat myself those plans were quickly derailed.   Oh, and while all of this was going on, Scott was working in Roswell every Sunday through Friday.  At any rate, with the help and motivation of a great friend I started a 10 week training program to prepare for my first EVER race.  I had never run a 5k or a 10k or even a 1 mile fun run race before.  I doubted myself at times and thought I would never be able to run outside on the hard pavement without hand rails to hold on to, as all or most of my running experience had been on a treadmill.   But I pushed hard, created a great play list on my i-pod, which if you know me this won't come as any surprise to you, I listed to over and over and over again .  I ran in the foothills outside of my house for most of my short runs, got lost once on a "long" run and found a great running partner in Bunsen.  I would complete my long runs at lunch time on the Fridays that I worked, with Noel who really was my inspiration.   One day I had to do a "long run" by myself and I thought I would never make it.  She was great at pacing me and encouraging me to push harder when I thought I couldn't go any more.  When race day came, I was so excited and nervous I couldn't sleep the night before.  It was a great morning for a run though and I was pumped.   We started out slow and steady and kept a great easy pace.   In fact, I would say I finished my 13.1 miles with ease and even thought when it was over that I could run a full marathon.   Here is a picture of me at the starting line with my running buddy.

That afternoon after running my half marathon I was tired and didn't quite feel right.  I felt a little queasy, uneasy and anxious.   Without any real prompting I started to wonder if I was pregnant.  I immediately went to the store and bought a home pregnancy test and discovered that I was indeed expecting our third baby.  I was so happy that I didn't suspect anything until hours after the race rather than before.  I think if I knew I was pregnant while trying to run a 1/2 marathon it would have gotten in my head.   So there it is, our last baby is due on 12/31/2011.  A little earlier than I would have liked, in my ideal world, but we are thrilled and excited non-the-less.  

Next in April was Logan's b-day.   I can't believe my baby is three already.   Logan loves to play with Olive and really is such a sweet and caring boy.  He isn't crazy, obnoxious or overly hyper.  He has a very calm and shy demeanor which I love.  I try hard to get him to come out of his shell by giving him plenty of opportunities to interact with other kids and be independent.  For Logan's birthday this year we were going to get him a bunk bed and thought it would be fun to take him shopping so he could pick his own out.  Well, while shopping for the bed, Scott decided it would be more fun if he and Logan made the bed themselves.   I agreed and we bought just a double mattress because I knew that Logan's uncle John was buying him Spiderman sheets and a blanket for his new big-boy bed.    Logan had two birthday parties this year, one with just family at our house and one with friends at Gymboree.   Oh, and one other thing, Logan and Scott both had the stomach flu the week of Logan's birthday, this has been the case every year since Logan was one.   A birthday tradition I HOPE does not last.

Logan in his Buzz Light Year rocket ship

Logan and I opening his b-day gifts while the rest of the house was sleeping (or puking).

In May we took a family vacation to Florida to visit Disney World.   We had a blast, despite my severe "morning" (all day really) sickness.  The kids had so much fun playing in the hotel pool, going to Disney and Sea World and playing at the beach.   And as always, my kids surprised me and traveled very well, with little drama and no melt downs.  Here are just a few of our pictures, there are many, many more on Facebook.

The only family picture, this is in line for "it's a small world"

June and July have been relatively slow months for us.  Just hot and pregnant!   I have been riding the rail runner and bus to work and that has been saving me a ton of money and I get a little time to myself everyday. It does make for long days however as I leave the house at 5:30am and don't get home until 6:00 pm.   We went to the Annual Placitas Village 4th of July parade this year.  Scott and I had fun and the kids did too, well until the fire truck sprayed us with water.    That is it for "catch up" hopefully I can keep on top of things and can avoid having to do too many more "catch up posts" in the future.