It's not Thanksgiving! :)

I know I have been neglectful in the blog department, but to be perfectly honest, I feel so behind, that I don't even know where to start. And then I ask myself, "Do I even bother posting Christmas pictures. From both family gatherings. From New Years. From the kids playing in the snow. Do my kids open presents differently than your kids? Are they more excited and surprised than yours? Do they make cooler snow man? Do you really care?"

So, I don't know where I will start, but I do know that I will continue to blog because of my good friend Thomas Dyer that encourages me! In fact, he mentioned that he still checks in on it, only to be let down when he sees the latest post of "Thanksgiving." So this is for you Thomas!

I am only choosing to blog about the 26.2 miles that Sam and I ran 3 months ago because the pictures recently came across my computer. I realize that I have already complained to my faithful readers about the grueling 5 hours spent running, so I will not go through all the intense, horrible, pain-filled details of how we ran a freakin' marathon again. Instead, you can see the proof for yourself. And then I will shut up about the event I did,which I can honestly say was more difficult than...brace yourselves...childbirth!

The picture at the top of the blog is only there, because Blogger is difficult to work with and doesn't let me move it around very easily. I also like that picture of me during the race because of the 133 that they took of me, it is the one where I am actually smiling...not something I did frequently that day. I am also smiling in the picture below because I am crossing the finish line. Unfortunately, the picture has a time clock in the back ground showing an inaccurate finish time. That is how long it took me to cross the finish line from the start of the race. But with 10,000+ people running, I didn't start at the gun. I started about 30 minutes later. And a person that runs a marathon in 5 hours and 10 minutes is disgusted to see their picture with a clock time of 5 hours and 41 minutes. So please, for my sake, disregard the time clock!

And here is Sam at the most scenic part of the race, crossing the St. John's bridge. Notice the rain? Yep, it did that a lot that day, but does it look like it phases Sam? Nope, he's a trooper and not a complainer. I make up for us both. :)

Thanksgiving 2011

We hosted my family for Thanksgiving this year and had a wonderful day together! We had so much food and so much fun, that we did it all over again the following day!

At dinner, my mom suggested we go around the table and say something that we were thankful for. Of course, all of the adults kind of snickered at the thought, but without hesitation, Genevieve declared, "Ok! I'll go first!" She continued..."I am thankful for God."

That brought warm fuzzies to my heart. And as soon as she finished, Jocelyn offered what she was thankful for. "My mommy!"

Wow, those 2 girls had just made my day! :)

I am constantly amazed and thankful for the family I have. I am definitely one blessed person!

With the 4 day weekend, Sam and I were also able to enjoy of skiing on Saturday and then decorating for Christmas on Sunday.

The 24 Hour Burrito

Before I start this post, I will warn you that some of you may read this and think that I am a terrible, horrible, no-good mother that tortures my children. I refer to myself as a parent that doesn't let in to a will full child. :)

Jocelyn is my picky eater. I think I have posted about this before. She is also my child that suffers (or I guess suffered) with extremely low blood sugar resulting in hospitalizations. So, she HAS to eat.

Last night for dinner, we had burritos at a fairly early time of 5pm. Loaded with yummy beans, home-made mexican rice, and all of the usual tasty toppings. Jocelyn ate 1/4 of hers. So, after way to much arguing about it, we told her that if she doesn't eat it, she will have it for breakfast in the morning. She was fine with that.

So this morning, we warmed it up for her. She might have had 2 nibbles, but it went otherwise untouched. I figured she had to be starving since really she hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon. We explained to her that we were going to church and after church we needed to run some errands and would probably hit up Burger King but that if she didn't finish her burrito before church, we would bring it with us and she would eat that instead. She was fine with that.

After church, I warmed it up again (by this time, it is super soggy!) and took it in the car with us. She wouldn't touch it claiming that it was disgusting! (Well, yeah, actually by now it was, but that was not the point.)
Genevieve enjoyed her Burger and Fries while Jocelyn watched her silently.
That was actually really sad.

We get home and have to give her a nap. By this time, I am starting to get a little worried about her blood sugar. I offer another time before she goes to bed telling her that when she wakes up, that's what she'll have if she doesn't eat it now. Nope. She's not going to do it.

After her nap, we start decorating our Christmas tree and realize she isn't helping at all, but rather laying sluggishly on the couch. I decide that the girl probably needs some food. And I am not about to give her anything but the darn burrito. Because really, if you come this far, why give up now, right?!

I pricked her finger to check her blood sugar. Obviously, it's low, but not dangerously low. That is reassuring. The prick made her cry though, so I held her and explained how if she didn't eat her burrito, she would get really sick and have to go to the hospital, etc. I offered to feed it to her while I held her and she agreed. Did you hear that? SHE AGREED!

And she ate it. Every last bit of it. And she hated every bite! It may have taken her 24 hours, but she ate her dinner!
And that folks is how NOT to give in to the will full child.

Jocelyn-isms

What Jocelyn says (with her arms crossed as she stomps down the hall) when she is extremely frustrated with her mom and dad:

"HOLY MOLY COW!"

What Jocelyn says when she is excited about something:

"HOLY MOLY SPICY GUACAMOLE!"

What Jocelyn says when I tell her that she doesn't have to eat a turkey sandwich for lunch (because she hates meat):

"It must be a really special day today because I get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!"

Gotta love that girl!

Soccer Mom

I signed both girls up for Yakima Youth Soccer. Bought them new cleats, shin guards, soccer socks, the works. And then I sat back waiting for the games to start when I could sit back and watch them play.

And then I got a call that both of their teams (separate age groups) were going to be combined to make one large enough team and that still, the only way for them to play, was for me to coach.

What?! Yeah, that's what I said too. But, some how I got weaseled into it. Not only did I know very little about the rules of soccer, but the last thing I wanted to do was "coach/mother" both of my girls on the field.

I took one for the team and successfully coached the "Butterflies."

(and by successfully, I strictly mean that I completed my obligation. It has nothing to do with the way the team played soccer.) :)

Just kidding. My little butterflies made a HUGE improvement from the first to the last game. The first one was painful. No one knows the actual score, but it was in the 20's for other team to 1 for us. Not to mention there are only 2 - 16 minute halves each. Yeah, it was brutal.

The last game, well, we still got our butts kicked then too, BUT we were way more defensive (and offensive for that matter) and we had our heads in the game.

And I know what some of you are thinking...but I am here to set it straight, I DO NOT drive a mini-van. :)

Introducing...

Ariel and Rapunzel (aka Jocelyn and Genevieve in case their disguises were just THAT good!)

Portland Marathon

I still remember that night in January. In fact, it was the first day of January at about midnight. And maybe there was some drinking involved as we rung in the new year! At any rate, a group of friends were talking about running and races.

Then, we started talking about a marathon. Well, we had actually discussed it before then, but it was just that...a discussion. And we had talked about the Portland marathon being a good one because of it's location, (within driving distance) degree of difficulty (in terms of elevation gain) and the time of year it was being held. But again, it was a discussion. A silly discussion that was being had while under the influence. :)

And then a few days later, Sam officially registered for the Portland Marathon. And then Ben did. And then Vanessa did. And they were waiting for me to register. I remember heavily considering the half marathon option. I could be done 2 hours before them! And it didn't scare me to think about, like the full 26.2 miles did. But they all had their hand in convincing me that I could run a marathon and in the end, I succumbed to peer pressure. I registered to run the 2011 Portland Marathon! What had I done?

10 months went by and I found myself with Sam, Ben, and Vanessa at the starting line. And then again, 5 hours later at the finish line! I ran 26.2 miles. I ran a marathon. And then I quickly crossed it off my bucket list. And I most likely will never add "run another marathon" to my bucket list. :)

To sum up my thoughts during the race, I would say that the first 13 miles were actually pretty easy. At about 18 miles, I hit the dreaded "wall." At about 23 miles, I mentally checked out. In fact, I cried a little. Not too much, I just had to get it out of my system. :) Although there was only 3 more miles, it equated to 30 minutes. 30 more minutes that I didn't think I had in me. And at that point my whole body HURT. I couldn't even point out 1 particular thing. No blisters, no bum knees or hips, no charlie horses, just generalized pain. With every step. In the rain. The last mile was BRUTAL, in terms of running it, but the surroundings were amazing! Spectators lined the streets, shouting, ringing cowbells, encouraging us all. I kind of felt famous. And hearing my first and last name announced as I crossed the finish line brought back more tears.

Kuddos to the Portland Marathon Association. They sure do know how to treat the finishers. Blankets, roses, tree seedlings, 2 shirts, 3 medals, and any kind of food you could ever want.

It was a very memorable day and I am proud to say that I accomplished something that I never would have thought I would EVER do! I was so happy to have my husband there with me sharing the experience (as well as 2 very good friends!)

From now on, I will stick to half-marathons! :)