Happy Birthday to the Rockstar!

Rocky, our awesome Goldendoodle puppy turned TWO yesterday!! I almost forgot, bad mommy. We had church all morning, then a wedding afternoon/evening, so it just kind of slipped. We did wish him a happy one, but I think that gets lost on a dog if it's not accompanied by treats. We'll have a little cake and treats tonight though! Can't believe he's 2, seems like he just got here.

Here he is before we got him with all his brothers and sisters- he's the second from the right, laying down...he's still lazy.



This is when we went to pick him up- Matthew was the happiest boy EVER, he'd wanted a dog for so so long! He's the best dog!


He lets all the kids walk him, is SO SO patient. And bonus: DOES NOT SHED A HAIR!! I've started doing short runs with him- longest was 2 miles but I bet he could go further. I definately slow him down, but he doesn't make me feel bad about my 11:00 mile pace. Here he is at this year's Buddy Walk in Forsyth Park:


So thanks big guy for fitting seamlessly into our crazy family- can't remember a day when you weren't a part of our lives! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!



Anyone else run with their dog(s)? Have any tips? I haven't gone too far with him because I am not sure about how often to water him, etc., but he LOVES it!

Munchie Monday: Almond stuffed OLIVES!

I swear I do snack on fruits and veggies and all that, my life is not just one big pickle tray, but I do tend to go towards the savory snack. So that said, munchie Monday #2's snack of choice is Lindsay Nutty Almond Queen Olives  a huge perfect crunchy almond stuffed into a green olive. Yum.



Stats include 20 calories and 1.5g fat per 2 olives (that's the good fat people!), no carbs or cholesterol.  A couple of these are enough to get you to the next meal- crunchy, salty, savory, indulgent!



Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend- Mark and I went to a super nice wedding yesterday, kid free (a true rarity 'round here)! The weather was perfect (finally!)- close to 70 and sunny, they had the service and cocktail hour out on the lawn of the Savannah Westin- I had a short sleeved dress on and was comfy, yay! Now it just needs to get up to my beloved 80's and I will be a new person, winter blahs stink. A day like yesterday slipped into the first page of the calendar surely helps breathe new life in!  Rainy day today, so I plan to do a spin class with a mile treadmill run on either side of it. Then a mountain of laundry.

Okay, off to do work with the little ones, Thomas looks like he's starting his own blog ;)



Tell me YOUR great, satisfying, somewhat healthy snacks!

Tuneful Tuesday...

... and wow, I guess I haven't looked at many music videos, they are crazy R (X??)-rated and just out there on the internet! My "get up and run" song as of late is Tonight (I'm Loving You) by Enrique Iglesias. I was going to link to the video, and started to watch- wow is all I can say, he really *was* loving her... I think (no, I KNOW) I need to monitor the youtube watching my oldest does, seriously did not realize it was so, well, just SO, ha.  Anyhow, the song itself is a GREAT running song, I'll leave it at that.

So I will give you a bonus song, a couple years old, but the beat still stands: Jai Ho (from the movie Slumdog Millionaire)- the Nicole Scherzinger/Pussycat Dolls version. Love the movie AND the song :)

Happy Tuesday!

Munchie Monday: PICKLES!

In an effort to convince myself there are better snacks out there than pretzels and cheese sticks, I am going to try to make a post about some snack I enjoy when I am trying to lose weight- ideally it's one that I would ALSO enjoy at any point. It may not be something entirely healthy, or some weeks it may. Today's is sort of neither I think, not sure, maybe a nutritionist can weigh in. Without further ado, the 1st Munchie Monday snack is... Tree of Life Organic sweet Bread and Butter Pickles 

  
(just back from working out, beautiful...)

I get them through my local food co-op and they are just like homemade, except I don't have to make them! Stats include 30 calories, no fat, 180mg sodium and 7g sugars per serving, which is 4 chips (they are fairly big). Soooo, not "free" calories, but satisfying when I want something salty/sweet to tide me over. Yum!


These of course don't have any HFCS (uses sugar cane juice). I do have to fight off the kids for them.



In other news, I stepped it up a little at the gym today and bookended my spin class with a couple mile runs on the treadmill. Have new respect for triatheletes as my legs were rubber running after spin. Felt good though!

Speaking of inspiration

Stumbled upon this:
  

A Runner's High by Ben Redmond

What inspires YOU?

Inspired

I have to say, I NEVER realized how many great blogs there were out there. I've started reading a bunch in a quest to motivate myself, learn a LOT about running, and frankly, just to enjoy and realize those that I thought were somehow "inhuman" in that they are such great  runners, are really just people like me, just a lot faster! The more I read, the more I learn about not only these strong women (and a few men), but more about ME. I have  a LOT of work to do before November, but it now seems so much more attainable! Not just crossing the finish line, but with a smile and with pride.


Being motivated now, I got off my slacker couch and back to the gym and the trail. This also translated into motivation at home, so the house is cleaner and a tad bit more organized... need to find some OTHER sort of blogs to work on that though I think, ha ha.  Anyway, had a great fitness week for me! Sunday as soon as Mark walked in the door from the airport I kissed him hello and ran out the door for a quick 2 miles. Monday I did a spin class, Tuesday I did Iron Bodies (weights/bands/lunges/pushups/planks/etc./etc. for 75 minutes), Wednesday 5 miles on the trail at the Y (some walking, I am gradually getting back to running longer), Thursday Iron Bodies again, and yesterday I did 6 miles. I did walking interspersed with sprints. Though my sprints are other people's marathon pace, ha ha.

Anyhow, been much cleaner with my diet too, so overall, good week. Fun stuff with kids too- Leah is playing basketball, there is nothing cuter than 3 year olds trying to dribble. Thomas continues with his soccer- it's really a WONDERFUL program, integrates special needs kids and "regular" kids seamlessly. 


Matthew is so independent now, I miss him needing me for everything, but celebrate him in this transition into the teen years. I got an e-mail from his baseball coach, practice starts next month, yay!

Tuesday's Training Tunes

Going to try a new thing here on my blog- every Tuesday I am going to post a song or two that inspires me out on the trail/road/treadmill. Doesn't everyone have some songs like that? No matter how exhausted/unmotivated/DONE you feel, a song like that comes on and your ears tell the legs to move faster, totally circumventing that silly brain that is telling you "it hurts!"


My current song like that is an oldie (and since I AM old, probably a lot will be like that!):

SURVIVOR by Destiny's Child (early Beyonce'). The beat rocks, and if you take the time to actually listen to the words, even better! Makes me feel strong :)



What songs inspire you to run (or do your exercise of choice)!!

Ode to Childwatch

The childwatch staff at the Y is a wonder,
They allow me to run out on the trail and yonder,
When school is closed they are still in,
Letting momma get sweaty in spin.
So thank you for all that you do,
Keeping me sane and helping my kids have fun too!





Feeling so happy to have the option of taking my kids to the gym today. I am always thankful for the childwatch, as I have no family here and Mark works impossible hours, but today especially so.  I am feeling my motivation very slowly returning, FINALLY! It's a gray drizzly chilly day, but luckily I called in time yesterday and got into Jodie's AMAZING spin class. It was wicked hard and my sweat was sweating, but I loved every minute!


I've blogged in reference to those saints who welcome my crazy children before: ah back when it was hot!



Hope everyone has a nice holiday!

Cold!

So Savannah hit a record low this morning- 18 degrees. EIGHTEEN! Tuesday the kids had a 2 hour delayed opening (for ice?). We are in coastal Georgia, it's just not right! My motivation is really at an all time low. I am content to sit on the couch with a blanket and children on my lap, a fire roaring (the same fireplace I giggled about when we moved down here almost 5 years ago I am now considering one of the few high points of this winter), the muscles atrophying. I KNOW it will warm up, I KNOW I will come to my senses and start running consistently again. But right now, with my eyes frosted over with, well FROST, I am having trouble seeing it. I have a 5k in 3 weeks. Lord help me...

Some snow we had a couple weeks ago. This winter never ends...


In other news, Matthew's room redo continues- the built-ins are all done, but I got an e-mail yesterday from Maine Cottage that his bed and dresser are delayed again - it has been close to 12 weeks. Good thing he's a laid back tween who doesn't seem to be bothered by the snail like pace of his birthday gift (his birthday was in November, ha ha!). The desk is GORGEOUS though, nicer than anything Mark or I have. As the guy who delivered the cabinetry said before the installer got there, "He better get all A's". He was joking. I am not.

Early am homework time with a new ipad app put to good use

We do homework very early at our house, well at least with Thomas. He just doesn't do well after school- he's tired and distracted and I can't get him to work. I've found the golden hour, however; from around 6:20- 7:30 or so. We walk Matthew to his bus every morning at 6am, so we are up, dressed (ha ha, though as you'll see, hair is NOT combed) and have had a little fresh air and exercise (well, a little over 1/2 mile round trip, but enough to wake up) and are ready to go! As soon as the bus pulls out, the first thing Thomas says, every morning without fail is "work?" and I say "yes buddy, work" and he says "WORK!".  So we walk home (in the dark, with Rocky on leash, Leah Kate still half asleep in the jogger), pour glasses of juice, and get to WORK!

Monday mornings we do spelling words- copy them 3x each.

Leah Kate does some "work" too ;)





Today we used an app we have on our new ipad to help with the spelling! He can drag the letters out of the alphabet and into the correct spelling, fun!



Of course whenever the camera comes out, so do the silly faces:






A note, the app we were using above is a $2.99 one that you can use on iphone or ipad. It's called Montessori Crosswords . We were using a part called "Moveable Alphabet" within that app. Both Thomas (7 years old with Down syndrome) and Leah Kate (3) love the crosswords and the alphabet part, I highly recommend it!

I plan on doing some reviews on particularly good apps as we use them, the ipad is pretty new now and we only have a few to start. Please leave me your favorite educational/special needs (or not) apps in the comments!