Freaking Awesome

I don't have much in the way of a cohesive mid-week story to tell, but I've been collecting some awfully cute photos that I think deserve to be shared!

Valentine's Bags. Aurora loves to play, hug, kiss and snuggle.

Post-bath. Clark loves to play, hug, kiss and snuggle, too.

Learn to relax, kiddo.

This was left on my desk at work last week.

Chick-fil-A play date with Presley!

Aurora's red carpet look. She guessed 8 of the Oscar winners
correctly! Which is more than we've actually seen, for sure.

Record Run

After a week of sitting, relaxing, walking, yoga, eating (a lot), and an easy elliptical workout, my legs were ready to get moving again. This morning I participated in a 5K fun run at Camp Mabry, and while the weather was a bit cold and wet, the family came out to help break a world record for most pennies collected for charity and watch their mama's triumphant return to running! Last weekend's race held a field of nearly 15,000 athletes and today... well, let's just say that if it was chip timed, I surely would've gotten first in my division. This was just over 300 people, mostly college students, and I was probably the 6th or 7th woman to cross the finish line with what I'm calling a personal record. I have no idea how fast I used to run in my 20's, but this was really fast for me!

Running around Camp Mabry was really neat as we passed vintage aircraft and military tanks along the winding, hilly route. The pennies collected were placed into the shape of Texas and all proceeds went to the LIVESTRONG Foundation.

Awesome! I shall now resume my regularly scheduled sitting, relaxing, and eating.

I just ran a Half Marathon

Valentine's Day was barely a blip on our radar as this weekend was the Austin Half Marathon. I haven't made a bucket list but if I had, a running event would not have been on it. When I registered back in September it was simply because I qualified for a free entry! But I decided if I was going to do it, I was going to do it right. I read a ton of running books and they all said the same thing - the glory isn't in crossing the finish line, it's in all the work leading up to the minute you cross the start line. I made a training plan and stuck with it, and when my alarm rang at 5am this morning I was ready. The activities actually kicked off yesterday with a Team LIVESTRONG brunch and packet pickup.

In case you can't decipher Aurora's awesome motivational sign, it says "I am not going to lose! I will be in the middle!" A few weeks back she asked me if I was going to win the race. I said no. Then she asked if I was going to be the last one to finish, and I said no - I'd be right in the middle. Clearly she took that to heart! The speaker in the third photo is Bart Yasso, Chief Running Officer at Runner's World Magazine. And here we are at the Marathon Expo. Aurora loved being part of it all.

This morning I carpooled with my friend Kelsey and we had fun waiting for the start. There were 15,000 people registered and the port-o-potty lines were LONG, but everything moved quickly and soon we were on our way!

My family was waiting at the end and I sort of think they were more bewildered by the crowds than proud of me, but I was just glad they came. Kelsey's mom got a pic of me just before crossing the finish line. I know the professional photos may be better but WOW, what a great moment!

My goal time was 2:15, and I came in about a minute and a half under. I'm pretty pleased with the result! Earlier this week I compared the whole thing to pregnancy... when you first sign up, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into and feel a bit nervous for the road ahead. As you start training you begin to feel more and more prepared, until the day comes when you just want to do it already! The whole thing was exhausting and awesome - though, at the end of the Half Marathon all I got was a finisher medal. Ah well, at least I'll sleep well tonight!

PS: If I make a bucket list in the future, it just may include more running events.

Picture Perfect

This week Valley View had an open house event where all the kids had framed self-portraits they'd created for sale. I didn't buy it (let's face it, we have a TON of artwork all around our house), but I did take a picture! What a beautiful ballerina Aurora:

Aurora's always at her art table drawing something, and Clark is usually trying to copy whatever she's doing. This morning she drew a beautiful rainbow and in his usual Clarkie way he said "Now MY turn!" and proceeded to draw his own.

I told them I thought it was PERFECT, but Aurora disagreed...

My Little Kiddos

This weekend we went to our first (but probably not last) My Little Pony party! It was awesome. I got to help paint cutie marks on the girl's faces, we played MLP bingo, music, activities, had awesome rainbow snacks, the most amazing pony castle cake EVER, and yes... there was even a pony piñata. Nothing like a bunch of little girls smashing the heck out of a beloved cartoon character.

And here's a cute picture of My Little Kiddos. Aurora insisted we go to Chick-Fil-A this week because she'd heard it might be karaoke night. Alas it was not, but I'm sure you can imagine the sweet sounds in our car after the kiddos had this much sugar!

Movie Night

Aurora and her daddy decided she's old enough to stay up late and watch big girl movies on Friday nights. She's amazingly excited about the whole thing. Last month we watched Edward Scissorhands and tonight it's Maleficent.

Chuck wanted tonight's movie to be Gremins but I vetoed that suggestion. I do love the idea of showing her movies from when we were younger... Labyrinth, the Never Ending Story, the Princess Bride, the options are endless! But Gremlins?!?! What would you watch with a sweet 6 (almost 7) year old girl? Suggestions are welcome!

Every Day

I thought last week was busy... this week was BUSY! I watched the Bachelor with my friends Monday, took the kids to the dentist Tuesday, had a friend over for dinner Wednesday, ran 4-miles Thursday, girls night out with friends on Friday, Aurora had a sleepover Saturday, and today I ran over 10-MILES before a Super Bowl party with our neighbors. We also had a Girl Scouts meeting at the Fire Station, which was especially fun for the little brothers.

We aren't big football fans at the Wadey house but Aurora is a BIG Katy Perry fan, so the halftime show was a hit. Of course, we were rooting for Seattle and eating plenty of carbs and melted cheese as the drama unfolded. Over the next two weeks I don't expect to have plans EVERY day... I'll be running a bit less and hopefully eating a bit less too!

Now my turn

Last night I picked both kids up early and took them to the dentist for a cleaning. Aurora's been a few times and she was clearly excited. When we arrived she told the dentist that she would like go first to show Clarkie what's going to happen, so he won't be scared. The dentist thought that was a fine idea... Clark, not so much. The entire time Aurora was getting her teeth cleaned he was touching the equipment and lunging for the chair saying "Now my turn!"

As soon as it was his turn, he changed his tune. "No, we go home now." I had to sit down on the chair with him on my lap and play a Dora video on my phone to keep him still. Taking selfies can usually produce a smile, even in the dentist chair.

Aurora is such a model patient, but Clark is exhausting! You know, in the best possible way...

Busy

Lately it seems that our lives are just busy. Work is busy. The kids are busy. It's not even the sort of busy that's interesting for a blog - just busy! Clark's always moving, bonking his head, wanting me to hold him, insisting on snacks and TV shows. Aurora's busy with friends, art projects, and playing games. Chuck's working late most nights. Now that I'm in the height of my half marathon training I'm even busier than usual running! With just 3-weeks to go until race day my mileage has been increasing significantly. Back in August I struggled to go 2-miles at a walk/run. Nowadays it's hard to get motivated if it's below 40 degrees or if cedar allergies are getting to me - but for the most part, the weather has been beautiful and even if I'm not feeling great I can have a great long run.

Lately I've been running less in my neighborhood and more on the actual marathon course and around the lake. That 9.5 mile run was a little slow, but I decided to take it easy and run without music - allowing myself to walk up steep hills and stop at red lights without worrying about pacing or time. It was actually quite nice. Next weekend I have a 10.5 mile run planned and then I'll taper (sticking with 3-5 mile runs) for the final week or two leading up to event day. A couple weeks ago I got new shoes - exactly like my old pair but PINK! Aurora might love them more than I do...

And hey, every blog post is better with a picture of Aurora! We took a nice long walk earlier in the week in honor of Grandma's Birthday. Aurora doesn't run with me, but she assures me that she CAN run faster than me and that is that. Time to go get ready for another busy week!

Splatter

This weekend Aurora went to a splatter painting party at a little place called Smudge Studios. Paint was everywhere and it was awesome. She's been saying for months that she wants to have a painting party for her 7th birthday, so not only did she enjoy it but I picked up a few ideas as well.

She also got to stay up late on Friday night. Chuck decided she's old enough to stay up past her bedtime and watch big movies every once in awhile, and we started with Edward Scissorhands. Next time we're going to watch Maleficent. Clark was not given the same opportunity, but today he refused to nap and asked to watch Pirates of the Caribbean instead. He seems to think he's big enough to skip naps every once in awhile to watch a movie, but we're all hoping he doesn't make this a regular occurrence - just as I'm hoping our painting party won't be QUITE as messy as that one was.

Weekend Videos

I just went a full week without blogging! Not much to report... the weekend was really cold, I wasn't feeling great, but I went running anyway. That's about it. We also took a bunch of videos and I decided it would be fun to share them here. This is actually three videos strung together. The first was just meant for my Bachelor-viewing friends, but once I showed it to the kids they wanted to watch it over and over and over and over again. Then they wanted me to take more videos, so the other two are just silly but for those of you who haven't seen the littles lately, they're pretty cute. We often play the "this or that" game in the car and while Clark may not have a great vocabulary, he does know what he likes! Enough talk... you have nearly 4 minutes of videos to watch. Enjoy!

 

The Measure of Love

Aurora did her own Christmas shopping this year at the Dollar General. She spent $8 of her own money and got gifts for Grandma, Grandpa, Presley, Clark, Zeland, Grandma Nancy, and me. I helped her shop for most of the gifts, but she snuck my present into the cart where I wouldn't see it - and she wrapped her gifts all on her own, which was awesome. She picked out this cool sign for me, which I decided would be perfect in the kitchen, where I hang my measuring cups:

Speaking of measurements, over at the Slane house they're celebrating Hansen's 15th Birthday and Julian & Maren's 24th wedding anniversary! Wow. And speaking of love, tomorrow a new season of the Bachelor begins and my friends are coming over for a viewing party. Do those belong together in the same paragraph? Probably not, but there you have it. I'm using those measuring cups right now to make chocolate peanut butter cupcakes for the Bachelor viewing party... I mean, to celebrate Hansen's birthday! After all the running and yoga I've done these past two weeks, I'm looking forward to eating them.