New Years

It's January 2nd, and I just cannot believe it!


New Year's is a little different at our house because of Oliver's birthday. Can anyone believe that he is five already?!?

Here he is, about nine months old. (In California)

My big boy seems all grown up. On the one hand, I'm having trouble realizing that I've only had him in my life for five years (my, how the time flies!) but on the other hand, if you look at him, he seems so mature and old, I catch myself thinking, "wait, he's ONLY five?" It's a weird mix of emotions, to be sure. Part of him turning five meant finally taking him off his sippie cups. He's far too old for them, and I thought we'd have a big fight about it since the few times I brought it up in the days leading to his birthday, he was NOT a fan of the idea. So far, though, things are going pretty well; he's been just using a cup, and knows that he should keep it in the kitchen/dining room, and that he can't take anything to bed. Thank you Lord that it's going smoothly!

Oliver at six days old. Dressed up to go to church.

We're waiting to do his birthday party until Phil's mom and sister come into town in about a week and a half, so we haven't really celebrated him yet. I offered him dessert and ice cream last night saying we could put a candle in it and he could blow it out since it was his birthday, but he didn't want anything to do with that. What kid passes up dessert? We did play Candy Land with him and the other boys, and let him pick some of the day's activities yesterday and he got to go play at the neighbour's house for a little bit in the evening. I'm excited to do his birthday party though; I've had a few ideas for the last couple of months that I've been dying to do :)

Oliver at about six month old with Mr.Lion.

Things about my five year old:

He loves the colour red, trains, every thing to do with trains, dinosaurs, trucks, anything to do with construction, Go Diego Go!, the Backyardigans, school.

He's the tallest in his class, but not the oldest. He doesn't like when people call his hair red; to him, red is like the colour of a fire truck, so he thinks his hair is brown, and has sternly told strangers so. He loves to sing and make up songs. He does not like when Oakley tries to sing with him. He used to be terrified of dogs, then we got Rocket and now he loves them. Oliver does not like drawing or colouring; most of the papers he brings home from school have minimal work done on them. He's shy, but also likes being the center of attention. He's a hard worker. He's an early bird (like, really, really early.) Oliver has one of the best laughs, and likes pranks and slap-stick comedy. His favourite food is bacon, followed probably by ham. He will eat most anything if there is ketchup or sprinkles on it. Oliver is very good with his hands. He is always very curious how things are put together and work. He has a really good memory. He says Grandma and Oakley are his best friends.
As for New Year "resolutions," I'm keeping it simple this year:


1.) Keep track of all my mileage for running. I think it'll be really motivating at the end of the year to say I ran 500 miles or whatever it ends up being. That way next year I can make a mileage goal that I know is realistic.


2.) Run my second Half Marathon, and beat my time from last year. It's the same course and this year I have an actual training plan and a large support group (Plus, I know a bunch of girls running too) so I feel this is very doable. 


3.) Stay better organized/neater. If you've known me for any length of time, you know I'm a very messy person. While I've improved  A LOT since I've been married and had my own house, I still have a long way to go. I've been doing pretty great/good/better lately, and a big part of that is that the kids haven't been dragging all of their toys in the living room from the play room since we moved furniture around. IT'S AWESOME! I've also been doing better at keeping our kitchen and my part of our room picked up and cleaned, so I'd like to keep that going.


4.) Elliot getting potty trained! Sigh. I'm not looking forward to it. I've already done two boys and a dog.... this one comes free, then, right?


5.) Strengthening current relationships and forging new ones. I am a sucky people person. I don't communicate well (apart from my like-minded, quirky friends) and I tend to end up pushing people away, I think. So I'd like to make sure I try to get out of my comfort zone and talk to new people.

6.) Finish sewing projects that I have started! This doesn't automatically apply to the hand-quilt I've been working on for six years. That one I have to be in the right mood/frame of mind to work on, but I have a good-ish sewing machine now, and I have a big quilt started that I'd like to finish. It was supposed to be for Autumn 2011, but Autumn 2012 will do.


7.) Get better at decorating cakes. I don't get much practice because the only cakes I give myself time to do are ones for clients, so this year, I'd like to take the time to make faux cakes (I have styrofoam rounds) or real ones to practice fondant, sculpting, and icing skills. I'd also like to practice making gumpaste flowers some more. Along the cake line, I would also like to start charging more for the cakes; not to rip people off, but just so I could maybe make some actual money and not lose money, which is usually what happens because I feel badly charging more than $40. NO MORE! It would be nice to make more money so I could buy more tools too.


Well, that feels like a fairly ambitious list. What are your goals for 2012?

Me and my 'Brother'...

So, on last Wednesday, if I remember correctly, I was online browsing through Pinterest, and found a link to a cool quilting tutorial blog. It showed step by step instructions for beginning quilters, and had a lot of neat information/ideas on it (diaryofaquilter.com) 

I've been wanting to get back into sewing/quilting for a while, but every time I looked at the price of machines, I got discouraged and let it go. But after seeing this blog last week, I was determined to get a machine and do this!

I got on Facebook, asking advice about where I should try to look for a machine. I didn't need new, and I didn't need fancy. Just something that worked and was reliable. A few (professional sewing) friends suggested stores for me, and I was thankful that I'd been set in the right direction, though not looking forward to spending the money on it. Then, another friend told me she'd been cleaning out her shed and was going to be giving her machine away to Goodwill, and would I like to have it? She did mention she'd always had trouble getting it to work just right, but I figured since it was free, I could try to work on it, and if it was broken, well at least I didn't spend any money on it (save the price of the coffee that I bought in exchange)

So the next day, I went and picked it up and was really excited about starting to use it. I even stopped at this awesome quilting supply store on my way (with all three boys!) to pick out some fabric. I found some super cute Moda charm packs "Just Wing It" and was all set to go. Side note: charm packs are the best invention ever. I didn't have to worry about trying to find coordinating fabrics and measuring yardage with the three kids with me. It feels a little cheater-y, but some day I'll pick them out by hand and whatnot.

Here's my free* machine:

 I got right to work trying to figure out how to work the thing, and turns out it's pretty similar to the one I used growing up, but I could not for the life of me get the bobbin thread to come up the way it should, even after consulting the manufacturer's website and some YouTube videos. 


Posting my frustration on Facebook, a friend of the friend who gave me her machine came to my rescue. She services machines and gave me her phone number and walked me through some trouble shooting scenarios. Within about three minutes, I had the machine working! (she had me change the needle.) 

That evening, I laid out my squares decided what I wanted to do with them: 

 
 Friday morning, the kids went over to the neighbor's house for a couple hours and I got the rows all pieced:

Not sure why the photo is all wonky, but you get the idea.

 Then, using material I had left from a project in high school, I added a border since the blanket was still a little smaller than I wanted:

Then I got batting and piping and backing and worked on it in between the cake I had an order for that was due on Sunday. I finished it around 4:45 Sunday morning, having wanted to finish it before we went to church that morning since the person I was giving it to is going in to have her C-Section this Friday. I'm pretty happy with the finished result even though it got a pretty lack-luster reception from the mother-to-be (which about made me want to cry, though I'm sure some of that could be blamed on the lack of sleep.)

Finished product. Super cozy!

Another slightly wonky picture, but I stitched my name in a small corner.

Anyways, I'm looking forward to my next project; maybe something a little more daring than a basic "squares" quilt, we will see....

Summer Wrap-Up

Yes, yes, I know I"m terrible at upkeeping this blog!
Lots has happened since I last posted, but I've been too lazy or busy to write and post pictures.

So Oliver and Oakley have started school and they love it! Oakley cried a little the first day, but on the second day when I explained more clearly that I wouldn't be staying with him but would be coming back in a couple hours to pick him up, he did great!
  

Not much else happening on the kid front. Elliot and I have been doing parts runs fro work while the  other boys are are school, or running errands of our own. I did buy a jogging stroller at a consignment store last week and I plan on trying to run with Elliot during school hours. We'll see how that goes. he loves the stroller so far, so I hope this works out for us.


Speaking of running, here's an update of the races I've done since the half marathon:


Leashes and Laces 5K 03/25/11 28:48
Mt.Si 59 mile Relay (with the Sole Sisters) 04/11/11 8:48:45 (not sure on the date..)

Run for the Son 5K 05/??/11 Not sure on my time.

Fairfield 5K 06/11/11 26:24

The first time I got a medal for placing in my age division. #2 in the 20-29 category!

Hot Summer Nights 5K Series #1 08/10/11 26:39
Spokane to Sandpoint (Team Happy Feet) )8/12-13/11 30:42

Hot Summer Nights 5K Series #2 08/17/11 28:07
Dirty Dash 10K & Obstacle Course 08/20/11 1:40:00

Hot Summer Nights 5K Series #3 08/27/11 27:24
Sundae Sunday 10 Miler 09/11/11 1:42:30


The races I'm most proud of are the Spokane to Sandpoint, (since I got to finish this year! I almost cried when we got our medals) the Dirty Dash, (since it was so awesome!) and the Sundae Sunday race (since it was sort of like a half marathon..)
I've been having a great time running these races and training for them, but am also kind of excited to start taking it a little slower through the winter. I still plan on running with the Winter Warriors again. I was originally going to give a re-cap of my three favourite races, but kids are up from naps and acting cranky, and it seems like an awful lot of work....


I'll try to do a better job of keeping everyone informed with the highlights of our lives, so 'til next time!

Furniture Remodel!

For quite some time, Phil and I have been wanting to redo our bedroom furniture. He never super loved the colour to begin with (though he didn't tell me until after it had been purchased) and it was just kind of a weird colour to match other things to. Plus, it had been beat up a little when we had it squeezed into a tiny room at my parents' house, and then moving into our house.


All in all, it was just time for a change.

The original night stand. Sorry I can't seem to flip it the right way.

So we picked up a few cans of spray paint, figuring it would be the fastest way, and it it didn't turn out, we could always sand it back down and it would have at least given us an idea of what it would like when done.

The sanding took the longest time, but the kids helped out.

Then we added a coat or two of flat black paint, followed by a coat or two of black satin paint:

And we sprayed the hardware with an ivory paint:

Here is the finished product:

Nightstand.

Phil's dresser (I didn't take a picture of mine, but it got done as well.)

We love the new look of our furniture! And I don't think we spent more than $50 getting all the paint.

Catching UP...

I've been ignoring my blog lately... Sorry to anyone to was actually reading it before.

A few things to catch up on: Oliver is registered for pre-school in the fall! A huge burden off my shoulders. He doesn't do very well focusing on activities like writing, colouring, etc... Pretty much anything that doesn't involve trains, really, so I'm excited that he is excited about going to school and will hopefully be taught the skills he'll need in kindergarden to focus there. Oakley is first up on the waiting list. I kind of hope he is able to get in this fall too. I don't think he needs it like Oliver does, but I think he'd really enjoy it. (And, the "evil Mother" side of me is looking forward to the half day with just one boy at home... I could go running! Get house work done! Nap? Who knows the possibilities?!)

I'm trying to think of what else there was to update on...

Hmmm...

I gave Elliot his first "haircut." Really, I just trimmed his bangs since they were in his eyes 24/7, but he looks so mischievious now. I love it. I do not love the new screeching thing he picked up. It's like the noise I imagine a baby pterodactyl making. At first I was attributing it to his first molar that's coming in, but it looks like it's mostly through the gum, and he still does it. A lot. And waking up super early. (5:30 this morning) Not being a morning person, I'm also not the hugest fan of that. Something else I'm not a fan of, not that I'm trying to rag on my kids, because really, generally they're amazing and great and wonderful, but I'm saying it anyways. Oakley keeps having accidents. I'm hoping it will resolve itself soon since I think it might have started when my MIL was with us for a week and she was babying Oakley a little and helping him go to the bathroom when he would normally go by himself.

I haven't done much running since my Half Marathon.. I've been lazy. I did do a relay race in Seattle that was a blast though! Good weekend with my Sole Sisters :) That race was at the beginning of April, and until last night I had only run about 4 miles total. And those were on a treadmill. Last night I went running with a friend and we did four miles, but they felt so hard! I'm always amazed at how quickly I can fall out of shape! We did pretty well for not having run in about a month though; we finished our four miles in 36 minutes.

In other completely random news, I'm slowly going through my house and getting rid of stuff for a yard sale I'm doing in a couple of weeks. It's slow going, but it feels good to be getting rid of things I'm not using anyways and hopefully I'll make some spending money for my trip to Banff which is mid-June. That is the real reason for having the yard sale. I'm not going to lie. I probably wouldn't have the motivation otherwise. Thankfully my dear friend and neighbour who is also going on the trip is a super organized person and thought of doing this. Bonus: we get to hang out all that day (Pray for sunshine on June 4th!)

Lastly, the cake business has picked up a bit! Hooray! I really don't make any money on it at all since I only charge about the cost of ingredients (I feel bad charging my friends [who are my only clients so far] more than that) but just in May I have made a Baby Shower cake, a birthday cake, I have another Baby Shower and birthday coming up. It's been fun. :) Maybe someday I'll actually make money at it, which would be nice, but until then, I'm happy to be involved in friends' celebrations in an extra way. It's also a fun thing to swap services with friends. My friend Monica is trading me family pictures for me to do her daughter's birthday cake.

I feel like I've been rambling, so I'm going to stop while I might still possibly be ahead.... Off to relax!

I DID IT!

I finished.


It wasn't the prettiest finish ever (my ankles and hips started hurting around mile 9) but I did it. I even have a medal to prove it. I'm fighting the urge to just wear it wherever I go.

My medal :) 

I even had a semi-respectable finishing time of 2:31:52 (that averages out to 11:36/mile, but really when I was running it was closer to 9:29 and then closer to the end I walked on and off for about two miles)


Here's the low-down on my first half-marathon:
Friday afternoon, I drove to Hector's house, left my Jeep there, and we drove his van down to Colfax to stay at Mark & Lori's. Lori, who also ran (and kicked my butt!) knew some other ladies that were going to be in the race, so she invited everyone over for some carb-loading pizza. It was great to meet some more people to have a few friendly faces at the race. 


Rachel, Lori's daughter, was nice enough to give me her room for the night, and I went to bed around ten thirty I think. The furniture in her room used to be mine when I was little, so it was weird to sleep on my old bed.... I had set my alarm for six, but to do the pre-race jitters, I was up a bit before my alarm went off. It would seem I was the only one with this problem since everyone else got up after six thirty. We left by eight to try and get a decent parking spot at the race site, and so that we could register and pick up our stuff before the race started at ten.


On the short drive down to the race site, which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, I kept worrying I hadn't brought clothes that would be warm enough for the run. The hills were covered in deep snow and it was COLD outside, but thankfully, once we descended to the river's elevation, it warmed up a lot and there wasn't any snow around. It was actually pretty warm for early March. We got our race shirts, bibs, and a little bit of free stuff they were giving away and bought our pint glasses with the race's logo on it (I use mine for milk, not ale) and I'm glad we picked up our glasses so early because they sold out quickly. I ran in to several people I knew from Winter Warriors and a Sole Sister was even there (but not running. She was there to cheer her husband on and work the massage table afterwards) which was really neat. It was almost time for the race to start.

Me, Lori, & Hector

The view. Basically what the course looked like.

Sorry, I can't flip the picture. Weather clearing up.

Lori, Hector, Kelly, Brenda, Audrey, and me. (I think I got those names right.)

They were running a couple minutes behind on setting things up, but we got started without a hitch. Lori, Hector and I stuck together for a little bit in an effort to try and pace ourselves and not start out too quickly. We saw a dead, bloated elk in the river within our first mile. It was pretty gross, but proved to be a good landmark for me on my way back. The three of us stayed together for about the first mile, and then perhaps stupidly (in hindsight) I started inching forward. I did my first mile in 9:29, which wasn't too bad for pacing my self. I then I got cocky and competitive, and wasn't watching myself. I pulled quite a ways ahead of them, and kept thinking, "I got this! I sooo going to finish before them. I'm so much younger, etc, etc..." Well, right before the turn around around mile six, Lori and Hector come up behind me, say hi, and then pass me. Serves me right. (I'd forgotten to factor in that since their kids are older, they have more time to get out and run, and that they'd been pacing themselves much better...) 


The farthest I'd ever run at once was nine miles before this race. This was mile six, and I was starting to get really tired. Not a good sign. I thought to myself that I'd slow down, walk for a teeny, teeny bit, and then run and catch up with them. (It's happened before.) I did not catch up to them. And, after the turn around, it was very depressing how far ahead you could see. It wasn't like that on the way out. Now, I could see everyone that was ahead of me, and for a couple miles ahead. The scenery was starting to get old. There weren't many landmarks or signs or anything. Just the river, and hills, the road and a railroad track that ran alongside.


By mile nine, my ankles were starting to hurt, and from that point on, what was already a tough race became even harder. It's no fun to see people thirty-forty years older than you, or people that look like they have absolutely no place in a half-marathon passing you. It was a very humbling experience. So much for all my cockiness at the beginning. Mile ten or so, my hip starting hurting and I so badly wanted to quit. Every once in a while, though the road was closed, there would a pickup going from water station to water station refilling supplies, and I so badly wanted to hitch a ride. But I finished. From my estimates, which are very rough, I think all together, I walked somewhere between two-two and a half miles on the way back. 


I'm glad I did it though. It's something I can cross off my bucket list, I accomplished something big before my birthday, and completed one of my new year's resolutions. I also decided that while I think someday I'd like to do another one, I'll probably wait until the kids are a little older and I can train better for it. In the meantime, I have a few more races this spring, a fundraiser run for the local PD, a three mile fun run (for Girl Scout Cookies!) beginning of April, a 60 mile relay mid-April, and Phil and I are thinking about doing a duet-thalon in May.

A Quick Jot.

A quick jot to say thanks to the moms that gave feedback on schooling and chores for kids. (And the great links I was provided with! I'll be printing off a bunch of chore charts [for me and for the boys] today and see which ones work best for our house)


I also wanted to give a quick update on the pre-half-marathon week. The race is four days away! Man, that went by SO quickly. It seems like just a week or two ago that it was forty days. I haven't been able to run much since I did the nine miles a couple weeks ago. I think I've only gone twice, a four mile and two mile run. Not the best for training to run a thirteen mile course. But, with Elliot and Oakley's birthdays and a couple of their friends' birthdays and other obligations, I either haven't had the time or been to tired to start running at ten at night.


I was planning on running last night, but after I did the payroll for work, I laid down on my bed and fell asleep. So that didn't happen. I set my alarm for 4 a.m. (and 4:30 thinking it would be unlikely that I would heed the earlier one) but went right back to sleep after turning them off. Hopefully I can get off my half-lazy behind tonight and get on my treadmill.


Please pray for decent weather for Saturday, and a safe drive down to Colfax and Lewiston. I don't want to run in super windy or slushy weather....