A new experience

Sword fighting...lol NERF sword fighting that is. This afternoon we joined Beth, her DH, and the boys out at White Rock at a park there. Her DH is out there a lot doing that kind of thing with swords, bow and arrows, etc. I can't say I understand what the whole thing is CALLED, but it looks like fun!

So, take 3 Nerf swords, 3 little boys, and 3 grown adults, and you have one crazy time. I got in a few good shots if I do say so myself. And the boys loved that they got to beat up on their parents, I know D took full advantage of it! He was thoroughly cautioned though that he better not EVER attempt that at school, and it's ONLY for at the park with Miss Beth. lol I think he took me pretty seriously on that.

We had fun, thanks for the new experience, Beth!

One long walk

Today, we walked the furthest that we have...ever. This was a huge milestone for me for quite a few reasons. The longest we'd done before was 9.3 miles. And while yes, that was HUGE, in my mind, it still wasn't "close" to 13.1. Yes, it's less than 4 miles to it, but still. I think 11-12 miles was a big mental hurdle I wanted so badly to jump before the actual half, so I knew going into today that I was going to HAVE to get up and do this, or I'd never be able to do it in the half.

We got up this morning around 5:20 and got out the house abit before 6. After a brief stop at Racetrac to air up the stroller tires, we were on the trail at 6:17am. I knew it was going to be a hard walk. The last long walk we did was 2 weeks ago, and it was "only" 8 miles. Plus we hadn't had that many short walks either due to AF. I was nervous. I had D with me in the stroller which I've found automatically slows me down. My biggest goal going into it was to get under 4 hours, which I did. Barely....lol

D fell asleep around Mile 2, and slept for 3.5 miles!! That was awesome for me, because I really had time to get my mind right and focused without him wiggling around and driving me nuts. So that really worked out! It's funny, so many times, at mile 2, 3, and 4, etc, I wanted to turn around and go back. My coworker did the Hotter than Hell 100 today on his bike, and I kept telling myself, if HE can do that on a bike, I can SO do 11 on foot. So I pressed on. I'm glad I picked the trail I did. It was 5.5 miles one way, so once I hit that 5.5, it was just going back, which is easier mentally on me.

The only bad part in the walk, was around 9.5-10 miles. I stopped a second to get another bottle of Propel out of the stroller and a wave of dizzyness washed over me. I ended up having to sit down on the side of the trail for about 10 minutes, tossing back animal crackers, until I felt better. We then continued on but I was hurting. My feet and legs both. It ended perfectly though because at mile 10.5, a member of the Lucky 13 Run Team I'm on caught up with us finishing HER run, and she walked the last half mile with us, that was awesome! And then right before the end (maybe 2 parking lots over from where we parked), we spotted the Plano Pacers finishing up their awards, and wouldn't you know it, 3 more Heels and Hills chicks! So we stopped a few minutes to chat with them.

I finished the 11.02 mile walk at 3:55. It would have been better without the stops but I don't regret them. I still made it under 4 hours...*grin* I'm really pleased with today, that I pushed through all the doubt (especially having not walked much lately) and pressed through it. My usual M.O. is to hit those hurdles and quit. But this time, I didn't, I might have dodged some hurdles but I'm still out here jumping them. So I am very proud of myself tonite. I'm hurting some right now but its not bad. And so, all that said...4 more weeks to go til the half!! I can't wait!

Wednesday Revelation

I decided to play along on here with something being done on DAM. Every wednesday a new subject is posted to take a pic of. This week: Show where you DAM from the most. That just so happens to be...work...lol So here's a pic of half of my office. There's more desk that curves around behind me, but lots of junk there. But this is what I look at all day long. And yes, that is Spaghetti-o's for lunch...thankyouverymuch...lol

First week half over

So my little man is officially a kindergartner. Monday went a lot better than I expected, as did yesterday. He seems to be fitting in quite well. So far, I've been really impressed with how they are working to support him in the classroom. I've said all along though, that if he's NOT being supported, no one will get a thing done because he is NOT the type of kid to sit idly and let things go. He's going to wreck havoc. So yeah they kind of HAVE to. I'm glad they are though and VERY glad that they are listening to the ideas/tips I give them!

I did hear a funny story from his teacher yesterday. On Monday, he discovered the pencil sharpener. And was trying to sharpen things ALL DAY LONG. Finally at the end of the day, the spec ed teacher unscrewed it from the wall and hid it. Well, yesterday, they got back in the room from center time, and he was walking around the room with it in his hands. They were like how did he get THAT???!!! lol So it's now hidden WAY up high. Silly kid...

Yesterday, I jumped back into walking. AF had seriously derailed me for over a week, and it was nice to get back in the groove of it. Up until the half, we're going to be walking every single day except Fridays, which I'm going to be taking off just for a rest before our long walks on the weekends. Last night, to start out kind of slow, we did 2.4 miles. I went home before going to D's school and changed clothes, then walked the stroller down to his school. There was a Back to School meeting at 6 so I stuck around for that and then we headed out on our walk. It felt good to be stretching my legs out so we took it a bit slow.

Kinder Eve...

D starts kindergarten tomorrow and I highly doubt there will be sleep in this house tonite for mommy. I'm so excited, so nervous, so scared, so over the top PROUD of my sweet boy for how far he has come in his short 5 years. Check out our other blog over the next few days for pics of his first day and everything related to it!

In other news, due to AF, I haven't walked in a freakin WEEK! It's been annoying today trying to finish up, but tomorrow, I'm starting hard core, EVERY SINGLE DAY except Fridays I plan to walk at least a mile. We have 5 weeks now til the half, and I want to make sure I'm at the top of my game for it. I also have to buckle down on eating starting Tuesday. This weekend has been awful with stress eating and I know tomorrow will be too. Hence, the tuesday, giving myself some leeway to not beat myself up over it. I will have one more AF between now and the half, which I know will knock me out at least 5 days, I need to get in as much time as I can before that. This coming weekend we'll be walking 12 miles. I KNOW my body can do it, its a matter of making my mind do it. Then the next day, we made plans to walk a slow 3-4 miles with a friend, so I will be able to stretch my legs out. I'm ready for this!

Lots O Stuff

Today was a GREAT DAY!!! So much happened, so much HAS happened, and I'm just spinning with everything going on.

Ok first...today is OFFICIALLY the 3 year anniversary of me signing the papers and bringing D HOME! *heart* It was quite a day, August 21st 2006. I met my caseworker up at the CPS office, where we met with his caseworker plus another CPS person. D was quite the hot mess while we signed papers! After that, he was all mine! My caseworker followed me home for our first "official" home visit (we had one a month for the first 6 months) but D fell asleep in the car so I laid him down on the couch and she would have to come back the next week. I still can't believe its been 3 years since that day!

Well on to other things today. It was D's last day at the daycare he has been at for almost 2 years! Despite the lack of supervision, all the complaints I had, most of the teachers really did love him. And we'll miss them, most of em anyway...lol

We also got to go up to his new school for Meet the Teacher! Well, we already met his teacher when she came to our house, but we got to see his classroom and see the school, etc. I LOVE that his classroom is not one of the "open" format ones with just a wide entrance instead of a door. His classroom is one of the few that has a door!! I don't think his teacher knows how much that will help!

So we go into the weekend gearing up for the first day of school on MONDAY. Pictures to come of my handsome boy going off to kindergarten!

Meeting the teacher

We got to meet D's new teacher last night when she came to our house for a visit and to drop off a packet of paperwork. She and the special ed teacher weren't there for too long, but I gave her the small packet of info on D's issues, etc that I'd put together. I hope some of that helps! Having them visit really made this whole thing so much more "real", so I was feeling a lot more anxious last night! I went to bed early rather than stay up and combat it. Just easier that way.

School and stuff

We're gearing up for school to start in 6 days! My baby will be a kindergartner! Its so appropriate that this week is a big anniversary for us. Three years ago today, I picked D up from his foster mom's house and took him for the weekend. I can barely even fathom that its already been 3 years and yet that its ONLY been 3 years. It's difficult to remember a time that D isn't fully part of or wrapped up in. It's still amazing to me how quickly we became a little family unit, and how easily he bonded to me. He knows I'm his mommy, and I absolutely ADORE him (most days...lol).

D started his new med on Friday. I found out yesterday that his neuro would like him to stay on all 3 meds til at least our followup visit in October. I'm a bit apprehensive about it, but I'm trusting his neuro's judgment. He's said in the past that D's issues can not be treated behaviorally as they are not behavior issues. He can't help what is firing off inside his head and at this stage can't even control it. So I'm ok with medicating, but 3 heavy meds (two seizure meds, one adhd med) seems like such a lot for a little guy! Even a big little guy. So far he hasn't shown any major change. He did actually take a nap at daycare yesterday(which shocked the bejeebies out of everyone because he hasn't napped all summer there) but other than that, I haven't noticed him to be sluggish or drowsy at all. If anything, he's seemed MORE alert. And funny enough, at times over the weekend and yesterday, I noticed his speech seemed better. We were in Addison on Sunday evening and all of a sudden he goes "mommy, I see an AIRPORT! Planes land there?" and it was just so clear. I have not noticed him "jabbering" just to jabber as much. And maybe its all in my imagination, these are just some random things that have caught my attention lately that I'd like to note for future reference. Here's hoping that the new meds cause some positive changes!

In a mere six weeks...

we'll be walking a half marathon! I can't believe its SO CLOSE. To be honest, I found my mind trying to psych myself out about it the other night. When we finished the 15K, I kept saying WOW we only have 4 more miles to go to make it a half. And the other night, I was thinking, omg, we still have 4 miles to go. I tend to think these thoughts are totally natural in this process, and I accept them as part of it and am pushing past them, but wow. lol Just...wow.

The thought of all this blows my mind anyway, so typically, I just try not to think about it and take it one week, one bump up mile at a time. I think what got to me is that the most we've done is 9.3 miles, then 8 this weekend and we bump to 12 next weekend. That's a bigger step than anything we've done before but I know we can do it. And can't wait to push through.

Game Night MNI

So, lately I've been having a really hard time being alone. You know, when you are always around people, being alone might be a good thing, but it gets old fast. So I had been wanting to host a game night at my house for some DAM moms, but the fear of rejection held me back. Finally, a thread came up about how we could make DAM better, and ways we could reach out, etc, and I was like ya know, screw it, I'm gonna post it and if noone comes, well it happens.

I was so excited and was so glad that there was a good turnout! We had a great time playing Trivial Pursuit 90s Edition, and then a tense game of Jenga. Everyone brought something to share, so we had some yummy munchies too! I will definitely be planning those again. It was awesome and definitely helped dispel some of the loneliness. So, thanks, ladies!!

Planning, lots of planning

My coworker made a comment awhile back that he bet that right after the half was completed, that I'd be scouting out my next one. I hate to tell him this, but I'm WAY ahead of schedule...lol

I know that to keep training consistent, I'm going to have schedule events regularly or I'll lose momentum, Teresa and I talked about that the other day at lunch too. And so I was browsing around at work today (ssshh!) and I think I have a good schedule mapped out!

Since my next goal is to start running more after the half, I found a training class that starts about a week or so after the half. It's a beginner class that trains you to run in the Turkey Trot 5K which I wanted to do anyway! My only hesitation is that I'd need to bring D in the stroller to class, I emailed the instructor about that to see. Hopefully I can, but if not, well I'll just have to figure out something else. I've considered doing a Couch to 5K program which would be roughly the same amount of time, and if I follow it well by myself, it'd have me ready for the Turkey Trot too. So I've pretty much decided that the TT is my next goal after the half.

I did find a couple of half marathons for next year already that look really interesting! There's one in OKC, where my dad lives, so that's always a possibility! And def will be doing the Heels and Hills Half in May as well, I love H&H!

So I'm plotting and planning, and will get it all figured out! Keep an eye on Upcoming Events on the right hand side for more details and dates.

An ENT followup

So last night we tried out the new shoes on a 3 mile walk, and tonite, again the same, and they feel great! I'm looking forward to taking them on an 8 mile walk on Saturday.

In other news, I took D back to the ENT today for his post-op visit. The good news...he said the tubes look great! He also said that it will probably be another week before he shows any hearing improvement. He tends to think that D won't have any permanent damage which I am SO thankful for!! We go back in a month for a hearing test, but don't have to go back for another followup for 4 months, yay! So we can move past that for a bit and now its on to worrying about the first day of school coming up in 11 days!!

All this ear stuff was actually keeping my mind off of it for awhile but now its back full force. We get to meet his teacher next week, and I'm currently working on a packet of info about all his issues to give her.

Stay tuned over the next couple weeks, there will be lots of half marathon and kindergarten talk!

New Stuff!

First, just wanted to share this pic from Sunday's 15K. This is Jenn and I crossing the finish line! No, we didn't run any of it but that last little bit to make it look like we were, gotta look good in the photo op!



I went shopping today for new walking shoes and wanted to browse around for something to hold a water bottle/gear for the half marathon. I really didn't expect to find anything, every other fanny/waist pack I have tried did not fit around my waist. I've lost a lot but am still a big girl!! lol

I gotta give props to the sales guy at Sports Authority. He was SUPER helpful, really spent time with me, dragging shoes out from everywhere, putting them up as we went, he rocked! I tried on about a bazillion pair and finally found some I really like! Here's a pic of them...

As I walked around the store trying out the shoes, I happened to see a bunch of waterbottles and camelbaks. Again, not really thinking I'd find something, I stopped to browse. A waist pack caught my eye, and I figured, well let me at least try it. It fit!! I was super excited. AND it was on sale. Exciting stuff, eh? I also got two packs of Gu to try out on our long walks, I can't be dragging multiple bottles of Propel around in the half when I don't have the stroller...lol So I'm trying to start thinking of things I can fit in the fanny pack that are portable. I can NOT be getting dizzy or passing out! Here's a pic of the fanny pack, I'm actually kinda excited that its all pink (Heels and Hills-style!!) . Yes, I'ma dork...but I'm loving this stuff!!

Inspiring

My friend said something to me the other day that really struck a chord with me. She said "i dont think u realize that people see u as an inspiration...and not judging u. People are not judging u, u just think they are". It came about because at the time, I was really trying to talk myself out of doing the 15K yesterday. I knew what a challenge it would be for me (mentally and emotionally). And in my mind, I was coming up with quite a few excuses to do my own walk on Saturday and just do the 5K on Sunday. You see, the 5K was safe. I had done that before. The 5K didn't involve passing by the finish line a couple times, it didn't involve people seeing me pass by the finish line, the 5K didn't involve the mental block that hit right around mile 8 (which I had already experienced the weekend before as well). It would have been the easy way out. And in my head, everyone sees all that is going on. In my head, people see the crap I think about, the rationalizations I make.

It really made me sit up and realize that they don't. And that I do inspire people, even while I judge myself. I judge myself for not being as fast or as good as the others out there. But others, have no idea of that. And they see what I've accomplished, so much more than I ever could really see. I need to keep that in mind for anything I do. I want to inspire people and show them that it really doesn't matter where you come from, that its where you are going that counts. That you could start from a 330 lb chick who got winded walking to the mailbox and get to where you complete a half marathon. That its possible if you just start taking the STEPS (hehehe, literally, in this case) to do it. THATS what I want people to see. And I think they do...most days.

Heels and Hills 15K

So...last weekend, we walked White Rock Lake which was 9.3 miles, basically a 15K. We did it in 3:07:07. I had no idea what to expect in a time, so I was "ok" with that though I knew it was slow.

We did the Heels and Hills 15K today, and again I didn't really know what to expect time-wise. I think Jenn and I both were thinking 3 hours flat or less would be great. Well, not only did we stay below 3 hours, we killed it!! We finished it in 2:48:21. How freaking cool is that??? We knocked 19 minutes off our time!!

Now I will say, I have some awesome friends. Because as we started the race, Jenn offered to push D in the stroller so I could get a good feel for how my time would be without the stroller. Then she and Dina continued to push him for the rest of it, and at the 10K mark where Dina turned off, she even offered to watch him for the rest of the 5K. They are such awesome ladies! I believe that the great time we had was totally because of no stroller. This REALLY took a load off my mind because I'd been worried that not having the stroller would slow me down. So it was an awesome feeling!

I will say, this was probably the most mentally challenging walk to date. First of all, we had to pass by the finish line 3 times without stopping. I knew going into it that would be difficult for me, and while it was, I dealt with it. The last mile and a half or so REALLY got to me, but I pushed through, and we got it done. Even jogged in the last 10 feet to the finish...lol Gotta look good in pics...hehe.

I'm sore and stiff right now, and my groin area on the right side feels sore again like 2 weeks ago, but I'm dealing with it. I'm doing NO exercise tomorrow. lol And will be ready to go on Tuesday with 4 miles.

Yay for Jenn and I!!! We finished our first official 15K!!! How freaking cool is that???!!!!

An end to the exercise challenge

So, we found out Jamie was out of the challenge, and Teresa and I made the decision to disband it with no winner. It was really getting to be a hindrance in our half training, and I know Teresa was really struggling with it. So it has come to an end. I'm pretty ambivalent about it. It was good motivation, but with my own half marathon coming up in 1.5 months, I'm already way motivated to be moving. I might rethink that opinion after it...lol but do have some other goals I want to work towards after that will likely keep me focused for quite some time.

Surgery today for D

D had surgery today to get tubes put in his ears, and also to have the ent examine his throat and sinuses, which meant they would need to sedate him deeper and intubate him. I was a bit nervous about it but this new ENT seems very good.

The surgery itself went great but it took forever! I was getting really nervous by the time the doc came out to talk to me. He said that basically, D was a mess inside. First of all, he still had adenoid tissue in there (reactive tissue) he called it. So he went ahead and cauterized that. Then behind his middle ears was so much fluid (sludge, he called it) that it really took them the majority of the time to clean all that out. His eardrums had collapsed into the middle ear.

According to the ENT though, once it all heals up, he should be good to go. So we've been putting lots of ear drops in (every.single.hour), but it will be worth it if it clears this mess up!

Oh and we went out to dinner this evening with our friends Beth and her boys at Abuelos. Mommy SO wanted a margarita!! And it was YUM. A much needed one.

Pre-op and hearing test

D had his pre-op today for his surgery and the audiologist did a hearing test on him. He has hearing loss. BUT the good news is, the test she did behind his middle ear, came back good, meaning once he has this surgery, his hearing should return to normal. So I'm really glad about that!! Tomorrow is his surgery and I'm praying it turns out ok.

You know you love what you do...

when you are willing to do it after working all day, sitting with an antsy D to get his haircut, and THEN...starting out to do it in the rain. Is that how you know its an addiction?? Whatever it is...we went and walked 4 miles tonite with Dina, and the first mile or so was in rain. It wasn't a downpour but it was definitely enough to get us all really wet. But once the rain stopped, there was still a bit of a breeze for awhile before it got sticky humid again, and that part was really nice!! Made it worth it, IMHO. The sky was just gorgeous too.

And we're gonna do it again tonite...though it won't be raining, it will certainly be HOT and freakin humid.

Hmmm...maybe they call this "crazy", instead...lol

Torn

So...now that I'm not posting food/activity over here, I'm a little torn about what to write daily. But I guess I'll just keep posting random stuff as usual. Apparently D had an interesting day today. He got bit at school by one of the 4 year olds. On his tooshie. Yeah, thats right. lol He was a little traumatized. I also officially told his daycare that he will not be back when school starts. I'm incredibly excited about it. They kinda scoffed at it, but uhhhh, most anything has got to be better than there. I can not wait to see what happens as D transitions into kindergarten, less than 3 weeks to go!!

And btw, I'm beginning to notice some really nice definition in my calves, especially as I was lotioning up this morning. Omg, they are getting NICE!!! lol Ok sorry, just had to share that. I may not really be losing a ton of weight lately, and honestly, I very well could be in a plateau, but I'm definitely noticing other changes and absolutely loving it. It's very freeing to not have to worry about weight per se, and just do what I do, count cals and keep this walking/exercising up. Love it!

Heels and Hills "Lucky 13" Run Team

I'm so excited to be able to announce that I got chosen to be apart of this! I feel very honored that they would even CONSIDER me for it, and know that I will happily fulfill my end of it as an ambassador for Heels and Hills. What makes it even more exciting is that my training buddy, Jenn, got chosen too!! We make such a great team in this half marathon training, and I can't wait to see where this new path takes us!

Check out this link for more info: Heels and Hills Run Team

I also want to say a huge thank you to the lovely ladies of Heels and Hills. You guys have a great organization that has really encouraged me to stick with this and press forward. I appreciate you all so much!!

What a fantastic Sunday!!

Well we didn't go walk this morning. I was super stiff from yesterday's walking (the 9.3 miles and then later at Grapevine Mills) and needed a day to sleep in. So that was nice. Then we hung out with some friends at their house and then went swimming. I got some FANTASTIC news but won't be sharing that just yet. That will be a blog post for another day. And...I'm starting up a new collaboration! My friend Dina and I are starting up an accountability blog. It will be similar to the one Beth and I did, which I think really helped both of us get where we needed to be. I've been good on cals, and doing ok, but I need that extra push of a partner in this, and I think Dina will be awesome! Here's the link for that: http://mamasgettinhealthy.blogspot.com/ Check it out and follow along! So...with this...all my food intake and activity will be moving over there. I'll still be posting daily stuff on here (hence the name), but it will be more half marathon stuff, D stuff...well, ok, it will be what it is now, just without the food/activity...lol

My last food post on here for awhile...I'm sorry to say, its not that great of food (hence why I need to tighten up on what I eat, and not eat CRAP within my cal range...). Breakfast (well, almost lunch, was a cup of mac n cheese). A late lunch at my friend Amanda's house was pizza. I had 3 slices of Little Caesars pizza and one breadstick. Dinner was at D's request. We had shake n bake chicken nuggets, spaghetti, and green beans to end my day at 1543 calories (no evening snack, just been sucking down water).

Output: an hour long swim (so 30 minutes of activity since it counts half time) and then 30minutes of cardio dance this evening to finish my hour.

Conquering the ROCK

Jenn, my training buddy and I, accomplished something this morning we never even dreamed possible. We walked all the way around White Rock Lake, a total of 9.3 miles! It took us 3 hours and 7 minutes to do. Not quite the time I had hoped for, was hoping for under 3 but we DID IT. I get all emotional about these new miles each week and it made me cry just thinkin about the fact that we finished it. And to think 13.1 miles is only 4 more miles away...we're really doing this!!! It just totally blows my mind. All I could say when we finished it was "holy hell!" I kept repeating that over and over...lol

The weather cooperated (as much as Texas summer weather can) for us quite nicely. We started at 6am and it was H.U.M.I.D as all get out! We saw clouds coming in, and had about 2 sprinkles on us as we finished. And then 10 minutes later as we got in to where we ate breakfast, the downpour started. Such perfect timing!!! Thank you, Lord, for that! We had def been concerned that we'd be on the far side of the lake when it started, but it held off...yay!!

I'm feeling good this evening. I have a lingering headache that I think might be some dehydration, and my legs feel like jello this evening but we went to go walk around Grapevine Mills mall this evening and I did fine there. It felt good to be moving them again. We will prolly skip our 4 mile walk tomorrow though (I need to SLEEP IN for a minute) and just do a light 30 minute walk plus an hour of swimming with friends (counts as 30 min). We have to get our swimming in before D's surgery next week since he won't be allowed to get any water in his ears after that!

Ok on to food...before our walk, I had a Fiber One toaster pastry. Then a bottle of Propel during the walk (plus a bottle of water). Afterward, we hit up this restaurant near White Rock called Barbec's for breakfast. It was delicious!! I had a glass of orange juice, a 3 cheese omelette with salsa, two slices of tomato, and half a beer biscuit with some butter. Yum!! At home after our nap, I had half a Totino's Crispy Crust pizza. Dinner, I was craving me some popcorn chicken and iced tea (tryin to squelch this headache), so we stopped at Sonic on the way to Grapevine Mills. I got a popcorn chicken, a banana, snitched two of D's tator tots (LOL) and then my iced tea. On the way home from the mall, we stopped at Braums and I got a kids cup of capp. chunky choc frozen yogurt, and then this evening I had another bottle of propel (tryin to kill this headache STILL) to end my day at 1717 calories.

Output: one long walk...lol