11 Good Things from 2011

I have NO idea why I start posts and nearly finish them and just ignore them for weeks at a time.  It is so cruel to my loyal readers mom and sister.  So, weeks late...

I have heard a LOT of people commenting that they are glad to see 2011 go.  So, I thought I would share some kind words about the year 2011.  Following are 11 good things from 2011 - silly, serious, certainly random...

1.  As mentioned in the last post, my picture a day album.  Of course, it became more of a week by week album as there were just days that weren't photo worthy.  But, still it's nearly a complete a book.  It feels good to not be another year behind in scrapbooking.

2.  My Nook.  WHAT a great little toy.  [Thanks, hubby.]  I don't read nearly as much as I would like, but I do read more now that I have it.  I can borrow a book from the library at 11 at night in my jammies.  How much more convenient does it get?

3.  Songs.  I love the song "Do Everything" by Stephen Curtis Chapman.  If you are a parent, you can relate immediately.  Win-win, he made a silly little video that the boys love to watch, so they are entertained and I get a good reminder! 

4.  I participated in a Beth Moore Bible study this summer.  I know some people love her.  Others are not so enamored.  I enjoyed the study.  Something she said really stuck with me.  God doesn't make all new things.  He makes all things new.  We have to remember enough of where/who we've been to appreciate where/who we've become.

5.  Seth and kindergarten.  He LOVES LOVES LOVES it.  His teacher is fantastic.  He is learning to read and I think that is terribly exciting.  I love to read and so much want the boys to love it too. 

6.  Luke's new allergy doctor.  I love that he works only with kids.  He explains things in a way that just makes sense.  He is up on the current research.  Riley is an incredible place.  Of course, it doesn't hurt that he gave us some potential good news relating to at least one of his allergies.

7.  The iphone.  I know - two technology references.  But, it's really great.  There are fun photography apps and some games and books for the kids.  It's nice to have a little something to distract them with in a pinch.

8.  Max is the perfect baby of the family.  I'm not saying he's perfect.  Although he is pretty awesome.  But, he is perfect at being the baby of the family.  Seth and Luke will settle in to watch a movie and he spends most of that movie running from one to the other and messing with them.  He's also getting quite good at screaming in their faces when they take "his" toys. 

9.  This quote from the pastor at our church a few weeks ago - "God meets you where you are."  Again, I've heard it time and time again, but I'm a person who thinks everything has to be in perfect order before I can start a project.  As a result I spend a lot of time preparing things and not much time doing things.  I think I just needed to be reminded that God doesn't expect me to be in a certain place to spend time with Him.  Just do it.  No prep work needed, so to speak. 

10.  "My" word - commit.  It really was a neat concept, having one word to make you stick with something and strive for some things.  2012's word to come...
11.  My husband.  This is not unique to 2011, of course!  I kept asking him to contribute a couple of 'good' things from 2011.  Let's just say he's not been very serious about his responses.  But, I'm incredibly thankful for him - for working hard to provide for his family, for being a loving dad to his boys, and for supporting whatever insane idea I have this week. 

Alright, now that it's almost February, time to move on to 2012!

One little word, revisited...

Some of you may remember that I chose one word for 2011.  A word to inspire me and shape my year.  I talked about my word, commit, here. Well, seems it might be time for a little review.  To what did I want to commit?  [in no particular order]

One, to my picture a day scrapbook.  I am happy to report that I am still taking lots of pictures and mostly keeping up.  I am working on November this afternoon and hopefully can move on to December this evening.  2011 required two books!   This year was a good start, but I can see ways which I could improve.  For starters, I went ahead and bought the actual kit for next year.  I thought it wasn't necessary, and it's certainly not, but it will be MUCH easier to just use the kit - the journal cards and filler papers are already cut to the correct sizes so I won't need my paper cutter or adhesives for much of anything.  I have a small tote with all of my extra supplies - markers, embellishments, etc.  And best of all, the boys love to look through it already. 
Another, to walk a half marathon.  We (my sister and I) did it!!  We completed the Indianapolis  Womens' Half in September and are registered for the 500 Festival Mini in May.  I have wanted to do the 500 mini for a long time but I kept having babies.  So, I'm super excited for that!  Plus, I definitely stick with a program better if I have that extra motiviation of an upcoming event. 
A third, church.  I am helping with one of the classes - girls, a little older than Seth.  I really wanted the boys to know me in this role - not as their teacher but as someone who is involved at church.  We taught for so long, but not since Seth was old enough to know/remember.  It was really bothering me that Seth only knows me as a fairly uninvolved church attender, not a teacher/helper/doer.  I also joined the MOPS group at our church and that has really helped.  At least I recognize other moms as we all pick up our kiddos. 
Finally, my kids.  I know this is the most important and likely the one area I will never feel like I can commit enough.  I am reaching the conclusion that it will just never feel like enough.  When you really think about how blessed we are to have these three beautiful little boys to love on, care for, train up, etc. it's just overwhelming.

I am currently in search of my 2012 One Little Word.  I'm tossing around some ideas, but I need to find that one word that will sum it all up.  And you, do you have a word for the year?

13.1

Pre race:

Our "little" adventure started Friday afternoon when Gretchen and I headed downtown to pick up our race packets. We talked on the way about our concerns - oversleeping, the heat, and finishing last. There was no line to get our bibs (were we planning to drool? no, silly - it's the big tag with your number on it) and shirts (to wear that day? oh, no way, as they are long sleeved and it was H!O!T!). It was an all female event and they had some students from a local beauty school there doing free manis and hand massages, etc. so we took advantage of the mani. [Side note, when I got home Seth noticed my nail polish color had changed! I ALWAYS have on nail polish so for him to notice the color difference was funny to me!] We made plans to text each other at 5:15 in the morning, hoping we would worry less about oversleeping that way.

I can't recap Gretchen's night but mine wasn't what I had hoped. I didn't get dinner until almost 9pm. And I definitely didn't get to bed quite as early as I had planned. Once in bed I slept okay for awhile. Then something woke me around 4. I looked at the clock at 4:15 and then I laid there for what felt like forever, thinking of the heat, my two experiences of passing out when I was too hot (when I was much younger), and how much faster everyone else would be than me. It felt like I had been lying there forever. I checked the clock again. It was 4:20. Argh! I laid there until 5:15, never really sleeping again. At 5:15 we texted each other.

My text to her: Good morning?
Her text to me: Hello Sunshine!!

Clearly she seemed more enthused than me. Turns out she was just trying to psyche herself up! We met at my house at 6am and my dad came over to drive us downtown. Thanks, Daddy! It was great to not have to worry about parking (downtown is like one big orange barricade) and not to have an extra car to drive home after it was over.

Race:
There was an opening ceremony at 6:30, but we were too nervous and thought it was a good time to hit the bathrooms one last time. I knew there would be portable toilets along the route. I also knew that if I stopped moving completely after about the halfway point, I wouldn't be able to start walking again!

The mayor started the race at 7am. There were less than 2000 participants so they didn't divide up into runners/walkers. It was a little intimidating as all the runners ran by and I started to feel like I was already in the very back (my fear of being last). After a few blocks though it seemed that we all got a bit more spread out and we were able to pass some people, which was a little boost to the ego. The one mile mark came really quickly. And then we figured out it was the actually the one km marker for the 5k race. [Their course was different so that was the only marker that was confusing]. You can see the course map here. There were volunteers at each mile marker calling out the time and we were pleased to find that we were right on pace with where we wanted to be. We were actually pleased for the entire race. There was also water or gatorade at every mile. We started out in the dark and it was overcast for a little while but it didn't take long for the sun to come out and it to get really warm, then really hot.

We picked out some women who were jogging and walking and decided to just sort of try to keep up with them. They got pretty far ahead of us at one point so we jogged to catch up and it felt really good to use some different muscles for awhile so we kept it up for just a little longer and passed them and we never saw them again. But there were some others that we set our sights on after that and just did the same thing of trying to keep up. Toward the end someone passed us and said she'd been pacing herself off of us the whole race so that made me feel like we were doing okay.

Around mile 10 we were walking through a downtown neighborhood and some woman was standing on the side of the road passing out ice cubes. I know, don't take candy from strangers. But, I wasn't putting it in my mouth, just holding it for a moment. I'm not even sure she had anything to do with the race itself, but she was very popular!

We really felt okay most of the time. We used our energy gel around 3 miles and it made me feel a little strange for just a few minutes. It has caffeine and I get a huge headache when I drink caffeine, but usually not right away. It was more of a spinny head feeling, but only for a little while and then I was good again. We had planned to do it at 3, 6, and 9 miles but we felt good at 6 miles, knowing the halfway point was so close so we skipped it then (probably not smart on our part). We both knew we were getting some blisters on our feet. And we were really warm but took advantage of the drinks at nearly every mile (small drinks to avoid that bathroom stop). But by mile 12 we were really having to work on the mental aspect of it all. We started to count down the blocks after the 12 mile marker. At about 12.5 miles a race official was on the side of the road alerting all that the race had been black flagged and we could "continue at our own risk." I hadn't seen anyone having a real issue with the heat and my mind starting racing to "are they all passing out at the finish line?" Or, "Is it the people behind us?" And then my countdown wasn't helping much anymore. Thankfully, the finish was very near where I had worked downtown so I knew that it was about a block to the turn and then after the turn it was a really long city block and then the finish line. Gretch wasn't as familiar with where we were and at about 12.8 miles she said, "I don't want to quit but I'm not sure I can make it." HUH??? I remember praying - a lot - that she could just hang in. I was worrying about the heat and she was feeling crummy so we slowed down a bit. My goal was to cross the finish line upright, not speed, so just getting there was all I cared about. I told her if she needed to puke, just to do it! But, she said she was okay. We rounded the corner and could see the finish in the distance. About halfway down the block, Gretchen spotted Matt and the kids and I think that really helped! Then I saw Dave and our boys and they were waving and smiling. They turned the clock off on the finish line just about the time we got there (because technically the race was cancelled/black flagged) and had to scan our chips for our time, which was annoying. They gave us our medals, a rose, and a bottle of water. My hands were so swollen that I couldn't get it open and I really considered asking any random person I could find but somehow Gretchen got hers open (her hands were equally swollen) so I had her open mine too. Then we got back to Matt and Dave and all the kids and our Mom.

As it turns out, our spectators did see people having to be helped across the finish line while they were waiting for us. Selfishly, I enjoyed watching some people finish after us, just so that I could say I wasn't last!

When we started the race I felt a little teary - as they said, "go" and I thought, "wow, I am doing this!" I really thought I might cry tears of joy when we were done. Turned out I was so exhausted it didn't even occur to me. Gretchen confessed partway through that when I suggested, earlier in the year, that we do this race she thought I was crazy. But, that being there and doing it, she no longer felt that way! I didn't ask her around mile 12 as I'm guessing she was back to thinking I was insane.

Finish line!

Melting.  The car thermometer read 95 degrees on the drive home. Ick.

With all the kiddos except Max, who was very content in his stroller.  It was really special that our hubbies brought the kids down to see us cross the finish line!

Post Race:

I'm glad to say that other than my feet I felt okay the next day. Two toes hurt and I had one real blister. Other than that, I was sore, but not in a bad way. Dave was awesome. We had plans Saturday night so he let me/made me rest in the afternoon. Sunday we had my parents and Gretch and her family over for a little celebration lunch. Then later in the afternoon we all napped. It was rainy and cool and perfect for a nap!

Now, time to get back to it. Unfortunately, my little toes are still very sore. They hurt a lot when I wear my walking shoes. Boo!

Pix and a peek...

Here are a few recent pictures of the day: Max, two fisted.

Seth and Luke, post-dentist appointments

Umm, yeah - that's mold. Inside one of my very favorite treats - chocolate covered cherries. We won't discuss that any further!

The daily album is coming along quite nicely. My process goes something like this: Download pictures often - every couple of days. About once a week go through and pick each of my daily pictures for that week. Edit them and send to snapfish, shutterfly, whomever. Then journal on the card in the album while the details are still fresh. Then I just let the pictures sit in the cart on the shopping site for awhile. As long as the journalling in the book stays caught up the pictures are the easiest part. By Friday afternoons I'm ready for the weekend and need something more fun to do while the boys rest so I seem to find myself working on the book then - setting up for the next month or embellishing the couple spots for the week that need some prettying. Each month has its own theme, or at least a color scheme, so the 4 or 5 layouts for that month are very close to identical. And my parents gave me a scrapbooking diecut machine for Christmas so I'm using it quite a bit too for the layout titles, etc.

Then eventually I order the pictures. I like having them printed at the super store where I prefer to grocery shop. Snapfish is an affiliate so I order through them and then just grab them when I'm in the store. Plus, they have volume discounts so I hold off until I have enough to order that the prices are reduced. Then I get to bring them home and match them up with the journalling cards and watch the book take shape!

The whole layoutLeft side

Right side

My Word for 2011

Commit: to carry into action deliberately; to obligate or pledge oneself. [paraphrased, taken from Miriam-Webster's online dictionary].

Let's ignore that two of the other definitions involve crimes and mental institutions and just run with it, shall we?

I love the idea of having one word that defines and shapes your year. Here is the best explanation that I've found for this concept. [Disclaimer: I've not read anything else on this website yet, just the one page to which I linked.]

So, to what do I want to commit? A lot. Some being more important than others. First, I want to commit to being here for my kids. I'm here physically, for sure. But I feel like we waste a lot of time when we're together. And maybe that's it - maybe I just need to realize that I am here and that, hopefully, that's what they will remember and that that's okay. But, I feel like I spend a lot of my day looking forward to naptime or to when Dave comes home. I think I got really off track when I was pregnant with Max and just never got things back to where I want them to be. I know there are ways to be more efficient with my time so I can get things done and still spend time with them doing fun mommy things. I just need to regroup and figure all that out.

Along those same lines I feel like I spend a lot of time thinking, "I'll do that in just a little while." But really, I just need to do it! Commit. If it needs to get done, do it now if it's at all feasible.

I am committed to doing my picture a day album for 2011. It's going really well so far. I want to try to take some pictures of the finished pages and share those. But I am committed to seeing it through. The Christmas album is only partly done and I don't want that to be the case with this one! It's easy and fun and I plan to keep it up. I'm committed.

I also want to commit to a very specific exercise goal. Me and two of my favorite people have been trying go to the gym 2 nights a week and walk/jog on the treadmill. The holidays, and then the weather, have deterred us to be sure, but those were temporary setbacks and we're back at it. I'm looking forward to the weather improving too so we can get outside. We started this in October (?) and it's been a rough winter (in terms of weather) but I'm ready to get out there and see if it's not a bit easier when there is a whole world of outdoors to explore! Plus, I'm hoping it happens much more often if I don't have to drive to the gym at 8 or 9pm. Scratch that, I'm committing to it happening more often when I can be outside.

Anyway, my exercise goal is to do this. I've wanted to do the 500 mini marathon for a long time but it always fills up or, for the last 5 years I've either been pregnant or pregnant too recently to really train. But not this year! I would love to lose some weight, but more importantly I would love to get healthy. I am worried about some hip pain. I think I have a bit of arthritis maybe(?) and my hip hurts pretty much all of the time. That or I've injured myself (you know, what with my gazelle-like form on the treadmill and all). Anyway, once I'm done breastfeeding Max I'll head to the doctor and see if there are some meds, etc. that would help with this. I just find that I'm in pain a lot of the time, and not the good "wow, that was some good exercise and I can feel it pain" but more the "it hurts to roll over on my hip even in my sleep and I'm not resting well" kind of pain. But it hurts whether I exercise or not so it seems silly not to go ahead and exercise.

And finally, I need to commit to a church and do something. Anything. I'll leave that one at that.

So, there you have it. My word - commit! My goal - not to end up being committed (re: the mental institution definition), but rather to 'deliberately carry' the above into action!