First Weekend of December

We had a great weekend around here! Decorating the house with wreaths, putting up the tree, baking Christmas cookies, watching Christmas movies, playing with worms.... Yes, worms. Here are some pictures from the weekend. As for the worms, a mom from Lauren's class and I did a worm science project with the kids in school on Friday. We observed, measured, drew, played with, and raced worms. It was a totally fun and dirty day! We brought the worms home, and all Lauren wanted to do was play with them, constantly! I'm so glad she's not afraid of worms!

"Here we are, in the woods, getting ready to cut down our perfect family tree! Ooops, I mean, here is Eric bringing up the tree from the basement."

Lauren on the deck playing with her beloved worms.

Lauren's worm "Riley"

Ethan and his Lightning McQueen Ornament

Lauren and the Tree

Riding the Gator in KY

Here are the kids riding their Gator and Grandma and Grandpa's house in Kentucky!

Thanksgiving Pictures

Here are some photos from Thanksgiving in Kentucky with Eric's parents, "Grandma and Grandpa!" They surprised the kids with a John Deere Gator (to work on the farm, of course). That was definitely one of their highlights! I think Lauren is ready for a license. Ethan, on the other hand.... We had a great time and enjoyed every minute. The photos are of Lauren and Eric and the Thanksgiving table, the kids on the Gator, Lauren petting Bourbon the horse, and Lauren petting Pumpkin the calf.

Success at 10-for-10!

I'm done! I did it! And I'm glad it's over! I really enjoyed the challenge that running 10 miles a day for 10 days in a row brought me. I knew a couple of days would be tough just to find the time.... but I did it. The travel days were tough. We drove to KY for Thanksgiving, and wanted to leave early, so running 10 beforehand was impossible. I had to run when we got there, when all the fun was just beginning and I simply wanted to be with my family. Travel day coming home was tough, too. But I prevailed, and with a little Madonna Hard Candy kickin' on the Ipod, Sunday's run after travel, Day 9, ended up being one of my fastest at 1:16, just over a 7:30 pace. The final day, Day 10, yesterday, had to be done on the treadmill. I had no other choice. 10 miles even. All in all, I ran over 102 miles, and my body held up much better than I thought it would. I did 4 runs in KY, which were tougher than I gave them credit for! I felt strong on the runs, but by 8:15 pm I was ready for bed. Such a party pooper and not the nighttime ring-leader that everyone was used to! Well, that's all until next time...

The 10-for-10 Challenge

I've decided I needed a new challenge. As if life itself isn't challenging enough right now in these crazy days. I wanted a running challenge, so I dreamt up 10-for-10, that's 10 miles a day for 10 days in a row. It's my stay-at-home mom, non-professional runner, mini version of Dean Karnazes' 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. I'll do 10-for-10, and I'll do it in TWO states: Georgia and Kentucky. Is this a smart thing to do? No. It's actually pretty high up on the stupidity scale, since I'll be doing 70 miles in 7 days (and 100 miles in 10 days), and my body is used to about half of that or less on a weekly average. Why, you might ask. I don't know! I guess I got a little bummed about missing 1 1/2 weeks of running due to bronchitis, so I'm making up for some lost time and testing my body. Not to mention, if I can actually get through it, it will certainly help my Boston Marathon training. If I have even and inkling of a problem, nag, aggravation, pain, ANYWHERE, then I'm calling it quits.

I've completed 3 days so far. Day 1 was 10.1 on a treadmill as the kids played in the basement play area and Eric did elliptical with me for a good chunk of the time. Day 2 was on the Silver Comet Trail. I did 10.7 at a pace that put me right to sleep. I was definitely NOT fully conscious on that run. Today, Day 3, I did 10 miles down and up Peachtree Road. I did miles 1 through 6 of the Peachtree Road Race, then turned around and came back. It was slightly cold and a miserable, rainy day. You'd only be out there running if you were trying to prove you're an idiot. I felt a bit like Forrest Gump today. So far, so good. I am recovering well day to day, and have no aches or pains except for my neck and shoulders. Must get away from computer. I finally got some new running sneaks. Had bought a pair on Friday, and when I wear-tested them on the treadmill, they failed. I had two raw ankles at less than two miles into my run! Ethan and I went BACK to Phidippides today, and got some new ones. I'll wear-test them for a couple of miles tomorrow and hope they work out. I really need new shoes to complete this Idiot Challenge. My old ones are bad. Really bad. And that was my last opportunity to get to the running store before we leave for KY Wednesday morning, where I will be doing 5 of the 10 days! Who knows what tomorrow will bring, besides a tired mommy? Until then...I'm off to see Madonna!

Batman Dancin'

Video from Thanksgiving at the Preschool

Lauren is seated in the very front row, green shirt, with the turkeys. Does she know her moves or what? :) Tee hee! They were precious this morning. There's nothing like hearing a group of Pre-K's singing their little hearts out!