RNR NOLA IS A GO!

It's official! I couldn't wait until the end of October to register (I was anxious, AND there was a $15 off coupon following the Saints last home game), so I am now monetarily committed (the best way to convince yourself that you MUST train well and consistently) to run the Rock'n'Roll New Orleans Half Marathon! I'm SUPER excited! And not just for myself, but because my buddies Christina and Sophie are running it too. Sophie is actually running the FULL marathon (go Sophie!!) and we're VERY likely to register Jay for the half after the Saints last home game (when we'll have another chance at a registration fee coupon). I meant to get a group photo with Christina and Sophie on our run yesterday morning, but I spaced it. It just felt SO GOOD to be back out there running again (even though my body is going to take a little time to get back in it's running groove), and I plan to take it real slow and easy as I move my mileage back up. Not to mention, it was awesome to see so many ladies out there hitting the pavement on a Saturday morning (Cari joined us, and we bumped into Kristi and Ashley as we started out).

I'm pretty certain this will be a great first half marathon experience for me. Just like the one I'd originally planned to do in Florida, the elevation change throughout this course is extremely minimal (not surprising, since New Orleans is partially below sea level and the only hills they have are overpasses). Since I train in the hills, I'm hoping the flat course will just be that much easier (since I'm only planning to train to the 10-mile mark). Plus, there will be band stands throughout the course to provide entertainment. And having so many friends and family there to support me will make it that much better. So here's to a great training season!

SANCHEZ SITTING

Sophie and Alex decided that 13.5 months was plenty long enough to go between date nights, so we got to watch Manu and Leo tonight! We bribed James all day long with the promise that Manu would come play at his house as long as he behaved nicely, helped clean up, ate his lunch, took a nap, etc. Worked like a charm. He was thrilled when Manu arrived, and the two were inseparable all night long.

We were prepared for Leo to be sad (he doesn't like being away from his parents, especially his mama), but were surprised at how well he did. Only two small episodes of fussing/crying and looking for his parents (here Cora was saying "It's OK. It's OK Leo. Come play with me!") and otherwise he was walking all over, talking to us, and even playing with the big kids. I was pretty proud of him!

I've never had more snuggles from him than I got tonight though, so that was pretty awesome too. He's SUCH a sweet little guy!

Dinner took some negotiating (for the older boys, anyway), but everybody ended up eating about 2 slices each of pizza. Admittedly, we did have to separate James and Manu to get them to quit goofing off though. No wonder their teacher put them at different tables at school!

Cora and Leo really got into their dinners, so a bath was in order to scrub the pizza sauce from their faces and ears and necks and hands and arms. I wonder if this was Leo's first bath with a girl - hee hee!

After dinner and bath, the kids were getting a little tired/grumpy, so we broke out the balloons (side note: If you don't currently keep a bag of balloons in your kitchen junk drawer, you need to start - there is no quicker fix for cranky toddlers than a game of balloon toss). Cora picked pink (of course), James wanted yellow, Manu chose green, and we gave Leo purple. We were impressed with how well each kid kept to their assigned color (we did that to avoid arguments). Even little Leo knew which balloon was his, and would continually crawl and WALK around after it.

All in all, I'd say we had a very successful night. It's good to know we can handle 4 little kids at once (we've watched Jacob and Bridger before, but they are a SUPER easy 8- and 10-year-old, so tonight was definitely a good test for us), since LOTS of our local friends have 2 children each now. See how marketable we are as babysitters for sitter swaps? You have our phone numbers, just let us know when we're needed. Call of duty and whatnot ;-)

APPLE DAY

Today was "Apple Day" at school, so the kids wore their red/apple clothes (Cora was very interested in pointing out ALL the apples on her outfit - Gramma, can you believe it STILL fits her so well?!), and I wore red too (and yes, I will definitely be one of those moms that dresses up along with her kids for spirit days!)

They celebrated the day with apple muffins, apple pie, caramel apples, apple bread, apple pastries, apple juice, apple sauce, and caramel apple suckers.

They were ridiculously hopped-up on sugar by the time they showed up at my office late this afternoon (after James and Jay had visited Mr. Downey for hair cuts), but it didn't matter. We headed out to the Castle Club's Oktoberfest (where we enjoyed free beer, and purchased brats and hot pretzels for dinner - the kids picked the salt off theirs), and the kids ran off their sugar-high before we headed home for our usual Friday night movie.

FALL NIGHTS

It may not feel like it during the heat of the day, but fall IS in the air here in the Deep South. Our mornings have been gorgeous (SO GLAD I can restart my Saturday morning runs this weekend!), and the evenings have been cool enough for family walks after dinner. It's so nice to get out into the quiet and the dark, listen to the animals (it's almost hunting season, so deer are ALL OVER our neighborhood), and talk and sing with contained kiddos. Giving them headlamps is just icing on the cake for them. Have I mentioned I LOVE this time of year?...

SLEEPY GIRL

Somebody missed their nap at school today (or at least didn't get her usual GOOD nap). Lucky for her, the weather has cooled off (providing outdoor comfort and car blankets for cool morning rides) and daddy found a shady spot to lay her down while he and James ran around the track.

SO MUCH FOR MODESTY

I know, I know... We tried so hard to protect Cora's modesty on the blog when she was an infant, and just look at her now. If I never posted photos of her in her undies (or nekkid), there would definitely be days where I just couldn't post any pictures at all. This girl is impossible to keep clothed in the house (and driveway). Hopefully she's not so free at school (pretty sure her strongly Christian academy would frown deeply at that), though I did find her out back playing shoe-less in the dirt this afternoon. She's definitely a free spirit...

(Yeah, yeah. I know James is often nekkid in photos too. He's not as bad about it as Cora though. His shtick is wearing his pajama bottoms commando...) 

LONG OVERDUE

The cars were LONG overdue for a wash and vacuum, so I recruited the kids to help. They were game until I declared us done with the hose. Then they just sat and ate ice cream while I sweated it out with the vacuum...

THIS GUY...

...woke me up 1 minute before my alarm went off this morning by shaking the gate at the TOP of the stairs, wearing his Waldo glasses, and already full of energy and charm. Very unlike him for 6:45am...

SUPER GIRL!

FAMILY TREES

Ms. Reese's 3K family tree project wall

THURSDAYS: REFRESHED

 Mondays and Thursdays (and every other Friday) are my days to pick up the kids from school (because Jay has class from 6-9pm on Tuesday nights and wants to get some time with them before class, and he has class from 4-6pm on Thursdays). Since Mondays will be one of my two weekly "rest days" once I start running again, I decided to make those "fun days" for the kids (meaning, they don't have to go to the gym daycare while mama works out, not that they mind the gym - they actually love going there and seeing their buddies that they don't see elsewhere). Instead, we go to the park, or go out for ice cream, or go home and ride bikes. Whatever the kids feel like doing. Thursdays are gym days. However, last week Sophie talked me into trying Spin Class, and while I hated pretty much every second of it, I gave it another chance today and actually liked it. Partly because I made an effort to hit the elliptical earlier this week a couple of times (my cardio work had been slacking big-time due to The Boot), and partly because Sophie gave me a great tip that helped save my legs - instead of pushing down as I biked along, I focused on LIFTING my legs, and it made a world of difference! I was actually able to hang with the class (perhaps not at their tension/speed, but it's hard to know what everyone is doing anyway, since we all adjust as we go on our individual bikes, which do not have pre-set digital "levels") and follow the instructors cues 85-90% of the time. That made me feel awesome, since last week I pooped out at least 75% of the time... Anyway, now that I'm doing spin, which doesn't start until 5:45pm, the kids are getting more park time after school (and then they get fast food for dinner, to take to the gym to eat while I'm in class - and since we very rarely eat fast food, it seems like a treat to them). Today we went to the "new" park that we visit in town (a really nice park in a good neighborhood, but one without any trees/shade, so it's not so great in the summer months - hooray for fall being on the way!)

As always, Cora went straight for the swing! She loves to "fly"

 James and Manu were stuck together like glue the whole time we were there. They were "climbing the mountains" (walking UP one slide, then down another), occasionally sitting down in "train" formation to actually slide.

 Cora joined in on the mountain climbing too.

 Chugga-chugga choo-choo, whistle blowing WHOO-WHOO!

 Once they got tired of the play set (and the water fountain... why are little kids SO OBSESSED with water fountains?!), they started sliding down the big hill. Pretty sure they would have been rolling down if their mamas hadn't been worried about injury...

SCHOOL PORTRAIT DAY: FALL 2012

It will be interesting to see how well they cooperated for the photographer (since this was one of 10 practice shots I took this morning before leaving for school, and it was the only one where James wasn't grumpy, Cora wasn't showing off her panties, and they were both looking at the camera), but at least we know we sent them to school in cute outfits!

BAREFOOT JAMES

In my running hiatus, I've been doing a bit of running research (in the hopes of making my comeback in better form to prevent future injury). One of the books I'm reading (which I borrowed from Sophie) is about barefoot running (really barefoot, not in minimalist shoes), and it's been quite frustrating to study the drills and techniques and not be able to get up and run around the living room to try them out. Less than two weeks to go though... And apparently when I start back, I can just follow James around the track and copy his technique.

Look at that deep knee bend! Kids definitely use the natural running form that we've all evolved to have.

He's "training" for his upcoming 1-mile race at the annual Over the River Run in mid-October, by the way. Jay said he did half a lap barefoot, then put his shoes on, and he was flying. I don't plan to run barefoot all the time either, just enough to remind me how to keep my form as it should be.

PRETEND CAMPING

We didn't actually sleep outside, but we did everything else to pretend we were camping last night, just for something different to do with the kids. They loved it, of course, and we heard many "I like you daddy's" and "I love you mommy's" throughout the evening (James tends to bust out with those sentences when he's having a good time and is pleased with us - sure makes us feel good!)

First daddy burned up a bunch of the branches that fell in the yard when Hurricane Isaac blew through (don't worry, the kids were a safe distance from the giant flames):

Once the fire died-down to normal height, we commenced cooking and moved the kids up to the deck:

(What's camping without hot dogs on a stick?!)

 After dinner, we played in the tent. You know what's even more fun than running in circles around the living room? Running in circles on air mattresses in the tent. You would have thought these kids won the lottery!

 Then daddy broke out the glow bubbles (which glow VERY WELL in the bottle, and on your hands, but not so much as they're flying through the air):

(Daddy wanted to prove to the kids that the bubbles were glowing, so he made bubble art on easel paper)

 Next up on the menu was smores, because you most certainly can't camp without chocolate marshmallowy graham goodness! I got to be the chef, and I threatened to eat all the marshmallows myself:

(P.S. Angry Orchard Crisp Apple is DELICIOUS)

(Our kids are slightly crazy and didn't demolish their smores, so daddy had 2.5 helpings)

We ended the night with a little more fire-gazing, then headed inside for bed:

 Definitely a fun evening, and definitely made us glad that fall is just around the corner!

GETTING "DRESSED"

This is what mommy considers "getting dressed":

And this is what Cora considers "getting dressed":

(She thinks that as long as she has shoes on, she's good to go!)

Thanks for the pretty "princess" dress and shoes (and undies) Grambot!