A push

I got pushed today. Not really pushed, but more like shoved. And smacked around a bit.

It actually started about a week ago. I'm in a whole bunch of groups on facebook, but one of them is a small group of local ladies who all run. I met several of them when I did the half-marathon in October, and they are awesome. But since that race, I haven't done anything to get in shape, or to even maintain the bleh shape that I was in when I did that race. Nothing. I haven't even gone for a walk.

So....like I said, a week-ish ago, this post caught my eye.....

Two miles a day for 2 weeks, I thought. I might be able to do that. So I agreed.

Of course, when I agreed, the weather was decent. Today, on the first day of the challenge? Yeah. Not so much.

I thought about waiting until later in the day (notice the time on that shot is 7:35am), but I had so much going on that I knew that if I didn't do it as soon as I dropped the kids off at school, I wasn't going to do it. And if I missed the first day, then I wouldn't do the challenge at all - because that's the way that my mind works. And I also knew that I had an appointment at 9am so if I was going to do it, I had to do it right then and there. I threw on an extra layer of clothes, cursed the girls in that group as I felt them virtually shove me out the door, and took off.

It. was. cold.

OMG it was cold. There was just enough wind that it was absolutely miserable as I started walking into it, and I came *thisclose* to turning around and going straight back to the house. But, it was a challenge. And I knew that if I got going, once I got to a certain point on my predetermined route, I could turn and have the wind at my back.

And then my mind started to wander in typical brain dump fashion. I'm not going to bore you with the total stream of consciousness train of thought that went in a bajillion different directions at a speed that blew my mind, but it was intense.

Ultimately, I thought about how parents tend to always put their kids first. I mean, really, who wouldn't? We have these little humans that depend on us for everything (more or less) and so we have to make sure that they're taken care of because that's our job, right? And we run ourselves ragged taking care of them and doing the things that parents do because it's what we're supposed to do and it's what we're expected to do - and we put ourselves last, sometimes to our own detriment.

I am so guilty of this, as most people know. I don't do squat for myself except maybe sit on my butt on the couch with a glass of wine once in a while (speaking of which...... I'm thirsty). And while taking care of the kids is all well and good (and ultimately, necessary) I realized....

I have to start taking better care of myself.

It seriously hit me like a smack upside the head. It's something that I've always known in the back of my mind, but I've ignored it because it seems like anytime parents (and yes, especially a mom) put themselves first, they are ripped to shreds by society. They are called selfish, self-centered, irresponsible, or bad parents.

I have been called all sorts of horrible names in the past because I am grateful when the kids go back to school after a long weekend or summer break. It's not that I want to get rid of my kids, but it's because I know that I can use that time away from them to work on things that *I* need to do to make me a better parent. Sometimes, it's mundane tasks like folding laundry and scrubbing toilets because I know that if I get those done while the kids are gone, I can spend more quality time with them when they return. And sometimes it's things like going for a run or taking a nap, because I need some time to do something that is completely and totally for me and for me only.

But even those things that I do for me and for me only end up benefiting the kids because guess what? When I get to do them, I'm in a better mood.

Better mood = better mom.

And seriously, who can argue with that train of thought when a view like this is staring you in the face while it's happening?

I came back from that run this morning feeling like it was ok to want to get back into running again. Like it's ok to finally commit to doing something for myself. Like maybe, just maybe, I can actually succeed at this 2-week challenge, and then continue on from there.

It's amazing how much my perspective can change in one 33 minute chunk of time.

And maybe, just maybe, in 2 weeks I can shave more than a few minutes off of that pathetic time. Assuming that I don't freeze a few limbs off in the process.

Christmas, Part I. And stuff.

The older 4 kids have been gone for a couple of days, so it was just me and Daniel for calendar-Christmas. He and I went to church last night...but not before he fell asleep on the floor after his bath. I got him back up and took him to church, where he proceeded to sleep through about 95% of the service.

I made special arrangements with Santa this year. He stopped by last night and dropped off just a couple of small presents for Daniel to open this morning, and then he's coming back tonight to bring EVERYTHING and to fill the stockings so that when all of the kids come home tomorrow, we can have our family Christmas.

Then Daniel and I went out to a friend's house and hung out with her for the afternoon. It was just a totally relaxed, laid-back day......but it's cold outside!

Along with being incredibly cold outside, it's almost as cold in my laundry room. From what I can tell, it used to be a porch and someone just slapped some drywall on the inside and some siding on the outside and called it a laundry room - but neglected to put insulation in the walls. It gets bitter cold in there in the wintertime, to the point that it is almost unbearable to walk across the floor without shoes on - which for me is horrible, since I hate to wear shoes.

Out of curiosity tonight, I grabbed the only thermometer that I have and I put it on the floor in there for a few minutes.

Yeah. It's that cold in there.

Next project? Adding to the bottom of the curtain across the laundry room doorway to keep that cold air from pouring across the kitchen floor. That might even be done tonight. Like, in the next hour.

At the moment, however, I'm waiting for The Dude to come back over. He got here a bit ago - on foot - because his truck died a few blocks away from my house. So he took my van to go back and try to figure out what's going on with it and to see if he can at least get it parked somewhere safe if he can't move it. Then we are getting up early early early in the morning to finish shopping for the kids before they get back home.

Sleep is definitely overrated at this point.

Gloves, a barn, happy ducks, and hairy wieners...

It was downright cold this morning when I decided to walk Daniel to playschool. I believe the temperature was somewhere in the mid-30's so he was bundled up, complete with hat and gloves. He was thrilled and didn't want to take his gloves off all day - I'm not 100% sure but he might be sleeping in them too. Whatever makes him happy, you know?

I went exploring a bit farther on my walk today, and found this old barn tucked away on the back side of the nearby college campus. It's obviously just used for storage now, but I would have a field day exploring it if I wasn't afraid of getting arrested for trespassing or something.

For the first time in a long time, I saw a flock of ducks on Sand Creek. Granted, they were all huddled together under the bridge - probably trying to figure out why their butts were so cold all of a sudden.

At least Sand Creek is starting to get some water in it again. Hopefully it'll be back up to normal levels before winter - I'd hate to see mud and grass where there's supposed to be ice.








And last but not least, what do you get when you combine spaghetti with hot dogs?

Why, you get hairy wieners of course! Or, as I preferred to call them around the kids, "hairy hot dogs" - but you get the point.

I can not take credit for this idea. I saw it posted on someone's facebook page (can't remember who, so if you want to fess up, feel free) and thought that it was hysterical. Since we were having hot dogs and hamburgers for supper tonight, I figured it would be funny to do it without the kids seeing me. So I cut up a couple of hot dogs, shoved the spaghetti through them, and chucked them into the pan to boil with the other ones.

They had no idea what to think when I pulled them out of the pan. I almost had them convinced that I did it by threading the noodle through the eye of a needle and pulling it through the hot dog like thread, but then they figured it out. Smart kids.

Yeah, they might need therapy after that one. But it was fun.

I'm going to go curl up with my good friend, ibuprofen, and watch a movie. 7+ miles today, and I'm feeling it.

Proud mommy

It was a beautiful, although COLD day here today. I finally broke down and turned the heat on in the house once it dropped to 60 degrees in here. But, I did only turn it on to 65 - I just can't stand the idea of turning the heat on this early, but I also can't stand freezing when I'm inside. So, the chill has gone from inside the house, and it's at least comfortable in here tonight.

I had to go to the older three kids' parent/teacher conferences tonight. I guess I shouldn't really say that I "had" to go, but I really hate going to them in the evening. I'd much rather go during the day, but whatever. I go when I'm told to be there. There was some confusion in the scheduling but we got that straightened out, so I got to go and sit through 3 conferences with Ex1 *gritting teeth* and his wife *gritting teeth more* but it could have been worse.

We got their report cards, and as you can see - I have reason to be proud! Out of 19 subjects that were graded, there were 17 A's. 17!!! Only one B and one C!

Their teachers couldn't say enough good things about the kids, which made me feel really good. They had no issues whatsoever, and the one B and one C can easily be improved with a little bit of extra work. The teachers are not concerned at all.

*proud mommy*

By the time we left the conferences, it was just about dark. I tried to get a picture of the amazing sunset, but it was hard to do while on the move. Hopefully you can at least get the idea....

Alex and Daniel and I came home and grabbed something to eat, and then they went straight to bed. Alex really wants to ride his bike to school in the morning, but since the low temperature tonight is supposed to be 35 degrees, I'm not sure that's going to be feasible. But we'll see what happens.

But for now, I'm going to sit back with a little bit of Leno, and maybe try to get some sleep tonight. ;)