A Summer Full of Changes

Happy Fall!

Things have been busy over here (and so have the Things, for that matter!):

• My sister-in-law got married (Yay!)

  

  Cutest ring bearer and flower girl EVER!

• The Things turned TWO (Really!?!? But, also Yay!)

  

  Yay, birthday cake!

• I started a new job (more Yay!)
• We got lots of family visits in (super Yay!)

  

  Botanic Garden, parks, the Lake, you name it, we did it!

• We all (including Mischa) ran a 5k together (Yay again!)

  

  Who knew, all Mischa needed was a little competition to turn into a speed demon!

Fancy family picture!

I'm sure there's a lot more, but those are the highlights. With everything going on, I totally let myself fall behind over here, but hopefully this fall will give me a chance to catch up again.

As an update: Thing 1's new favorite thing is the miniature pumpkin he saw in the grocery store. If he's awake, he needs to have the pumpkin to be happy. Thing 2 loves to sing, and is picking up the words to her favorite songs. She may not always get the tune right, but she'll give it her best shot! They're both very active, and talking a LOT (most of the time, we can even understand what they're saying!).

While you wait for the next update, enjoy the cute pictures! We've been up to a lot, so rest assured: there are more where these came from! I swear, these kids are getting cuter every day!

We prefer pretending to eat squash to actually eating squash!

Meet my new puppies!

Okay, that's misleading. There are no new puppies here. Just babies who seem to think they're puppies.

Now that the things are getting more mobile, I've been noticing how many similarities there are between babies and puppies. Sure, there's the obvious stuff: they sleep a lot, they poop and pee a lot, they drool a lot. But there's so much more!

What's that you got there, mom? Looks tasty...

Recently, the babies have been really interested in people food. Sure, their own food is just fine, and they'll eat it when you give it to them. But, obviously, it can't compare to what mommy and daddy are eating, right? That has to be the best food, ever! Hubby and I usually eat breakfast in the living/dining room, with the babies playing around us. I used to eat on the floor with them, but I soon realized that's a bad idea. I'd end up with two puppies babies looking at me with a mix of longing and judgement, while Mischa waited on the sidelines, ready to step in on a moment's notice.

Things have gotten even worse, now that they're both pulling themselves to stand! I was eating breakfast on the couch the other morning, when both babies crawled over, stood right in front of me, and proceeded to engage in some of the most shameless begging I've ever seen. Thing 1 actually reached up and grabbed at my bowl, and would have pulled it out of my hands if I'd given him the chance! Apparently, Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cheerios are way more interesting than all the baby toys scattered around the room. Lesson learned.

Mmmmmmm....cereal!

We're getting close to letting the babies eat real food--Thing 2 has 6 (yes, 6) teeth already, and Thing 1 is working on his first (I think he's getting 2 at once, but we'll see). Thing 2 is already a good gnasher, so I'm excited to start letting her try more things. Given the teeth marks all over her crib, I'm thinking she'll be a natural with corn on the cob!

Even though they're both showing interest in food, there's still a lot of mess involved in feeding them. Mischa comes running as soon as she hears the sound of the highchair tray snapping into place--she sets up camp under the highchairs, and just waits for the fun to start. Inevitably, the babies drop (or throw) food overboard, and Mischa is right there, ready to clean up after them. Who needs a vacuum cleaner? I'll admit, we don't always completely wipe the Things down after they finish eating. Sometimes, we just plop them on the floor and let Mischa clean up for us. Dogs are so useful!

The 4th of July has come and gone, which means that I have officially finished the Runner's World Run Streak! Yay! I'm not gonna lie: I got kinda lazy at the end, and didn't write down each run as soon as it happened, so I don't remember each of the runs. I have distances and times for each one, and I figure that's all that matters. The important thing is that I proved to myself that I can do it! And now, I don't have to do it again. I actually got sick during the last week of the challenge, so the last few runs were a bit of a struggle. It's really hard to get out and go for a run when you're really congested--breathing is an important part of running! Anyway, here's the breakdown of my last 9 runs:

32.Thursday, June 26th: 3.1 miles, 28:24, average pace: 9:09/mile

33. Friday, June 27th: 1.14 miles, 10:40, average pace: 10:40/mile

34. Saturday, June 28th: 6 miles, 1:01:06, average pace: 10:11/mile Felt sluggish and almost called to be rescued, but managed to do the whole run--despite getting rained on and some wardrobe issues. Finished my run to an awesome rainbow in the sky!

35. Sunday, June 29th: 1.1 miles, 10:39, average pace: 9:40/mile

36. Monday, June 30th: 1.11 miles, 9:52, average pace: 8:53/mile

37. Tuesday, July 1st: 1.5 miles, 14:42, average pace: 9:47/mile

38. Wednesday, July 2nd: 1.6 miles, 17:00, average pace: 10:34/mile

39. Thursday, July 3rd: 1 mile, 8:40, average pace: 8:40/mile A nice shake-out run with the hubby after a long day in the car. Had to explain to him what a shake-out run was (he thought it meant something much grosser).

40. Friday, July 4th: 1.5 miles, 15:18, average pace: 10:09/mile An easy evening run with hubby on Madeline Island. Beautiful way to close the challenge!

After finishing the challenge, I celebrated by taking a week off from running! It was totally necessary for recuperation, and it was nice to not have to worry about finding time for a run for the rest of our vacation. I'm back in action now, though, and had an awesome run Tuesday, and a decent one last night. Training for my half starts next week--wahoo!

Since I mentioned vacation, I'll close with a few pictures of the Things from their first trip to Madeline Island. It also happened to be their longest car ride to date. It was a good and bad experience. Vacation while sick just stinks, and a 10 hour car ride with 2 babies and a dog who hates car rides doesn't make my list of favorites either, but we managed to have fun, too. The babies did a great job on the ferry ride (no sea sickness, yay!), and they loved exploring a new place. They also learned how to climb stairs, so that's a new, exciting thing we get to deal with!

Vacation fun!

 

I'm Baaaaaack!

Aside from being an awesome three-day weekend, with great food and great weather, this weekend was a huge confidence boost for my running! I had a fantastic 4.5 mile run on Saturday, which was my longest run since February, 2012, and it was a very smart run too! The weather was perfect, and I managed negative splits, which I tend to struggle with on my longer runs. I was so pleased with that run, that I would have been okay if that was my only run of the weekend, but I was really thinking about trying to run Monday night, too. I figured, if I went ahead and got a run in, I wouldn't need to worry about running in the morning, and the weather didn't suck, so maybe... The lazy part of me said "But, it's a holiday! You should take the day off! Take it easy! Plus, look at those rain clouds! You should stay home." I managed to ignore that voice, put on my running clothes, and headed out during what I thought was a break in the rain. I was totally wrong about the rain. Got really wet on my run, but I managed to bust out another sub-30-minute 5k, and missed hitting a PR by 3 seconds.

I've realized that I really don't run that many races, since my 5k PR is from July, 2011. But, I was thrilled with that race, since I managed to PR, despite the fact that it was July in Washington, DC! If you've never been to Washington, DC in July, all you need to know is that it's ridiculously hot, and stupidly humid. Not runner-friendly weather! Looking back on the race, I've realized that it wasn't really one to be proud of, since I didn't run it well at all. I busted my ass on the first mile, and then got waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay slower on the second and third. That's not how you want to run a race at all! You want to fly, not crawl across the finish line! So, when I managed to come this close to my PR on a dumb-ole run, without the adrenaline of race day, and nowhere near my physical peak (where I was in October, 2012), I was shocked, amazed, and hopeful. Maybe, just maybe this means I can get back to where I used to be as a runner!

Then yesterday, my BFF asked me if I want to do the Runner's World Run Streak with her. It involves running at least one mile every day between Memorial Day and July 4th. I've heard about streakers, but never really thought I would be one, since I would tend to stress out too much about stuff like that. The last thing I want is to end up not enjoying my runs. But, since this streak has a definite end date, and a short distance requirement, I think I can manage it. I figure, at the very least, I can take Mischa on a quick mile run on days I don't want to do a longer run. It will be good for me to get out every day, and I know she'll love it! So, I'm two days in, and so far so good! We'll see if I manage to keep it up...

Here's a breakdown so far:

1. Monday, May 26th: 3.1 miles, 27:29, average pace: 8:58/mile. An awesome run in drizzly weather.
2. Tuesday, May 27th: 1.11 miles, 11:06, average pace: 9:58/mile. Another wet run, with an unwilling running buddy. Yes, Mischa looooooooves to run, but she hates the rain, and the two kind of cancelled each other out.

A weekend of serious fun

And, and update on the Things: the babies had a great weekend, with family time, a playdate with another set of twins, and lots of time outside. Unfortunately, yesterday wasn't so great. While they were on their way back to our house with our nanny, the Things and Mischa were in a car accident. They were rear-ended while at a stoplight and the car was pushed forward into the car in front of it. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and hubby and I were nearby, and got there shortly after the accident. We decided to take the Things to the hospital, since Thing 2 was clearly upset, so mommy got her first ambulance ride! It was one of the most terrifying moments in my life, but it quickly became clear that Thing 2 was more scared than anything, and she had calmed down by the time we made it to the hospital. Thing 1 was a trooper the whole time, and just took everything in, from the flashing lights of the ambulance, to being held by the EMT. What a mellow boy! Actually, I think Mischa had it the worst: she literally had the crap scared out of her (yup, she pooped in the car), and was just relieved to be home safe and sound and snuggle all night.

After we got to the ER, the babies were admired by all the hospital staff, and quickly pronounced "perfect." We've checked with their pediatrician, and have been given the all-clear for them. They've quickly bounced back to their happy, active selves, which is a huge relief. Obviously, we're cuddling them a little more, and keeping a close eye on them, but they seem to be feeling no ill effects from the accident.

Speaking of active: we now officially have two mobile babies! Thing 1 decided enough was enough last week, and is now crawling almost as fast as Thing2 (of course, often in opposite directions)! We're quickly learning what babyproofing needs to be done, but it's so much fun to watch these two explore their home together.

Puppy Love

It's time to introduce the 5th member of our merry band: our awesome puppy!

I grew up in a dog family. We'd always had one, and it was something that I'd always wanted for myself when I "grew up." Hubby didn't grow up as a dog person, but became one in college (thank goodness!). When we got married, getting a dog was an agreed-upon eventuality, but it took us a while to get the timing right.

Finally, Thanksgiving Weekend 2012 rolled around. My sister-in-law and her boyfriend had been looking to adopt a puppy much more actively than Hubby and I, and they'd found a litter at a shelter they wanted to go check out. Hubby and I decided to tag along, with no thoughts of acquiring a dog at the time; we just really wanted to play with puppies.

We behaved ourselves very well at first. We saw lots of cute puppies, but weren't in love with any of them. Until we saw HER. Hubby and I still disagree over whose idea it was to ask to see her, but we both agree that her complete adorableness won us over. As soon as we held her, it was a done deal. We stayed until they weren't doing any more adoptions that evening, to make sure that no one took her, and then went home to "sleep on it." Yeah, right. We were picking out names on the car ride home.

The next morning, we showed up right when the shelter opened, to be sure we no one got to her before we did. We sat through the informational video on adopting pets, filled out all the paperwork, paid our adoption fee, and then finally got to leave with our puppy in tow! The past few years have had a lot of good days, but this one ranked right up among the best of them.

L to R: Adoption Day, How can you not love that face?

 Mischa has been with us through some bad times, and a lot of really good ones. She's a wonderful big sister to the Things, and we can't wait to see how much fun they'll all have together as the Things grow up. It may have taken a while to get there, but I'm so glad we finally have our dog! Nothing says love like having a dog run to greet you when you get home (and lick your face to show you how much she's missed you).

Can you say photobomb?

Just to give them a shout-out: Wright-Way Rescue is where we found our sweet Mischa. They're a wonderful organization, and we had a great experience with them. Visit them here: http://wright-wayrescue.org/ and then go adopt one of their awesome animals!