5K Fun/Run Run Run 2014 Version

After last year's half marathon trifecta, I knew I needed a new 2014 running goal.  Especially since I made a promise to Justin to take a break from long races for the meantime.

 It all started at the end of 2013, when a fellow running friend had mentioned something about doing a 100 Mile Challenge between Thanksgiving and the New Year.  The miles could be logged any way - whether ran or walked or swam, biked, danced, etc.  I was intrigued, although I knew I could never do 100 miles in that time frame, what with two kids, the holidays, and my job.  But, I thought, 50 miles was a perfect challenge to strive for.  I got a group of fellow mom friends together, and we encouraged each other along.  Challenge accepted, and results were achieved!  It was a perfect way to keep motivated to work out, and I didn't have the stresses of having to do long runs as long as I did a few small runs regularly. 

And so began my New Year's Resolution: To log at least 30 miles a month.  Sometimes (as in January and February),  I get ambitious and up the ante with a 40 mile goal.  The results so far?   I have logged 102.6 miles already this year!

I even got Justin to start running.  He just ran his first 5K in a couple of years, and I think he may have caught the bug.  I might have convinced him to run a 10K later this year, and who knows - maybe a half marathon is in his future?  You never know, haha.

But, yep, a group of friends, along with Justin and my dad, ran the Predators Fangtastic 5K this weekend.  The best part about this race (and what ultimately convinced Justin to run it with us) is that you get a ticket to a Preds game when you register.  So while Xavier hung out with his Lola, Lissie had a blast "running" (in a stroller) yet another race and crossing the finish line - not just once,  but twice-  amidst cheering fans giving her high fives.  She had a blast meeting Gnash, the mascot, and especially loved the post-race snacks.  Of course, she also had a good time going to the game that evening - even despite the rowdy Blues fans and the ultimate Preds loss.

Pre-Race Smiles 

Lissie's first finish with Mommy

She loved it so much, she ran it again with Lolo

Replenishing after a grueling workout

Future hockey player

All in all, I think I'm off to a great running start (pun intended) to the year.  It's kept me on the move, I've been able to catch up on shows while on the treadmill, and I'm setting a positive example for my family.  I love that Justin's starting to run, and I especially love how Lissie wants to be a runner just like her mommy.  I wouldn't be surprised if, one day, Xavier's gonna want to do the same.

Lissie's Third Birthday Recap

We opted out of having an official party this year and instead did a lot of other fun things to celebrate Lissie's special day.  In fact, it was a whole weekend devoted entirely to Lissie.

Friday: We had a birthday playdate at Chuck E. Cheese with a friend who's big day is the day after Lissie's. It was the kiddos' first time at the play place, and a blast was had by all! After heading home for a nap, Lissie went to her Lola's house for a sleepover, where they went to church to do the Stations of the Cross/First Friday Mass (it was St. Felicity's Feast Day!)/Fish Fry!

Saturday: I went to my parents' house and swapped kids, leaving Xavier with them while I took Lissie on a new birthday tradition: a mommy/daughter mani-and-lunch date. Lissie love-love-loved getting her nails done, and of course she also loved the free lollipop she got at the end. We lunched at Panera, where Lissie was extra excited not having to share her meal with her little brother. We had a lot of fun, and she definitely loved her alone time with her mommy. After picking up Xavier and heading home for a nap, we went to one of Lissie's favorite parks to play while we waited for daddy to come home for dinner and a pre-birthday bubble bath.

Sunday: Especially with Daylight Savings stealing an hour, Lissie was still in quite a daze when Justin and I woke her up with birthday balloons before hurrying to get ready for Mass. She had a special birthday breakfast of strawberry pancakes shaped like the number "3" along with her usual yogurt and banana. At her request, we sat up close during Mass so she could take in all of the action. After heading home for Xavier's morning snooze, we headed to Dragon Park for some fun and a picnic lunch. They recharged with their simultaneous afternoon naps, and after a quick walk around the block with Rupert we headed to a closer smaller park to play a bit more before dinner. Lissie wanted her Lolo and Lola to meet us at the park so she can show off her big girl tricks climbing and sliding and swinging, and after we tired ourselves out, we headed home where Daddy (who had to work this weekend) and her other Lolo met us for a yummy birthday dinner: Lola's pancit, fried chicken, and panko-crusted green beans. And, of course, cake. Again, at the birthday girl's request, we had a chocolate birthday cake in the shape of Daniel Tiger. After seeing lots of pictures of her first birthday smash cake, Lissie wanted to dig into the cake with her hands and eat it all by herself....but, thankfully, she decided to share with the rest of us. Delicious. Of course, we ended the day with present opening and went to bed much later than usual, especially since the newly-three-year-old was way too excited about everything to want to go to sleep.

Zombie Tiger after Lissie picked what she wanted to eat.

All in all, it was a fabulous third birthday spent with some of Lissie's favorite people.

I still can't believe she's THREE!

Dear Lissie - Three Years

Dear Lissie,

Three.  We survived the not-so-terrible-in-fact-I'd-say-they-were-terrific Twos.  Now, I hear we are heading straight for the "threenager" year.  Yikes.

You are sweet and silly and super shy.  You are so eager to learn, and you soak everything up like a sponge.  You are kind and helpful and wonderfully you. As much as I look forward to seeing what the future has in store, I would also be content just keeping you at this age forever.

Likes:
* School
* Bubble baths
* Daniel Tiger and Doc McStuffins
* Art projects - especially on your new easel
* Parks and playgrounds
* Singing
* Going to church
* Sleepovers - especially to Lola's
* Going out to eat
* Puzzles and board games


Dislikes:
* Most tunnel slides
* Asparagus
* Changes in routine
* When she needs help

Oh, Lissie.  Please stay as precious as you are.  Always.

I love you.

Love,

Mommy

Here's a video interview I did.  I plan on asking these questions every year, starting at age three.  My apologies that it cut off at the end and that my voice is so loud!



And, of course, a few of my favorite pictures of the year (not in any particular order).

Shortly after she turned two, she got pooped on by a bird.  To this day, she still talks about that experience.

Hugging her pal, Mickey, at Disney World.

Smelling the flowers at Cheekwood.

She loves, loves, loves all things art.  This is at Tuesdays for Tots at Cheekwood.

Play-napping with Xavier.

One of her favorite summer activities is the splashpad.

Her first day of "school" at MDO.

Color Run 2013: Her first 5K (in stroller).

Chilly, her first snowman.

Devouring bibimbop that she made with mommy's help.

First bowling experience.

Sweet, happy Lissie at a friend's bounce house birthday party.

Cincinnati!

We've had well-meaning intentions to visit our Cincy friends for a while, now.  We even went so far as to having a date set last summer, but alas I ended up starting a new job and life just got in the way.  But with this cold, cold winter, we've been getting a little stir-crazy and have been itching for a change, so we finally made our trip last weekend.

And, oh how much fun we had!

Because it had been a while (two+ years) since Lissie had seen her friend Lily, I started prepping her for the trip a few weeks in advance.  Lissie was immediately VERY excited to go to Lily's house, and I was happy that my shy little girl was ready to make a new friend until, at bedtime, Lissie said to me, "Mommy, I'm so excited to meet Lily.  I've never been friends with a mouse before."  It was then that I realized that Lissie thought that Lily was Lilly from Kevin Henkes' "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse".  It is one of her favorite books, and she recently saw the play with her daddy at the Nashville Children's Theater.  

Once the confusion was cleared, and I had shown her pictures of Lily to prove that she was very much NOT a mouse, Lissie's enthusiasm was, thankfully, still very much apparent.

Fast-forward to last Friday, the day of our four-hour trip.  We decided to leave mid-morning so we could break things up with lunch at a Chick-Fil-A in Elizabethtown so the kiddos could run around in the play area and nap in the car before making it to Lily's.  Everything went smoothly.  No one was antsy, everyone was excited, and the kids were well-rested to see their friends.

Lissie (almost 3) and Lily (almost 4) became fast friends.  Xavier (2 in June) and Ollie (2 in March) not so much.  Both girls immediately took to running around and playing together, whereas the boys were a little more shy and reserved.  In fact, looking back on the weekend, I don't think the boys ever really ended up playing together much at all, haha.

Lissie and Lily riding the stick horse.

We had dinner with some other friends who moved from Nashville last year and who just happened to live only a few blocks away from Lily.  And, even though we didn't snap any pictures, we were very excited to see them and their kiddos - Julian (age 3), Laura (2 in June, same day as Xavier!), and Oscar (who was just born in January).  Dinner was scrumptious, we enjoyed catching up, and the children absolutely loved getting their energy out with their old friends. 

My biggest worry going into the trip was having all of us sleep in the same room, but the kids took it like champs.  It helped a lot that we tired them out that first night, so Xavier was content in a pack and play, and Lissie didn't mind sleeping in a travel cot.

The next day, Lily's parents graciously gave us a tour of Cincinnati - including their unique (and tasty) cuisine.  We met up with our friends from the night before, and we all headed to Sawyer Point to play at the playgrounds and walk along the Ohio River.  We went back to the house for brunch, which included sweet potato pancakes, eggs, and goetta - an interesting (and yummy) sausage popular in the area.

After brunch, the almost-two-year-olds napped in their respective rooms.  But the girls opted for a sleepover in Lily's room.  As one would imagine, Lissie and Lily did more playing/giggling/talking and not much of anything else, but it was sweet to see the girls getting along so easily and having a great time.  And, isn't that the point of a sleepover, anyway?  Haha.

Once the boys awoke, we headed off to Washington Park for more fun playing and a brief walking tour of the surrounding area.  We ended the day with more Cincy cuisine: Cincinnati chili.  Delicious.

After the kids went to bed, the adults enjoyed catching up.  Justin and I were introduced to a new game: Mexican Train.  Fun times!

The plan was to head to Mass with them on Sunday morning and leave from there, but we wanted to beat the snow and ice, so we ended up leaving after breakfast.  The drive back was much more challenging than the ride there - Lissie immediately started in the "What can I do now?" (despite all of her books and quiet car activities, of course), and it rained the entire time.

We arrived in Nashville in time for lunch, and after a special treat for the kids to eat out at dim sum (you can imagine their excitement every time they saw the carts roll their way), it was definitely time for a much needed nap.

All in all, it was a super fun family weekend adventure, and I have a feeling it won't be the last time we give it a try.  It was great seeing old friends, and it was nice that they have kids the same age as ours.  Perfect.

Thanks for having us, Lily, Ollie, and family!  We had such a great time!

Celebrating Seuss/Ice Day

I hadn't planned on doing much to celebrate Dr. Seuss with the kiddos this year since we were traveling on his birthday (March 2) and I anticipated a week that was already jam-packed with our typical routines.

But, alas, the "snow" came, and everything was iced over. And we didn't have to go to "Mommy's School" today, after all. In fact, we didn't even want to leave the house.

Thus began our impromptu Dr. Seuss Celebration at home.

It started off, of course, with green eggs and ham. A hit with most everyone, except the littlest Yasay. Xavier was a bit thrown off by the color, and refused to eat the scrambled eggs that he would have normally devoured.

We read a ton of books, several of which were our dear Dr. Seuss. We even had goldfish as a snack in honor of "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish."

After naps, we were busy painting and coloring and cutting and doing fun Seuss-y art projects.

Handprint Fish; Hand/Arm Thing 1 and 2; Cat in the Hat Mask

And, finally, the day ended with a movie, "The Lorax." We don't usually watch movies - in fact, the last time they watched one was last year when we celebrated Seuss - and the kids got bored, so they ended up watching their newest love, a LeapFrog alphabet video instead, haha.

Watching "The Lorax" 2014

Throwback pic of watching "The Lorax" 2013

All in all, it was a fun "snow day" and an extra fun "Seuss" Day.